WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men #8, by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho, VC's Clayton Cowles and Tom Muller, on sale now.
The X-Men haven’t been acting much like themselves lately. Since Charles Xavier introduced the Marvel Universe to the island-nation Krakoa in House of X, the X-Men and the rest of Marvel's mutants have transformed into zealots with a cult-like, militant devotion to their new homeland.
Where the X-Men once protected a world that hated and feared them, they now celebrate ritual sacrifice, try to recruit the children of their old friends and resurrect themselves with moderate effort. But even in this radically different status quo, some things never change. While Wolverine is still as gruff as ever, X-Men #8 shows that the X-Men haven't lost the trademark teamwork that defines them.
When Krakoa faces an alien Brood invasion, Cyclops and Magik, two of the X-Men's most hardened combat veterans, team up with a technique that's right out of the Avengers' Marvel Cinematic Universe playbook.
As a seemingly endless number of Brood begins to overwhelm Krakoa, Scott Summers tells Illyana Rasputin to create several of her teleportation disks around the battlefield. Then, Krakoa's Captain Commander fires his optic blast directly into Magik's portal, which channels its concussive power into a surprise attack against enemy forces all around the battlefield.
This innovative use of teleportation portals is remarkably similar to the way that a makeshift group of Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy dealt with Thanos during the Battle of Titan in Avengers: Infinity War.
Despite being outclassed by a Thanos and his Infinity Stones, the MCU heroes almost defeated the Mad Titan thanks to Doctor Strange's Sling Ring portals. These portals allowed heroes like Spider-Man, Star-Lord, and Mantis to launch a barrage of disorienting attacks that kept Thanos off-balance. Even though Thanos ultimately won that battle, the heroes' hastily made plan was still remarkably effective.
While it's not terribly uncommon for Marvel's heroes to combine their powers in inventive ways, the X-Men effectively wrote the book on playing off each other's strengths in battle. Thanks to endless training sessions in the Danger Room, the X-Men learned to rely on each other and work as a unit in combat situations. And as two of Krakoa's most battle-ready Great Captains, Cyclops and Magik have certainly spent more than their fair share of time training.
Even if every X-Men team-up attack isn't as famous as Wolverine and Colossus' signature "Fastball Special," that sense of combat collaboration is something that unites the X-Men of every era. While Cyclops and Magik belong to different generations of X-Men, they spent a fair amount of the 2010s on the same X-squad. And given Cyclops' relentless devotion to being prepared, they almost certainly practiced this move once or twice during that era.
Ultimately, Cyclops and Magik's attack was just a fleeting, cresting wave in the ocean of battle. It may have only lasted for all of three panels, but it serves as a signal that the X-Men are still who they've always been.
While the X-Men might be fighting alongside Apocalypse on Krakoa instead of fighting with him at the X-Mansion, they're still fighting for a better future for mutantkind. And much like the Avengers in Infinity War, they face overwhelming odds together.