The X-Men are about to enter a new era. Krakoa gave mutants a new lease on life, but the power of the Orchis Initiative and their own hubris broke them. The end of the Krakoa Era is ongoing, but Marvel has already begun teasing what's coming next with From The Ashes, the newest X-Men publishing initiative. Marvel has announced three flagship titles - Uncanny X-Men, Exceptional X-Men, and X-Men. X-Men is the first to be published and looks to be the heart of the line.

X-Men brings together a team from several generations of X-Men to protect mutantkind from new threats. Orchis may be gone, but that doesn't mean it's completely dead, and the X-Men are needed to ensure the mutant race stays alive for tomorrow. While certain things about the team might seem familiar, X-Men has exactly what X-Men fans want.

An All-Star Team Brings Readers A New X-Men Team

From The Ashes is a dose of familiar nostalgia after a rather progressive era. The X-Men's Krakoa Era gave mutants power and safety for the first time ever, and they lived it up. Unfortunately, a bunch of rather bad decisions - allowing villains to not only join the island but take their seats at the leadership table and a hubristic approach to dealing with humanity - signed the death warrant of Krakoa years before Orchis ever destroyed them. Fall Of X has broken them down to nothing, and From The Ashes picks up afterward.

X-Men will be readers' first taste of this era, and Marvel has decided to put its best foot forward with writer Jed MacKay and artist Ryan Stegman. MacKay is Marvel's biggest rising star, impressing readers on books like Black Cat, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange, and The Avengers. MacKay is the man at Marvel, and putting him on X-Men bodes very well for the future. Stegman has mostly been doing cover work at Marvel and creator-owned work at Image, but over the last fifteen years, Stegman has drawn a raft of Marvel's biggest books. This team inspires a lot of confidence in readers.

The book's premise resembles Brian Michael Bendis's 2012 volume of Uncanny X-Men. Cyclops brings together a team of mutants to protect his people from greater threats than ever. The end of Krakoa has made mutants more hated than ever. The X-Mansion is a prison and mutants no longer have a home. Cyclops and company are out to do everything they can, fight any power, to keep mutants safe. They have their work cut out for them as an enemy rises from the ashes of Orchis to target mutants once again. MacKay and Stegman have talked glowingly about being on X-Men.

MacKay is ready for the challenge of writing Marvel's merry mutants, and Stegman has waited to draw a flagship X-Men book like this his whole career. Add a roster of fan-favorite X-Men, and X-Men is a book no fan of Marvel's mutants wants to miss.

X-Men's Cast Brings Together Mutantkind's Greatest Soldiers

Cyclops Is Ready For War Again

The Krakoa Era was an interesting time for Cyclops. Cyclops had taken over leadership of the X-Men years before when M-Day threw the race into chaos. Suddenly, Cyclops was mutantkind's leader and was responsible for his people's survival. Cyclops worked hard to keep mutants alive, cutting corners and going to places he never would have in the past. Cyclops fell hard, becoming the Dark Phoenix and killing Xavier before leading a revolution and dying of M-Pox. When he returned, he found a mutant race on the brink of death and did his best to keep them going. The establishment of Krakoa was a godsend for Cyclops, as he no longer had to be in charge of a race on the edge of extinction. Mutants were safe, and Cyclops was made into the Captain Commander, the leader of the island's forces. However, Cyclops missed being a superhero and pushed Xavier and Magneto to reinstitute the X-Men.

Cyclops did his best to teach humans that the mutants of Krakoa weren't their enemies, but Orchis was already making their moves. Cyclops died rather publicly, forcing him to hide his identity post-resurrection as Captain Krakoa. This didn't sit well with him and spurred him to reveal the secret of mutant resurrection to reporter Ben Urich. Cyclops's tenure as Krakoa's X-Men leader saw him putting out fires as Orchis planned their death. Cyclops learned an important lesson from the Krakoa Era, which he had forgotten - the war never ends. Cyclops is his people's greatest protector, and this book looks to reposition him as such. Cyclops is the Captain America of the mutant race, and that means one thing - to fight for his people when no one else will.

