Al Ewing Explores the Aftermath of Judgement Day on Arakko in X-Men Red

The mutant inhabitants of the planet Arakko have a long, tragic history that involves centuries of seemingly endless warfare against demons. In the aftermath of the 2020 X-Men crossover, X of Swords, and the first Hellfire Gala, it appeared the Arakkii mutants were ready to write a new chapter for themselves on the face of the former planet Mars, which was terraformed by the mutants of Krakoa, renamed Arakko, and given to them. The recently launched X-Men Red series by writer Al Ewing and artist Stefano Caselli chronicled how the Arakkii and several Krakoan mutants who had relocated to the planet were coping with life on the terraformed world. It also showed that the mutant Abigail Brand of S.W.O.R.D. had larger designs for the planet.

Unfortunately, the A.X.E: Judgement Day event has brought this period of peace on Arakko to a violent end. The Eternals declared war against the mutants of Earth and launched a first strike against Krakoa's allies on Arakko. That devastating assault came in the form of Uranos, the "grandfather" of Thanos, and his arsenal of high-tech war machines in X-Men Red #5. CBR spoke with Ewing about that issue, how his cast was impacted by Uranos' assault, if the battle for Arakko is truly over, and the role characters like Richard Rider, AKA Nova, will play in X-Men Red moving forward. He and Marvel also revealed Russell Dauterman's cover for X-Men Red #9 and a preview of Issue #6.

CBR: When I talked with Judgment Day writer Kieron Gillen he said the decision to go all in with Uranos' devastating assault was yours. Why did you decide to have a disaster of this scale happen so early in X-Men Red? Was this always part of your plan?

Al Ewing: It was baked in pretty much from the start, in that I knew Arakko would be at war again, and that'd probably come inside the first ten issues. There were various reasons. I wanted to test and challenge the society we'd created and show them at their best in the face of this challenge. I wanted to shake up the Great Ring and show how they responded to a massive disaster, and I wanted to give Storm and Magneto something major to fight against beyond home-grown intrigue. So Judgment Day became an opportunity for something planet-wide with some far-reaching consequences.

Uranos leaves Arakko at the end of issue #5, but the battle for the planet rages on in X-Men Red #6. What can you tell us about this story, and what are Arakko's remaining defenders up against?

Uranos is only allowed an hour of freedom from his Eternal prison, but during that hour, he has full access to his arsenal of death weaponry, so even when he returns to his cell, his machines are still out there doing their worst. They're not pushovers, either -- they're all extremely horrible in their own right, and only Uranos himself has the off switch... Or rather, he is the off switch.

In Issue #4, we saw Magneto forgo Krakoan resurrection protocols. In Issue #5, we saw him murdered by Uranos, but the end of the issue revealed that the Arakkii mutant Xilo has kept Magneto alive somehow. What can you tell us about his physical and emotional states moving into Issue #6?

Xilo didn't save Magneto -- Magneto saved himself, and we'll see how he did it in #6. It's possible Xilo hid him like Xilo hid Lodus, but more likely, Magneto just looked very dead while he was concentrating on keeping himself going and getting the strength to stand. But Xilo saving Lodus Logos is probably not something that would have happened under the rule of Genesis, so that might be significant.

To say [that] Max is pissed off at this point is understating the case, but even his magnetic powers can only keep him going for so long without some kind of boost. Will he even have time to enact his vengeance? We shall see.

Abigail Brand appears to have died in Uranos' assault, and Storm was on Earth. Can you talk about the immediate effects those things will have on their personalities and perspectives?

We've seen throughout S.W.O.R.D. and X-Men Red that Abigail Brand is prepared for the possibility of death and being resurrected via Krakoan protocol. Are those preparations enough? Are they too much? Is there something she hasn't thought of? We're about to find out.

As for Storm, well, she's back in #6 in a big way, but there's one citizen of Arakko who has a big problem with her absence -- Storm herself. Still, she can at least tell herself that she didn't switch sides instantly and kill whoever was closest, unlike a certain other Great Ring member whose name I won't mention except it's Isca. So that's going to come up.

X-Men Red #5 also showed that the assault on Arakko could have galactic repercussions. Will we see those consequences immediately or further down the line?

Galactic politics will be playing a role in a storyline in the immediate future, and that'll spin out of an X-storyline. One of ours? Watch this space. And does all the commotion in the Diplomatic Zone, which surely makes the Sol System seem less strong and stable than Brand was painting it to be, mean she needs to accelerate her plans? Signs point to yes.

Richard Rider, AKA Nova, was also on hand to protect Arakko's port from the weapons in Uranos' arsenal. What was it like for him to be there and be part of the defense? Will we see more of Rich or any other Guardians of the Galaxy in X-Men Red moving forward?

Mostly it's Rich. I thought he was an interesting addition to the supporting cast, given how strongly defined he is by the wars he's fought. A citizen of Arakko would feel like they had more in common with him than with a lot of Krakoa-affiliated mutants, despite Rich being a human. We'll see how the relationship between Arakkii and Earth humans might be more complex than Isca, our mouthpiece on the subject, would have it. As for what it was like for him, we'll be getting a look into Rich's head -- along with a lot of other people in the warzone -- in #6.

We now know that the Eternals-Mutant conflict was only the first act of Judgment Day, and the scope and scale of that story has changed. Can you talk about how your book and characters fit into that? What can you tell us about X-Men Red #7?

Someone will be judged. They, and Arakko, will be changed forever as a result. It's a time of change on the Red Planet, and nobody's ever safe from change.

Let's talk about the artists bringing Issues #6-7 to life. Stefano Caselli, who's drawn most of this series is doing issue #6, and #7 is drawn by Madibek Musabekov, who has done some recent work for Marvel's Star Wars line. What are some of the ways they amplify the story you're telling in X-Men Red #6-7?

I've sung Stefano's praises a lot in the past, and nothing's changed on that score. He always brings out the emotion, the action, [and] whatever the scene needs. Some moments are coming up that he just absolutely knocked out of the park. And speaking of important moments, there are a couple in #7 that needed to carry an incredible amount of weight -- and the job Madibek did on those went above and beyond in a way that'll leave readers gasping. So I'm feeling extremely lucky with my artists right now.

How do the Arakki people, who've endured so many years of absolute hardship, recover from this? What does this disaster mean for their world and larger outlook on life? Are those some of the larger questions you're tackling as the series continues?

We do get into that -- the Arakko viewpoint, what it means to be of Arakko, getting deep into their history and what's coming in the future. But before we can concentrate on that, there are Abigail Brand's plans to consider, and as I said earlier, her timetable might have moved up a little.

I've been very happy with the reception this book's got since it launched. It's been great seeing how readers have taken this title to their hearts and the level of faith they've put in us to deliver. We're going to keep telling this story and telling it our way, so stick with us because there are big things planned for the future.

X-Men Red #6 is due out on Wednesday, Sept. 14.