The post-Inferno to end of the Krakoa era X-titles thread

[Midnighter]

Also Monet and Syrin:
https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/1546914793151397891
And Bling! and Surge:
https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/1546914793151397891
The winner then is one between Armor and Firestar.
Just like the last Hellfire Gala all these strips take place around the revelation of the result of the election.

[Midnighter]

And the last one, that reveals the winner:
https://twitter.com/Marvel/status/1547230627698819074

[Clive_Reston]

Holy cow, six X-books this week!

Easy ones first. New Mutants 27 continues from 25-26 (placement uncertain, probably pre-Gala, assuming the Soulsword gets remade by the end of this story). Wolverine 23 continues from 20-22 (soon after X Deaths 5), except for the final two pages, which are later on and lead into X-Force 30. And Marauders 4 continues from 1-3, though there are time travel shenanigans at the end.

There's also been a two-parter in X-Men Unlimited Infinite Comic #42-43, involving Cypher, Warlock and Banshee, which has an epilogue several weeks after the rest of the story; it can really go almost anywhere where there's some space in the past half-year (but if Cypher shows up elsewhere with a slightly burned face at some point, that'll place it).

But the big attraction this week is the Hellfire Gala special, which I'm just gonna call X:HG for the moment; both Immortal X-Men 4 and AXE: Eve of Judgment take place around it.

X:HG (1) is a while ago, in the Summer House before X5 16 (and possibly before X of Swords: Jean intends to quit the Council, and in X5 16 she's invited back to it but declines).

IX 4 (1-3) are Emma the night before the Gala. (So the FCBD Avengers/X-Men story with Mary Jane Watson is sometime around here too.)

X:HG (2-3) are early the following morning in the Treehouse; (4-6) are on Krakoa immediately after that; (7) is Emma reading the news.

IX 4 (4) is Emma's response.

...X6 12 (17-20) are here.

X:HG (8) is Clea, (a clean-shaven) Reed & Sue Richards (hence after Reckoning War), Tony Stark and Steve Rogers responding to the news.

X:HG (9-11) (on Phobos), (12) (the Council), (13) the Five & Magik with big soulsword, and (14-16) Healing Gardens are all pre-Gala that day.

The Gala itself: X:HG (17-26) are the early part of it. The images of (27) are a -FB to Rogue and Captain America immediately before Avengers Annual 10 (7:3), though the narration continues straight through to (28-42)... which a note says lead into the forthcoming Amazing Spider-Man #9.

(Also, Kate Pryde appears to have been resurrected before the Gala.)

X:HG (43-49) are before the vote (and those "before and after" strips Midnighter mentioned go around here). (50-56) are the vote and its announcement; (57-58) are its immediate aftermath.

Then we get IX 4 (6-8) -FB, followed by IX 4 (5).

X:HG (59-60) are "hours later," with Moira and Eternals.

IX 4 (9-19) appear to be the day after the Gala, though maaaaybe they're not. Sinister is "kidnapped."

IX 4 (20) is that night.

AXE:EoJ appears to be sometime thereafter; Sinister is in Celestia.

[Clive_Reston]

Only two X-titles last week--Knights of X #4 (which, no surprise, continues directly from #3) and A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1 (which, no surprise, is probably a day or so after Eve of Judgment). And, amazingly, none this week, unless you count Gambit #1, which an editorial note indicates "takes place in the previously unexplored time period only glimpsed during UNCANNY X-MEN #267." The deluge starts again next week, apparently.

There's a Marauders/X-Men Green storyline going on in X-Men Unlimited Infinite Comic, though, written by Steve Orlando; it's the first time I've seen the X-books directly mention the moon having exploded ("just weeks ago").

[Clive_Reston]

X-Men Red #5, this week, takes place during A.X.E.: Judgment Day #1 (an editorial note that seems very carefully phrased says "events in this issue are also referenced in A.X.E. Judgment Day #1 and Legion of X #6"). AXE:JD 1 (18:2 - 18:4) ~ X-Men Red 5 (2:5 - 3:1).

Then X-Men Red 5 (3:2 - 17) takes place simultaneously with the next few pages of AXE:JD 1, over the course of 20 minutes. Timing here could get pretty granular. Nightcrawler reappears on AXE:JD 1 (22:2), and "barely made the last gate before it went"; the gates have already been destroyed by "T-Plus 18:00" on X-Men Red 5 (16:6). Then the Five bring Cable back, but Cable's still alive until "T-Plus 17:11" on X-Men Red 5 (16:1). (On the other hand, Isca has already beaten Nightcrawler by "T-Plus 12:29," so maybe Kurt high-tails it back to Krakoa and just assumes Cable's dead, and the Five aren't going to, like, wait around for X-Factor to investigate.)

