X-Men #7 SPOILERS

[Tazpocalapse]

I am starting to be reminded of how he selected his Horsemen leading up to Fall of the Mutants. I wonder if a similar sort of grooming is going to be occurring here. Have to keep an eye on who goes through the crucible.

I'm wondering the same thing. Interesting stuff going on here.

[LordUltimus]

Maybe Kurt can still be a Christian, but I don't think he can be a Catholic anymore. Isn't that kind of a huge shift in character, even in his less religious days?

[LordUltimus]

She needs to be retconned into a mutant again, come to Krakoa like "Oh, did I hear someone talk about me?" and make those little kids **** their pants.

I'm still expecting a Krakoa civil war to erupt because of Wanda becoming a mutant again.

[nandes]

Iknowright? I don't have vitriol like others seem to generate, but I *do* wish Wanda had more of a terrifying image/silhouette. Full witch, no super.

That normal image was only because it was Exodus showing her. The kids on Krakoa probably draw her with devil horns, a big nose, seven limbs and multiple tongues.

[cranger]

I'm still expecting a Krakoa civil war to erupt because of Wanda becoming a mutant again.

There is a whole other group of characters who might want to become mutants again, those who lost the X-gene due to a bad case of Retcon.

[People Of The Earth]

Oh, boy.
[…]

Indeed!

This is a new day for Krakoa.
Both figuratively and litteraly.
The former because for the first time, the Kraked WILL be split over the direction their nation is taking, a novelty in a sea of rather monolothic opinions so far.
The latter because for the first time, a depowered mutant, Melody Guthrie, has hope to regain her mutant powers: she will face Crucible.
From the Guthrie family, we jump to the lunar base where the Summer clan reside in, only to see Cyclops' new day also begins.
Starting by having coffee and sharing banter with Logan.
I liked how peaceful and appreciative the both of them were from being there, alive, enjoying the simple things life can offer…
Family. Companionship. Contemplation.
Until they start discussing the Quiet Council call that is controversial enough to shake up Cyclops belief in their ability to do the right thing.
How can we infer that?
Scott says he and Logan never had issues deciding what was right or what was wrong and act upon it, when Logan told him they all had to abide by the Council's decision.
It shows at the very least that even he, one of Krakoa's staunchest supporter, isn't blind nor willing to endorse everything done in Krakoa.
Logan suggesting him to take it up to a priest is exactly what Cyclops ends-up doing.

Only to stumble upon a scene he wasn't supposed to see.
Warlock is on Krakoa.
At least a version of him.
And he's having secret meetings with both Cypher and Krakoa itself.
Now we Don't know what Krakoa says to Cypher before shutting off, but we know at the very least that neither the Island nor Warlock want other people around them at the moment, maybe even knowing about said secret meetings and Warlock's presence.
Both of them are gone in a flash, so fast that Cyclops actually questions if he even saw anything - and Cypher's bluntness screams "just move along" attitude already.
People who called out on Warlock playing a role on Krakoa back in HoX/PoX (that issue where Xavier asked Cypher to craft a way to dialogue with the island, can't remember the exact one) might turn out to be very right about this!
Kudos to them, they called it.

Could tie-in with Kurt's feeling that Something is amiss with the island of Krakoa.
That it provides everyone almost too accurately, too perfectly, things that even the people themselves didn't know they wanted, didn't know they needed in their heart of heart.
A feeling similar, to me, to the one people's experienced when looking at Tarkin and Leia in Rogue One IRL.
Uncanny valley.
Something being ajar, not quite right.
And Cyclops is prompt to dissuade Kurt from looking too hard into those little things, to look at the bigger picture instead. The bigger picture being the world and dealing with it, not the place that nurturs them and can call home.
I was surprised by him being so casually shrugging things off here, when he was hinting he had the capacity to challenge the Quiet Council if he ever felt they crossed a line...
And Hickman seemed to point this with Kurt's little jab about the one-eyed king proverb, except his take have the people - the Kraked - being blinded by their faith in Krakoa.

Which lead to Crucible.

