To Put On Heirs and Xs

The Marvel Comics Universe, at times, gives readers what seems to be a never ending list of characters. I’ll admit some of these individuals are irrelevant like Laura Dean or otherwise innocuous such as Shamrock. Still, merely the mention of a name like Apocalypse is enough to invoke some pretty intense emotions among comic book characters and comic book fans alike.

The scriptures warn against letting good be evil spoken of, and this lesson isn’t just about what slips from the lips of others. Rather, I believe it is also about avoiding lethargy when it comes to one’s own legacy. As well as not taking for granted the graces that we’ve been given. Consistently examining our actions in order to ensure they remain in accordance with who or what we say we are.

Otherwise the day will come when you find yourself at a crossroads, which is never the ideal time to go looking for an answer. Especially when you consider that, more often than not, this event occurs at the end of one’s time here on Earth. After all inevitably both kings and their kingdoms will eventually pass away. Leaving only a name as a reminder of an assortment of accomplishments and/or atrocities.

Meanwhile this end also creates a power vacuum, which is about the last thing you want at a time like this. That is unless you’re comfortable with all your accomplishments being scattered to the winds. That kind of goes against one of the key components of our human existence, ensuring our work lives on. Therefore, it is always better – and a bit of an act of desperation – to provide for the future by establishing some form of progeny.

This is true even among the men and women that make up the Marvel Universe. However, this does not mean the individual has to be of direct descent. History is full of stories of successors coming from even the most subservient positions. Even sometimes as a student.

The final panel of Giant Size X-Men #1 establishes a running joke that is still making the rounds in comic books today. In the scene, Hank McCoy playfully ponders what the Professor plans to do with thirteen (13) X-Men. Now I wonder, was it too cliche to use in 2019’s Powers of X #5 as makeup of mutantkind was altered upon the creation of an island full of mutants. The moment when you issued an open invitation welcoming any mutant to join the team.

This moment was also a reminder that even though there is only one body, it is composed of many parts. Each of which is capable of unexpectedly, even unintentionally negatively affecting the whole. All while behaving based on its own best interests, so solidarity is important for survival. But will you just continue to let the whole body – even the soul – struggle, even for an important appendage, or should you sever it instead. Following the crippling blow, delivered at the hands of the machine Nimrod and Dr. Stasis at the 2023 Hellfire Gala, Krakoa – the island that represented the body of mutantdom – is broken and bleeding out.

There may be no “I” in the word “TEAM”, but one exists in the words “XAVIERS” and “RISE”. With one telepathic message Professor Charles Xavier believed he finally inspired mutants – and even humans – to see his vision of the world in the pages of 2019’s House of X #1. But after events like Inferno, Sins of Sinister, not to mention the massacre at the Hellfire Gala, maybe it’s time to look at who was really pulling the STRINGS and let it all slip through their fingers: Fall of the House of X.

Rise of The Powers of X / Fall of the House of X Interlocking Covers

For anyone unaware, publishers – like Marvel – often use artists to create rare, custom covers for comic books. While they can take various forms from foil, to wrap around and interlocking they each serve the same purpose. Conveying certain aspects of an event that is currently taking place.

While celebrated the true purpose usually gets lost in the hype that publishers provide during any major comic book event.

Though I’ve enjoyed these special covers since my youth, as I’ve “matured”my eyesight has changed. I noticed more than a means for an artist to draw their favorite characters. I began to recognize a communion between writer and artist unlike the one they agree to inside the comic book. Without the benefit of a letterer to bridge any divide the illustrator must illustrate their understanding of the source material. What they know is literally illustrated by their works.

As a longtime X-Men fan I wondered what clues the interlocking Rise of Powers/Fall of House #1 covers contained about the event.

Rather than a singular, or all encompassing story, these images seemed to tell quite a few. It makes sense, there hasn’t been an X-MAN comic in years; this is a story of many mutants.

However, I couldn’t quite make sense of things until I stopped letting the event rule my logic. While this is a two part/comic event, the cover contains three. Then again so does an X; two lines and where they meet in the middle.

What you are reading is the culmination of that concept. Two connected articles to coincide with the covers and what I felt combined they were conveying. One article looks to discover what is at the root of the variable X, the other examines the rest of the MENagerie.

Whose House?

If I asked you to run off a list of the main leaders among the X-Men I imagine I would hear names like Storm, Logan. You may even mention Rogue if you’re remembering correctly. Then I’d ask you again and I’d remind you that I didn’t ask who has led a team of X-Men – so by the way thank you for at least not mentioning Moira – but who LEADS the X-Men. Who among the X-Men has a presence with the power to influence so many others. Or put another way, who possess equal measures power and presence along with the willingness to use either to gain more of the other?

Those are the leaders that are seated front and center in interlocking Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X covers. These are leaders that over the years have managed to move the X-Men geographically and philosophically. And they each simply assumed these leadership roles and others accepted, they were never earned, rightfully established and very rarely challenged. Among their fellow X-Men each of these individuals could always find many followers; so loyalty would never be the question even if one or ALL of them were responsible for mutantdom’s current dilemma. Instead, let’s look at how they’ve been leading their fellow mutants – in the order I feel best correlates to when assumed that role – and where?

