Welcome, X-Fans, to the first uncanny edition of X-Men Monday at AIPT of 2024!
I hope everybody’s new year is off to a promising start. After a relaxing week off, X-Men Monday is back — and so is X-Men Senior Editor Jordan D. White to help break down the biggest moments in Fall of the House of X #1.
And hopefully, you’ve read the first chapter of Gerry Duggan and Lucas Werneck’s epic finale as there are spoilers beyond this point.
AIPT: Welcome back to X-Men Monday, Jordan! Fall of the House of X #1 is the official beginning of the end of the Krakoan era. Before we dig into the issue’s biggest moments, I’d like to take a step back. Over the course of your tenure as X-Men Senior Editor, you’ve overseen massive stories with unique sets of challenges. X of Swords had a pandemic. The Hellfire Galas featured multiple character designs. Now, you’re closing a beloved chapter of X-Men history. So my question is, how do you approach an epic finale like Fall of the House of X? Does a story like this, where you’re wrapping up years-long plotlines, require any special strategies?
Jordan: Yeah, of course. I mean, I’ve never done anything like this. I was going to say… I don’t know how many people have, but obviously, you have Nick Lowe ending Dan Slott’s Spider-Man run, which was a pretty big era. And Tom Brevoort has ended a lot of things over his career, like the Brian Michael Bendis era of Avengers being a pretty massive one. It’s not easy. And this one is weird because it’s not a creator era. Those were Slott and Bendis’ endings. This is not Jonathan Hickman’s ending.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jonathan set us up, kicked us on our way, and then bowed out. So this isn’t Jonathan going, “Here’s what I’m going to do to blow the doors off my own story.” This is us going, “We need to end the Krakoan era that Jonathan started.” It’s very challenging because it’s a bunch of us. Obviously, you have Gerry Duggan and Kieron Gillen, but everybody contributed in a lot of ways because it’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time. It’s all of us going, “What needs to be resolved?” and “How is it going to be resolved?” Some of these are stories that Gerry and Kieron set in motion. And some of the things that are being wrapped up are stories that Jonathan or others set in motion — all sorts of things from across the entire Krakoan era have been pointing in this direction. And that’s no easy beast to wrangle in any capacity.
I’m doing my best as are all of the creators. And hopefully, we’ll come out with a really great and satisfying story. That’s what we’re planning out and hopefully, we can execute.
AIPT: OK, let’s dig into the issue. So Cyclops’ recurring dream and that mysterious redhead. Will we be revisiting this dream and its mysteries in the issues to come?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: It’s definitely an element that I believe Gerry plans to revisit. Although maybe not quite the way that you’re saying. We’re not going to pick up with what happened next in the dream. In fact, he says that’s when he wakes up. So, will we see more of it? Not in the sense of like, “So here’s what happens next.” It’s a dream and as is often the case in stories, dreams have meaning. Is it a literal meaning or is it just an emotional meaning to Cyclops? That remains to be seen in the story.
AIPT: We last saw Cyclops wearing his ‘90s Jim Lee costume. What’s the reasoning behind him standing trial in his classic costume?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: Well, I think Orchis just felt like it tested better, right? No, I think the real reason outside of the story is because we are doing a story that has to do with mutant history and the span of all of X-Men. So it made sense to us to do some things that were calling back to not just what we’d done in Krakoa, but to the eras before as well.
You mentioned the Jim Lee costume that he’d been wearing just before this, but why not span a little further back and go, “Here’s Cyclops’ first non-team costume.” It’s a cool one and it gives him a different and kind of unexpected look. It’s a look he hasn’t really revisited much. So I think it pulls him out of the context we’re familiar with a little bit more as well.
AIPT: On to Wolverine, Colossus, and their “screwball special,” which follows Shadowkat’s shocking actions in X-Men #25. Is it safe to assume the remaining X-Men aren’t interested in taking prisoners when it comes to Orchis?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: It is safe. This is an all-out war at this point, as they do mention in the issue. Orchis says flat out, they’re going wipe mutants off the face of the planet. These are not silly supervillains who are trying to take over the world because they like money. They’re not trying to make people into dinosaurs or weird things like that. They’re trying to exterminate people because they’re different and mutants are not having it.
