Marvel Just Answered a 40-Year-Old X-Men Mystery (But Repeated a Frustrating Mistake)

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Long-running comic books, especially those from Marvel, are known for their consistent storylines – a feature that can be both a strength and a weakness. Unlike DC Comics, Marvel never completely restarts its universe, meaning events from sixty years ago still officially happened. This creates a complex, interconnected history where every new story has to consider what came before, resulting in a rich but sometimes messy narrative. Over decades, these comics have built upon each other, creating a single, continuous story spanning hundreds of issues and choices.

It’s natural for fans to sometimes wonder how things could have turned out differently in their favorite stories. That’s exactly what inspired Marvel’s What If series – each issue explores a simple question: what if a key event had happened another way? Now, celebrating its 50th anniversary, the series is back, tackling those big ‘what if’ scenarios fans have been eager to see. Today, we’re looking at What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1, which imagines a Marvel Universe where Cyclops remained with his former wife, Madelyne Pryor. Unfortunately, this new iteration also brings back a long-standing issue with the series.

Family, Fridging, and Failures Abound

Following the “Inferno” event, Cyclops stepped down from X-Factor to reunite with his wife and son. In a bittersweet farewell, Jean Grey erased Mister Sinister’s memories and left Earth, allowing the family to enjoy peace. Scott and Madelyne kept their history and powers hidden from their son, Nathan, until his own abilities emerged, transforming them into a celebrated superhero family. They achieved great success and briefly improved public opinion towards mutants. However, this happiness didn’t last, as Mister Sinister eventually regained his memories and retaliated, blinding Scott and tragically killing Madelyne, which sent Scott into a period of darkness.

After Cyclops and Cable defeated Mister Sinister, they became hardened, aggressive heroes dedicated to safeguarding what remained. With Sinister gone, the mutant nation of Krakoa lost its ability to bring people back from the dead, making death final. This vulnerability led to a devastating conflict with Arakkii, culminating in the X of Swords tournament where Krakoa was decimated. Driven by war, these mutants launched a full-scale invasion of Earth, wiping out the remaining members of the Summers family and all of Earth’s other heroes. Humanity’s desperate attempt to fight back with nuclear weapons ultimately failed, resulting in total annihilation and leaving Earth a desolate wasteland.

What If Everything Was Worse for No Reason?

The strongest What If…? stories create worlds that feel familiar yet distinctly different, delivering on the core idea behind the original question. Unfortunately, this story falls into the worst trap of alternate-universe tales. It speeds through important events without exploring the emotional impact or character relationships fans expect. A major example is the unnecessary and abrupt death of Maddie midway through the issue – a move that directly contradicts the comic’s premise. Instead of focusing on Scott and Maddie’s story, the plot simply eliminates Maddie to set up a darker future, a disappointing direction for the series.

The most frustrating thing about poorly executed What If…? stories is how insistent they are on demonstrating that the main Marvel universe (Earth 616) is the absolute best, and dismissing anyone who thinks differently. Often, these stories end with the alternate world being destroyed or clearly worse than the original, all to emphasize how great things already are. It feels unnecessarily cruel and pointless. Fans who were hoping for a better outcome for characters like Madelyne Pryor were particularly let down, as the story hinted at fixing past problems but ultimately failed to deliver. It didn’t explore the possibilities the premise suggested and was simply disappointing.

What If…? Uncanny X-Men #1 is on sale now.

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2026-06-07 20:06