Four Years Ago, Marvel’s Hottest Writer Gave Readers the Last Truly Great X-Men Event

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As a huge X-Men fan, I remember when things really started to get interesting about six years ago. After years of feeling a bit sidelined, the mutants entered a new golden age. Marvel brought in Jonathan Hickman, and he absolutely blew things up! He started with House of X/Powers of X and launched what everyone calls the Krakoa Era. Basically, mutants suddenly had their own sovereign nation on this living island called Krakoa, which completely flipped their dynamic with the rest of the world. It was a really creative period, with Hickman and the other writers taking some bold risks. But apparently, the story evolved from Hickman’s original vision behind the scenes. He eventually moved on from the X-Men, but not before giving us one last incredible story arc that really blew everyone away.

For me, Inferno was an absolute knockout, and honestly, it felt like the peak of what the X-Men could be. Jonathan Hickman really hit his stride, teaming up with incredible artists like Valerio Schiti, R.B. Silva, and Stefano Caselli. The story was so emotionally resonant, but still had that signature Hickman flair for big, crazy sci-fi ideas. It was a truly brilliant run that, I think, doesn’t get talked about enough. It’s easily one of the best things Marvel published in the 2020s, and it marked the end of the most creatively exciting period of the Krakoa Era. It laid the groundwork for everything that happened with the mutants after that, and later writers definitely built on the ideas Hickman introduced.

Inferno Was Hickman’s X-Men Swan Song

The Inferno comic is a complex story exploring the fallout from Xavier, Magneto, and Moira MacTaggert’s decisions in establishing Krakoa. It reveals the repercussions of their hidden secrets and marks the end of Krakoa’s first chapter. The story reintroduced Destiny, Mystique’s wife, as a key figure, and exposed Moira’s long-held secret, leading to her exile from the island. This exile was complicated by Magneto and Destiny being kept separate due to Moira’s fear of Destiny’s ability to see the future. Ultimately, Inferno explained the origins of Omega Sentinel’s villainy and showed how Xavier and Magneto lost control of Krakoa.

This story wasn’t about big battles, but rather a thoughtful look at what’s right and wrong when it comes to both the Quiet Council and the Orchis Initiative. Writer Jonathan Hickman surprised readers by revealing that the mutant nation of Krakoa would ultimately lead to humanity’s end – a twist on the classic ‘Days of Future Past’ idea. It was a brilliant concept, and I remember being shocked when I reached that part of Inferno #3. This built on the sense of unease that readers felt in Hickman’s X-Men and Benjamin Percy’s X-Force, which showed that life in Krakoa wasn’t perfect. The story culminated in a fantastic fight, with Xavier and Magneto battling Omega Sentinel and Nimrod while Mystique and Destiny faced off against Moira.

Jonathan Hickman’s run on X-Men had its ups and downs, sometimes promising more than it delivered. However, the Inferno storyline was a true highlight. While some find his writing emotionally detached, he masterfully portrayed Mystique’s efforts to bring back her wife, and their eventual reunion was a powerfully moving scene – a standout moment for the entire X-Men era. Each issue delivered at least one major event – from the resurrection of Destiny revealed in the first issue, to Emma Frost discovering the truth about Moira, and the unveiling of the Omega Sentinel – culminating in two uniquely brilliant battles, all accompanied by stunning artwork.

Jonathan Hickman consistently delivers strong event storylines for Marvel, and his creation of Krakoa was particularly impressive. While the Krakoa saga eventually lost some focus, Inferno felt like a final, clear statement of Hickman’s vision. He wasn’t interested in portraying a flawless mutant utopia, but a flawed society built on deception, secretly decaying from within. Inferno highlighted the moral complexities of the island and delivered the impactful moments fans expected from the writer. It offered a glimpse of where he intended to take the story, and for many, it provided a natural ending point to the Krakoa narrative.

Inferno Was a Tantalizing Glimpse of What Could Have Been

When Jonathan Hickman stopped writing the X-Men, it significantly impacted the series, and many believe it contributed to the eventual decline of the Krakoa Era. Initially, everyone claimed his departure was a mutual decision, but later, Hickman shared that he regretted not fighting harder for his original vision. While we’ll never know exactly what his plans were, the story arc Inferno offers a strong indication of the direction he intended to take the X-Men.

As a huge comic book and movie fan, I always felt like the idea of Krakoa was fascinatingly flawed from the start. It wasn’t supposed to be this perfect paradise, you know? It was built on a foundation of secrets and, frankly, a little bit of deception. And at the heart of it all was this incredibly powerful, but deeply wounded, woman who’d seen countless failures over centuries. The Inferno storyline really brought that to light. It showed the real consequences of the nation’s rules and how, ultimately, it was a pretty disastrous idea for everyone involved. It was a really dark and intense story, and honestly, it had a unique vibe that I don’t think we’ll ever see replicated in comics again.

While some recent X-Men titles like Immortal X-Men, X-Men Red, and the current Uncanny X-Men have been enjoyable, nothing has quite captured the magic of what came before. That earlier run wasn’t always easy to follow, but that’s part of what made it special. Since then, A.X.E. Judgment Day came the closest to reaching that same level, but Inferno feels like the peak of the Hickman era, and it’s cast a long shadow over everything published since.

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2025-10-29 00:12