AIPT: Readers know Omega Sentinel’s secret from Inferno. Dr. Alia Gregor doesn’t. But what about Cyclops? Do you think he suspects something Dr. Gregor doesn’t know?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: Well, I think that Cyclops does know some things that some of the Orchis human members don’t — at the very least because he knows some more about what Moira learned in her lives than they might have known. These are the things that Moira told Xavier and Emma that then got passed on to the Quiet Council. Those are things Cyclops at this point would know as well. And it’s unclear how forthcoming Moira has been with every part of Orchis.
I think it’s fair to say Cyclops might suspect something. I mean, he probably doesn’t know everything, I’m sure. But if you look at the history of what could happen in the future, there are certainly a lot of ways it could go badly between humans and AI. I think he knows that very well.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Charles Xavier has a plan. Is it safe to assume we follow this plan into Rise of the Powers of X and Dead X-Men?
Jordan: That is pretty safe, yes. But he’s important to this book as well.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: So, despite the harmful effects this has on my sanity, every now and then, I check out what X-Fans are asking questions about and debating in different communities. This next question is dedicated to the folks wondering: Has Nimrod truly been defeated by amber?
Jordan: No.
Here’s what you’re asking me: “Oh man, was Superman defeated by a lead wall?” No, he’s thwarted for a second, and then he figures out a way around it. Nimrod is in amber. Do you think that will hold him forever? If you think that will hold him forever, then great. Stick with that and be surprised. But if you think amber might be a thing that stops him for a moment, then you might be right.
He’s been on a number of covers we’ve solicited.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: In the end, Nimrod’s going to be defeated by someone named Amber.
Jordan: [Laughs] Yes, exactly.
AIPT: Right after that, we see Krakoa take off. So where’s Krakoa going?
Jordan: Well, away. Away from the people who want to kill him.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
AIPT: Not to get too philosophical, but when Krakoa stands up and leaves the island, is the island left behind still Krakoa?
Jordan: That’s complicated. I mean, listen, this is a story, not science as you’re aware.
But what is Krakoa? It’s sort of like asking where is the self and the mind and all of that. And it’s more complicated for Krakoa than it is for us — and it’s already really complicated for us. When we grow a Krakoan gate at an embassy in the middle of New York or Jerusalem, is that part of Krakoa? Yes, we have always said it is part of Krakoa. But is it Krakoa? I don’t know, it’s part of him.
So I think it’s safe to say that the part of Krakoa that ran away is a part that, if you killed the rest of Krakoa, Krakoa would not be dead without killing the part that ran away. However, I don’t know that that’s the case in the reverse. If you killed that part of Krakoa and you didn’t destroy every gate around the world, would Krakoa still be alive? I’m not going to say definitively as I’m not sure of the answer definitively. But I think it’s much safer to say yes, perhaps he would be dead if you killed the part that ran and not those other parts.
AIPT: For this next question, I’m once again tapping into X-Fan discourse I’ve observed and been dragged into. Based on Jennifer Walters’ letter, it looks like Cyclops is right again. While I, as a Cyclops fan, have loved seeing him getting to relax in the Krakoan era and be a family man, I’ve seen some anger from fans of revolutionary Cyclops. As Cyclops and the X-Men prepare for war, could we be seeing a return of the more defiant Scott Summers so many X-Fans seem to have missed?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: I don’t want to make them sad by saying no, this isn’t him either, but I think there’s a world of difference between the revolutionary Cyclops and the Cyclops in this letter.
Because Cyclops now has been thrust into a war that isn’t a war of his own making. Revolutionary Cyclops was very much going, “I’m not going to let the new normal be that mutants are being casually oppressed” and “I’m not going to let the status quo be because the status quo is bad for mutants.” Krakoa upset all of that by going, “Well, we also aren’t going to let that the status quo be because we’re going to flip it on its head” and “Instead of trying to revolutionize your world, we’re going to revolutionize our world and change everything from within to give ourselves the good place and the good life that we want.” That allowed Cyclops to have, as you said, a family and a kind of peace. Even though he was still a warrior and a champion, he was able to, at the same time, find peace and beauty in his life.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
This is in some ways a Cyclops who is going back to being a little bit more reactive because that place of peace and beauty for mutantkind has been destroyed and upset again. He is back to striking out in this war, but it feels a little different to me than the revolutionary Cyclops. It does use similar language at certain points, and it does have similar ideas because his goal never changed in any of these eras. His goal was always the best outcome for mutantkind, right? So with that said, he’s serious about what’s happening and he’s going to do what has to be done — that’s what Cyclops does.
