Jonathan Hickman has thrown the X-Men for a loop in the best possible way. For years now, mutants have been on the verge of extinction, but Hickman has changed all of that.
House Of X and Powers Of X have been revolutionary books for Marvel's merry mutants, taking them from a hated and feared minority with no power to a hated and feared minority with power on the global stage and unity that mutantkind has never seen before. This list is going to break down the biggest revelations from both series. Consider this a SPOILER ALERT, then read on.
10 House Of X: The Krakoan Drugs
Professor Xavier has always been wealthy, but it takes more than personal wealth to gain the kind of power he set out to grab for mutants. This is where the island of Krakoa came into play. First, Xavier bought the seventh biggest pharmaceutical company, then he began producing drugs based on the Flowers of Krakoa.
The three drugs for humans extended the human lifespan, cured diseases of the mind, and was a powerful adaptive antibiotic. Selling these drugs allowed mutants to gain world power and get a hearing at the UN.
9 Powers Of X: Doug Ramsey Is The Key To The Whole Thing
Before Xavier could work with Krakoa, he had to be able to communicate with the living island and this is where one of the most underrated mutants of them all came into play- Doug Ramsey. Doug's mutant power is the ability to translate any language and decode any code.
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Doug was able to decode Krakoa's language and put Xavier in contact with the island in a way he's never been before. This contact made everything else possible and without it, mutants wouldn't have the power they have.
8 House Of X: The Three Laws Of Mutantkind
House Of X #6 introduces the Quiet Council, the ruling body of Krakoa. Composed of both X-Men stalwarts- Xavier, Magneto, Marvel Girl, Storm, Emma Frost, and Nightcrawler - and those who have been antagonistic towards the team- Apocalypse, Sebastian Shaw, Mister Sinister, Exodus, and Mystique-, it is up to them to guide mutantkind in their new role as a world power.
One of their first acts of business is to establish laws for Krakoa and its mutant population. They keep it as simple as possible and choose just three- make more mutants, harm no humans, and respect the island of Krakoa.
7 Powers Of X: A Posthuman Future
Powers Of X takes place in four different times- the past, present, a hundred years in the future, and a thousand years in the future. One of the big themes of the series is the way humans, their technology, and mutants interact. Mutants naturally evolve, so humans have to use technology to catch up.
In the far future timeline, it seems like mutants have inherited the Earth, but Hickman throws a curveball at readers in Powers Of X #6 by revealing the opposite- humans have used technology to become an entirely new posthuman race, Homo Novissima, and supplanted mutants entirely.
6 House Of X: The Dream Is Dead
House Of X #6 opens up a month before the events of the series takes place and shows Magneto, Xavier, and Moira MacTaggert (more on her later) having a conversation before Xavier dons a new version of Cerebro. Using this new souped version of the device, Xavier taps into the minds of every human on Earth and gives them a message about what's happening on Krakoa and how it's going to change the world.
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In this message, he makes what can be construed as a heartbreaking revelation for long-time fans of the franchise- his dream is dead. Xavier has abandoned the hope that humans and mutants can ever live together in harmony. This simple declaration changes everything for the X-Men, mutantkind, and the world.
5 Powers Of X: A Sinister Ally
In Powers Of X #4, it's revealed that at some point in the past, Xavier and Magneto visited Mister Sinister's island and asked him for a simple favor. On the island, they found multiple copies of Nathaniel Essex, none of them very much in a mood to help the two mutants- except one, a mutant version of the man that the mad geneticist had made of himself.
The mutant version of Sinister kills the current leading version and Xavier and Magneto make their proposition to him- to create a database of mutant DNA. Sinister agrees, but Xavier wipes his mind of the event, allowing him to think he came up with the idea for the database whole also planting a compulsion that will make Sinister remember that day when Xavier needs him to.
4 House Of X: The Ultimate Power
In House Of X #4, a team of mutants- Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Archangel, M, Husk, and Mystique- is dispatched to take out a Mother Mold that a group of humans called the Orchis Initiative is building. This group's sole aim to protect humanity from the mutant threat and the team, though successful, is killed.
In issue 5, though, they are resurrected by a group of mutants called the Five- Hope Summers, Goldballs, Elixir, Proteus, and Tempus. Each uses their powers, combined with DNA from Sinister's database and copies of their minds taken by Xavier using Cerebro, to bring them back, giving mutantkind what is functionally immortality.
3 Powers Of Nimrod
The Nimrod Sentinels have always been one of the most dangerous of humanity's weapons against mutants. Smart, adaptable, and extremely powerful, they are the tip of the spear for humanity, the robot that's existence sends chills down even the most stalwart mutant spines.
Powers Of X #3 takes place exclusively in the hundred years in the future timeline, highlighting the struggle of some of the last mutants on Earth as they battle against the Sentinels one final time to get a piece of information- the origin of the Nimrod unit. It's revealed that without the Nimrod unit, the Sentinel threat will be dramatically lessened. They get the information at great cost and use a rather unorthodox method to get that info to the past...
2 House Of X: The Many Live Of Moira X
Moira MacTaggert is a long-time ally of the X-Men. A geneticist specializing in mutation, it was always thought that she was a human working with Xavier to help mutants. Hickman turned that idea on its ear in House Of X #2 by revealing that Moira has been a mutant all along and her power is one that is unprecedented in mutantkind- every time she dies after her mutant is activated, the timeline resets to her birth for her.
This ability has allowed Moira to live ten different lives, some as a hero working with Xavier to promote human/mutant relations and others with people like Magneto and Apocalypse, where she works to ensure the survival of mutants no matter what. In her tenth life, the current timeline, she has manipulated events to lead to where they are now and it's because of one thing she's learned in all her lives...
1 Powers Of X: The Futility Of Evolution
Powers Of X #6 reveals the main lesson that Moira has learned throughout her reincarnations- that mutants always lose. In each of her lives, she has watched mutantkind be brought down by humanity and their machines. It doesn't matter how hard they try, whether she works with the X-Men to make them better heroes or with the villains to strike against humanity before it's too late for mutants, it's a simple fact- mutants always lose.
She reveals this information to Xavier before he ever forms the X-Men and together, with the eventual help of Magneto, the three of them work together to change the way things have always went. Moira's motives may not be completely on the up and up, as journal entries in the issue reveal how she's pragmatically manipulating both Xavier and Magneto to make sure none of the terrible timelines she's witnessed come to pass.