The X-Men have the best villains in the Marvel Universe. This started from the beginning. Right away, the team introduced one of the greatest villains in the history of the comic industry: Magneto. From there, we were introduced to characters like the Juggernaut, the Sentinels, Hellfire Club, the Brood, Mystique, Mister Sinister, Apocalypse, the Horsemen of Apocalypse, and so many more. The team’s bad guys worked so well because creators were willing to take the time to develop them, to show new sides of them as they kept appearing. Often, this happened as a villain got even more popular, when they usually ended up on the team for some reason.
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The X-Men’s amazing roster of villains paid dividends in the Krakoa Era. Heroes and villains worked together to create the mutant nation, and it gave readers some great stories. Most of the villains who got exposure were the usual suspects — Apocalypse, Sebastian Shaw, Mister Sinister, and Mystique — but there was one who stood out: Exodus. The telekinetic mutant had long been an important antagonist, but we never got to spend so much time with him. In the blockbuster Krakoa Era, we did, and it was great. Exodus has gone on the perfect character journey, and now we need more of him.
Exodus Flourished In the Spotlight
Exodus first appeared back in the early ’90s, acting as Magneto’s herald in the months leading up to “Fatal Attraction”. He had a cool look and was powerful, but he was just Magneto’s servant. We got to see him in “The Age of Apocalypse”, again serving Magneto, and before the end of the ’90s learned that he was a mutant knight from the medieval era who had fought in the Crusades, alongside Dane Whitman (the Black Knight), and ended up battling Apocalypse in the past. After that, most of the 21st century just had him as a powerful lackey who was prone to following leaders with big, almost holy ambitions, an idea that would become the core of the character.
House of X #6 would see him join the Quiet Council, and we got to spend time with the character outside of him, listening to a higher-level villain and fighting the X-Men. We learned that he was an Omega-level mutant, which made sense, and realized he was more shrewd than he seemed. However, it wasn’t until Hope Summers came around, the former mutant messiah, that he really got good. Exodus was a religious man back in the Crusades, and his faith in others locked onto her. They became one of the most fun duos of the era, with Hope leading him around, before he took charge after the Hellfire Gala massacre. We got more of an understanding of him than ever; he was a man always looking for something to believe in, and Krakoa and Hope were the latest things to believe in. With the end of the Krakoa Era, he’s in a very interesting place.
Exodus decided to stay on Earth instead of following Hope and Krakoa into the White Hot Room. The character had quite a journey on Krakoa. He was given major power, became a follower, and then helped the person he followed find her destiny as a messiah. It was a great arc, and it leaves him in a place where he can be a higher-level character than he was before. Basically, Exodus is a religious man who knows that his Heaven and his God exist. He knows that mutants have a place where they can live forever. He’s a true believer who is actually, provably right, and that gives him the potential to become the kind of villain he used to follow.
Exodus always looked at mutants as the chosen people, and Krakoa proved that for him. Having the villain return and try to preach the ways of Krakoa, the ways of mutant supremacy and power, would be amazing. Imagine him going around, recruiting mutants who want to fight to recreate Krakoa on Earth, to get its attention and bring about a second coming. Imagine him twisting the idea of Krakoa into something terrible and violent, using that to create a new Brotherhood. He can easily jump into the old Magneto spot — a mutant leader who is right about his beliefs to an extent but goes about it in the most terrible way — and bring back the best kind of X-Men villain.
Exodus Can Be the Magneto and Give this Era of the X-Men Something Special
The post-Krakoa Era X-Men has a lot of problems, but the biggest one is a lack of focus. Mutants have just lost their homeland, and are at their weakest and most hated (again), but nothing really important seems to be happening. It all feels like it’s setting up for something, but nothing ever shows up. The books have often ignored the Krakoa Era, which ended a little over a year ago, as much as they can, and many fans have felt that’s a mistake. A solution to that could be a return of Exodus.
Exodus has finally become a multi-faceted, interesting character. People want to read about him for the first time, and he’s been left in the perfect place to become a major villain of the new era. He’s a true believer; the thing he believes in is real, and he has always shown he will kill for what he believes in. He has something to offer mutants, and he can create his own armies. Marvel has tried to vilify Krakoa, and using Exodus as an evil prophet of the vanquished mutant nation will succeed at that, give the books some direction, and finally make him into an A-list villain.
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