The Krakoan Age: Year 4

When the X-Men and their allies formed the nation Krakoa, they made it a place for all mutants, including their former villains. Although Mister Sinister played a crucial role in building Krakoa, his unending schemes almost doomed the mutant nation from within. Even as the mutant heroes dealt with Sinister, Krakoa saw old allies evolve into new enemies, just as the ultimate threat to Krakoa came into focus from beyond time and space.  

As it hurtles towards its explosive end, let's look back at some of the most important moments from the Krakoan Age. From DESTINY OF X to the start of FALL OF X, we'll break down the most memorable developments in fourth calendar year of Krakoa's existence.

A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY

After betraying Krakoa, Moira MacTaggert goaded the Eternals into a war by framing Krakoans as Deviants, the excess genetic deviation they were programmed to eradicate, in A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY (2022) #1 by Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti. To stop this, the X-Men and Avengers reanimated the Progenitor, a dead Celestial that subsequently tried to cast judgement on the citizens of Earth. 

As that conflict proceeded, Krakoa allowed Captain America to go through the Resurrection Protocols, which had previously only resurrected dead mutants. The anti-mutant organization Orchis briefly teamed up with the X-Men and Avengers in the final battle, which bolstered their support among the public. Following the conflict, Krakoa began resurrecting some dead humans through the resurrection process as a show of goodwill.

THE DEATH OF MAGNETO

During A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY, the Eternals unleashed the immensely powerful Uranos on Arakko, the mutant planet formerly known as Mars. As his attack ended, Uranos ripped out Magneto's heart. Although that fatally wounded him, Magneto stayed upright, using his mutant powers to keep his blood circulating. With help from Storm, Magneto faced off against Uranos on Earth in A.X.E.: JUDGMENT DAY (2022) #4 by Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti. 

Just as he helped Iron Man defeat the Eternal, Magneto succumbed to his injuries and died in Storm's arms. To show solidarity with the Arakki they governed, Magneto and Storm had deleted their mental back-ups from Krakoa, which prevented him from being revived through Krakoa's resurrection process.

MOTHER RIGHTEOUS

As Nightcrawler tried to spread his Spark philosophy of embracing new ideas, he encountered Mother Righteous, a mystical being who debuted in LEGION OF X (2021) #1 by Si Spurrier and Jan Bazaldua. Later revealed to be a clone of Nathaniel Essex's late wife, Mother Righteous made mystical deals with several mutants to amass magical power while her identity remained unknown. 

After Margali Szardos magically transformed her adoptive son Nightcrawler and several other mutants into beastly forms, Mother Righteous took a particular interest in Nightcrawler and turned Banshee into her herald, the Spirit of Variance. Although Mother Righteous presented herself as an ally to Krakoa, she took the gratitude that mutants offered her and used it as mystical fuel for her own ambitions.

BEAST BREAKS BAD

Under the weight of directing X-Force and his obsession with keeping Krakoa secure, Beast went down a dark path that saw him take increasingly amoral actions, which came to a head in WOLVERINE (2020) #26 by Benjamin Percy and Juan Jose Ryp. When Wolverine grew suspicious of his old friend, Beast had Logan killed and resurrected in a primal state to serve as his mindless agent. 

With help from Sage, Wolverine confronted Beast and killed him, which activated a clone of Beast. This new Hank McCoy clone carried out Beast's plan to create the Weapons of X, a small army of Beast and feral Wolverine clones. Although X-Force defeated most of the clones, Beast escaped with his advanced island base and a few clones of Logan.

ABIGAIL BRAND AND ORBIS STELLARIS

Although Abigail Brand is a mutant, she began working with the anti-mutant group Orchis to further her cosmic ambitions, as revealed in X-MEN RED (2022) #8 by Al Ewing and Madibek Musabekov. Brand also worked with Orbis Stellaris, a mysterious figure cocooned in a high-tech orb who held power in the far reaches of the galaxy. 

Before Orbis was revealed as another clone of Nathaniel Essex, he used his robotic Progenitors to destabilize Vulcan and turn the Omega-level mutant into Brand's agent. Shortly after Arakko was devastated by Uranos, Cable and Wiz-Kid uncovered Brand's plans and attacked Orbis and his Progenitors. As Brand escaped to parts unknown, Cable and Wiz-Kid took over command of S.W.O.R.D.

MADELYNE PRYOR'S DARK WEB

After Madelyne Pryor was killed and revived by Krakoa, the formerly evil clone of Jean Grey ascended to the throne of Limbo when Magik stepped down to move on from the hellish dimension. As Limbo's Goblin Queen, Pryor found an unlikely ally in Ben Reilly, a clone of Spider-Man who had become the corrupted villain Chasm, and the clones attacked New York in DARK WEB (2022) #1 by Zeb Wells and Adam Kubert. 

