Marvel’s “Dawn of X” relaunch of the X-Men has mostly been an episodic trek through the new era of X-Men lore, as Marvel’s creative minds (and subsequently us fans) explore what the world is for mutantkind, now that they’ve established their own official homeland and culture on the island of Krakoa. However, the arrival of X-Men #6 starts to bring things back around to the dire portents of Jonathan Hickman’s “House of X” event series, by revealing more to the events of House of X than we ever knew, and which could soon spell the end of the X-Men’s Krakoa nation!
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Warning – X-Men #6 SPOILERS Follow!
X-Men #6 takes us back to the X-Men’s major conflict with Orchis, the human organization that formed out of various science and espionage organizations like SHIELD, A.I.M., and Hydra. During House of X, a squad of X-Men including Cyclops, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Jean Grey and Mystique all sacrificed their lives in order to shut down the “Mother Mold” sentinel A.I. and drop it into the sun, before it could give birth to the horrific future dystopia of the Nimrod sentinels. The group was resurrected using Krakoa’s resurrection protocols, and it seemed like Orchis had been stopped. At least it seemed that way.
In X-Men #6 we learn much more about how far Orchis’ anti-mutant efforts stretch, as we see Orchis bases across the galaxy: along Mercury’s orbit, on Venus, an entire “Sentinel City” and even repairs to “The Forge” base that was first constructing the Mother Mold. At the same time, we also learn that the X-Men’s mission to take out The Forge wasn’t their only plan to strike at Orchis – and it never was.
We get a series of flashbacks to moments in House of X, leading up to and during the Mother Mold mission. Specifically we revisit scenes of Prof. X and Magneto recruiting Mystique for an additional mission during the Mother Mold strike: planting a special Krakoa flower that creates a portal between Krakoa and the Orchis Forge. Mystique wasn’t just assigned with creating that crucial gateway – after being resurrected, Mystique is sent in to spy on Orchis and track their progress. During that deep-cover mission, Mystique makes a horrific discovery: The X-Men’s biggest nemesis in Orchis, Dr. Gregor, has changed the projected future by developing a Nimrod prototype of her own, years before the horrific sentinel was supposed to be created.
With Mystique having fulfilled her end of the deal, she comes to Xavier and Magneto looking for her payment: the resurrection of Irene Adler, aka Destiny. Of course, “House of X” revealed that Destiny is the biggest threat to the plans of Moira X, the mastermind behind Krakoa’s creation. In X-Men #6 it’s further revealed that Irene saw a prophecy years ago that revealed the coming of the Krakoa nation – as well as Xavier and Magneto betraying Mystique. The issue ends with the reveal that Destiny left clear instructions for Mystique about how to handle this coming future:
“…They want us blind for some reason. But you and I, my dear, were born to see… And when those days come, remember these words: BRING ME BACK. And if you cannot… if they will not…then burn that place to the ground.”
As Mystique sits sipping wine in her secret layer on Krakoa, we see a flaming alter containing Destiny’s mask, as Mystique seems to reach the resolve to bring the island down. “Dawn of X” may have reinvented the X-Men status quo, but that doesn’t mean it’s changed Mystique, one bit.
X-Men #6 is now on sale.