Magneto Looks To Be Taking A Mentor Role On The Team

Magneto had a very tumultuous time in the Krakoa Era. He and Xavier were the island's main leaders, but their tendency to keep secrets and lord their power over the humans - something Magneto, in particular, loved - led to many bad places. Once the truth about Moira MacTaggert was revealed, Magneto left the Quiet Council. He settled on Arakko, the terraformed Mars, where he joined Storm, Sunspot, and the Arakkii known as the Fisher King in a chess game against SWORD Director Abigail Brand. Magneto was front and center when Uranos attacked the planet and gave his life stopping the mad Eternal. Storm, missing the man she had grown to love and respect, ventured into the Waiting Room - a magical realm set up by Magneto and Scarlet Witch for mutant souls - to resurrect him one last time against his wishes to help with the final battle against Orchis. Magneto may not always be right, but he's proven lately that his approach is sometimes needed.

Magneto's new place on the team seems to be a mentor role. In the first image released of the From The Ashes era, Magneto was floating above the rest of the team in a chair reminiscent of the one Xavier used. Magneto isn't currently paralyzed, but a lot can still happen in the last issues of Fall Of The House Of X, Rise Of The Powers Of X, and the Krakoa finale X-Men #700. Magneto has teamed with Cyclops several times in the last decade and a half. Magneto has gained a lot of respect for his former enemy and has followed his lead during the darkest days of mutantkind. In many ways, Magneto's death at Uranos's hands seemingly washed him clean of the sins of Krakoa. However, with mutants made into targets, there's always the chance that Magneto will decide that humanity needs to be taught a lesson, which could cause friction for the team.

Beast Became A Monster But Is Back As A Simpler Version

Krakoa caused some mutants to go in directions that no one thought they ever would, and Beast was the poster child. He was put in charge of X-Force, basically Krakoa's CIA, and was tasked with taking care of threats with extreme prejudice. For years, Beast had watched his people get constantly kicked while they were down, from the Legacy Virus to M-Day to multiple mutant genocides. His time with the Illuminati made him pragmatic, and he even risked time to bring the five original X-Men to the present in the hopes of getting everyone back on the right track. Beast broke at some point, deciding to do anything to protect Krakoa. This turned Beast into a monster who ordered his team to do horrible things while getting his hands dirty.

Beast made the mistake of trying to make Wolverine his weapon, which ultimately led to his defeat. However, Beast left something of himself behind - his memories of his life up until he was an Avenger. X-Force resurrected this version of Beast, and he's the one that will be appearing in X-Men. This is the bouncing blue-furred Beast of the past, not the traumatized pragmatist who tried and failed to save his people many times. It makes sense for him to join Cyclops's team - he remembers his old friend as the perfect leader, and this is a Beast who will do anything to save the people who need saving. After a few years of a serious, sometimes malicious Beast, it will be nice for fans to get back the old jolly Hank McCoy.

Kwannon Took Back Her Life A Psylocke

The saga of Kwannon is a long and complicated one. She switched bodies with Elizabeth Braddock, who had the Legacy Virus; she died but was resurrected years later, and the two switched back into their original bodies. Kwannon became Psylocke and was pulled into Mister Sinister's orbit on Krakoa because of her daughter, whose DNA Sinister kept after her death. She served as field leader of his Hellions and as a Captain of Krakoa. She sacrificed any chance of getting her daughter back to get out from under Sinister's tumb, eventually joining the Marauders.

Kwannon has proven that she's more than up to the task of being Psylocke throughout the Krakoa Era. Cyclops isn't about to have an X-Men team without a telepath, and while Psylocke lacks the powers of Jean Grey or Xavier, her skill combined with her martial arts mastery make her the perfect soldier for Cyclops's new war. Krakoa was a godsend for Psylocke, and this book looks poised to continue her development in exciting new ways.

Magik Left Behind The Demons Of Her Past

Magik's had a rough time in her life. A demon kidnapped her as a child, and she was raised in Limbo, where years passed like seconds in her home dimension. Illyana became a demon queen and fought alongside the New Mutants before returning to her original age and dying of the Legacy Virus. She came back years later as an enemy before finally beating her demons. Magik became a key part of Cyclops's circle of mutants but Krakoa separated them for a time as she took up training the new generation with her friends in the New Mutants. Magik was also a Captain of Krakoa and finally gave the rulership of Limbo to Madelyne Pryor, closing the door on her dark past before joining Krakoa's X-Men and barely doing anything of note.

