The X-Men have been through some changes lately. Marvel's most respected mutants have moved to the mutant island of Krakoa, starting a country for the mutant race that made a mint off of Krakoan flower-based pharmaceuticals. This is a massive change, one that has brought about all kinds of big events that have changed the X-Men and the world forever.
As great as these changes have been, there are some fans who would prefer the X-Men to return to the X-Mansion and restart the school. Both of these courses of action have their pros and cons.
10 Stay On Krakoa: Different Characters Have Gotten A Chance To Shine
One of the best things about the new direction is that there are so many niches to be filled. While a lot of Krakoa's most important mutants are the same as always, many mutants that have been lost in the shuffle have gotten a chance to shine on Krakoa. This is much better for fans, as it allows old favorites to come back and new ones to rise.
The X-Men have long been one of Marvel's most prolific franchises; but sometimes the more esoteric mutants don't get a chance to shine and Krakoa has given many of them that chance, which is always a good thing.
9 Go Back To The School: The Scope Is Too Wide
One of the problems with the Krakoan status quo is just how broad it's made things. While it's done great for some characters, others haven't been as well served and some of the books and their premises just aren't as good as they could be because of how unfocused things sometimes seem. The school is simpler and that isn't always a bad thing.
Things are more focused when it comes to the school status quo- mutants are trained, villains are fought, threats are eliminated. This type of storytelling can work much better and gain more fans, as a lot of people don't want more complicated X-Men stories.
8 Stay On Krakoa: It Gives The Whole Human-Mutant Conflict A New Facet
For years, governments have tried to deal with mutants in a variety ways, whether it be by building robotic death machines like the Sentinels or passing laws that hurt mutants. It's gotten kind of formulaic after all these years but that's something that has changed since mutants went to Krakoa.
Krakoa pharmaceuticals are something that everyone wants, so the mutants have a power they didn't before. This means the government can't deal with them in the same way they would before. This eliminates so many of the old cliche ways the government deals with mutants, giving readers new kinds of plots and stories.
7 Go Back To The School: It'll Bring Back The Villains
One of the more controversial aspects of Krakoa for X-Men fans is the loss of the villains. Krakoa is for all mutants, so even villains are welcome there, becoming citizens of the island. While some of them have their little plans, for the most part, they're all working with the heroes for the betterment of the island.
The problem with this is simple- the X-Men have some amazing villains and they are all off the table because of Krakoa. A lot of fans love these villains and seeing them as either heroes or just in the background isn't what they want.
6 Stay On Krakoa: Using The Villains In Different Ways Is More Interesting
While fans may miss the villains in their traditional roles, that doesn't mean it's always a bad thing. Sure, not every villain turned hero has been a good thing- the Apocalypse origin retcons feel insulting to previous stories- but seeing characters in different ways can be a very cool thing. Villains are great but taking villains and making them into something new? That's pretty great too.
The X-Men have long made a habit of taking characters that started out as villains and making them into heroes, so this is really nothing new. Teaching old dogs new tricks can bring a lot of success and that's always a good thing.
5 Go Back To The School: It Makes Them Vulnerable Again
One of the interesting things about Krakoa is that even though they're surrounded by enemies, they feel weirdly untouchable. The world still hates and fears mutants but they don't make any overt moves against them. In fact, everything pretty much just works out exactly as it should for the mutants.
The X-Men never really feel like they're in any danger, which after so long of being on the brink of extinction isn't a bad thing but it also takes the drama out of things. Some of the X-Men's most brutal battles were fascinating because of how vulnerable the team seemed. Putting them back at the school would bring that feeling of danger back.
4 Stay On Krakoa: It's Brought New Conflicts To The Fore
With the lack of the traditional villains and the untouchable status of Krakoa, creators have had to go different ways with the books. This has created some new enemies and conflicts that have made things way more interesting than they were before. These new conflicts have often been unlike the ones readers experienced before.
Always dealing with the same things is never good and it can get kind of boring. Krakoa has brought all kinds of new threats and new types of threats to the fore. This has given readers new kinds of stories to read, ones that are often different from what came before, which is always a good thing.
3 Go Back To The School: Fans Miss It
For most X-Men fans, the X-Men at the Xavier Institute is the default setting. Sure, the X-Men have gone away from it at times- the Outback years, the San Francisco years- but they always ended up back there. It's the place where the X-Men feel most at home and a lot of the fans feel that way as well. Completely abandoning it feels wrong to some.
Fan service can lead to some bad places but Hickman seemingly placed a reset button into the whole new status quo anyway in the form of Moira MacTaggert. While this different status quo has been fun, going back to the school will be a breath of fresh air and a return to basics that fan miss.
2 Stay On Krakoa: It's About Time Mutants Aren't A Marginalized Group On The Verge Of Extinction
The last sixteen years of X-Men stories since House of M have been some of the most harrowing- and depressing- for the team and its fans. Marvel marginalized the X-Men, first to push the Avengers to the fore and again because of film rights. They were constantly on the verge of extinction and their standing in the Marvel Universe got lower and lower.
The Krakoan status quo has brought them roaring back. It's opened new stories for mutants and made them the focus of the Marvel Universe again. After years of being second-class citizens, they deserve the better treatment of Krakoa, both in-universe and out.
1 Go Back To The School: It'll Be Easier For New Fans When The MCU Adaptation Begins
As great as it would be, the MCU is likely not going to go with the Krakoan status quo. It doesn't fit in the traditional superhero mold that the MCU prefers and so sooner or later, things are going to revert to the school. It's better to go back before they're forced to than otherwise.
Marvel tries to cater its comics to the MCU as much as possible. Since it's inevitable that things are going to revert to the ways they were, it might as well get done sooner rather than later, to soften the blow for when the new status quo is more forcibly ended.