FiGUREHEAD:

Few call him the first X-Men, but even Jean Grey confessed that Professor Xavier was the one who brought her to the dance. If this is indeed mutantkinds last dance, then I for one am ready to pay attention to the man has remained behind the curtain. A man who for years mostly hid in the mansion, while others did his good work. A man who even after making his presence known to the world in House of X #1 decided to hide behind the Cebebro helmet. Since most of the work of locating missing mutants was being done by Armor in New Mutants and the Mauraders, the headgear seemed pretty meaningless.

As the creator of the team and owner of the original X-Men Mansion, Professor Xavier should have had a bust of himself somewhere by now. But despite being a part of the team since the start, the general public has only seen him a handful of times. Like your televised debate against Reverend Striker in God Loves, Man Kills. Recently, however, we have been getting a good look at him as he holds vigil over his most recent Dream’s End on what remains of Krakoa; he seems to be keeping busy.

For a man who is used to being minded and not seen with all the extra facetime Professor X has been giving us since the start of the Fall of the House of X, I’m wondering what type of “mine” game he is playing now?

FIRST:

The same crown that makes a leader’s head heavy also helps the ruler cast a much longer shadow. And among the X-Men no one has had to stand in that shade longer than Scott Summers, a.k.a. Cyclops. The benefit was as the leader of the pack, Scott was also a sure in for the spot of successor when, or if, Xavier should ever step aside. More importantly as the prodigal son, it was a given that he would regain his prominent position among his peers upon his return from any hiatus – like when he left following Jean’s death in Uncanny X-Men #138.

However, can even Scott escape the mark that comes with being the “first born”. Maybe it would help him if he remembers that Xavier has a son and that Chuck’s paternal nature is lacking. Or, given that Legion has been acting like his own man – not his old man – since joining Kurt as a member of the Legion of X, maybe Slim should stand up to Xavier as well. Was demanding the Quiet Council allow you to form X-Men team an act of defiance or doing Daddy’s wishes? Seems like San Fran all over again.

Cyclops, if you want to lead it has to be by more than sight. Especially with all you’ve seen during your tenure at Xaviers. I know you’ve heard this from Jean several times, but Open your Eyes Scott.

FIRE:

Speaking of the devil, although honestly do many people think of Jean Summers in that light. Jean is the Phoenix: the light and flames that fuel the cycle of mutant life and death. As a primordial entity Jean is capable of existing in a location beyond the dimensions: The White Hot Room.

While the Jean Grey School For Higher Learning technically didn’t open its doors until many years after Jean’s death in New X-Men , the building blocks of Phoenix institute were established early in the X-Men’s story: among the heavens and stars. Way back in Uncanny X-Men #100 to be exact. That is when Jean’s connection to the Phoenix Force, and eventually the White Hot Room, was first forged. Turning Jean into something more than a mere mutant; beyond an Omega. And while she’d never claim herself a messiah, the Phoenix also allows Jean a unique perspective about life that often eludes others. When operating via this connection, Jean’s understanding of the complex nature of life and existence – even extinction – is beyond what any of these other leaders could even begin to comprehend.

This and her ability to exist outside reality may make you stop and wonder, what does a god care for the lives of other X-Men? Or for how long?

FIGHTER

Besides angels, humanity’s closest divine cousins are probably the nephilim. These “halfbreeds”, the product of the union between man and celestial, share a lot in common with our next candidate, Cable. Being a Bishop fan isn’t the only reason I’m not willing to call him the Man of the Future. It’s the fact that with Nathan, you’re never quite certain where he’s coming from or where he’s going? Kidnapped and merged with the Techno-Organic virus by Apocalypse as a baby in X-Factor #67, he was bounced to the future, then found his way to what would be parents’ past and so far – except for stops here and there – that circle is unbroken; by and by.

Perhaps it’s a genetic quirk inherited from Scott, but Cable can only seem to fire straight ahead. When he first returned to the present day, our first encounter with Cable ended with him shutting the doors on Xavier’s mansion in New Mutants #100. And introducing the world to X-Force from their new base in longtime X-Men adversary Larry Trask’s Adirondack Mountain Base. Quite the declaration of war from the New Mutants. Not that your own Askani upbringing prepared you for anything other than the life of a soldier fighting to save someone else’s tomorrow. But even with future knowledge Nathan’s limited line of sight has led to him making quite a few miscalculations. Sam, Tolliver, the identity of Strye which ultimately led to him learning who Cyclops really was to him.

Yes, Nathan did come back to save Hope, but was that about his fellow mutants’ salvation or preventing their complete damnation. Cable was made to prevent the world from falling into the clutches of Apocalypse. What does he do when even -(A)- can find peace on Krakoa?