He’s still captured right now. How’s he going to get out and what’s he going to do? Let’s find out.
AIPT: Time for some more costume talk. First, you teased Rogue’s new-old look a few weeks back. What was the decision there? And second, what can you share about the new Polaris design?
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
Jordan: Well, the Rogue look was because Gerry blew her hair off and then wanted to give her short hair. Then he was like, “Let’s also just give her the short-hair costume too while we’re at it.” If you didn’t read Uncanny Avengers, she survived a nuclear blast and then only came back through Deadpool’s healing factor. And again, let’s not get into details on how healing factors and hair work together, because yes, Logan does always heal back to his exact same haircut, but that didn’t happen in this case. Don’t worry about it.
But we thought it would be fun and cool. Again, it’s a story that’s the end of an era, but it’s also a story that will hopefully help affix Krakoa into the history of X-Men — the large tapestry. We certainly don’t want Krakoa to be a blip. We don’t want this to be a thing that, five years from now, no one even needs to think about having happened.
AIPT: I’m not sure if this is intentional, but seeing a few older costumes is also in line with Hickman’s “mutant clothes” idea for the Krakoan era — that every costume was in play based on artists’ interest.
Jordan: That’s absolutely true. For Polaris, the idea of having her in a green Magneto costume came up and Lucas Werneck took that as a challenge to step it up even more and go, “I can do better than that” and he did a Magneto-inspired Polaris costume that just kicks ass. He’s a beautiful designer, does great work on costumes, and he does beautiful work on people, in general. He made her look absolutely great there, and we’re thrilled to have her as part of this series.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
I do want to mention that Polaris is on the last page of this issue because she won that contest. Honestly, all three X-Vote winners are going to be in this series and have been important over the Fall of X and in the end of this era because they won those contests. It’s not like we were sitting there going, “The whole Krakoan era will end when Polaris shows up with the Brood in this Celestial’s head.” That wasn’t part of the plan. That was a part of the plan that developed when we went, “OK, here’s a piece we have to fit in — what do we do?” There are a lot of great, awesome story possibilities with Polaris. Same with Juggernaut and Firestar.
So if you’re ever wondering how much those X-Men fan votes mattered — they mattered a lot and they changed everything.
AIPT: Finally, what can you tease about Fall of the House of X #2? Well, and I guess Rise of the Powers of X #1, which is this week.
Jordan: Well, Rise of the Powers of X #1 is 360 degrees in the other direction and nothing like Fall of the House of X, but it is awesome. If you’ve been reading X-Men and Immortal X-Men, you already know how different Gerry and Kieron’s approaches are to stories and what kinds of stories they tell. But these are going to dovetail together in a big way. So this is going to be coming from a completely different angle. We’ve teased very little about what the actual content of Rise of the Powers of X is. It kicks off 10 years in the future after the mutants have lost and that is 100% true. But what that means for the entire series remains to be seen and I think people will be surprised by that, as well as who our actual cast ends up being and what they’re trying to do.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
As for Fall of the House of X #2, I’m working on it now. It’s great stuff and continues the crazy action. It’s paying off more big things that we’ve had in the hopper for a while, and things start looking a little worse for Orchis. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they look great for the X-Men just yet. It’s a rough road ahead.
AIPT: Thanks for the teases and thanks for taking the time to break down Fall of the House of X #1, Jordan!
X-Fans, here are a few eXclusive preview images from Rise of the Powers of X #1 and other upcoming X-comics, courtesy of Jordan.
Courtesy of Marvel Comics
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Before we wrap, a few exciting announcements regarding upcoming editions of X-Men Monday.
First, in case you missed it, rising comics superstar Peach Momoko is coming to X-Men Monday to discuss her upcoming Ultimate X-Men series — and you have a chance to ask her a question! Please submit any questions by January 9, 2024 at 5 PM ET.
Then, Kieron Gillen will be answering questions about Rise of the Powers of X #1 in the next edition of X-Men Monday, so look for that call for questions this Wednesday on this very website.
Until next time, X-Fans, stay exceptional!
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