The X-Men are firmly a part of the Marvel Universe, and they will remain that way after the events of "Secret Wars."

That's the message delivered today by Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso in his weekly CBR column Axel-in-Charge. The clarification came after comments from last week's installment quickly sowed doubts in the minds of many fans as to whether the mutant population would remain connected to the main Marvel Universe after the reality-altering summer event.

"The X-Men office is taking the opportunity of 'Secret Wars' to build an entire new world for the characters -- to create a shared universe within the X-books that's set off by a huge event/incident/surprise," Alonso said originally, adding, "At that point, they're going to introduce a new team that feels unlike anything you've seen before. It'll be... 'extraordinary.'"

That statement led many to believe that Marvel publishing would separate the X-Books out from the world of the Avengers and Spider-Man much in the same way that the two sets of characters remain on opposite ends of the film industry.

Apparently, the worries reach Alonso in between interviews since in this week's A-i-C he quickly noted, "I tried to address that in one of my rare tweets responding to fans" with a laugh.

"No, we're not segregating the X-Men into their own universe," he added. "The X-Men are an integral part of the Marvel Universe. They play a big role in 'Secret Wars,' and those mutants that survive the event will be crucial building blocks for the Marvel Universe moving forward."

With such a rare definitive statement about the future of anything following a story like "Secret Wars," it should be clear where the X-Men will land. Though Alonso joked, "I'll bet I just said something that's going to fuel the conspiracy theorists, but whatever... I wasn't trying to tease anything or create ambiguity or lead anyone astray. Not on that topic, at least!"

Read this week's full interview now on CBR, and check back every Friday for a new Axel-in-Charge.