Jonathan Hickman’s Original X-Men Plans Had a Surprising Timeline

Marvel writer Jonathan Hickman gave the X-Men franchise its boldest reboot ever in 2019, with the dual limited series “House of X” (HOX) and “Powers of X” (POX). Those series worked in tandem to re-invent the entire history, (potential) futures, and modern-day status of the X-Men all at once. Now the stories that Hickman set in motion are about to culminate in the story event “Fall of X,” and Marvel’s X-Men line was at Comic-Con 2023 to tease fans with new details about what’s coming – as well as reflecting on how we got here. 

One interesting detail that came out during the “Designing the X-Men” panel at SDCC 2023 was Marvel editor C.B. Cebulski revealing that Hickman originally had a six-year storyline for the “Krakoa Era” of the X-Men, which was established in HOX/POX. One of the biggest debates in X-Men fandom for the last few years has been how much of a vision Hickman had for the franchise, before stepping back from the X-Men line in the Summer of 2021. 

At the time of his departure, Hickman made it clear that had been a significant shift in his plans for the X-Men Universe in the Krakoa Era, which was originally supposed to evolve a lot more rapidly over three years: 

“Oh, plans have changed entirely,” Hickman told EW. “When I pitched the X-Men story I wanted to do, I pitched a very big, very broad, three-act, three-event narrative, the first of which was House of X. And while this loosely worked as a three-year plan, I told Marvel upfront that I honestly had no idea how long the first part would last because there were a lot of interesting ideas that I had seeded that other creators would want to play with, and so, we left this rather open-ended. I was also pretty clear with all the writers that came into the office what the initial, three-act plan was so no one would be surprised when it was time for the line to pivot.”

Those plans changed when House of X and Powers of X established a new mythos that was rife with creative potential. The X-Men created an entire nation of good and evil mutants on the living island of Krakoa; mutants learned to use their powers in combination to achieve god-like feats like unlimited resurrection from death; the retconned history of Krakoa revealed a twin island, Arrako, and an entire ancient race of powerful mutants led by Apocalypse and wife, Genesis; the multiple lifetimes of Moira Mactaggert revealed a whole new set of dark future timelines mutants could end up in while creating a new overarching conflict for the X-Men: assuring mutantkind survives the inevitable man/mutant/machine war that’s destined to come. 

That breakdown just scratches the surface of what Hickman introduced; the “Dawn of X” line of comics that followed HOX/POX quickly revealed that Marvel Comics creators had so many ideas and details of this new world (and its possible timelines) to play with. Hickman recognized it as well, and instead of fighting against it, he decided to alter his own timetable for the story, and let them cook: 

“I also knew that I was cooking with dynamite, and it was very possible that what I had written in House of X… was not actually the first act of a three-act story, but something that resonated more deeply and worked more like Giant-Size X-Men, where it would represent a paradigm shift in the entire X-Men line for a prolonged period of time. So, during the pandemic, when the time came for me to start pointing things toward writing the second-act event, I asked everyone if they were ready for me to do that, and to a man, everyone wanted to stay in the first act. It was really interesting because I appreciated that House of X resonated with them to the extent that they didn’t want it to end, but the reality was that I knew I would be leaving the line early.”

A lot of fans have argued that the storyline of HOX/POX has gotten a lot more murky and convoluted since Hickman handed over the reins, but that hit-or-miss exploration of ideas has indeed spawned some pretty significant high points; helped distinguish some pretty talented creative minds (Benjamin Percy, Gerry Duggan, Al Ewing, Kieron Gillen); created some of the biggest breakout books in years (X-Men Red, Immortal X-Men), and taken us through some of the wildest events in the franchise (X of Swords, Hellfire Gala, Sins of Sinister) in years. It’ll be interesting to see where “Fall of X” leaves things, as the X-Men franchise prepares for its Marvel Cinematic Universe adaptation. 

X-Men comics are available from Marvel Comics. 

Via: CBR