In response, Spider-Man and the X-Men teamed up to face Limbo's forces. Jean Grey reached out to Pryor and made peace with her by sharing her memories, leading Pryor to help the X-Men seize control of the situation. Pryor subsequently opened a Limbo embassy in New York and resumed her relationship with Havok.

THE SINISTER FOUR REVEALED

After receiving powers from Apocalypse, the Victorian-era scientist Nathaniel Essex created four clones who survived into the Krakoan Era. These clones were the mutant-obsessed Mister Sinister, the magic-wielding Mother Righteous, the space-faring Orbis Stellaris, and Doctor Stasis, a mutant-hating Orchis leader who researched superhuman development. 

During a flashback to one of Mystique and Destiny's first adventures in IMMORTAL X-MEN (2022) #8 by Kieron Gillen and Michele Bandini, the nature of these clones and their true purpose came to light. With his belief that machines would evolve exponentially, Essex predicted the rise of Dominions, endlessly powerful and all-consuming AIs that exist outside of time and space. Through each of the clones and their respective obsessions, Essex wanted to stop the rise of the machines or turn himself into a Dominion.

SINISTER'S QUIET COUNCIL

Although Moira MacTaggert lost her ability to reincarnate, Mister Sinister took advantage of her mutant power through his Moira Engine, a set of interconnected Moria clones. By using the clones to stop the timeline and replay certain events to his liking, Sinister launched several attacks on the Quiet Council in IMMORTAL X-MEN (2022) #9 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. 

When one of those attacks resulted in the deaths of Professor X, Hope Summers, White Queen, and Exodus, Sinister corrupted the resurrection process and infected all of them with part of his DNA. As Sinister corrupted more of Krakoa in this timeline, the Sinister Quiet Council successfully conquered most of the world. They eventually rebelled when their base personalities resurfaced and turned them into cruel reflections of their former selves.

THE SINS OF SINISTER

Over the next 1,000 years, the universe suffered the consequences of Mister Sinister's plans in SINS OF SINISTER (2023) #1 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. After taking over the Earth, the Sinister Quiet Council built an interstellar empire that covered most of the universe. As his control slipped, Sinister realized the horrors he created and tried to reset the timeline with Moira MacTaggert. 

When a desperate Sinister attempted to evolve into a Dominion, he was rejected by another version of Essex who had already become one. Moira ultimately reset the timeline, but she sent Sinister's chimera creation Rasputin IV and Mother Righteous' knowledge into the past, which stopped Sinister's plans and unveiled the corrupted Quiet Council members.

FEILONG AND THE STARK SENTINELS

After their encounter at the Hellfire Gala, Feilong—a mutant-hating Orchis leader and industrialist—found a new rival in Tony Stark. To that end, Feilong forcibly took over Stark Unlimited, Stark's company, and gained access to all of Stark's Iron Man designs. 

As soon as he possessed Iron Man technology, Feilong used it to build Stark Sentinels starting in INVINCIBLE IRON MAN (2023) #5 by Gerry Duggan and Juan Frigeri. Boasting Iron Man's traditional red-and-gold colors, these giant Sentinels played a central role in Orchis' next attack on mutantkind. Feilong's Stark Sentinels were powerful and durable enough to give Iron Man and a team of seasoned X-Men trouble. 

GENESIS RETURNS TO ARAKKO

Still influenced by the corruptive presence of the Annihilation Staff, Genesis left her husband, Apocalypse, and traveled to Arakko, where she kicked off a civil war in X-MEN RED (2022) #13 by Al Ewing and Jacopo Camagni. While the first Horsemen of Apocalypse and some battle-hungry Arakki chose to serve their old leader, others remained committed to Storm and her more peaceful vision for Arakko. 

After violent conflict engulfed Arakko in the ensuing Genesis War, Apocalypse returned to Arakko and helped Storm end the conflict by creating a new living island: Kaorak. When Storm destroyed the Annihilation Staff, Kaorak and the embodiment of Arakko embraced each other, and Genesis and her surviving Horsemen went into exile once more.

SUNFIRE'S QUEST

After stepping away from the X-Men to make a home on Arakko, Sunfire embarked on a mission to save the Arakki mutant Redroot from the mystical realm of Otherworld in X-MEN (2021) #24 by Gerry Duggan and Joshua Cassara. Although it was only supposed to take a week, Sunfire's mission turned into a months-long ordeal that pushed him to the brink of death. 

The full details of that mission were revealed in "The Redroot Saga," starting in X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC (2021) #106 by Steve Foxe, Steve Orlando, and Lynne Yoshii. After searching Otherworld for weeks, Sunfire rescued Redroot from Moira MacTaggert and Orchis. Apocalypse ultimately helped bring Sunfire back to Arakko in time for the final battles against Genesis and Orchis.

The Krakoan Age: Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5

Want to read more about the X-Men's Krakoan Age? Join Marvel Unlimited for instant access to 30,000+ comics on the Marvel Unlimited app or on the web, with digital issues spanning Marvel Comics classics to ongoing series!