Marvel Teases the Death of Professor X

It seems Charles Xavier is set to die...again. Today, Marvel Comics released a new teaser for the culmination of the House of X and Powers of X miniseries. The teaser reveals a monument dedicated to the memory of Professor X built into a temple.

The inscription behind the statue of Xavier reads: "In this temple, as in the hearts of the people for whom he saved mutantkind, the memory of Charles Xavier is enshrined forever." It sounds as if Xavier may have died saving the mutant race. The circumstance of that dire need and Xavier's apparent sacrifice remain a mystery.

Marvel also revealed the covers to House of X #4 and #5 and Powers of X #4 and #5. The covers fifth issue of each series teases the return of some of the X-Men's most notorious and deadly villains.

House of X and Powers of X mark the beginning of Jonathan Hickman's X-Men run, which Marvel as marketed as a new era and the next "seminal moment" in X-Men history, following in the footsteps of Giant-Size X-Men #1, X-Men #1, the Age of Apocalypse event, and New X-Men. Marvel has even teased that a single page from the run is the most important scene in X-Men history. Little is known about the plot of the miniseries, but Hickman did share some details during an interview with ComicBook.com.

"One, House of X, is a story about a pivotal month in the history of the X-Men where everything changes for mutants on Earth," Hickman said. "And the other, Powers of X, is a story about the history of mutants in the Marvel Universe. It works as a series of reveals and revelations where each issue of HOX that follows POX -- and vice versa -- makes you reinterpret the issue you had previously read. And then, obviously, at the end they crash together in a way that propels us forward into a new X-Universe."

Hickman also hinted at longterm plans for the X-Men line, including a complete relaunch followed by additional waves of new titles. "At the conclusion of our 12 weeks of HOX and POX, we'll be launching an entire new universe of X-books," he teased. "Some will be traditional fare, some carry through on ideas presented in HOX and POX. Some books are completely new concepts. I, personally, will be writing the ongoing flagship X-book.

"Now, we're already in production on all of these 'Wave 1' books and our plan at this moment is to introduce the titles, creative teams, and publishing details around SDCC, which is a week before HOX #1 goes on sale. We also just finished our plans for our 'Wave 2' books that will debut in 2020 and we're getting ready to hire talent for those. It's pretty exciting, and this kind of long-term planning is one of the benefits of knowing what direction you're headed for the next few years."

What do you think of Marvel teasing the death of Professor X? Let us know in the comments. House of X and Powers of X begin in July.