The X-Men’s Krakoan era was a massive success, though it ended like everything else. But should it have? In a world where so many comics initiatives lack a sense of true ambition and an interest in telling new stories, it’s a pity that one of the best of this century was taken away so soon. However, nothing lasts forever, and it's worth diving into just how sustainable Krakoa was as a larger storytelling device.

It's possible that the Krakoan Era should have been the ongoing status quo for the X-Men forever. The era began with House of X / Powers of X, a dual series written by Jonathan Hickman with art by Pepe Larraz and R.B. Silva, which introduced the idea of mutants carving out their own society on the living island of Krakoa.

The series also explained their new powers of resurrection and the moral compromises that were made to enable this "paradise." However, the era only lasted five years, culminating with the Fall of X, a status quo that saw mutants become pariahs yet again.

Should the X-Men Have Lived on Krakoa Forever?

Forever Is a Long Time

What’s important to note about the way that Krakoa ended was that it wasn’t the most natural-feeling conclusion in the world. While the plan to end Krakoa was in motion for several years — Immortal X-Men writer Kieron Gillen has confirmed that he began his book knowing full well he was ushering in the end of the era — the actual Fall of X story felt rushed and frustrating at times, which has made objectively examining it difficult for a fanbase that is so ionate about these characters and this era in particular.

The X-Men's Krakoa Era Wasn't Designed to Last Forever

At Least Originally

One of the big ‘problems’ with Krakoa when it was introduced was that it wasn’t meant to be a sustainable status quo. Hickman has confirmed in interviews that originally, the plan was for Krakoa, as readers know it, to only be the first stage of his larger X-Men story. However, when he consulted the other X-Men writers, he changed his plans and kept the status quo of Krakoa running up until his departure from the franchise in order to give the others time to play in this story sandbox.

Contrary to online conspiracy theories, Hickman has reiterated that his departure from the X-Men wasn’t a result of him being "forced out," nor does he harbor any bad feelings towards the remaining X-Men writers, of whom he’s been nothing but complimentary.

There are a bunch of signs from Hickman’s X-Men tenure that Krakoa originally wasn’t going to succeed. The island was built on moral compromises, and there were cracks everywhere - from working with villains in the Quiet Council, to of the island’s "three laws", to the impending future threat of AI dominions, to the understandable but dangerous rejection of humanity. In a world where Hickman stayed on the X-Men line, any combination of these factors could have shattered the island’s veneer and sent the franchise in a new direction.

Krakoa Eventually Became More Sustainable for the X-Men Line at Large

If Not for the Fall of X...

Of course, that’s not what happened, and therefore it’s worth examining whether the status quo that readers actually got could have been sustainable. After Hickman departed, the status quo of Krakoa slowly shifted further towards something that could have lasted, even if it became a little less radical. Tensions between Krakoa and humanity dissipated for a while, with humanity being selectively offered Krakoan resurrection, and if not for the 2023 Hellfire Gala, the island’s governance would have also shifted to a democracy. In a world where the Fall of X status quo didn’t happen, Krakoa was on a path to sustainability as a storytelling device.

So, the Krakoan era could have been permanent, but should it have been? That depends on what each individual reader wants from their comics.

So, the Krakoan era could have been permanent, but should it have been? That depends on what each individual reader wants from their comics. Krakoa, at its peak, was so powerful not just because it was a cool setting and aesthetic, but because it gave room to tell stories within the X-Men franchise that hadn’t been told before. Hickman’s own core X-Men book, X-Men, allowed for political introspection and moral questioning on a scale that the X-Men had never seen, while other books explored the implications of a society where no-one can die.

Why Get Rid of Krakoa from Marvel's Perspective?

Status Quo Is King

However, from the perspective of Marvel as a publisher, there would also be weaknesses to an everlasting Krakoa. In its existing form, Krakoa discouraged returns to traditional status quo elements that Marvel loves, like the X-Men in their mansion teaching students, or on the run, fighting against a world that hates and fears them. Any status quo can become the new normal if popular and well-known enough through cultural osmosis, but the Krakoan era didn’t quite get there, thanks to the demand that Fall of X happen and thus wrap up the era to return to "normalcy."

Looking at what’s come post-Krakoa, from the From the Ashes X-Men initiative and onwards, it’s hard not to feel like Krakoa should still be the status quo, at least right now. While there are individually good X-Men books still coming out, the line as a whole is scattershot and muddled, with less coordination than during Krakoa, and with less ambitious swings being taken. Is this really what Krakoa was shelved for? Eight months into the new era, and it still feels like the new line is finding its sea legs, even as the first titles from the latest X-Men era are being canceled.

The X-Men's Krakoa Era Could and Should Have Lasted a Lot Longer

Maybe Not Forever, but Nothing Lasts That Long

So, Krakoa could have lasted, and it should have lasted, at least longer than it did. Forever, however? Forever’s a long time. The real answer is that Krakoa should have lasted as long as it had creators willing to push the boundaries of Marvel Comics and try out fresh new ideas, and it was certainly neutered before it ever ran out of those. Krakoa should have lasted at least until someone came up with a better idea for the X-Men, and that’s not what ended up happening at all.

Funnily enough, readers did get an everlasting Krakoa. At the Krakoan Era’s conclusion, Pacific Krakoa, the other half of the island, returns from the White Hot Room, the birthplace and resting ground of the Phoenix and the spiritual hub of mutantkind, where they reveal that outside of time and space, with no human interference, their Krakoa has flourished and will forever. Now, returned to that realm, Krakoa exists forevermore, as a spiritual and religious ideal for the earth-bound mutants to fight for back on their fallen world. The X-Men’s Krakoan era is dead; long live Krakoa.

House of X / Powers of X is available now from Marvel Comics.