10 Biggest House of X and Powers of X Questions, Now That Marvel’s X-Men Relaunch Is Halfway Done

Marvel’s “Dawn of X” miniseries has been breaking down in reinventing the X-Men mythos in bold new ways. The two titles in the miniseries (House of X and Powers of X) have offered a mix of deep character drama and heady sci-fi concepts – and also a hearty bit of mystery and misdirection.

At the time of writing this, “Dawn of X” is officially halfway done (House of X 1-4 and Powers of X 1-3 are all out). In telling the first half of this epic story, writer Jonathan Hickman has opened the door to many looming questions that need to be answered and/or resolved in the back half. Scroll below for the 10 Biggest Questions About House of X and Powers of X at the halfway point. Some might be mysteries you didn’t even remember were still hanging around!

What was Moira’s 6th life?

House of X #2’s story “The Uncanny Life of Moira X” is an instant milestone in the X-Men mythos, and one of the better sci-fi stories we’ve read in awhile. However, while the issue is all about dropping a major reveal, it also pulls quite a bit of effective sleight-of-hand, as well. 

For everything we learn about “Moira X” in the story, we still know nothing about what happened during the sixth lifetime she lived (out of ten). It’s the only timeline of Moira’s life completely omitted from Hickman’s chart, and has (seemingly) never been referenced in the story. So clearly, when we do learn about Moira’s 6th life, it’s going to be a big deal. 

Where is Moira in the House of X Timeline?

“House of X” isn’t just the book’s name: it refers to the new mutant nation Charles Xavier and Magneto establish in Moira’s 10th lifetime. However, after learning about the dark future war of Moira’s 9th life, Moira has been conspicuously absent in the present day era of House of X. We know she “woke up” both Charles and Magneto in her 10th lifetime, leading to House of X, but Hickman’s lifetimes chart only says that Xavier and Magneto split from Moira before establishing the Krakoa habitat – and that Moira’s previously “official” death in 2000s X-Men comics was a hoax. 

Where Moira is during the events of “House of X” is probably going to be one of the most pivotal reveals of the story. 

What is the “Krakoan Tumor” No-Place?

This is a Hickman story, so even the data charts are often crucial to the mysteries and reveals. This chart from House of X #1 shows the types of flowers that Krakoa produces for mutants to use. That “No-Place” flower is described as “non-naturally occurring” and “produces a habitat that exists outside the collective consciousness of Krakoa.” If that wasn’t ominous enough foreshadow, there’s the next bit: “A place within the island ecosystem that Krakoa doesn’t know exists.” 

So evidently there’s a place in Krakoa that we’ve never seen (or realize that we’ve seen) – and that most of the X-Men don’t know even exists. So what is this “Krakoan tumor” and what is it’s purpose? That answer could be directly related to another question…

What Are The Pod People?

The very first scene of House of X sees Prof. X enter a creepy room that looks like a bio-organic nest, with mysterious larva-like pods embedded everywhere. The pods hatch and we see people emerging from them that look like the X-Men! 

Who are the Pod people? And what is this nest that Xavier has? Is it the “No-Place” on Krakoa? After the horrific deaths of major X-Men characters in Hosue of X #4, this reveal could be a game-changer! 

Who Were the First Horsemen?

The story of Moira’s 9th life was very interesting, detailing how Moira joined with Apocalypse and lived through an extended lifetime of war against Nimrod’s Man-Machine Supremacy cult. The backstory of Moira and Apocalypse forming the X-Men saw them slay both Xavier and Magneto before leaving Earth for an all-important mission: saving Apocalypse’s First Horsemen. 

 The Horsemen only make cameos in House of X #2’s flashbacks, but Moira and Apocalypse’s rescue of them is significant enough to note in the lifetimes chart. With Marvel previews hinting that Apocalypse’s role in “Dawn of X” (and beyond) isn’t done, we have to wonder if there’s going to be more to the story of these First Horsemen characters. 

Where is Sinister?

Mr. Sinister’s fingerprints have been all over the events of “Dawn of X”. From the backstory of Sinister’s Mars mutant breeding pits in Moira’s 9th life, to theories that Sinister is secretly pulling string in Krakoa, the villain is the sole major X-Men villain to be included in the story, but never seen. 

However, cover art for Powers of X #5 (seen above) may both reveal Mr. Sinister’s full debut in the story, and SPOIL a major twist that answers several other questions on this list. You can see the full cover HERE if you want to know. 

Who is The Librarian?

Powers of X introduced a future that exists 1,000 years after “House of X,” in which humans  (and all their wars with mutants) are done and gone, and a technologically superior world exists. We meet a blue-skinned being called “The Librarian” who is in the “Mutant Library” of Nimrod the Greater, trying to recover the mutants that Nimrod catalogued and stored there. Later, the Librarian and its Nimrod drone welcome the Phalanx to assimilate the Earth, as part of what The Librarian refers to as “The Ascension.” 

So who is The Librarian? Theories say this could be a form Moira takes in the future, while the marking on the Librarian’s face matches Prox. X’s psychic signature inside his Cerebro helmet (see: House of X #4). Whatever the case may be, The Librarian seems to be the key to the new beginning that the X-Men will get when “Dawn of X” is done. 

What’s the Purpose of Ascension?

Powers of X brought the Phalanx back in the distant future of The Librarian. Scenes and charts combine to tell the story of how The Librarian and the other tech-advanced beings of that future Earth created an A.I. planetary body called a “Worldmind” to attract the Phalanx back to Earth. The purpose was for the future Earthlings to show their technological capability, so that the Phalanx would assimilate the Earth and add it to the Phalanx collective intelligence, in a process known as “Ascension.” 

So why do The Librarian and the other Future people want to be assimilated by the Phalanx?The Librarian’s true identity could be the keystone to this other answer – but whatever the case, “Ascension” and its consequences seem like they’re the resolution Hickman is building to with “Dawn of X.” 

What is the Librarian Timeline?

The technologically-superior world The Librarian inhabits is denoted as “X2: The X-Men. Your One Thousand,” but after some initial misleading suggestions, it’s revealed that “Year One Thousand” isn’t simply a further extension of Moira’s 9th life, after the Man-Machine-Mutant War, as we implied. 

So which timeline is “Year One Thousand” taking place in? That answer is likely the next big turn in Powers of X‘s story. The answer will likely frame Hickman’s endgame for the story, is the circular nature of Moira and the X-Men’s lives presumably gets resolved by the revelations of the Librarian’s Ascension. 

What’s Up With Prof. X?

The very first mystery of “Dawn of X” is still the biggest and most pressing one: what’s up with Charles Xavier?

Under Hickman, Charles Xavier has been transformed into a very different kind of leader for the X-Men. He’s permanently wearing Cerebro; growing pod-people; raised a mutant nation (Krakoa) and coerced amnesty form humanity; sacrificed his student’s lives to secure mutantkind’s future; not to mention working with the likes of Magneto, Mystique, Sabertooth (possibly Sinister), and generally acting like a mad scientist or mastermind villain. Whether this is simply who Charles is after seeing the revelations of Moira’s 9 lives, or some kind of impostor, House of X had been laying the foundation for this reveal since (literally) the very first page. 

House of X 1-4 and Powers of X 1-3 are already out; Powers of X #4 hit’s shelves this week.