Marvel Has Revealed The New 'Prof. X & Magneto' of the X-Men Universe

Marvel's X-Men reboot is underway, and this next era of X-Men is setting up a new Prof. X vs Magneto-style rivalry

By Kofi Outlaw

Marvel's X-Men reboot is well underway now, and this "From the Ashes" relaunch has set two key X-Men characters up to be the two new philosophical poles of the franchise. For years, those two key foundational roles were held by Professor Charles Xavier and Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, aka Magneto; now as the new X-Men and Uncanny X-Men books launch, it's clear that Cyclops and Rogue (respectively) will be taking up those mantles from their predecessors. 

X-Men #1 from Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman and Uncanny X-Men #1 from Gail Simone and David Marquez painted two very different pictures of how the X-Men are dealing with the end of their Krakoa nation, and being thrust back into the human world. Those two books sparked the debate about the new Xavier/Magneto dynamic that's being shaped – a creative spin that has been confirmed by editorial columns in the books. Two teams of X-Men are operating now, under two very different kinds of mandates about how to help mutantkind led by two powerful leaders each committed to his or her vision. Gone are the days of one unifying goal for all mutants: now the X-Men Universe is a game of competing agendas. 

That said, as fans online have been debating, moving Rogue and Cyclops into the sort of positions once held by Xavier and Magneto isn't a 1:1 lateral shift. Both Rogue and Cyclops have learned from both Xavier and Magneto and have allied with each of them several times over. So what kind of philosophical divide are we seeing take shape in the "From the Ashes" era? 

X-Men: Rogue & Cyclops' Different Views Explained

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(Photo: Marvel Comics)

X-Men has made it clear that Cyclops is taking an amalgamated approach to protecting mutantkind using both the Xavier and Magneto philosophies. Cyclops places mutant people and culture above their human counterparts. While he's still committed to Xavier's idea of peaceful co-existence, his X-Men team (Psylocke, Juggernaut, Magik, Kid Omega, and Temper) are top-power hitters that are deployed like a paramilitary strike force, designed to end threats and rescue imperiled mutants, without fear of conflict, should it become necessary.  

Meanwhile, Uncanny X-Men #1 was a deep-dive into the range of "heroism" the X-Men are called to – despite their status as hated and feared mutants – with Rogue ruminating on, and ultimately deciding that there needs to be an X-Men team who are public heroes – regardless of the prejudice and injustice they face. Rogue has embraced the idealism of Charles Xavier's dream, and has pledged to continue fighting for it – despite the darker, bleaker world we're living in. 

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So far, it seems that Rogue, Cyclops, and their fledging X-Men teams are in communication and loose collaboration with one another; however this is X-Men, where family drama rules supreme, and it seems like only a matter of time before the X-Men and Uncanny X-Men are in a situation that turns their differing views into an all-out schism – maybe even a mutant Civil War. 

You can read X-Men's entire line of "From the Ashes" books at Marvel. 

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