The X-Men's corner of the Marvel Universe has gone through some major changes over the last two years, with House of X and Powers of X altering the entire landscape for the mutant community. With Inferno set to bookend those two miniseries, a leading figure going forward has already been confirmed, along with his next mission.
The future of Wolverine and his importance in the upcoming Second Krakoan Age quietly implies some major changes might be coming for the mutant nation and how they operate, and they may even be losing perhaps their most potent tool: resurrection.
The upcoming X Lives of Wolverine and X Deaths of Wolverine promises to reexamine the classic mutant hero and his complex life. Writer Benjamin Percy will be joined by Joshua Cassara in X Lives of Wolverine and Federico Vicenti in X Deaths of Wolverine. The two mini-series are set to help begin the Second Krakoan Age, which implies that the current First Age is truly about to come to an end in Inferno, coinciding the Jonathan Hickman's departure from the line after being instrumental in its reinvention in 2019. The First Krakoan Age has been a period of serious reinvention for the X-Men, with the mutant nation of Krakoa and all the newly found potential of a near universal-mutant alliance has led the X-Men to radically change their place in the grander Marvel Universe.
However, the announcement could be seen as a quiet tease for a potentially momentous development: the loss of the resurrection protocols. In the Krakoan era, one of the biggest boons for Marvel's mutant heroes has been the development of the Five. Together, Hope Summers, Tempus, Egg, Proteus, and Elixir have discovered that by working their powers in concert, they can effectively create a new body for any fallen mutant. Then, a telepath with Cerebro could implant the recorded mind and memories of the fallen mutant. In essence, Krakoa has treated this development of "resurrection" as if they'd conquered death, restoring numerous long-dead mutants and rebuilding their number after years of dark events had decimated the global mutant population. Now, any fallen mutant can be revived seemingly within hours of their death.
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However, there have been hints this wouldn't be the case forever -- most notably during the events of Last Annihilation. In Cable: Reloaded, the restored original Cable reveals that the Second Krakoan Age was coming and that it would be of an era when mutants had come to terms with the idea that they hadn't defeated death so much as made peace with the concept. According to Marvel, these upcoming twin miniseries will see Wolverine sent across the course of history on a mission to protect the life of a major figure in mutant history. The preview specifically says the "only certainty in life is death and Wolverine." These details could be seen as the implication that mutants are about to lose their ability to simply come back from the dead following an untimely demise, and that death will once again become a factor in their lives.
This would be a huge blow to Krakoa, as many of their number (including Wolverine) have used that potential to great effect. It's been one of Krakoa's greatest secrets as well -- although events in X-Men and The Trial of Magneto have teased that the rest of the world is about to find out how the X-Men have been coming back from literally lethal blows. Coupled with the coming Inferno and Mystique's promise to burn the entire mutant nation to the ground, her most effective first move would be to eliminate the Five once and for all, potentially preventing the mutants from being able to resurrect each other anymore. Considering the creation of Nimrod and its quickly increasing capability and power, losing one of their most advantageous elements could spell doom for Krakoa.
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