WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for X-Men Blue #19, by Cullen Bunn, R.B. Silva, Adriano Di Benedetto, Rain Beredo and Joe Caramagna, on sale now.


Time is broken in the Marvel Universe, and it's up to the mutant team of X-Men Blue to fix it. Of course, the timestream wouldn't be in the state it is if not for the original, younger X-Men from the past being displaced in the first place. There's also the fact that it appears someone has gone out of their way to tamper with time, to the effect that people in the current-day (Magneto, Polaris and Danger) have begun to blink out of existence, causing numerous paradoxes as a result.

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The multi-part "Cross Time Capers" story arc has seen the X-Men Blue unit attempt a time-travel adventure to set things right. But this being comics, things don't go according to plan. Instead of landing back in their correct point in time, the X-Men are taken to several other pre-determined temporal coordinates. There, they first meet a future team of X-Men in the year 2099, followed by an interaction with the mid-90s' mutants-in-training from Generation X. Eventually, our heroes land in the past just in time to witness Magneto fighting... themselves?

This, of course, begs the question: If the original X-Men were taken from their time, then who are these pretenders? Cullen Bunn, R.B. Silva, Adriano Di Benedetto, Rain Beredo and Joe Caramagna answer that in X-Men Blue #19, with a callback to Brian Michael Bendis' period as the writer of All-New X-Men.

This Can't Be Real, Can It?

The issue begins with the aforementioned battle between what looks like the original X-Men and Magneto. Something else that seems off is the apparent deaths of the remaining members of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants (Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch and Toad) at the hands of these X-Men pretenders. Cyclops and Jean Grey remember the fight, but not like this. The original X-Men would never resort to killing an adversary, so what has changed?

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Whoever these alleged heroes are, they're determined to put an end to the Master of Magnetism. A walking Charles Xavier notes that times change, and so do ideals. This Charles sounds like he's rethought his dream of humans and mutants living together in harmony, and is prepared to wipe Magneto off the map with some help from an incoming nuclear missile.

Interestingly enough, our X-Men imitators teleport away with the phrase "bodyslide" before the missile arrives. This term and technology came to prominence when the time-traveling mutant Cable first started making regular appearances in New Mutants and X-Force. He would always say it before teleporting to different locations, and sometimes, different timelines.

We next seem them at the X-Mansion, surveying the results of their handiwork. Charles senses that they have company, which leads him and Angel to consult Cerebro. Why Angel, who has no psychic abilities, was chosen will become apparent later on -- now, what's important is the reveal of the real Charles Xavier, under the control of a modified Cerebro unit.

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The Totality Of Time

Of course, the X-Men Blue team and Magneto survive the explosion, thanks to Beast's future-tech. With the missile fast-approaching, the resident mutant scientist didn't have time to consider where to transport everyone, which leaves them in a place between time and space. Before Magneto can question whether these X-Men are allies or enemies, he notices his unique surroundings -- images from across time, space and other realities.

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What we have here are various events and scenes from the X-Men's vast history, along with some pieces of never-before-seen footage: Apocalypse with Storm, Maggot and Havok among his Four Horsemen; Quentin Quire in full possession of the Phoenix Force; Magneto and Charles fighting side-by-side; Wolverine after he escaped the Weapon X program; Onslaught; and the Age of Apocalypse, to name a few.

Magneto and the X-Men begin to trade notes, filling each other in on reality crumbling and murder sprees. Some fundamental questions come up in the discussion, most important of which is whether these ultra-violent X-Men are the real deal?

Unable to address these admittedly pressing concerns, the X-Men and Magneto instead focus on the only thing still in their power: Taking down the counterpart X-Men.

The Evil X-Men Revealed

With a mansion filled with X-Men, fake X-Men and Magneto, it's not long before a fight breaks out. It a short scuffle, however, as Magneto is struck down from behind by a psychic attack -- which isn't supposed to happen when he's wearing his helmet. No longer needing their disguises, these evil X-Men are revealed to be the Future Brotherhood: Charles Xavier II (son of Wolverine and Mystique), Raze (Charles II's brother and the son of Charles Xavier and Mystique), Xorn (older, original Jean Grey), Old Man Deadpool, Ice Thing (one of Iceman's sentient constructs) and Bruiser (Runaway's Molly Hayes).

First appearing in the X-Men 2013 crossover event "Battle of the Atom" -- which Bendis co-wrote with Jason Aaron and Brian Wood -- this iteration of the Brotherhood masqueraded as X-Men from the future, tasked with sending the original X-Men home in order to prevent a catastrophe from taking place. After Magik, Beast and Angel traveled to the future for answers of their own, they met the true X-Men of the future, who agreed to help bring down their rivals.

In hindsight, it should have been obvious who was behind the X-Men Blue time paradoxes. The Brotherhood's one and only appearance revolved entirely around the displaced X-Men, and after being unsuccessful at sending them back to the past, they've decided to simply take their place. One could make a case that the Brotherhood is the younger X-Men's top nemesis after the lengths they've taken to get on the heroes' radar.

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It will be interesting to see what the fallout is from "Cross Time Capers." If the original X-Men win, will they decide to stay in their intended time period? If they fail, the entire history of the X-Men, and the Marvel Universe, will permanently be rewritten. With the knowledge that X-Men Blue will continue past this story arc, the answer leans closer to some type of middle ground being established that sees the X-Men staying in the current-day while the timestream is corrected. We'll find out shortly when X-Men Blue #20, the "Cross Time Capers" finale, arrives on Jan. 24.