Magik is exactly the person Cyclops would go to if he were forming a new team to protect mutantkind. He's learned to trust Magik and her power, and the two have worked very well together for years. Despite holding a somewhat high office, Magik spent much of the Krakoa Era in the background. Her stint with the X-Men was especially disappointing even though it felt like she was gearing up for something big, so Magik has something to prove with this new team.

Kid Omega Finally Found Himself On Krakoa

Quentin Quire was long the X-Men's l'enfant terrible. He started a riot at the school, ascended to a higher level of consciousness, and then returned to cause even more trouble. Wolverine and Quentin eventually became very close, and Kid Omega joined X-Force. He worked with Wolverine and died a lot. Eventually, he realized that he allowed himself to get killed so much, despite being one of the most powerful telepaths on Earth, because he was scared of who he could be and his destiny. He was able to overcome all of that and finally reach his potential.

He sacrificed himself for the team and then returned to life to help X-Force at the end of the Krakoa Era. Kid Omega has transformed completely, becoming the perfect soldier for Cyclops. He's no longer holding himself back, and his history with X-Force means he knows that hard things must be done. On top of that, Quentin's destiny has always been with the Phoenix Force, which is back in play in the From The Ashes era, so the best place for Cyclops to watch him is on the X-Men.

Temper Is Ready For The Big Time

The former Oya was one of the Five Lights, the first mutants to manifest after M-Day. She and Cyclops have a history together - Cyclops ordered her to kill a bunch of Hellfire Club goons, which caused the schism between Cyclops and Wolverine. Temper went to the Jean Grey School and was close with Wolverine but eventually faded into the background. During the Krakoa Era, she broke one of the laws of Krakoa and found herself in the Pit, tortured by Sabretooth. She was picked to join the Exiles after Sabretooth's escape to hunt him down. Temper stayed on his trail even after his multiversal jaunt, helping out Wolverine when Sabretooth returned.

Temper's ice and fire powers make her a powerhouse for the team, and she's definitely someone Cyclops would want around. She works well with Quentin, and has proven to Cyclops in the past that she will follow orders. Temper was once a person mutantkind put a lot of hope into and joining Cyclops's team is the perfect way for her to show that hope wasn't misplaced. Temper has always been ready to do anything to protect her people, and Cyclops would definitely want someone like that on his team.

Juggernaut Is The Perfect Muscle For Cyclops's Group

Juggernaut started fighting the X-Men in the old days, as his rivalry with his brother Professor X made him a sworn enemy of the team. Juggernaut spent years as a mercenary with Black Tom but has mellowed out in recent years, joining the X-Men on more than one occasion. Juggernaut decided to become a hero once he regained the power of Cytorrak after losing it to Colossus. He even earned a spot on Krakoa, working hard to prove to his brother Charles that he belonged there.

Juggernaut was ready to join the X-Men again when Orchis's attack on the third Hellfire Gala saw him captured by the anti-mutant organization, and now he has something to prove. After Xavier botched Krakoa so much, Juggernaut might feel that it's his familial duty to make up for what Charles did. Cyclops picking Juggernaut for his team says a lot about who Juggernaut has become, but there's definitely more to it than that. Juggernaut can fight the Hulk to a standstill, and that's definitely someone Cyclops will want on his team.

Cyclops's New Team Is Ready For Whatever The World Throws At Them

From The Ashes borrows from multiple prior eras of X-Men comics for each of its books, and X-Men looks to be returning to a more militant team with Cyclops doing his best to fight the enemies of mutantkind. This book looks to be the prime mover of the X-Men's story for this era, and it will be nice for fans who like a harder-edged Cyclops to see him dealing with threats to mutantkind again. The team is a great mixture of powerful mutants, and Cyclops definitely has a plan for them.

MacKay and Stegman are trusted creators, and it will be interesting to see where they take this team. This new era explores the deep scars that Krakoa left on mutants and humans, and there's no one better to fight for mutants than veterans like Cyclops, Magneto, Beast, and Magik. Psylocke has shown how far she's willing to go for her people. Temper and Kid Omega have deserved their spot in the limelight for a while now, and Juggernaut adds the kind of sheer physical power this group will need. The enemies of mutantkind need to beware - the X-Men ride again.