Warning! Some spoilers for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1.
Since the birth of the island nation of Krakoa, the X-Men have slowly separated themselves from the rest of the world and have become less than the selfless heroes they were in the past, and now the team of mutants is literally voting to decide if they’ll save mankind. After the mutants of the world came together on Krakoa, the X-Men went from heroic protectors of both humans and mutants to an established government. As shown in a preview for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing, the Earth is under attack by forces that may be too great for even the Avengers, and the X-Men are safe on their island, quietly weighing their options.
In the preview for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by Steve Orlando with art by Andrea Broccardo and Guru-eFX, the villainous Harrower, who King in Black-level threat, but are quickly losing the battle. One area where the threat of Harrower has been neutralized is Krakoa, and the preview ends with the Quiet Council deciding whether or not to help the rest of the world given that they themselves are not impacted by the danger.
Among the mutants calling for the live-and-let-die approach are the usual cast of characters, all who were once villains. Magneto and Mr. Sinister are opposed to lending a hand to the humans, after all they established an entire nation to not worry themselves with the affairs of the rest of the world. Proponents of acting as heroes and living up to the X-Men name as it was once known are previous X-Men themselves. Nightcrawler and Storm urge the Council to get involved. Nightcrawler approaches the issue from a moral and ethical perspective, as one would expect from a former priest, while Storm takes the logical approach. Magik has already been approved by the Council to combat the demonic invaders with a supernatural attack, so Storm stands up and says she herself can handle the natural aspect of the invasion. Xavier, acting as the true diplomat he has become, brings the issue to a vote, leaving fans unsure of if or how the X-Men will respond.
While this is the latest example of the X-Men considering their position on an issue before taking action, this isn’t the first time they have done so. Recently, during the King in Black’s invasion of Earth, which sparked a massive crossover event, the X-Men decided not to help the rest of the world and to instead focus only on the safety of Krakoa. The X-Men were involved in the initial response, but reconsidered the mission after the situation became dire. As the situation worsened, the X-Men even considered abandoning the Earth all together and initiate their rebirth program in the far reaches of space.
It is easy to criticize the X-Men for not getting involved in a potentially world-ending threat, but the truth is the X-Men are not the X-Men anymore, not since Krakoa was established. After Moira showed Charles the many lives she lived that always ended in mutant extinction by the hands of humans, Xavier lost any hope of humans and mutants living together in harmony and adopted a mindset of mutant-human separation. The mutants’ own survival is at stake, with nine realities of evidence to prove their position, and to them that takes precedent over any danger humans may find themselves in, bringing the once heroes to the point where the X-Men are literally voting to decide if they’ll save mankind in X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing.
