How Many Extinction Events Against The Mutants?

[Doctor Know]

Everything from Decimation to AvX is effectively an extinction event, since "No More Mutants" is hanging in the air like the Sword of Damocles during all of them. Then, right after Stupid Wars we are back to "All Extinction, All The Time" due to the Xyklon B, er, Terrigen cloud killing all mutants it contacts to drive IvX.

Here's a thought experiment, maybe we should list EVERY X-event since the first go at extinction and see which list is shorter, extinction or everything else combined. My money is on the latter.

You know, I had considered making such an inverse list for a thread. But I figured we could all collectively laugh and fume at how one note the main vein of X-Books has become in recent decades.

This has been discussed before but I wouldnt consider DOFP nor Legacy Virus extinction events. DOFP was a potential future, not anything the then present day 616 mutants ever dealt with. If you are gonna count that then why stop there and not include every other alternate future story with similar themes?

DOFP is the original the "bad guys win" story. And something the X-Men needed to change. Plus, it's anecdotally amusing how a recurring cause of death in these extinction events ends up being "death by Sentinel".

@Bold We could list some alternate timelines and near miss futures. Keeping all that straight though would be a challenge.

Surprised no one mentions Sins of Sinister universe climax ..It is the greatest mutant extinction event by sheer numbers. Essex torched trillions of mutants in an attempt to become a dominion with survivors being 3 or 4 individuals tops!

I'm behind and haven't read Sins of Sinister. However that sounds like a hilarious self-own. Do I even dare read it at this point?

[Askani's Flame]

DOFP is the original the "bad guys win" story. And something the X-Men needed to change. Plus, it's anecdotally amusing how a recurring cause of death in these extinction events ends up being "death by Sentinel".

But Days of Future Past is not an extinction event. You're absolutely right that it is the OG what happens if bad guys win, but it's not happening to the mutants in real time. It's not event an event, it's a two-part story almost a fable. You could can argue that the X-Men had to prevent this so things didn't get worse, but that could be said about most plot lines. There was no present and clear means of eradication happening to them that they were fighting and running for their lives. Fall of the Mutants felt like the first real attempt to get that vibe, with M Day being the first extinction event to hit.

[Alan2099]

There's the time ever mutant on the planet lost their powers due to Sinister and the High Evolutionary.

[IN-a-Synch]

I guess no one remembers mutants being under 200 in total and Bastion had majority of them trapped in a bubble. Sending Nimrods through a time portal, 5 at a time endlessly?

[NewMutant]

How many technology stories is Iron Man going to tell?

How many political / patriot stories is Captain America going to tell?

[davetvs]

How many technology stories is Iron Man going to tell?

How many political / patriot stories is Captain America going to tell?

I don't think navigating extinction is necessarily an inherent theme in a story about a marginalized group's attempt at social integration and civil rights. Besides, isn't Iron Man's redundant storyline losing his money and/or his armors?

[Doctor Know]

You have to throw Second Coming in there

I guess no one remembers mutants being under 200 in total and Bastion had majority of them trapped in a bubble. Sending Nimrods through a time portal, 5 at a time endlessly?

Oh I do.
The Hope Summers Trilogy (Messiah Complex, Messiah War, Second Coming), with Kyle and Yost’s X-Force run. Certainly deserves to be included.

There's the time ever mutant on the planet lost their powers due to Sinister and the High Evolutionary.

When did this happen? Please share.

How many technology stories is Iron Man going to tell?

How many political / patriot stories is Captain America going to tell?

I don't think navigating extinction is necessarily an inherent theme in a story about a marginalized group's attempt at social integration and civil rights. Besides, isn't Iron Man's redundant storyline losing his money and/or his armors?

What davetvs said. That is an idea though. Instead the X-Men fighting for their species survival ever year. Why not fully integrate them into society, with the same cheers, adoration and idolization that the Inhumans got a few years ago. Where every random human with latent Inhuman DNA was happy to be unique.

In-universe, the premise has been stretched so thin as why humanity hates mutants. It’s laughable at this point. With how readily they embraced the Terrigen mists Inhumans. The only reason to keep hate up against the mutants is because the plot says so.


Another redundant Tony story is him making avoidable bad calls, and having to learn from it by an arcs end.

[Alan2099]

When did this happen? Please share.

It was right before Morrison took over somewhere around Uncanny 380 if I remember right.

[Havok83]

The only part of Fall of the Mutants which would count towards mutant extinction would be the New Mutants side of thing, with Cypher's death and the non-mutant villain.

X-Factor was fighting Apocalypse trying to take over the world. The X-Men were fighting a supernatural threat in the form of the Adversary trying to destroy the universe while aided by Roma and Merlin. And Freedom Force were secondary villains/reluctant allies.

