As the end of X-Men's Krakoan Era officially nears, the mutant team prepare for their final battle against a godlike AI that wants to wipe out biological life on Earth. In the twin five-issue series Fall of the House of X and Rise of the Powers of X, a future team of surviving mutants will battle the approaching Dominion - a gigantic AI lifeform that's almost impossible to stop. Rise of the Powers of X will take place ten years after Fall of the House of X, and depict the final X-Men team's last stand against the AI threat.

At New York Comic Con, fans got their first look at this future team, in Rise of the Powers of X cover art from R. B. Silva (who will helm the comic alongside Kieron Gillen.) The cover to Rise of the Powers of X reveals a five-member team made up of Wolverine, an aging Synch, Kamala Khan as Captain Krakoa, Kate Pryde's Shadowkat, and what appears to be the sentient island of Krakoa wearing Iron Man's Mark Nil armor. Enjoy the cover and official synopsis below:

THE FIGHT FOR KRAKOA HAS BEEN LOST! 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. From writer Kieron Gillen (IMMORTAL X-MEN, UNCANNY X-MEN) and artist R.B. Silva (POWERS OF X, CAPTAIN AMERICA: SYMBOL OF TRUTH) comes half of the story that will bring the Krakoa Age to its conclusion!

While many of these heroes have undergone major changes in this jump forward in time, Kate Pryde's Shadowkat has experienced the most inexplicable transformation, turning into a gray-skinned giant. Kate can be seen fighting alongside Kamala in a recent trailer for this line of titles, shared by Marvel Entertainment.

The Final X-Men Fight for the Future

While fans don't yet know why these five heroes are the X-Men's last line of defense, their new forms perfectly pay-off major plot points from the five-year X-Men revamp. Synch recently unlocked the full potential of his powers, but with the side effect of gradually damaging his body. Meanwhile, Iron Man has opted to the X-Men against Orchis in his new armor, and Forge's Captain Krakoa armor has ed between various heroes (and villains) - apparently finding its final wearer in Kamala Khan, who was recently revealed to be a mutant. However, fans don't yet have any explanation for Kate Pryde's new form.

Shadowkat's Descent Reaches Its End

Kate 'Kitty' Pryde has undergone a major transformation over the Krakoan era. Previously known as the 'little sister' of the X-Men, she matured into a leader of the Marauders and started taking a more reckless and violent attitude to mutant survival. This transformed into true darkness following the Mutant Massacre at the 2023 Hellfire Gala, after which Kate embraced the new codename Shadowkat and began employing lethal tactics, killing multiple agents of the mutant-hating group Orchis. In Rise of the Powers of X, it's clear Kate is more powerful than ever - she's still wearing her Shadowkat costume and wielding the swords gifted to her by the villainous Ogun, but now she's also a towering giant who looms over the rest of the team.

Saving Mutantkind May Cost Kate Her Soul

It's possible that what fans are seeing is a reversal of Kate's powers. It's been hinted at in other continuities that Kate could reverse her intangibility powers to become super-dense, and it makes sense that doing so might transform her physically. However, with a jump into the future and so much still unknown, there are many different reasons Kate could have undergone this upgrade, which seems to act as the final result of her growing despair and inner darkness.

With Marvel teasing that the X-Men will need to battle across time to save life on Earth from the incoming threat, there's rarely been a more capable team to take on Armageddon. However, as Kate 'evolves' from leader and hero to merciless assassin, will the X-Men's survival come at the price of this fan-favorite hero's soul?

Rise of the Powers of X will release January 10 from Marvel Comics, following Fall of the House of X on January 3.

Source: Marvel Entertainment