Marvel Turns One of the X-Men Into Zombie Royalty

The events of the Avengers and Fantastic Four crossover Empyre are rippling across the Marvel […]

August 17, 2020, 9:40am

The events of the Avengers and Fantastic Four crossover Empyre are rippling across the Marvel Universe, and the X-Men aren’t immune. In the pages of Empyre: X-Men, the miniseries shows how Krakoa is defending against the invasion of the plant-based aliens called the Cotati. But things have escalated considerably, with the mutants fighting a war on two fronts against plants and zombies. Now one of the X-Men’s Great Captains has been compromised, and it likely means things are only going to get worse for Krakoa. SPOILERS follow for Empyre: X-Men #3 by Ed Brisson, Vita Ayala, Zeb Wells, Andrea Broccardo, and Nolan Woodward.

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The X-Men’s problems began when Scarlet Witch decided to atone for the sins she committed in House of M, when she spoke the words “no more mutants” and nearly wiped mutants out entirely. She travels to Genosha, the island that was once home to a mutant nation before Sentinels destroyed it and its population. Scarlet Witch attempts to resurrect the dead mutants that still litter the island. Things don’t go as she planned, and she creates an island nation of zombie mutants instead.

Genosha also happens to be where the Cotati land one of their invasion forces. Now the X-Men and the botanist-villains calling themselves Hordeculture are stuck in the middle of Plants vs. Zombies come to life.

In Empyre: X-Men #3, Magik decides she’s tired of beating back the hordes and wants to get to the root of the problem. She teleports around Genosha in search of the Cotati base. What she finds instead are the mystical artifacts that Scarlet Witch left behind after her botched ritual. The items call to Magik. She takes the staff made from the root of the World Tree. She then transforms into her demonic alter ego, Darkchylde, and declares herself the Zombie Queen of New Genosha.