FINANCIER:

The best things in life are free, so why does it always come down to money with you Emma? Let’s be honest here, you’re in the business of mutants, shall we take it from the top? Your interests in Kitty, or the Hellfire Academy at all were simply a means to further Shaw’s, and in time your own interests. Isn’t that why you paid particular interest to some of your students over others?

I can’t overlook that your “standing on business” approach has turned around a few of Xavier’s more troubled students, like Hellion or even X-23. And that mindset also took root in Krakoa, with the medicines allowing the young nation to exert financial and global positioning previously unattainable for mutants. But it was at the points of manufacture and delivery that Orchis found a loophole to exploit all that mutants had achieved. That seems to happen a lot with your type of mismanagement. It’s similar to when Fitzroy attacked the Hellfire Club in Uncanny X-Men #281, or the first Riot At Xaviers while you were Headmistress of the Massachusetts Academy.

However, no matter the tragedy that others suffer you come out of it all looking like a million bucks. Remember Genosha?

This House Is Not A Home

For most of this discussion I have diverted your attention to only a portion of the middle scene. However, if you look up slightly you will notice several – specifically an additional five (5) – characters. Now if I were to suggest that the five I just finished discussing are seated upon a throne, then what rests above them would be their crowning achievements as leaders of the X-Men. Just look at them, each a shining example of Krako-errr, I mean mutahhh…well, there’s a little bit of a problem here.

Maybe there is more than meets the eye even here. Could these characters’ presence serve as both a crown jewel and jewels of denial to these assorted leaders. Bright gleaming gems or unpolished stones ready to be hurled through a glass house.

If you don’t mind I’d like to work backwards with this group in the hopes that the longer the character has been around, the more insight they will have into Xavier’s.

First, there is Kid Cable. After arriving in our timeline and killing his older counterpart, Kid Cable went on to aid the X-Men during Extermination, all while keeping his Dad’s return a secret. By dating one of the Stepfords, not to mention her affection for his father, Nate most likely has an ally in Emma as well. Currently, he’s teaming up with his older self on an issue bigger than Orchis bloom so there doesn’t appear to be any animosity there either. Nor can I imagine one with Xavier. That just leaves Jean, but even her and Madelyn have made peace about this part of their collected past. I’m sure Nate has as well.

Everett Thomas found his way into the path of the X-Men via the Phalanx. And even during that Covenant crossover he was already displaying extraordinary control over his powers – synching with Sabertooth’s power even though the sociopath was miles away. However, Phoenix was instrumental in helping him fine tune his abilities recently. Together, she and Scott saw enough in Synch to name him – along with Talon – as the X-Men’s new leaders, a position he upholds as he plans the current team’s response to Orchis attack. While the TK virus almost got him and his friends, I doubt he holds that against Cable. Meanwhile, it was Xavier’s poor firewall that the Phalanx infiltrated that led them to Generation X in Uncanny X-Men #316. Then there is Emma. She isn’t responsible for anything, is she Synch?

Wade, Wade, Wade. You’re not a mutant so why are you even here? If he would have known you were going to be as much trouble as you’ve been, I’m sure Cable would have saved on the shipping and just shot you in New Mutants # 98. But he would have missed out on your together time, or a chance to cameo in your second film. Point is Wilson will work with, and for anybody. Scott, Jean, Charles, Emma. But the problem is Deadpool isn’t a mutant. He was only allowed on Krakoa’s shores for a few seconds during the reunion recently in New Mutants # 30 . So if Wade Wilson shows up to assist the X-Men the only person or reason I believe it is for is Deadpool.

When it comes to being a mutant hero, Angelica Jones has always blazed her own path. Making her debut outside of comic pages, Firestar got her start along with another of Xavier’s alum Bobby Drake on the Saturday Morning Cartoon Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends. Since then she has been a New Warrior and even an Avenger. However despite her long tenure, Krakoa – and specifically Scott’s X-Men team – were Angelica’s first time truly feeling she found a home among her fellow mutants. Even to the point of her trusting a dying Jean’s plan to act as a double agent within Orchis. And she has yet to lose her cover Cable, despite ShadowKat and even Cain attacking her for siding with Dr. Stasis. Looks like she had some good teachers. Right Charles and Emma?

And finally cometh the Juggernaut. Another nonmutant, like Wade, and yet Cain earned a home on Krakoa. And for about 4 seconds he had a spot on Synch’s X-Men team, with Jean’s blessings. Scott trusts Jean’s judgment, at least most of the time, and both Emma and Nate know that Cyclops isn’t a pushover, even for the Unstoppable Juggernaut. That just leaves one obstacle in Cain’s way. Hiya Chuck.

While I’ve looked at this interlocking cover image separately, I must also consider how it all fits together collectively; into something like a bundled cluster. Factoring in the negative/empty space between all portions it begins to resemble nerves inside the human body. Those on the peripheral are like neurons waiting for a signal while the middle is the “single” axon that transmits the message “To My X-Men”. Welcoming them – and readers – to:

To Put On Heirs and Xs