Who are the Remaining Mutant Council Members in Jonathan Hickman and Marvel Comics Powers of X??
Phillip Pratt
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Voting? Democracy is so last century for the X-Men. How does Jonathan Hickman hold so much in that head of his?
Hello true believers! We’re going to be talking about some key points from Powers of X #5 and the rest of the mini-series, including the happenings of House of X. So, if you haven’t read yet, this is your chance to skip out and come back later…
Powers of X #5 took us a little back in time. Before the Krakoa seeds had taken root. Before Xavier and Magneto had begun shipping out their mutant drugs that extend human life and cure mental and physical illness. Back when the citizens of Krakoa only numbered in the dozens (if you haven’t read House of X #5, the mutant denizens of Krakoa now number in the thousands- perhaps even hundreds of thousands) and didn’t have diplomatic immunity.
We’re treated to Xavier and Magneto negotiating with Emma Frost to help distribute their drugs through her company, the Hellfire Corp. Atop of exclusive rights, they also offer something that’s even more valuable to Emma. Power. Not in the way of amping her powers or money. They dangle the real carrot. Two seats on the council which will ultimately govern their new mutant nation. By the time it’s all said and done, Emma doesn’t just walk away with the distribution rights, but with three seats instead of the offered two on the yet to be formed council! So, yes. There will be (or is) a ruling council for the Krakoa nation.
This is a different approach for the X-Men. At least in the present timeline. During the Uncanny Avengers series, all of mutant-kind was transported to Planet-X by the Scarlet Witch and the Apocalypse Twins. There, the race was governed by a select group of X-Men heavy-hitters before the timeline was restored through the efforts of Havok. Outside of that incidence, the X-Men, have, for the most part, always been led by a singular person with input from the team or select advisors. On Genosha, Magneto was the de facto leader of the nation having formed it himself, with his family handled very much like royalty. Without having to say these are uncharted waters for the team.
However, the interesting part isn’t the decision to use a council, more it’s construction. Named “The Quiet Council of Krakoa,” so far, we know that the fourteen-person council will be broken down into parties. Five in total with each populated by 3 members: Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Krakoa. Krakoa is the only two-person party and consists of Cypher and Krakoa, these two paired together for obvious reasons as Cypher is the only one that can truly communicate with their living home. The other parties are a bit more mysterious. Well, only if you’re not paying attention. As far as the information in the books goes, Autumn consists of Professor X and Magneto with one more mystery member. Spring is Emma’s party which has herself and Sabastian Shaw along with another yet to be named member. The other two parties, Winter and Summer, are still unknown, but perhaps not so much?
Last week’s issue of House of X saw the arrival of many unsavory types onto Krakoa. Apocalypse, Lady Mastermind, Frenzy, Marrow, Mister Sinister, Exodus, Random and a host of others. Some so obscure, I’m not even sure of all of their names. There had to be a reason for this outside of promoting unity among the mutant race.
Like humans, there will always be conflict among them, because unlike the Phalanx, they are not a hive mind. They’ll have different opinions and superpowers. Two factors that don’t typically mix well. However, the situation can be handled if all parties feel as if their interests are being looked after. Peace can be maintained, for the most part. Which is probably why Xavier also sought out Namor. He most likely intended to give him a seat on the council but was ultimately turned down by the Atlantis mutant-King.
Where does this leave us, you ask? Out of the 14-member council, we know the identities of only 6. But maybe that’s not true. Not really. Back in the spring of this year when this entire Summer event was being advertised, Marvel released a seemingly harmless piece of promotional art. Several X-Men grouped with several classic and powerful villains in what I could only describe at the time as a class photo. Turns out, I wasn’t terribly far off. At the time it made absolutely no sense. (Related: New House of X Teaser Raises More Questions For Marvel’s Upcoming X-Men Event)
Now? Well, it makes a whole lot of sense. If you take the time to analyze the art you’ll notice that there is something very interesting about the group’s makeup. For one, there are 11 of them including Xavier, Magneto, Emma Frost, and Sebastian Shaw. All confirmed members of the Quiet Council. Look closer and you’d notice precisely seven more characters, namely; Nightcrawler, Storm, Jean, Apocalypse, Mister Sinister, Exodus, and Mystique. All senior members of the mutant community, several more than a century-old.
Counting Cypher and Krakoa, you have 13 in total leaving space for one more member. I’d put my money on Moira being the last member of Autumn alongside her partners in crime, Xavier and Magneto. (Related: Jonathan Hickman and Marvel Comics Retcon Iconic X-Men Character Moira MacTaggert)
If I had to guess, Emma’s final spot on her Spring party is probably Mystique, as they do work with one another well. Jean, Kurt, and Ororo are most likely a party all their own which leaves Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister and Exodus to populate the last remaining party. If I had to bet, I’d wager the X-Men party is named Summer while team Apocalypse is Winter. I could be wrong, but we only have a week or more to wait. It’s all very Game of Thrones-y to me. And I love it. What do you think of the Quiet Council?
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