All the X-men were literally killed in Fall of the Mutants and it set off their status quo where they had to go underground. This was also when Genosha was introduced as a nation and concept where mutants were being persecuted and killed. Not to mention the sentinel program was on the verge of being reactivated and they had to also deal with Nimrod, Master Mold, Reavers (which forced them to be displaced again). Yeah FoTM shouldn’t be underestimated in terms of what it did to the X-men and it’s status quo

Compare that to the major crossover events of the 90s like X-Cutioner's Song, Fatal Attraction, Age of Apocalypse, Onslaught, The Twelve, Eve of Destruction, etc. They all focused on mutant big bads like Stryfe, Apocalypse, Magneto, or Onslaught. The emphasis was not on mutants being hunted down to the point of extinction again and again until you decide you really don't care anymore because after extinction attempt #38, everyone's more or less still around.

but none of that stuff was space or fantasy storylines which was your original point. The X-men have rarely had major crossover events centered around those two elements so really I don’t see anything as having changed this century. X of Swords was major so already that’s more on that front than we got in the 90s

[IN-a-Synch]

It was right before Morrison took over somewhere around Uncanny 380 if I remember right.

Hmmm I am going to say X-men 99 or was it a tie in and was claremont writing both books?
I am too lazy to google it.

[Triniking1234]

It was right before Morrison took over somewhere around Uncanny 380 if I remember right.

Further back. It was before Claremont came back and Joseph was on the team.

Before Morrison came back, Cyclops just came back from getting fused with En Sabah Nur and Jean took the X-Men to Genosha to beat up Magneto.

[Havok83]

Further back. It was before Claremont came back and Joseph was on the team.

Before Morrison came back, Cyclops just came back from getting fused with En Sabah Nur and Jean took the X-Men to Genosha to beat up Magneto.

He was right in that it happened in UXM 380 and Xmen 99. Joseph wasnt on the team as he was dead by then

[whitecrown]

All the X-men were literally killed in Fall of the Mutants and it set off their status quo where they had to go underground. This was also when Genosha was introduced as a nation and concept where mutants were being persecuted and killed. Not to mention the sentinel program was on the verge of being reactivated and they had to also deal with Nimrod, Master Mold, Reavers (which forced them to be displaced again). Yeah FoTM shouldn’t be underestimated in terms of what it did to the X-men and it’s status quo

The topic is about mutant extinction, not X-Men extinction. Nothing in Fall of the Mutants is about targeting mutants specifically as a species. The Adversary was trying to reshape the universe in his image and is a supernatural threat. Mutants were not his target. The X-Men were involved because of Forge and his past connection to the Adversary but essentially this is a story where even the FF or the Avengers could have fought the Adversary and also sacrificed themselves. X-Factor fought Apocalypse who is all about mutant domination, specifically the strongest of the mutants. The only thing that can be even remotely argued to be mutant oppression is the ongoing subplot about the Mutant Registration Act but that had been going on even before FOTM.

Genosha was introduced after FOTM. That's like claiming that the Dark Phoenix Saga is about mutant extinction because DOFP takes place after it. The X-Men going underground still has nothing to do with mutant extinction as a whole which you seem to be confusing. Literally all those villains you listed are after FOTM. I don't know why you're conflating the entire Outback era with FOTM, which was only three issues in the pages of UXM if we're ignoring X-Factor and New Mutants.

[CaptainUniverse]

Haven’t we been here before? I was reading the Fall of X thread and someone made a comment of how many extinction/genocides the X-Men have gone through/Marvel has penned and produced. Figured we could count the ways and discuss them.

Off the top of my head there is:

Days of Future Past - Death By Sentinels.

Operation Zero Tolerance - More Sentinels, More Death.

Genosha destroyed in New X-Men - SENTINELS, man!

Fall of X - ORCHIS and Nimrod (a Sentinel from the Future) Har Dee Har.

No More Mutants/Decimation - By Scarlet Witch.

Legacy Virus - Recurring through the 90s titles.

M-Pox/Terrigen Cloud - Inhumans


I’m sure there a more. Please list yours and share your thoughts.

I don't know if this counts but didn't a rebuilt Genosha get destroyed by The Celestials in X-FACTOR FOREVER?

[whitecrown]

I don't know if this counts but didn't a rebuilt Genosha get destroyed by The Celestials in X-FACTOR FOREVER?

I don't think X-Factor Forever counts as canon, but yes, it gets destroyed there as well. Sinister was revealed to have been the mastermind of Genosha and all his mutant aberrations and experiments were connected. When the Celestials judge that mutantkind are indeed the next step of evolution, in the form of baby Christopher, they then proceed to destroy Genosha which was considered an affront to them, much to Apocalypse's delight.