The X-Men have faced a litany of challenges and threats over the years, even when compared to their peers in the superhero community. Their mission to protect a world that hates and fears them has led to plenty of casualties over the years. And the most recent assault builds off that tragic history.

Thanos' grandfather Uranos has carried out the deadliest attack so far of A.X.E.: Judgment Day, striking the mutant population on their nominal home world of Arakko. But the attack carries additional thematic weight, and quietly could be seen as referencing multiple past tragedies that have befallen the X-Men.

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X-Men Uranos Decimation

One of the most dramatic beats of A.X.E.: Judgment Day so far has been Uranos' assault against Arakko. Arriving suddenly on the mutant world, the ancient and deadly Eternal was granted an hour to carry out his assault. In that time, a massive majority of the surrounding mutants were wiped out. This is far from the first time a mutant community has been targeted with attempted eradication -- as forces like the Sentinels have been trying to carry out that ideology for decades. But what makes Uranos' assault on Arakko unique is the way it quietly plays out as a thematic follow-up to many of those past assaults against mutantkind.

On the surface, the two most obvious stories that share a thematic bond with Uranos' attack are the storylines "Mutant Massacre" and "E is for Extinction." Taking place across twelve issues and with a number of creative teams at the helm (notably including Chris Claremont, Louise Simonson, Walter Simonson, John Romita Jr., and Sal Buscema), "Mutant Massacre" focused on the slaughter of the Morlock community hiding under the streets of New York City. As with that story, Judgment Day could be seen as a means of wiping out the excess mutants of Arakko, similar to how "Mutant Massacre" cut down on the Morlocks. "E is for Extinction" by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely in New X-Men had a similar massacre carried against the mutant nation of Genosha -- with Magneto being present (and surviving) both assaults despite initial beliefs to the contrary.

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X-Men Decimation

All of these stories focused on widespread death and destruction for the mutant communities of their respective time-periods. But Judgment Day carries an additional edge, that could be seen as a reference to a dark period of X-Men history. After Uranos finishes his assault, it's revealed that 98% of all life in his general vicinity had been wiped out. This number carries real significance within the mutant corner of the Marvel Universe, as it was the percentage of mutants believed to have lost their X-Genes as a result of the "Decimation" event that followed House of M. The assault on Arakko ensures that the survivors of the assault could be in a similar position and more easily targetable by their anti-mutant enemies.

All of these subtle references to major events from X-Men history speaks to the inherent legacy of A.X.E.: Judgment Day. It's not just the culmination of multiple modern directions for Marvel heroes, but quietly the ultimate test for the X-Men and their mutant allies, forcing them to confront newly amplified versions of the threats that cost them countless innocent lives in the past -- and the reverberations of which are still being felt even in the modern era. This new assault might carry similar ramifications, likely putting the mutants of Arakko on the war-path to avenge this latest devastating tragedy.