Marvel’s Judgment Day Makes a Major Change to the X-Men’s Resurrection Protocols

Things are looking pretty grim in A.X.E.: Judgment Day. The Marvel event began with a war between the X-Men and Eternals, with the Avengers caught in the middle playing peacemaker. However, all three factions are now working together to stop the Progenitor Celestial from ending all life on the planet. We’ve seen the surprising return of Starfox – an Eternal, former Avenger, and brother to Thanos – and everyone on Earth judged individually, but Progenitor has given the planet a big thumbs down. The newest shocking event to take place in Judgment Day has to do with the X-Men and their ace in the hole: resurrection.

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for A.X.E.: Judgment Day #5. Continue reading at your own risk!

A.X.E.: Judgment Day #5 comes from the creative team of Kieron Gillen, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia, and VC’s Clayton Cowles. The majority of the issue finds characters like Captain America and Nightcrawler reacting to the Progenitor’s “thumbs down” vote. There’s also a lot of bloodshed and loss of life, with Captain America, Nightcrawler, and many more heroes being struck down by the Celestial. Before Captain America is killed, he gives an inspiring speech that can be telepathically heard around the world, thanks to Jean Grey. Of course, any X-Men that are killed can easily be brought back to life using the mutant resurrection protocols – five mutants who can use their powers together as a circuit to resurrect their own. 

So far, the resurrection machine has only worked for mutants. A big deal was made earlier in Judgment Day when the rest of the world learned how mutants were cheating death and wanted the X-Men to help them bring their loved ones back to life. At the time, the X-Men said it only worked on other mutants. However, Judgment Day #5 concludes with the X-Men and The Five resurrecting the recently-deceased Captain America. 

The final page of Judgment Day #5 shows Captain America and his red-white-and-blue shield emerging from a mutant egg. Moments earlier, Exodus is arguing with Nightcrawler over how bringing back to life a non-mutant breaks all the rules of Krakoa. He’d rather see the X-Men’s own leader, Cyclops, pushed to the front of the line over an Avenger. Nightcrawler counters that they aren’t breaking any Krakoan rules. “No, it’s against our custom,” Nightcrawler argues. “And customs are just habits that are way too big for their boots.”

While Cyclops is a great leader, he’s not who Earth needs at this very moment in time. Captain America can inspire an entire world, and that’s what will be needed to defeat the Celestial once and for all.

Captain America’s revival has some major ramifications for not only the X-Men, but also the larger Marvel Universe. Were the X-Men lying when they said their resurrection protocols only works on mutants? Does Captain America secretly have the mutant gene, allowing him to be resurrected? It’s most likely the former since Thor will also need to be brought back to life after he dealt a thunderous hammer blow to the Progenitor. And if the X-Men can revive anyone, mutant or not, then it puts an even bigger target on their backs.

What do you think Captain America’s resurrection means for the X-Men and Marvel Universe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments, along with your opinions on A.X.E.: Judgment Day.