AXE:JD 1 (23) ~ X-Men Red 5 (18), at the end of Uranos' hour.

Immortal X-Men #5 also takes place during Judgment Day #1. AXE:JD 1 (14:4 - 15) ~ IX 5 (5:3 - 11), a tricky sequence that also encompasses a bunch of flashbacks. (And Judgment Day #1 is tricky, flashback-wise, itself: we see Druig talking to Moira at the end of Uranos' hour, but the Krakoa scenes we see then are flashbacks to the beginning of the hour.)

Then we get AXE:JD 1 (16-20), in which Logan gets some knives stuck in him during the Uni-Mind's initial attack, which we see when Exodus wakes up in IX 5 (12).

AXE:JD 1 (21), in which Logan calls Jean and the mutants beat the Uni-Mind, is simultaneous with IX 5 (13-16).

IX 5 (17) is just after the fight. Then Druig makes his speech and the Hex mobilize at the end of AXE:JD 1; IX 5 (18-20) are Exodus fighting one of them right after that.

Legion of X #4 appears to be fairly shortly after #3, but it has to be a bit later; it's definitely after the Hellfire Gala, in any case, since David knows about Moira. (But it also appears to be before AXE, per the above-mentioned editorial note.)

Logan appears in Ghost Rider #5, written by Benjamin Percy, but there doesn't yet seem to be a particular time when that's happening.

[Clive_Reston]

A.X.E.: Judgment Day #2 conveniently picks up exactly where Immortal X-Men #5 left off. Banshee appears and doesn't appear to be Ghost Rider-y, so that may be relevant for Legion of X. It also sets what seems to be a "24-hour" clock for the bulk of what remains of the event, which could get interesting.

Ms. Marvel & Wolverine #1 is slightly perplexing. It takes place at the Treehouse, and Storm appears in her X-Men Red costume. Scott is Cyclops (rather than Captain Krakoa), so we're after the '22 Hellfire Gala. And I'd be tempted to say it's in the weeks between Immortal X-Men 4 and A.X.E. ... except it makes a point of the public memorial at the Treehouse ("to great mutants who are no longer with us," per X-Men 1). Which, given that everyone knows that "no longer with us" no longer applies, post-Gala, seems odd. Maybe it's been repurposed as a memorial to the not-yet-resurrected victims of Genosha?

[Somebody]

A.X.E.: Judgment Day #2 conveniently picks up exactly where Immortal X-Men #5 left off. Banshee appears and doesn't appear to be Ghost Rider-y, so that may be relevant for Legion of X.

Well, we know Legion of X #6 is going to be the (a?) tie-in issue, showing what happened to Legion during the events of X:R2 5. So, either this is post-Vox Ignis, he's powered down (but still has it) or "art error". (There've also been cameos of Gambit & Rachel during Eve of/Judgement/Day, which leaves questions that *might* be answered with the end of Knights of X)

[Clive_Reston]

A whole lot of X-titles again this week!

X-MEN 13 and A.X.E.: DEATH TO THE MUTANTS 1 both overlap extensively with Judgment Day #2 and with each other. Here's how it looks so far:

AXE:JD 2 (1-8) - the Avengers arrive on Krakoa, then leave

AXE:DTM 1 (1-5) - Eternals send Phastos off, then jump into the pit

AXE:JD 2 (9-10) is a montage, but its fourth panel is the Eternals jumping into the pit

AXE:DTM 1 (6-10) - Eternals in Lemuria

AXE:JD 2 (11-12) - Syne and Exodus killed

AXE:DTM 1 (11-12) - Syne's resurrection process has started

AXE:JD 2 (13-15) - Syne and Exodus resurrected; Phastos is working with Tony and Sinister

X-MEN 13 (1-8) - Thieaka defeated; Jean talks with Ikaris

AXE:DTM 1 (13-14) - Ikaris clears the Exclusion and tells Jean the way to the armory is open...

X-MEN 13 (9) - ...then repeats himself in slightly different words

X-MEN 13 (10-11) - Magik and her team enter the armory ~ AXE:DTM 1 (15) - Druig observes them--specifically, Firestar, Magik and, uh, Laura/Wolverine? I mean I don't think there's any reason she couldn't be with the group in X-Men, just off-panel...