It's the Reason why Scott sought out Kurt: he's struggling with it.
And why wouldn't he?
Hickman's version of the character is no different than before, he too has limits.
And the Killing of mutants is one of them.
We learn from Exodus and the children he's "educating" that Crucible is a ceremony where broken mutants - and that mainly consists of the Depowered mutants of M-day - are to die in order to be made whole again.
What's interesting here is how Exodus rewrite the Truth knowingly (Magneto is on that island, with all the mutants that were involved in the events of Children's Crusade and Axis, and they know the Truth about the Life Force, Wanda and M-day), and how much hate and contempt toward sapiens is spreading into Krakoa, willfully and down to the children themselves…
This, without a backward glance from Scott and Kurt as they pass them by.

Won't lie, this looked bad for morally upright characters...

Scott has doubts and Kurt is a lot more approachable than most of the Quiet Council members to quell them - and he too, is struggling with Crucible.
Indeed, the Council decided, to prevent what is basically logistical issues for the Five(!!!), and in response to querries they seemingly have been receiving, to allow the depowered mutants to go through the Resurrection protocols in order to gain back their powers.

But not by suicides (objected by Kurt, and looked as a tragedy by most).

It will be allowed through a trial by combat against Apocalypse.
To the death.

See, people Killing themselves are "surrendering" according to him.
And there is no tolerance for "surrenderers" on Krakoa it seems: only people ready to fight and die for their fellow mutants, and for their way of life are to be part of the Kraked.
Patriotic, isn't it?
Also, a terrible jab at the Depowered who are treated as cripples, sapiens in all the way that matters (!!!) and at those who kill themselves: they are not welcome on Krakoa.
Reducing what those individuals are, their Identity, to their powers and what they can do: if they Don't have powers, they aren't mutants - even though they factually are mutants, born with an X-gene…
If their will is not deemed strong enough, they are denied their gifts, by the very people who swear up and down that Krakoa is for ALL mutants…
The Precogs. And now the Depowered who Don't cut it.
Who's going to be denied next?
Oh how far away from Xavier's dream the Kraked are drifting…

Interestingly, there are Depowered mutants whose mutation also - or only - affected their physique, and retained said physique despite M-day.
Had Melody Guthrie been blue of skin instead of white for example, with scales on her head instead of hairs, would Apocalypse have dared deny her her identity as a mutant?
If tomorrow I developp breast cancer and lose my hair and breasts as a result of the treatments, am I suddenly not a woman anymore? How armful, how detestable is that?
That's absurd intellectually, and yet in the eyes of someone with Apocalypse's mindset, that would be the case.
And shockingly, in an assembly made of hundreds of mutants, no one raise an eyebrow at this, beyond Melody's own family…
Not really a surprise, given no one raised an eyebrow at Apocalypse's introduction about sapiens, and how jarringly hypocritical it was.

Either way, Melody plow through the ceremony and engage Apocalypse in combat, after swearing fealty to mutantkind.
And through it get the right to get her powers back and display them proudly.
All that Under the inspired eye of Kurt, Scott and every mutant in the vicinity.

Kurt, who has lived through some truly horrific events - relying on his faith as a christian to carry him on at times, to endure.
Who wondered how christian it was to participate, even indirectly, in the death of someone.
Raising the question on how did religious mutants cope with the wonders the island provide?
Even before his heroic sacrifice against Orchis, he had had to deal with questioning his own self.
Questioning how much was left of his humanity if he didn't have a soul.
What of it now?
Did he really resurrect before, last time being on Krakoa through the Five?
Or did the real Kurt Wagner die a long time ago, with the Following versions of himself being only fakes, impostors?

We had this discussion months ago, about the reality of the Resurrection Protocols on this forum, and as Always, it is nice to see Hickman pick-up on those threads and acknowledging them in his stories.
It is an interesting question to ask, and Hickman being the one to do it isn't all that surprising - he's the one who came up with the idea after all.
There are those that Believe the Resurrection Protocols bring the mutants back to life. Unaldulterated, perfected versions of them.
And those that Believe the Resurrection Protocols only create homunculus, fancy clones convinced to be the actually deceased originals.
Two school of thought on this forum, whom it seems Kurt is torn between in-universe…
Enough to cause a crisis in him, and spur him into creating a new mutant religion as Aero floats in the sky above him.
And Cyclops not leaning one way or another at all, once again shrugging the question off, not wanting to tear the veil of this paradise if it exists: just like with the island itself, he doesn't want to question this realization of his people.

