WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Excalibur #1 by Tini Howard and Marcus To, on sale now.
"The children that come from tonight's unions will be the most powerful generation of mutants the world has ever seen." And with these words, the old Apocalypse returns to the brand-new pages of Excalibur #1. Apocalypse, or simply the Krakoan letter for "A," as he now prefers to be called, looks on in delight as his fellow mutants celebrate the birth of their first sovereign nation. But it is not the birth of the world's first mutant nation that has A all hot and bothered in Exaclibur #1. It's the prospect of all of the mutant offspring that will surely result from this first night's Dionysian celebrations.
Apocalypse's obsession with mutant mating is not so new. During the Age of X events, A was invested in a certain kind of free love ethos amongst mutants. Apocalypse figured the most important way to rebel against Nate Grey's loveless Age of X utopia was to champion romance and familial happiness.
Producing more and more mutants is not an unintended consequence of Apocalypse's affinity for mutants cohabitating. A has always been a proponent for situations that are conducive to expanding the mutant population and enhancing their capacity for existence and dominance. These ideas are no longer so far removed from Xavier's vision itself.
The Dawn of X event is unfolding because of the convergence of ideologies amongst the world's most powerful mutants: Apocalypse, Magneto, Moira and Professor Xavier. Moira's mutant ability to reincarnate herself essentially allowed her to explore all of the timelines wherein mutants become extinct. Dawn of X is the one chance that mutant populations might survive in perpetuity. But all of this, Dawn of X is only possible because ideas that seemed more radical in previous iterations of the X-Men worlds are now more palatable. The meek will not inherit this earth, so the mutant populous is now prepared to make itself fit for survival. In this sense, the Dawn of X is more A then X.
Apocalypse's interest in the mutant revelry he sees unfolding in Excalibur #1 is not as simple as whatever voyeuristic pleasure he gets from the moment. He has lived longer than almost any other mutant -- except for Moira, maybe. And his semi-immortal existence has afforded him the kind of Darwinian perspective that Xavier has only recently come to through the eyes and the lives of Moira McTaggert.
According to the logic of mutation and the events that unfolded during the Powers of X and House of X miniseries there are various ways that mutant genetics can combine and interface to create super-powered mutants. Apocalypse seems to have his eye on all of the genetic possibilities as much as on the partying itself.
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The future for mutants is not certain. Each and every future that has been revealed to readers is post-apocalyptic. The only way that mutants will survive is by adopting some of the tenets of some of the X-Men's most powerful foes and you can count Apocalypse as one of these. And, keep in mind that his ideas about the future of mutants may not be in total alignment with Prof X and company.
From A's perspective, it is the X-Men and Professor X who have finally come around to his way of seeing the world. They have finally come to understand that humans will relentlessly persecute mutants and eventually the alliance between humans and machines will eradicate mutant kind. Apocalypse has known this since -- well, since the beginning of time, almost. Seeing him look upon the Krakoan celebrations, it makes sense that he would take a moment to witness the consummation of his greatest plans for mutant kind.