A confrontation in Children of the Atom between two major Marvel leaders could be teasing a brewing conflict between the X-Men and the Avengers.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Children of the Atom #2 by Vita Ayala, Bernard Chang, Marcelo Maiolo & VC’s Travis Lanham, on sale now
The X-Men have changed the way the world looks at them in recent months thanks to the rapid expansion of Krakoa, increasing their clout in the world while separating themselves further and further from the other heroes of the Marvel Universe. This might be having a major effect on how other heroes see them — and this could have serious repercussions for the mutant nation.
A tense conversation between Storm and Captain America in Children of the Atom #2 could be teasing an escalation in the brewing conflict between the X-Men and the Avengers.
After the Children of the Atom reveal themselves to the world and do their best to bring down the Hell’s Belles, the Krakoan Embassy in New York is visited by three prominent Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man and Captain Marvel. All three are leaders in their own right, with their own experiences with the X-Men, but they don’t come to the embassy seeking a meeting with the team. Instead, they’re demanding an audience with Xavier. Confronted by Mystique, Madrox and Storm, the three try to argue that these young mutant heroes — dubbed the Young X-Men by the media — are not only putting themselves at risk thanks to Kamala’s Law, but are creating the possibility for an international incident between young mutants (who are technically citizens of Krakoa by birth) and agents of the United States government.
Although it’s a fair point to raise, it quickly becomes apparent that even Storm is suspicious of the other heroes — noting that they spoke in defense of young human heroes in opposition to Kamala’s Law but seem to just accept it as fact when it applies to mutants. Storm highlights the double standard and curtly tells Captain America — after insisting he not refer to her as Ororo but as Storm — that the mutants will mind their own people if the other heroes can handle themselves. While the possibility of the Young X-Men getting targeted by C.R.A.D.L.E. has been reduced by the Champions turning public opinion against the enforcement of the law, the underlining tension of the conversation between Storm and Captain America is worrisome.
As Krakoa has expanded exponentially in a short amount of time, the X-Men have become increasingly stand-offish with the rest of the Marvel Universe’s heroes. For example, they’ve recently battled the Fantastic Four and stolen from Black Panther. Wolverine made his alliances known during the Phoenix Tournament, and King In Black revealed that Xavier and Magneto value the safety of Krakoa over cooperation with the rest of the hero community. Even potential allies like Hulking have been wary of the X-Men over their views of his mother-in-law, the Scarlet Witch. Things have been growing increasingly tense between the X-Men and their fellow heroes as of late.
The past decade has seen the X-Men go to battle over these issues rather than back down against the other heroes, leading to events such as Avengers Vs. X-Men and Inhumans Vs. X-Men. If Krakoa wants to maintain healthy relationships with the rest of Marvel’s superheroes, then they need to be aware of how many heroic toes they’ve stepped on. Along the way, the rest of the hero community has to embrace the growth the X-Men have experienced and try to work with them instead of just giving them orders and expecting unquestioning loyalty — especially in light of all the tragedies that Krakoa has already suffered for the crime of just existing.
Notably, all three Avengers who confront Storm are the three who’ve fallen to in-fighting within their own ranks — resulting in Civil War and Civil War II. But now they stand together, potentially opposed to the X-Men. It’s vital that both sides realize what road they’re on before it’s too late, or else the Marvel Universe could end up in a devastating sequel to Avengers Vs. X-Men, which could lead to any number of dark potential futures.
