To Battle Cable and Ahab, Young Jean Grey Joins X-Force

WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Extermination #2 by Ed Brisson, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia and Joe Sabino, in stores now.

Extermination has been billed as the final chapter of the Original Five X-Men's trip to the present. In 2013, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Stuart Immonen traveled to the Marvel Universe's past in All-New X-Men #1, bringing young Cylcops, Beast, Angel, Iceman and Jean Grey to the present, in the hopes that they could see the dire circumstances of the present and change the course of the past. However, 5 years later the Original Five are still among the current cast of the X-Men. The characters have found a place for themselves, but now their absence from the past has started catching up with them.

In Extermination, the time-traveling Ahab shows up in the present with his fearsome Hounds on a leash, hunting down the young mutants. But he's not the only one: A young version of Cable has already begun collecting the Original Five. In issue #1, he caught Iceman, and in issue #2, he manages to kidnap (and torture) Angel. And to make matters even worse, this young version of Cable found his older, future self -- the fan-favorite Nathan Summers -- and killed him.

Naturally, all of the X-Men are on red alert, and they swiftly devise a plan to protect the Original Five. But young Jean Grey has a plan of her own; in Extermination #2, she joins the ranks of X-Force -- something that could potentially change everything.

Following the murder of Cable, the former members of the time-traveling mutant's X-Force strike team are appropriately furious. They're out for blood, and their need for vengeance seems to take precedence over the mission of protecting the Original Five. But what none of them expected is for young Jean Grey join their ranks.

After the devastating losses the X-Men have suffered, Jean changes course and opts to join the ranks of the team that is known to be lethal. She knows exactly what she's doing, standing alongside Domino, Warpath, Shatterstar, Boom Boom and Cannonball. All of these characters are tied to Cable, and Jean knows very well that they will be proactive in their mission to stop the mutant's younger, murderous counterpart.

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Joining the ranks of X-Force is a pretty major move for young Jean, and you can't help but wonder if this is the start of a new direction for the mutant strike team. Could Jean ultimately opt to stay behind when the rest of her team heads back to the future? Extermination is supposed to be final chapter of the Original Five X-Men's stay in the present, but what if this new (old) version of X-Force starts operating again, as a unit that operates throughout the time-stream? Jean wouldn't be in the present anymore, technically, but her story would continue.

Jean is a pretty popular character, one who only recently had her own series. There, she has tangled with the Phoenix Force, Emma Frost and the rest of the Marvel Universe. Sure, the old Jean Grey is back now, but we can't imagine Marvel getting rid of a character with so much storytelling potential yet to be explored.

As a member of X-Force, we could see Jean Grey transform into a much different character. Ever a force for good, being a member of a team that isn't shy of killing their targets could give way to a whole new Jean Grey. We don't have to tell you that Jean is incredibly powerful, and having her turn into effectively a mutant assassin could make her one of the most dangerous and lethal characters in the Marvel Universe. On top of that, there would actually be a sense of poetry to having her become the new leader of X-Force. After all, it was her (future) son, Cable, who would originally form the team. There is therefore a history between her lineage and the team. Having her join the team on a permanent basis could see her become, effectively, the new Cable.

OSpending time with X-Force, whether in the short or long term, could have consequences. The timeline is dependent on the Original Five going through the motions and reliving their history, but if Jean joins X-Force, all bets are off. Extermination #2 has discreetly established the idea that the paradox of the young X-Men being in the present for as long as they have been means their actions no longer have an effect on their future selves. Perhaps they are now free from the shackles of time, free to chart new paths for themselves, as heroes, villains... or mutant assassins.

KEEP READING: The Identity of Extermination’s Mystery Character Makes Perfect Sense