X-MEN 13 (12-17) - Magik and team smash and freeze the armory. As they're returning, Magik says "next stop: Limbo, then Krakoa"... which, in the light of this week's New Mutants 28, implies that New Mutants 25-28 are after Judgment Day!

AXE:DTM 1 (16) - The Hex's power source has been cut off, and Zuras is disabled.

AXE: JD 2 (16-17) - Rheaka Centaurus kills Exodus again (sad trombone noise); Syne reappears but walks away

X-MEN 13 (18) - The team returns as Syne is walking away

AXE:DTM 1 (17) - Phastos finishes the Celestial, which awakens and prepares to speak

AXE:JD 2 (18) - The Celestial starts speaking

AXE:JD 2 (19-20) ~ X-MEN 13 (19-20) - The Celestial delivers its message

AXE:DTM 1 (18-20) - Druig reacts to the recent developments

Meanwhile, in NEW MUTANTS 28, besides the aforementioned hint about placement of 25-28, there's a flashback on pg. 19 that seems to go between pages 9 and 10 of Cable (2020) #9!

X-FORCE 30 is billed as a Judgment Day tie-in, but shows no signs of connecting with that event yet; maybe subsequent parts of the story will make the connection clearer. Its first three pages seem to be right after #29; pages 9-18 are after this year's Gala (mutant immortality is public) but apparently before Judgment Day; pages 4-8 and 19-20 are sometime after that.

And there's a print version of the first half of the X-Men Green storyline from X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic (i.e. reprinting #1-4), too!

[Michael]

X-MEN 13 (12-17) - Magik and team smash and freeze the armory. As they're returning, Magik says "next stop: Limbo, then Krakoa"... which, in the light of this week's New Mutants 28, implies that New Mutants 25-28 are after Judgment Day!

Meanwhile, in NEW MUTANTS 28, besides the aforementioned hint about placement of 25-28, there's a flashback on pg. 19 that seems to go between pages 9 and 10 of Cable (2020) #9!

OK, this could cause a problem. In New Mutants 28, Illyana and Maddie get new costumes and Illyana gets a new sword, Illyana hands over rulership of Limbo to Maddie and Illyana's stepping disks are changed so they no longer go through Limbo.
In X-Men 13, Illyana has her old costume and sword and her stepping disks still go through Limbo.
Here's the problem- in the Free Comic Book Day Spider-Man issue, Maddie and Ben team up against Peter. Maddie is in her new costume and is ruler of Limbo.This week's issue of New Mutants raises the question as to how this is possible, since Maddie and Illyana agree to a magically binding contract intended to prevent Maddie from doing harm. So did Illyana screw up by making the contract too specific so that Maddie is unable to harm Krakoans but can harm their allies like Spider-Man, was Maddie not trying to harm Peter or is there another explanation? We'll find out in Dark Web. But anyway, the problem is that Peter is in his current costume in the FCBD issue. But Norman showed Peter his new Oscorp suit in Amazing 7, and he'll probably wear it in Amazing 8.The problem is that Peter seems to be wearing his Oscorp suit in the preview for Amazing Spider-Man 9, which is a Hellfire Gala tie-in and precedes X-Men 13:

https://www.gamesradar.com/a-major-marv ... -and-more/

We'll have to monitor this closely. Even if it turns out not to be Maddie but some sort of impostor in the FCBD story, for example, it would still have to take place after New Mutants 28.

[Clive_Reston]

But anyway, the problem is that Peter is in his current costume in the FCBD issue. But Norman showed Peter his new Oscorp suit in Amazing 7, and he'll probably wear it in Amazing 8.The problem is that Peter seems to be wearing his Oscorp suit in the preview for Amazing Spider-Man 9, which is a Hellfire Gala tie-in and precedes X-Men 13:

I don't know that that's a problem. Illyana indicates in New Mutants #28 that the contract specifies that Madelyne "can never use her position or powers to willingly harm Krakoa or Krakoan citizens"--but she doesn't say anything about the rest of the world. I also suspect that Peter is not going to be wearing the Oscorp suit forever, or even for very long. #9 is the Hellfire Gala story, #10 is the Judgment Day tie-in, solicitations indicate that he's also got the Oscorp suit in #11-12... but Amazing Spider-Man is, at least nominally, twice monthly, and that FCBD story seemed to be taking place substantially down the road. Dark Web's prelude issue is Amazing #14, which will reintroduce Chasm; my guess is that the FCBD story is set some time after that.

(Amazing has a bit of a history of FCBD stories set long after they come out. The 2007 FCBD issue is set right before ASM 546, which came out eight months later; the Spider-Man story in FCBD16:ASM /2 takes place at the same time as ASM4 19/2, which was five months later...)

