One of the greatest creations to come out of Marvel is the mutants. As most fans of the publisher know, mutants are basically just humans who've been born with different superpowered abilities. Because of this, they are hated and feared by many humans on Earth. This dynamic has led to some incredible stories, such as God Loves, Man Kills, and Days of Future Past.
In 2019, writer Jonathan Hickman had a new idea for Marvel's mutants. With House of X and Powers of X, it was established that all mutants of Earth would live on the island of Krakoa, while also strong-arming the rest of the world into respecting their presence. This opened up tremendous opportunities for storytelling, many of which have been taken advantage of by Hickman in his now-concluded X-Men series. With his excellent world-building, long-term storytelling, and top-notch dialogue, this series provided fans with plenty of entertainment throughout its best issues.
10 Issue #2 Was The Start Of The Arakki Storyline
The entire Dawn of X era led into the crossover, X of Swords. This story had to do with otherworldly enemies from the land of Amenth trying to cross through Otherworld in order to conquer Krakoa and Earth. The seeds of this story were first planted in the second issue of Hickman's X-Men.
The issue follows Cyclops, young Cable, and Prestige as they investigate a new island that their island of Krakoa is headed for. They find the Summoner, an important character going forward, and fight against strange creatures that they've never seen before. The issue is lots of fun and intrigued many fans about what was to come next for the mutants.
9 The First Issue Continued The Bold New Era Established In House of X and Powers of X
House of X and Powers of X marked the beginning of something new for the many mutants of Marvel. They were finally flexing their superpowered muscles in order to establish their place in the world. Issue #1 of X-Men is full of unique ideas and moments that show just what this means for the world now.
Heroes and villains, such as Cyclops and Magneto now work alongside each other with only the best intentions for mutantdom on their minds. It truly is a wonder to see this new experience being crafted within this issue, not to mention the beautiful artwork by Leinil Francis Yu.
8 Issue #15 Discusses What It Means To Be A Hero
The culmination of the entire tournament in Otherworld takes place in this issue. Apocalypse and his wife, Genesis, begin their duel, with each side fighting for their respective world. Elsewhere, the Quiet Council, the governing body of Krakoa, convenes to discuss whether or not to rescue their people from Otherworld before they are defeated.
The Council votes against it, citing the risk of losing more lives. What follows this is an excellent discussion by Hickman, through Cyclops, about what it means to be a hero and why Krakoa needs its heroes, the X-Men.
7 The Stakes Get Even Higher In Issue #6
This issue sees Mystique return to the Orchis base at the behest of Magneto and Professor X. They want her to see if their Krakoan gate was planted there, in case they need to return in the future. She does this and finds out that despite their efforts in House of X, Nimrod, a very dangerous mutant-killing machine, is being built.
She reports back to the mutant leaders and says she will take care of the problem if they bring back her wife, Destiny. However, at this point fans know that Moira X won't allow any precognitive mutants on Krakoa, so Magneto and Xavier are clearly lying to Mystique. It's then revealed that Destiny told Mystique to burn Krakoa down if they don't bring her back, teasing the future of this era.
6 Fans Get To Enter The Vault In Issue #5
Following up from issue #1's tease of the Children of the Vault, the fifth issue of Hickman's X-Men sees the mutants scheming to learn more about their enemies. Synch, X-23 (or Wolverine), and Darwin are chosen to enter the Vault because their abilities give them the best chance at entry and survival.
The catch is, that time moves differently in the Vault. Professor X states that about 500 years will have passed inside the vault for about every 3 months of standard time. The nature of this mission and the tremendous amount of risk associated with it allow for Hickman to do some excellent worldbuilding and storytelling that really grips the reader.
5 Nimrod's Tragic Love Story Highlights Issue #20
This is a truly tremendous issue for many reasons. The war between Orchis and mutantdom heats up, as Mystique attempts to destroy their base but is killed by Nimrod. Fans also get a big tease about the future of this era, as Moira is shown reading Destiny's diaries. However, the highlight of this story is the tragic love between Nimrod's persona of Erasmus and Alia Gregor, an Orchis agent.
Erasmus and Alia were married before he met his demise during the events of House of X #4. Alia made a copy of his persona and placed it in Nimrod, but it was lost when the robot sacrificed a part of himself to save the base from Mystique's singularity bomb. Hickman really makes fans feel for the villains in this moment, which is a rare occurrence.
4 Issue #11 Is The Magneto Showcase
This issue takes place during the events of Empyre, which saw the Cotati (a plant-based humanoid species) invade Earth. Unsurprisingly, Krakoa is on their hitlist, so some of their forces invade the island. Magneto is called to action, and he doesn't hold back, especially when mutant lives are on the line.
In a magnificent showcase of the character, Magneto singlehandedly destroys much of the invading force and their leader. This event cements his status as the hero of Krakoa.
3 The Crucible Commences In Issue #7
Issue #7 deals with some hefty topics. It is revealed that a new practice called The Crucible is about to begin on Krakoa. The Crucible is essentially suicide for depowered mutants. They go into a fight knowing that they will give their all but still be defeated, so that they may be reborn with their full powers.
Cyclops and Nightcrawler have problems with this, as seen through their long discussion. They ponder on why The Crucible feels so wrong when it seems to be a good and honorable thing at face value. They ask if they are still the same person after being resurrected by the Five. The discussions in this issue are on a level of their own and deserve to be read by every comic book fan.
2 Jonathan Hickman Shows Off In Issue #19
Most people immersed in the world of comics know that Jonathan Hickman is very well-known for his long-term arcs and more complex storytelling, which usually takes place over many separate issues. However, in X-Men #19, Hickman condenses a story spanning many decades into just a single issue, and he does it flawlessly.
Synch narrates the story of the life he spent in the Vault with Laura Kinney and Darwin, learning about and fighting the Children of the Vault. Hickman even throws in a tragic love story for good measure. When the team is resurrected after succeeding in their mission, only Darwin remembers the love he and Laura shared, because only he made it out of the Vault. This just adds to everything else that makes this a can't miss issue.
1 The Mutants Establish Themselves As Top Dogs In Issue #4
It's not every day that fans get to see mutants attend the World Economic Forum, but it's safe to say that after this issue, they probably wish it was. Professor X, Magneto, and Apocalypse attend this conference of humanity's world leaders, with Cyclops and Gorgon accompanying them for security purposes.
The mutant leaders make it clear that their presence on Krakoa is to be taken seriously by the rest of the world. Magneto also explains how their actions are only following the human examples left for them in a brilliant discussion. The content of this issue will undoubtedly live on forever.