Uncovering the Secrets of Krakoa in 'Powers of X' #4

WARNING! THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR This week'S NEW ISSUE OF POWERS OF X, SO READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK, TRUE BELIEVERS!

When it comes to the Children of the Atom, the past is always present.

In Jonathan Hickman and R.B. Silva’s POWERS OF X #4, it's revealed that Professor Xavier and Magneto made a secret alliance with none other than Mister Sinister. Yes, the same Sinister who was personally responsible for the Mutant Massacre that nearly wiped out the Morlocks, as well as the near fatal injuries inflicted upon Angel, Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, and Colossus. His crimes against the X-Men are infamous, and yet Xavier and Magneto need him to catalog the DNA of the world’s mutants...

It’s worth noting that UNCANNY X-MEN (1963) #389 established that Xavier and Moira X both encountered Sinister when they were at Oxford. Sinister was undercover as a lecturer, and he caught Xavier’s attention because the future X-Men founder couldn’t manage to read his mind. X-MEN LEGACY (2008) #211-212 also revealed that Sinister had planned to download his mind into Xavier’s body in the event of his death...and he nearly succeeded!

Hickman’s take on Sinister seems to be influenced by Kieron Gillen’s UNCANNY X-MEN run, which revealed the existence of the countless Sinister clones who inhabit Sinister London—as shown in UNCANNY X-MEN (2011) #14. Sinister claimed that he had studied the Phalanx hivemind to create his city of clones, but POWERS OF X #4 reveals that Bar Sinister was around at least a decade before Sinister London. (Bar Sinister was also the name of Sinister’s domain in Hickman’s SECRET WARS.)

If Magneto and Xavier are operating with Moira X’s knowledge about what Sinister will do, and the deaths he will cause, then it calls their agenda into question. Are they now complicit in his crimes? Xavier also ensured that Sinister won’t remember their alliance until a certain point in time...

The ancillary matter touched upon a few of Sinister’s secrets, including the fact that his first infusion of mutant DNA came from John Proudstar, AKA Thunderbird. Plus, there are a few hints that the Summers brothers may have more relatives than they think. And on a more troubling note, Sinister appears to indicate that there is still INFERNO fallout yet to be discovered. Did Madelyne Pryor leave behind another child before she perished...?

Those INFERNO hints may tie into the newly discovered origin of Krakoa. As translated by Cypher/Doug Ramsey, Krakoa was once Okkara before it was split into Arakko and Krakoa by the Twilight Sword during a demonic invasion. (The Twilight Sword sure looks a lot like Magik’s Soul Sword, and the demons may have come from Limbo.) Earth’s savior was apparently none other than Apocalypse himself, as he and his first Horsemen held back the invasion. But to save the world, Krakoa and Arakko were permanently separated. What happened to Arakko? Perhaps this will be explored somewhere down the line.

Meanwhile, in the far future, the Phalanx and the remnants of humanity have reached a critical point. While the human’s machines can become one with the Phalanx hivemind, humanity’s biological components cannot be joined with them. Now it’s an open question whether the Phalanx or the remaining humans find that to be an acceptable outcome. That leaves the future in doubt as POWERS OF X and HOUSE OF X continue...

Get the full experience by reading POWERS OF X #4 at your local comic shop right now!