What he's willing to explore however are the conséquences of what he calls "the wills": mutants wanting to go through the Resurrection Protocols, believing it will make them the best version of themselves.
Or even a better version of themselves.
A Pandora Box, really.
One that is ripe for abuses, as Cyclops illustrates: how long before people want to be reborn as a copy of someone they idolized?
Someone they've lost ?
Someone they envy the powers? And if it's multiple people, and not just "a" someone, what then?
Where lies the ethical line here?
And who decides what this best or better version is?
Because, make no mistake: we already know the RP Don't work that way, otherwise Cyclops wouldn't need to still use a visor to control his optic blasts.
This path would have to be engineered, guided much further than the one the Five have opened.
This path would clearly have all the marks of Sinister and his chimaera, splicing people with different X-genes… All that to what end?


4.5/5
This is peak Hickman.
Such a brilliant read: provoking, daring, frightening...

If it wasn't for the somewhat wooden faces and dubious choice of costumes from Leinil Yu, it would have been THE perfect issue.
Imagine Olivier Coipel working on this...

[Zelena]

I'm still expecting a Krakoa civil war to erupt because of Wanda becoming a mutant again.

Wanda, again a central figure in the mutant fate? Wouldn't it be a bit too much?

[zinderel]

You mean Apocalypse defining the Mutant race…

Apocalypse is a mutant, yes?

Apocalypse is one of the oldest living mutants, yes?

Apocalypse has lived through numerous...well, ‘apocalypses’...yes?

Apocalypse has seen, over 6,000+ years, the nature of mankind, and likely knows them better than anyone alive, yes?

Apocalypse is on a council that votes, yes?

Apocalypse is not the only voice that matters on that council, yes?

In summary, I meant what I said. Mutants are defining themselves. Apocalypse is the Crucible. He is the ‘scariest’ mutant alive to most mutants. Swallowing that inherent fear - and facing fear of death - makes them stronger. Mutants are defining themselves on their own terms, not on those of the oppressor.

You want to see the mutant race continue defining themselves by their relationship to their abusers and oppressors. I am loving that we finally get to see them no longer doing so.

Guess we’ll keep reading the same books and experiencing them in different ways. *shrug*

[PopCulturePooka]

So why can't the Mutants sleep?

Both this issue and X-Force today (haven't read Giant Size, X/F4 or New Mutants yet) mentioned characters having trouble sleeping. Colossus and Domino. Melody, Wolverine and possibly Scott.

All said they are having trouble sleeping on Krakoa.

[Journey]

So who's the Jesus of Kurt's new religion? Moira or Apocalypse?

[Glio]

Maybe Kurt can still be a Christian, but I don't think he can be a Catholic anymore. Isn't that kind of a huge shift in character, even in his less religious days?

We don't know what the Catholic Church thinks about Krakoa (probably bad but we don't know it) so as long as he's not excommunicated, he remains Catholic for now. If he founds his own religion, he will obviously cease to be a Catholic. The question is whether he will remain a Christian or not.

[Wiccan]

So who's the Jesus of Kurt's new religion? Moira or Apocalypse?

He doesn't even know Moira is a mutant.

[Veitha]

So who's the Jesus of Kurt's new religion? Moira or Apocalypse?

Hope, she's even resurrecting people.

[Veitha]

Apocalypse is a mutant, yes?

Apocalypse is one of the oldest living mutants, yes?

Apocalypse has lived through numerous...well, ‘apocalypses’...yes?

Apocalypse has seen, over 6,000+ years, the nature of mankind, and likely knows them better than anyone alive, yes?

Apocalypse is on a council that votes, yes?

Apocalypse is not the only voice that matters on that council, yes?

In summary, I meant what I said. Mutants are defining themselves. Apocalypse is the Crucible. He is the ‘scariest’ mutant alive to most mutants. Swallowing that inherent fear - and facing fear of death - makes them stronger. Mutants are defining themselves on their own terms, not on those of the oppressor.

You want to see the mutant race continue defining themselves by their relationship to their abusers and oppressors. I am loving that we finally get to see them no longer doing so.

Guess we’ll keep reading the same books and experiencing them in different ways. *shrug*

This post was pppurfect

[Journey]

We don't know what the Catholic Church thinks about Krakoa (probably bad but we don't know it) so as long as he's not excommunicated, he remains Catholic for now. If he founds his own religion, he will obviously cease to be a Catholic. The question is whether he will remain a Christian or not.

Kurt's faith is such an important part of his character I don't think even Hickman could change it without getting some major backlash.