A tragedy from the beginning of Marvel’s latest X-Men crossover hints at why the mutant nation Krakoa was always a mirage.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Factor #4 by Leah Williams, Carlos Gomez, Israel Silva, & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now
X of Swords has already opened up the possibility of war between Krakoa and its long-lost other-half, but in the process, a weakness has been found in the brightest spot of the X-Men’s current mission of creating a perfect mutant nation.
With the promise of resurrection revealed to be somewhat weaker than anyone realized, has the promise of Krakoa been broken?
One of the biggest promises of Krakoa was the possibility of mutants actually getting the chance to lead their full lives. As a species, mutants have been targeted all around the world. Countless young mutants have been attacked, experimented on, or just plainly murdered for their differences. Even when they found safe havens such as Genosha, there were attacks that could claim millions of lives all at once. Being a mutant has never been a safe prospect in the Marvel Universe. This is a major reason so many mutants have dedicated themselves to fighting for the protection of other mutants, especially the ones who don’t have the strength, training, or resolve to protect themselves.
That’s partly what made Krakoa such an enticing prospect for the various mutants of the world. Through a combination of the Five’s fantastical powers and the telepathic scans of every mutant that Xavier and Cerebro had been quietly cataloging for over a decade, the X-Men have found a way to counter any fatal accident or attack that targets the mutant population. The Five can synchronize their powers to create a new body, exactly like the previous one. Then, Xavier merely uploads a copy of their memories and personalities into the body — effectively creating a perfect replica of the lost mutant. Even if someone is killed, the X-Men have a way to bring them back, no matter what.
Or at least, that’s what everyone thought. Complications with the resurrection of Kate Pryde raised many questions about the limits of resurrection, although this was discovered to eventually be more the cause of a minor oversight of an error than an actual problem with the process. But now, X of Swords has proven that death still does pose some danger to the mutant population. It turns out there is such a thing as “being out of range” of the resurrection protocols, namely being in Otherworld. They mystical plane essentially serves as a potential bridge to each and every reality in the multiverse. This means a multiversal composite of the mutant is brought back instead of the original — in fact, the Cerebro back-up of the fallen mutant is even overwritten and erased in the process, effectively ending their existence.