Fall of the House of X: Everything you need to know about the end of Marvel's Krakoan era
With four series announced so far for January 2024, mutantkind may be facing a big finale
Things are not looking good for the X-Men right now — and as soon as 2024 starts, it’s going to look a lot worse. Just weeks after announcing both Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X, Marvel has started offering some more details about what to expect for the X-Men and their fellow mutants and… well, like I said. It’s not looking very good for anyone other than the bad guys right now.
Want to know more about the seemingly apocalyptic end to a storyline that started all the way back in 2019’s House of X and Powers of X? Read on for everything you need to know.
What is Fall of the House of X?
A five-issue series by Gerry Duggan and Lucas Werneck, Fall of the House of X is part of the culmination not only of the current “Fall of X” status quo in Marvel’s X-Men franchise, but also the so-called “Krakoan era” of the franchise, which began in 2019’s House of X and Powers of X miniseries. Storywise, Fall takes place in the present day of the Marvel Universe, and ties up the many plot lines relating to Orchis’ attempt tp eradicate mutantkind, not least of which being its apparent success in its mission. Of course, things are more compacted than they might first appear, but the situation is no less grave as the remaining X-Men to gather and fight back for what might be their final battle.
Marvel’s official description of the first issue runs thusly: “Krakoa has just begun to fight in Fall of the House of X #1! Mutantkind has never had a greater fall. From the highs of Krakoa – their own glorious nation, a place where they were safe and happy – to the lowest of lows. Outlawed, hunted, killed, most of their kind missing or dead, and now, one their greatest leaders, Cyclops, is on trial facing a death penalty. Ready or not, the time has come for the X-Men to make their final stand against the forces that have struck them low. The day is now. The place is here. The tale of the house Xavier built will long be told…and few will forget this darkest chapter.”
The series will launch on January 3, 2024.
What is Rise of the Powers of X?
The other half of the story being told in Fall of the House of X is Rise of the Powers of X, by Kieron Gillen and R.B. Silva, which is set a decade the future after the X-Men… lost the battle against Orchis? Wait, that can’t be right. Of course, it is worth remembering that we have seen more than one possible future in the Krakoan era so far, including an entire mini-event — Sins of Sinister — that took place in a future that was deliberately averted at the end of the story. So is that what’s going on here, or are things more dire than they seem?
Marvel’s description of the first issue goes like this: “The fight for Krakoa has been lost in Rise of the Powers of X #1! Ten years ago, the mutants returned from their exile to try and reclaim the Earth from the forces of Orchis. They failed. Now, within the victorious Orchis with their gauntlet choking the world, Nimrod and Omega Sentinel put their plan within a plan into action. They are to summon their binary god to consume everything in their accession. All that stands between them is the X-Men. What can they do? They're the X-Men. They'll find a way. That's their power. So begins a story beyond time and space, with the rise of powers beyond our petty human intelligence.”
The series will launch January 10, 2024.
Is there a Fall of the House of X trailer?
There is a trailer for what Marvel is calling “X-Men: Fall & Rise,” which offers a small insight into how bad things have gotten for the X-Men’s erstwhile leader, Scott Summers:
Is there a poster for Fall of the House of X?
Not a poster per se, but Marvel has released a promotional image by Mark Brooks, following on from similar promotional images he provided for House of X/Powers of X, X of Swords, and Destiny of X. Try and see what clues you can decode from this:
Are those the only two series that will close this era of the X-Men franchise?
There are two tie-in series announced so far by Marvel. The first is Resurrection of Magneto, which replaces X-Men: Red on Marvel’s publishing schedule and is written by that series’ Al Ewing. (Luciano Vecchio provides art.) The title is fairly self-explanatory in terms of what the series is about, but there’s a wrinkle that needs to be called out — namely, just who is trying to resurrect the fallen figure: Storm. The first issue will be published January 24, 2024.
Maintaining a theme, the second tie-in series to be announced is Dead X-Men, written by Steve Foxe and a number of artists including Vincenzo Carratù, Bernard Chang, and Jonas Scharf. Five dead mutants and resurrected and sent through history on a mission to prevent Krakoa’s fall that seems impossible — but that’s hardly anything new for the X-Men. Marvel is keeping a lid on just who these particular X-Men are for now, but all will be revealed when the series launches January 31, 2024.
What comes after that?
The end of the Krakoan era is also likely the end for the current editorial regime of the X-Men at Marvel, following the announcement that longtime Avengers editor Tom Brevoort will be taking over the franchise at some point in 2024. He’s publicly said that he’s keeping his plans for the Children of the Atom under wraps for now, but given both the apocalyptic nature of the Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X status quo and the fact that we know there is a time travel component involved in the story, it’s not entirely impossible that there’s a reboot of some kind coming before too long. Could Marvel dare…?
Really, the writing was on the wall as soon as they decided to make Beast into a villain…
