How Will The X-Men Join The MCU? New Comics May Have A Hint

The logo for 20th Century Fox's "X-Men" series. 20th Century Fox

After Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the X-Men are perhaps the biggest conundrum looming over the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with fans curious how such a massive aspect of the comics will integrate into the dense film franchise. Now, a new comic series that debuted on Tuesday is offering a tantalizing glimpse at what could be for the next iteration of cinematic mutants.

“House of X” #1 is the next big X-Men book from Marvel Comics, hailing from “Fantastic Four” veteran writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Pepe Larraz, per the Hollywood Reporter. In Hickman’s book, mutants make their return to prominence after a few years on the sidelines of the Marvel Universe. In that time, they have established a new civilization apart from human society on the island of Krakoa. The story of the miniseries will find mutant society stronger than ever before, poised to potentially overshadow humans as the dominant species at last.

While Marvel Studios has almost always favored traditional takes on their characters, a bold new vision like “House of X” could be just what is needed to get mutants into the MCU. The primary issue facing the studio is that the X-Men are a substantial portion of the classic comics universe, a second class of humanity woven into societies all over the world with decades of history. To date, the MCU has documented nearly a century of fictional history, with nary a mutant in sight. Introducing mutants as an established and separate society might just do the trick, neatly addressing the question of where they’ve been after nearly 15 years of movies.

If there is any problem with this non-traditional take, it’s that it may feel too similar to Wakanda from “Black Panther” or the home of the “Inhumans” in their short-lived ABC series. But Krakoa could still be a starting place for the creative maestros at Marvel to craft a smart new take on the characters.

Marvel Studios’ X-Men films have no concrete plan and will likely not begin releasing until well after 2021.