[Midnighter]

Well, however, Magik can still go back to Limbo (she states that she goes back there to instruct Madelyne in magic). Maybe they went through Limbo for other reasons (like taking advantage of the fact that time runs slower to get organized and heal) not related to the teleportation disks. But I think specifying that they go through Limbo before they get to Krakoa is really a way of indicating that the story takes place before New Mutants 25-28.

Admittedly, the preview of Midnight Suns 1 shows Magik with the golden armor he gets at the end of New Mutants 28 (which I think will become her new "official" costume) and that she does not wear during Judgment Day, so it is possible that the trip to Limbo with Madelyne, Rahne, and Dani takes place after Judgment Day.
Then given the "old" Soulsword during the Hellfire Gala, it seems much more sensible to place New Mutants 25-28 after Judgment Day (there is nothing to indicate that 25 takes place shortly after 24; indeed, it may have been a long time since Illyana has already told Dani and Rahne about her intentions).

It is much easier to think that Spidey has returned to wearing the old costume for FCBD2022:SM/V, whether permanently or momentarily. Incidentally, the third story of FCBD2002:A/X also definitely takes place after ASM 7-8

[Clive_Reston]

OK, let's do this, Leeroy Jenkins, etc. (I've been off the grid for a couple of weeks, and returned with COVID, but I think my brain's clear enough to work out X-stuff now...)

MARAUDERS 5 wraps up the first storyline. Xandra is resurrected at the beginning (so, perhaps, after X-MEN RED 4), and 1-19 takes us up to just before Hellfire Gala '22. Kate is resurrected (off-panel) in time for the Gala; pg. 20 is "days later," after the Gala.

Now for the main attraction: AXE: JUDGMENT DAY 3 and its tie-ins IMMORTAL X-MEN 6, AXE: DEATH TO THE MUTANTS 2, MARAUDERS 6, X-MEN 14, X-FORCE 31 and WOLVERINE 24. Goes something like this:

AXE:JD 3 (1-5): The Progenitor judges Steve Rogers; Druig and Uranos talk in the Exclusion; Tony, Phastos, Sinister discuss the Progenitor's weakness.

IX 6 (1-2): Sinister contacts Destiny and gives her a hot tip.

AXE:DTTM 2 (1-2): Sally chats with Syne the Memotaur while it's attacking Krakoa.

AXE:DTTM 2 (3): Emma flirts with Kro.

AXE: JD 3 (6-7) ~ IX 6 (3:1): The fight continues on Krakoa. Xavier is killed, & Hope told to resurrect him. Destiny calls a council meeting while Storm's away on Mars.

AXE: JD 3 (8): Scott meets Deviants coming through the gates to join the fight.

AXE:DTTM 2 (4-6): The Deviants attack the Hex.

AXE: JD 3 (9-10): Stark, Sinister, Phastos, etc. at the pole; Cap/Steve reports "it's getting ugly on the streets"; Sinister opens a way to the node.

AXE: JD 3 (11-15) ~ IX 6 (3:2 - 4:2): Fight ensues. Jean hits the weak spot. Reykjavik destroyed.

AXE: JD 3 (16) ~ IX 6 (4:3): Jean realizes it's not real.

AXE: JD 3 (17:1 - 17:2): The Progenitor speaks.

AXE: JD 3 (17:3): Thumbs down for Emma ~ IX 6 (7:1) - FB. (Then: AXE:DTTM 2 (7).) Thumbs up for Kro ~ AXE:DTTM 2 (8). Thumbs down for Mystique. Thumbs down for Destiny ~ IX 6 (4:4 - 5:4).

AXE: JD 3 (17:4): Jean yells at Sinister.

AXE:DTTM 2 (9-10): The Deviants get a thumbs up en masse. Druig considers. Uranos sees the Progenitor.

AXE: JD 3 (18): Sersi gets an idea.

AXE: DTTM 2 (11-14): Sersi has left; Ikaris & co. are judged.

AXE:DTTM 2 (15): Sersi and Jack of Knives in the Hall of Blades.

AXE: JD 3 (19-20) ~ AXE:DTTM 2 (16): Sersi and Jack of Knives free Starfox from the Exclusion.

AXE:DTTM 2 (17-18): Starfox checks in on Sui-San.

AXE:DTTM 2 (19-20): Sally is judged and chats with Syne, who's busy on Krakoa.

