How 'House of X' #6 Establishes a New Mutant Nation

Warning! This article contains spoilers for today's HOUSE OF X #6, so read on at your own risk, True Believers!

The X-Men event of the year begins to come to a conslusion this week, as mutant mastermind Jonathan Hickman and artist Pepe Larraz present the nation-building HOUSE OF X #6!

But whether the mutant home is on solid ground remains to be seen. Professor Xavier has invited several of his enemies to rule Krakoa alongside him. Between Apocalypse, Mister Sinister, Sebastian Shaw, Mystique, and Exodus, risk of betrayal is great—and even Magneto and Emma Frost can be less than trustworthy. Yet all of them sit with Xavier on the newly established Quiet Council.

Naturally, several prominent X-Men are also on the council. Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, and Storm represent the team. But perhaps the most intriguing member of the council is the one who isn’t there; the Red King is listed but not named, and he (or she) will hold the third seat that Emma demanded in POWERS OF X #5. There’s certainly some strong speculation about who will sit in that chair. But consider this: it's likely that Emma would choose someone who is powerful, but not so powerful that they could challenge her for supremacy. Perhaps.

Elsewhere, mutant justice has turned its eye towards Sabretooth, and it hasn't gone well for him. Back in HOUSE OF X #1, Sabretooth killed humans while on a secret mission for Krakoa. It seems he no longer has any redeeming qualities, even though several members of the council have history with him.

Alongside Emma Frost, Sabretooth saved Generation X in THE PHALANX COVENANT. He served under Magneto in UNCANNY X-MEN (2016), and terrorized the team as one of Sinister’s Marauders in MUTANT MASSACRE. Sabretooth has also been Mystique’s lover, off-and-on, for years. They even had a son together, Graydon Creed (although he hated both of his parents). Regardless, Mystique looks to be the only one visibly upset about Sabretooth’s fate, even as she condemns him with the others.

However, death is apparently too good for Sabretooth, especially since he would only be resurrected. Instead, Xavier sentences him to permanent stasis and exile beneath Krakoa. Xavier somewhat hypocritically claims that Krakoa will hold no prison, and yet the island itself may be Sabretooth’s prison for an eternity. It also seems unlikely that Sabretooth is the only prisoner down there...or the only one who will be imprisoned. Xavier does offer one morsel of hope for Sabretooth, on the off chance that he could get an opportunity to redeem himself. But it’s not happening anytime soon.

As part of the first Quiet Council, the first three laws of Mutantdom have been established: “Make more mutants, murder no man, and respect this land.” Perhaps these will be the Asimovs for the X-Men going forward...but like the three laws of robotics, these rules were made to be broken by someone.

During the prologue for the issue, Hickman and Larraz reveal where Moria X has been hiding herself on Krakoa before Xavier delivered his speech from HOUSE OF X #1. This recontextualized that moment in an even darker light as Xavier disavowed his previous dream of harmony between mutants and humans while telepathically speaking to everyone on Earth. His new dream seems dangerously close to being a mutant supremacy.

Within the ancillary pages, Hickman sheds more light on Krokoa’s reach, since the island nation is now simultaneously in both the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Previous issues have also established a Krakoan outpost on the moon. This may mitigate the threat of an overwhelming attack like the kind that claimed 16 million mutant lives in NEW X-MEN (2001) #114.

Additionally, the Quiet Council has named the four Great Captains of Krakoa. Of course, Cyclops is the Captain Commander, and in command of the others. Bishop and Magik have been promoted as two of the other captains. But the most troubling pick is Gorgon, the fourth captain. That’s a lot of trust to place in a villain who turned Wolverine into a killer for the Hand in ENEMY OF THE STATE. Yet even Wolverine seems happy to share a beer with Gorgon during the celebration at the end of the mag.

Several long-dead mutants appear during the island-wide party, including Synch and Skin, two members of Generation X who'd been lost years before. And since death is no longer an obstacle for the X-Men, they probably won’t be the last dead mutants to return. The real question is this: will there be any mutants intentionally left in their graves?

As Hickman has told us multiple times, HOUSE OF X and POWERS OF X are two stories that are one. One chapter has ended with this inevitable future. Next week, POWERS OF X #6 will bring this tale to a close with the inevitable truth.

Read the full story yourself by picking up HOUSE OF X #6 at your local comic shop today!