WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men #2 from Marvel Comics, available now.
Introduced in the original Annihilation event, the Annihilation Wave originates from the Negative Zone. Rallying together countless creatures and monsters from the twisted dimension, the cosmic despot Annihilus was able to wage a massive war against the core Marvel Universe. With countless numbers at his back, Annihilus quickly eradicated entire worlds. While each individual bug can be brought down, the sheer number of bugs in the way allowed them to overwhelm almost any target.
Despite eventually stopping Annihilus and his forces, the galaxy still recognizes the Annihilation Wave as a threat. Anyone who has control over the Annihilation Wave has a serious advantage over almost any kind of enemy. But, as the newest batch of bugs just discovered in X-Men #2 by Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia and VC's Clayton Cowles, the X-Men are resourceful and powerful enough to take down the Annihilation Wave on their own.
In X-Men, Cordyceps Jones -- a fearsome and powerful alien -- has been offering untold riches to any being who can find a way to wipe out humanity and leave Earth to marauding alien forces. A new contestant, Kriv Yu of the Numari, reveals that he has a rare weapon to be used against Earth: a batch of Annihilation Waves, contained within a unique bottle. One of Kriv Yu's numbers takes the bottle to Earth and uncorks it -- unleashing the monstrous horde in the middle of Kansas. Luckily for humanity and the Earth as a whole, Jean Grey and Synch are training with telepathy when they recognize the arrival states over. Alongside the rest of the X-Men, the pair venture to Kansas to confront the Wave.
Getting between the Annihilation Wave and the nearby town, the X-Men quickly prove capable of holding back the kind of force that gave the entire galaxy pause. While their quick adaptation to their surroundings and team moves allow them to hold the line, the Annihilation Wave quickly grows by consuming more and more of the town. Sunfire is able to use his Alpha-Level control of atomic flame to keep them within the perimeter established by the team, Synch copies Polaris' powers to create a barrier that holds back the Wave, and Jean ventures into the Annihilation Wave itself with Polaris to find the remains of the alien who brought the Wave to Earth in the first place.
Meanwhile, Wolverine, Rogue, and Cyclops protect the town from the bugs that do breach the barrier -- working alongside the local humans and saving numerous lives. Thanks to Polaris' magnetism amplifying Jean's powers, Jean is able to sift through his memories even after death and discover a hint of Cordyceps Jones' involvement. At that point, Jean gives Sunfire the okay, and the Alpha-Level Mutant more or less wipes out the entire wave with a blast that rivals the hottest flames of the Human Torch.
While this was just a small batch of the Annihilation Wave, it was still a potential world-ender, especially if they got loose into the general public and grew to a much larger scale. As Annihilation revealed, the Annihilation Wave poses an existential threat that needed a prolonged campaign from a veritable cosmic army to take it down. However, the X-Men not only handled the threat ably, saving the town that was most directly threatened and earning some new fans among its populace. The Annihilation Wave remains a uniquely dangerous and terrifying threat in the Marvel Universe. But if they ever become a galactic threat again, the X-Men should be able to have it handled -- especially if S.W.O.R.D. is able to establish mutants as the future leaders of the Solar System. It's a strong reminder of just how powerful and capable this X-Men team really is.
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