Krakin’ Krakoa #55: The X-Men Dawn of X Story So Far! (May 2020)

The Jonathan Hickman led era of Marvel’s X-Men began in July 2019, and continued through the end of March 2020 prior to all of comics – and in many ways, all of the world – being put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the return of X-Men comics imminent – Marauders #10 is scheduled for publication on May 27, 2020, followed by Excalibur and New Mutants #10 on June 10, 2020 – it’s a good time to look back on what’s happened in this new era of X-Men comics so far, and to refresh our memories on where the World of X stands heading into the hopefully glorious return of comics.

Today I’ll Answer:

• What’s the big picture in the X-Universe that you need to know heading back into X-Men comics?
• What’s the story so far in the ongoing comics?
• What are the biggest lingering threads in the Dawn of X?

Potential spoilers for ALL OF THE DAWN OF X may follow!

Related Reading Orders:

Hickman X-Men

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Modern X-Men

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THE BIG PICTURE

In the aftermath of House of X / Powers of X, Marvel’s mutants (nearly all of them!) now inhabit the independent, sovereign nation of Krakoa. While there have been plenty of threats to the nation including the infiltration and assassination of Professor X, and a full-scale Brood invasion, Krakoa and mutantkind still stand tall.

Behind the secret plotting of Charles Xavier, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggart, with a leadership council that includes Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler, Apocalypse & Mister Sinister among others, mutant pharmaceuticals have established global financial dominance, and mutant resurrection protocols have ensured at least the appearance of immortality for mutantkind. There are still many threats, but there’s also more reason to celebrate than mutants have seen in their lives.

Crucially, while mutants have had sanctuary before – they’ve even had islands before – they’ve never been quite so tentatively unified. Traditional “hero” and “villain” archetypes have largely fallen to the wayside on Krakoa, as frequently embodied by the central role Apocalypse plays in the nation’s government and course. The same can undoubtedly be said for Mister Sinister and Exodus.

Likewise, mutantkind is led from the shadows by the lifetimes of experience the artist formerly known as human ally Moira MacTaggert brings to the nation. In House of X #2 it’s revealed that Moira’s secret mutant ability is reincarnating across lifelines with all memories of previous lifelines in tact, giving her unprecedented tactical advantages preparing mutantkind for man-machine dangers that threaten to wipe them out. So yes, there are enough significant differences to Krakoa that it doesn’t feel exactly like a return to Genosha, Utopia, or Xanadu for the X-Men.

The Dawn of X Titles

Launch Titles

• X-Men
• New Mutants
• Marauders
• X-Force
• Excalibur
• Fallen Angels

Additions: ...