As Jonathan Hickman’s tenure with the X-Men is coming to an end with Inferno, the mutants of Krakoa are about to go through another shift that naturally includes roster changes and new books. The “Reign of X” that’s made up the second chapter of this whole endeavour is over, and 2022 will see mutantkind seemingly take their destiny into their own hands after being led along by Charles Xavier and Magneto up until this point.
Starting in March, after the end of both Inferno and the X Lives/X Deaths of Wolverine miniseries from Ben Percy, Joshua Cassara, and Federico Vicentini, Marvel will begin “Destiny of X.” The new phase will bring new books, including Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck’s Immortal X-Men, which is best thought of as a companion piece to the main X-Men book from Gerry Duggan and Pepe Larraz. After Magneto leaves the Krakoan government known as the Quiet Council, power struggles ensue between the group, which includes Storm, Emma Frost, Sebastian Shaw, and Mystique. Gillen, having not written the X-Men since Uncanny X-Men back in 2011, described it as a book “about Krakoa, about the Quiet Council, and all its muffled screams…It’s big ideas, politics, fights and fashion, lies, creation and destruction, all told across the widest possible canvas, in time and space.”
The other “Destiny of X” book to drop in March will be a relaunch of the mutant pirate-romp Marauders. With a new creative team of Steve Orlando (Midnighter) and Elenora Carlini (Go Go Power Rangers), Kate will lead a new team consisting of Daken, Tempo, Psylocke, Bishop, Aurora, and Somnus as they continue ferrying mutants to Krakoa. Joining them will be Charles’ evil twin, Cassandra Nova, who they’ll need to help uncover a mystery relating to the early ancestors of mutantkind. In a statement to Marvel, Orlando teased her as “a little bit Xavier, a little bit Catherine Trammel, and the Marauders’ only hope for success.” The primary X-Men book is also releasing an issue in March, but that appears to be a transitional issue before presumably becoming part of the “Destiny” phase in April.
In April, returning books will be Percy’s Wolverine with Adam Kubert and X-Force with Robert Gill, and a Giant Size X-Men one-shot focused on the recently revived Thunderbird from Orlando, AEW wrestler Nyla Rose, and David Cutler. X-books making their debut includes Chris Claremont and Sid Kotian’s new Gambit solo, and X-Men Red from Al Ewing and Stefano Casslli that’ll pick up with Storm as the new Regent of Mars. Finally, Knights of X from Tini Howard and Robert Quinn will serve as the sequel to the recently concluded Excalibur and see Betsy Braddock, Gambit, and Shatterstar headline a group of mutants stranded in Otherworld.
The final batch of X-books that we know of — which, at this point, is just Legion of X and New Mutants — don’t have creative teams or summaries as of yet. Presumably they’ll hit in May, along with whatever else is spinning out of Inferno and X Lives/X Deaths. Maybe, finally, that Moira Mactaggert book that’s been bouncing between life and death?
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Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.