IX 6 (6-14): Quiet Council meeting (plus flashbacks to Shaw's past). Xavier has been resurrected; Storm is briefly back from Mars. Legion has saved Arakkii, apparently in Legion of X 6. Gee, it'd be nice if that would get published soon.

IX 6 (15-16): Shaw is judged in his office.

X-MEN 14 (2-16) -FB: The X-Men deal with a solar flare. Night in Chicago, sunset on Krakoa.

The text page for X-FORCE 31 claims that it's "concurrent with" WOLVERINE 24, but they're both just sort of vaguely somewhere during the 24-hour Progenitor judging period, ideally sometime when Logan isn't showing up in a crowd scene elsewhere.

IX 6 (17): Night. Shaw meets with Starfox at the NY Hellfire Club.

IX 6 (18-20): Shaw's demonic ritual.

X-MEN 14 (1) and (17): Reporter confronts editor, early morning in... apparently Chicago?

X-MEN 14 (18-20): Cyclops confronts the Progenitor.

MARAUDERS 6: What appears to be dawn at Hellfire Bay. Bishop's "we're moving on the Progenitor" line suggests that this is before AXE:JD 3 (11-15), but this seems to be later in the 24-hour period. Also, the "rescuing mutants trapped in the Altar" thing suggests that Legion of X 6 may help orient this one when it eventually comes out.

Dessert now! Other mutant comics of the past few weeks:

X-MEN & MOON GIRL 1 is... hardly an X-Men story--only Wolverine (Logan) and Havok appear (they also appeared at the end of AVENGERS & MOON GIRL 1). This one can really go anywhere those two are available. The Summer House appears, but it looks like when the Watcher fixed the moon over in Fantastic Four he fixed the Summer House too--it appears in WOLVERINE 24 (first time in a while it's shown up in a regular X-book).

Logan also appears in GHOST RIDER 5 and 6, written by his regular writer Benjamin Percy, but they also have no Wolverine-related placement cues.

NEW MUTANTS 29 is a Scout/Daken/Warpath one-off. Since 25-28 seem to be after Judgment Day, there's no reason this can't be too.

KNIGHTS OF X 5 is the last of the series; Gambit's back, and... really, the whole thing can go anywhere there's a bit of room, and the reference to Gambit in Legion of X 1 isn't especially an indicator of anything. I might even put the whole series before Immortal X-Men 1.

The sequence that starts with X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC #50-51 takes place during this year's Hellfire Gala, beginning "10 minutes after the election." And, improbably, T.E.S.T. KITCHEN INFINITY COMIC #2 not only includes Emma Frost (and Tony Stark) but is specifically some time after Gala '22.

[Michael]

About Knights of X 5- in New Mutants 25, Dani, Illyana, Rahne and Maddie say if they die in Limbo, the resurrections will be warped, as in Otherworld. So should we assume that New Mutants 25 takes place before Knights of X? It's possible that no one told Dani, Illyana, Rahne and Maddie about the Siege at the time of New Mutants 25- and they were stuck in Limbo fighting S'ym and Evil Illyana, so it's not like they could contact Krakoa to check.

[Clive_Reston]

About Knights of X 5- in New Mutants 25, Dani, Illyana, Rahne and Maddie say if they die in Limbo, the resurrections will be warped, as in Otherworld. So should we assume that New Mutants 25 takes place before Knights of X? It's possible that no one told Dani, Illyana, Rahne and Maddie about the Siege at the time of New Mutants 25- and they were stuck in Limbo fighting S'ym and Evil Illyana, so it's not like they could contact Krakoa to check.

I see no reason why AXE --> New Mutants 25-28 --> Knights of X wouldn't work. Someone correct me if I'm missing something? (Still curious about Rogue's "as you know, my destiny lies elsewhere" line from X-Men, though.)

[Clive_Reston]

Oh! I forgot to mention: X-MEN UNLIMITED INFINITY COMIC #44-49 are sometime after Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird #1, because of a reference to altered footage implying that Thunderbird massacred a police station... which doesn't give us a hell of a lot of time for it to happen, especially if it's before #50 and therefore before the Gala. Once the challenge in X-Men Red #3 happens, there's a two-day span during which Xandra is killed and mutant immortality is outed, and then boom we're at the '22 Gala. Could we bump it to the time between the Gala and A.X.E., defying numerical order, I asked myself? Nope, because Sinister appears on the Council. The one option I see is to have it take place during a break of a few days between pages 3 and 4 of X-Men Red #3, so that Kate Pryde and Sinister can both be present on the Council. Incidentally, Cypher's face has healed by this point, and also Birdy is back.