X-Men: Marvel’s Rise of the Powers of X Preview Ask if Professor X Will Kill a Child

Will Professor Charles Xavier go so far to protect mutantkind that he would kill a child? That’s the question that’s about to be answered in Marvel’s current X-Men story event “Fall of X” and the pivotal chapter of that story coming this week in Rise of the Powers of X #3. 

It’s no secret that “Fall of X” has been a somewhat convoluted ending to the X-Men’s Krakoa Era, unfolding across many X-Men and/or Marvel books (like Invincible Iron Man), with a story that’s taking place on Earth, Mars, strange nexus dimensions (the White Hot Room), as well as multiple timelines. It’s a lot to keep track of (not to mention the entire storyline of Krakoa) – but, there’s always been one destination in mind: back to the beginning. 

The House of X/Powers of X event that launched X-Men’s Krakoa era started with the premise that Dr. Moira MacTaggert was actually “Moira X,” an Omega-level mutant with an unbelievable ability: rebooting her own lifetime upon death, while retaining full memory of the lives she’s lived before. Moira spent nine lifetimes trying to either “cure” mutants of their abilities; battling against their human and machine enemies; helping Xavier or Magneto with their respective dreams for mutantkind – and finally, something radical: telling them both the truth of her lifetimes and bringing them together with her to build Krakoa. 

Well, Krakoa was decimated by its human and machine enemies, and Moira chose to become a cyborg rather than finally face death in her tenth and final life. As mutantkind fights for survival, Nathaniel Essex, the man who became Mister Sinister (and his three clone siblings) achieved the God-like state of Dominion. Xavier took a small team of remaining X-Men (and his secret ally Sinister) and sought to to discover a point in Moira’s lives where he could eliminate her and erase the entire Krakoa timeline from ever existing. 

The preview for Rise of the Powers of X #3 painfully teases us with the moment fans have been waiting for: Seeing whether or not Xavier will actually pull the trigger and kill Moira when she’s still just a young girl: 

Rise of the Powers of X # 3 Preview

THE REAL END IS NEVER BEGINNING! The past, present and future of Krakoa all rests in a trigger finger. The scenario you prayed would never happen plays out as two series that are one move toward a crash that will reverberate outside the universe…

Written by: Kieron Gillen
Art by: R. B. Silva, David Curiel
Cover by: R. B. Silva
Page Count: 28 Pages
Release Date: March 27, 2024