X-Men 16 *spoilers*

[Celestialbodies]

Isca is amazing, just all around loving the direction of the character.

[Purplevit]

Meh I am bored by Arrako and everything that happens with that. Fodders with numbers are just fodders really and Hickman seems to make a big deal out of it.

Can't take Arrako as a serious threat after how their best champions were defeated by drunk and powerless X-Men. The same will happen with Arrakos Omegas.

[gonnagiveittoya]

If only Arrako had development instead of X of Swords spending issue after issue on fetch quests

[Captain Nash]

If only Arrako had development instead of X of Swords spending issue after issue on fetch quests

It's funny because it's true.

[Grunty]

This sort of system still seems like it would be geared towards choosing the most well-known and famous mutants. In theory Fauna could be elected, but in practice very few people on Krakoa would have even heard of him. On the other hand people who were prominent Avengers at one point or another like Beast would get a ton of votes simply on name recognition.

It does sound like a popularity contest based on how famous/popular a mutant is among the people of Krakoa, how well they can manipulate the public opinion towards themself or how powerfull they are.

So the classic trappings of a unorganized direct election system, combined with an uninformed thrown together population.

Which actualy highlights a problem with the narrative presentation of the "Nation of Krakoa" since while there are thousands if not millions of mutants on the island, almost all of them are basicly just faceless masses with no real identity beyond being a large collective of mutants, that only serve to boost a big number and fill backround pannels.
With the mutants of Krakoa comming from so many different ethnic, cultural and national backrounds, they should still have a lot of visible seperations and splits based on these, but constructing and presenting so many different ones from scratch is understandably a difficult if not impossible task. So it seems all the writers so far mostly skipped it, in favor of just implying that everyone is on the same page, happy and better of.

This actualy creates an interesting dissonance regarding something like the Morlocks. Who by numbers alone are insignificant to the Nation of Krakoa and the narrative, but since they are one of the few well established and explored group of civilian mutants, they stick out a lot more and are a lot more prominent. So for the reader it's a lot easier to understand why they would pick certain X-men, than the with the remaining mutants.

Tinfoil hat theory. The election ultimately ends with the X-men being made entirely of Arraki champions because they know each other a lot more than the mutants of Krakoa, so they vote as organized large blocks. Which then results in the Arraki tarnishing the X-men name and Xavier going "Look democracy doesn't work. How about we just form a giant hive mind instead?" followed by a Dominion somewhere in deep space going "good good" rubbing it's metaphorical arms to dramatic music.

Also, if the new X-Men are supposed to be a combat unit, then an election may not produce a balanced team that works well together. There's a reason only the president is elected and not his entire cabinet.

It might make more sense for people to vote on team leaders, who then pick their teams, with the other leaders allowed to veto their choices until compromises are found. Essentialy having something akin to coalition talks.
But i guess that would be too close to what SWORD allready does.

Agreed. In the end Arrako is cannon fodder. Aggressive mutants that are battle hardened and ready for war is NOT something humans will tolerate. Just curious to see how they will do it. Arrako has a lot of mutants.

Meh I am bored by Arrako and everything that happens with that. Fodders with numbers are just fodders really and Hickman seems to make a big deal out of it.

I mentioned before, they seem to be perfect to get used as cannon fodder down the line to show someone as very powerfull and dangerous. Doesn't help that being disconnected from modern day earth and it's human societies and with an overly narrowly designed culture, they wouldn't be able to stand out as anything but another alien (in nature) villain group.

It would be different if they were the main characters of a seperated story/universe, but being essentialy new disconnected mutants from another world, they are basicly just Gene Nation and The Neo on a grander scale and we all know what happend to these groups.

[superjosh]

I do find the Arakko situation to be kind of a headache rather than interesting story. I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy this phase. X of Swords was a huge misstep. I wanted to see more about life on Krakoa, what the X-Men are now, ORCHIS, etc. This Arakko stuff should have ended with XoS.

As for the Quiet Council seats, I think Dani should fill Jean's spot and def Selene for Apocalypse's (there is no one else worthy).

[Glio]

Arakko is very interesting because it adds some Krakoa foil and a new problem for Krakoa: They have some incredibly warlike mutant neighbors that they have to deal with. They cannot allow them to attack humans but it is not like they can STOP THEM if they wanted to considering that they are more and more powerful.

Basically, Arakko is to Krakoa what Apocalypse was to the X-Men.

[Rang10]

Meh I am bored by Arrako and everything that happens with that. Fodders with numbers are just fodders really and Hickman seems to make a big deal out of it.

That is what Arrako is. They wasted a lot of XoS consequences

[Kitty&Piotr<3]

My thing with the "vs Arakko" thing is that we just had an event that was ostensibly about dealing with them. And yet we are apparently still in the same place as before the event, practically speaking. Not that everything should be lovely dovey and roses, but it seems like the land becoming one should be a done thing already. Feels like XoS didn't dedicate story time to what it was actually supposed to be about so they are going into that now.

As far as the X-Men team: I am expecting some quirky picks and at least one other Cyclops-related character. There will also be a team member who is there to be wrong when Cyclops is right. Wonder which unfortunate mutant gets that role.

[ExodusCloak]

We need ranked choice voting, that way we can vote for Z-listers at the top and D listers at the bottom

[H-E-D]

If only Arrako had development instead of X of Swords spending issue after issue on fetch quests

Well, now I think it's just for the very reason that the Arakkii are gonna be staying around that they didn't receive focus in XoS.

[Omega Alpha]

Cyclops is the leader. Of course the team will be elected, except the leader. So much democracy, such hipocrisy

First of all, he's the one that started the team and gave the idea. Second, who else would win the election if he was running? I don't think there's anyone in Krakoa that would even try.

Arakko is very interesting because it adds some Krakoa foil and a new problem for Krakoa: They have some incredibly warlike mutant neighbors that they have to deal with. They cannot allow them to attack humans but it is not like they can STOP THEM if they wanted to considering that they are more and more powerful.

Basically, Arakko is to Krakoa what Apocalypse was to the X-Men.

Pretty much.

[Godlike13]

This was cool. Arakko feels like a new chapter, and they fond a place for the X-men in the era. I dig it. In a universe defined by its super heroes, it makes sense for the Mutant nation to have theirs.

[nightw1ng]

I'm sad that it seems like members of the Quiet Council are not eligible to be on the X-Men. I'd like to see more of Nightcrawler, Exodus, and Mystique.

[Rang10]

First of all, he's the one that started the team and gave the idea. Second, who else would win the election if he was running? I don't think there's anyone in Krakoa that would even try.

He was choosen by the same quiet council that he now hates