MARVEL SNAP Explained: What Is Days of Future Past?

The Future Past is now, but where did it come from?

As MARVEL SNAP players have seen, the new season is based on the seminal X-Men story "Days of Future Past". One of many potential mutant-based futures, the version taking place on Earth-811 features a bleak world where Professor Xavier's dream of a peaceful co-existence between mutants and humans definitively failed. 

Listen to an interview with MARVEL SNAP's Ben Brode talking about Days of Future Past on Marvel's Pull List podcast!

Days Of Future Past IN THE COMICS

While "Days of Future Past" looms large in the minds of X-fans, the original story spans just two issues. Crafted by masterminds Chris Claremont and John Byrne, the tale came to life in UNCANNY X-MEN #141 and #142 in 1980 (though they sport 1981 cover dates) and immediately grabbed attention with a now-iconic cover featuring an older Wolverine protecting Kate Pryde (AKA Kitty Pryde) in front of a poster featuring his fellow X-Men with words like "slain" and "apprehended" scrawled across their photos.

Upon opening the issue, readers meet an older Kitty Pryde, now going by Kate, carefully traversing a rubble-filled Park Avenue in Manhattan looking to meet Wolverine. But how did things get so bad? As we learn, on October 31, 1980 the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants assassinated Presidential candidate Robert Kelly, as well as Charles Xavier and Moira MacTaggert. Four years later, a staunch and outspoken mutant-hater became President. He decided to attack the so-called "mutant problem" by activating the Sentinels.

That plan backfired when the machines decided to fully take control of the United States and either kill or capture any mutants they encountered. They also killed the heroes like the Fantastic Four and used the Baxter Building as their headquarters. People are broken down into three groups noted by letter. Baseline humans are marked with an H while mutants receive an M. Those with an A are humans with unusual powers. Both Ms and As have been forbidden from breeding. While humans are allowed to live freely in the destroyed cities, the mutants are kept in internment centers and fitted with inhibitor collars to negate their powers.

By the year 2013, Kate Pryde lived in the South Bronx Internment Center along with her husband Colossus, Storm, Magneto, Franklin Richards and Rachel Summers, the daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey. When it became clear that the other nations of the world intended use nuclear weapons against the U.S., they implemented a plan to stop all of this before it started.

With some assistance from Wolverine of the Canadian Resistance Army, the group managed to build a jammer to incapacitate the inhibitor collars so that psychic Rachel could send Kate Pryde's consciousness back through the time stream into her younger self, then a junior member of the X-Men. The process worked, depositing the older Pryde's mind in her younger self during a Danger Room session. She worked quickly to explain where she came from and warned them about the assassination attempt happening that very day. The team flew off to Washington, D.C. to change history.

Back in 2013, the surviving X-Men ran off trying to protect the unconscious Kate, but were soon discovered by the Sentinels who killed Franklin. After shutting the attacking metallic monstrosities down, the group made their way to the Baxter Building. They managed to infiltrate the building and get to the command center, but suffered staggering losses along the way.

In the present day, the X-Men battled fiercely against the Brotherhood, but Mystique managed to knock both Xavier and MacTaggert unconscious. After a brutal battle, the X-Men figured the day had been won, but Mystique and Destiny still managed to corner Senator Kelly. Kate managed to phase through Destiny when she attempted to skewer the Presidential hopeful with a crossbow bolt. Having succeeded, Kate returned to her own time.

In the wake of the story, Henry Peter Gyrich was placed in charge of Project: Wideawake, which lead to the production of even more dangerous Sentinels, a thread that wove its way through years of stories. Also, Rachel Summers found herself transported to Earth-616 where she's resided ever since, becoming a stalwart member of the X-Men. Not bad for a two-parter! 

For even more X-Men X-citement, be sure to tune in on March 16 for the Marvel Unlimited Live Virtual Event X-Men 60 Uncanny Years which will feature famed X-Men creators including Chris Claremont!

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