The MCU is slowly assembling its version of the X-Men. Sadie Sink made her long-awaited debut as Jean Grey in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the recent castings of Samara Weaving as Emma Frost and Kit Connor as Scott Summers have kept the team top-of-mind with audiences. Many of the mutants’ best-known stories have already been adapted by the Fox movies, including God Loves, Man Kills, Days of Future Past, and, of course, the Dark Phoenix Saga (twice!).
However, the recent Krakoan Age of the team’s history has provided a slew of new, intriguing storylines, the best of which is arguably Immortal X-Men. Focusing on the Krakoan Quiet Council, Immortal X-Men shows a new side to the X-Men, setting aside the team’s usual superhero antics in favor of a more dramatic, political, and interpersonal story about power, corruption, ambition, self-interest, the weight of expectations, and the destructive power of secrets. This bold approach resulted in the most layered and compelling X-Men storyline in years and the highlight of the Krakoan Age overall, proving why the mutant team is still Marvel Comics’ most engaging and versatile group.
What Is Immortal X-Men About?
Image via Marvel Comics
To understand Immortal X-Men, we need a little context first. The 2019 sister miniseries House of X and Powers of X reshaped the X-Men franchise by having Charles Xavier and Magneto ally to create the mutant sovereign nation of Krakoa, which, by the way, is a sentient island that effectively functions as a hive mind. Xavier offers complete amnesty to every mutant on Earth, turning Krakoa into a de facto haven. A lot of things happen in between, including the revelation that Moira MacTaggert is a mutant with the ability to reincarnate with all her memories intact. There’s also tons of time-traveling shenanigans, betrayals, and mutants achieving immortality through a group known as “The Five”—you know, standard comic book silliness.
It’s in this context that Immortal X-Men takes place. The 18-issue series mainly concerns the Quiet Council, the 12-member governing body for Krakoa. The Quiet Council is comprised of four tables, each one named after a season and responsible for a specific part of the island’s governance. The Autumn table is made up of the most powerful mutants (Xavier, Apocalypse, and Magneto) who act as the diplomats, mainly overseeing mutant-human relations. The Winter table includes the most dangerous mutants (Exodus, Mystique, and Mister Sinister), with their seat in the Council a way for Xavier to keep an eye on them. The Spring table oversees the island’s commercial interests via trading, and is comprised of the two highest-ranking members of the Hellfire Club, Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw. Finally, the Summer table represents Krakoa’s most moral and by-the-book mutants; basically, it’s the X-Men table, including Jean Grey (going by Marvel Girl), Storm, and Nightcrawler.
This is the initial line-up, anyway. Throughout the series’ run, many mutants leave for different reasons: for example, Magneto retires to terraform Mars, aiming to turn it into a mutant planet (seriously), while Jean Grey leaves to reform the X-Men. All the while, Moira MacTaggert acts as a silent partner, using knowledge from her ten different lifetimes to advice on what strategies to employ and what mistakes to avoid, hoping to escape the tragic future that mutantkind suffered in her other lives. Each member tries to make a flawed concept work, but contrasting personalities, clashing interests, and pure, old-fashioned drama make governance all the more difficult.
Collider Exclusive · Marvel Personality Quiz Which MCU Hero Are You? Spider-Man · Daredevil · Iron Man · Punisher · Thor · Cap
Six heroes. One destiny. Answer 10 questions to discover which Marvel Cinematic Universe hero shares your personality, values, and fighting spirit. Will you swing, fly, or thunder your way to glory?
🕷️Spider-Man
😈Daredevil
🤖Iron Man
💀Punisher
⚡Thor
🛡️Cap
01
What drives you to do what’s right? Choose the answer that feels most like you.
02
It’s 2 AM. Where are you? Your answer says more about you than you’d think.
03
How do you handle a villain who keeps escaping justice? Every hero has a method. What’s yours?
04
How do you feel about keeping a secret identity? The mask — or the lack of one — says everything.
05
You’ve lost someone important because of your heroism. How do you carry that? Every hero pays a price. The question is how they pay it.
06
What’s your role when working with a team? Who you are under pressure is who you actually are.
07
Where do you draw the line between justice and revenge? The answer defines what kind of hero you really are.
08
When you’re not saving the world, what does life look like? The person behind the mask is always the more interesting story.
09
What keeps you up at night? Fear is useful data — if you’re honest about what you’re actually afraid of.
10
The battle is lost. You’re outnumbered, outgunned, and exhausted. What do you do? This is your tiebreaker — choose carefully.
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your MCU Hero Is…
Based on your answers, the Marvel hero who matches your spirit, values, and instincts has been revealed.
Queens, New York
🕷️ Spider-Man
You carry the weight of the world on shoulders that are younger than they should have to be — funny, loyal, and endlessly self-sacrificing.
You do the right thing not because it’s easy, but because no one else will.
You understand that responsibility isn’t a burden you choose — it’s one that finds you.
Whether it’s a neighbourhood mugging or a multiverse crisis, you show up.
Peter Parker’s lesson — that great power demands great responsibility — isn’t a slogan to you. It’s the code you live by, even when it costs you everything.
Hell’s Kitchen, New York
😈 Daredevil
You fight in the shadows between law and chaos, guided by a fierce moral compass that refuses to let the guilty walk free.
You use every tool available — your mind, your body, your faith — to protect those the system overlooks.
You’ve looked into the darkness and chosen not to become it, though the line has never been easy.
Matt Murdock’s duality — champion in the courtroom, devil in the alley — mirrors your own.
Relentless, conflicted, and unwilling to stop. That is exactly you.
Stark Industries, Malibu
🤖 Iron Man
Brilliant, driven, and occasionally insufferable — but always the person who solves the unsolvable problem.
You lead with your mind and back it up with resources, innovation, and a stubbornness that borders on heroic.
You started out looking out for yourself, but somewhere along the way the world became your responsibility.
Tony Stark’s arc — from ego to sacrifice — is your arc too.
You build, you plan, and when the moment comes, you’re willing to give everything. Because in the end, you’re Iron Man.
New York City
💀 The Punisher
You’ve been through fire that would break most people — and it did change you, completely. What’s left is unyielding, relentless, and operating by a code forged in grief.
You don’t ask for forgiveness, and you don’t expect gratitude.
You see a corrupt, broken world and you’ve decided to do something about it, consequences be damned.
Frank Castle’s war is born from love twisted by loss — and so is yours.
Uncompromising and unflinching — the world may not agree with your methods, but your conviction is absolute.
Asgard · Protector of the Nine Realms
⚡ Thor
Powerful, proud, and on a lifelong journey to become worthy of the legend you carry.
You lead with strength but have learned — sometimes painfully — that true greatness comes from humility and growth.
You’re larger than life, yet more vulnerable than you let on.
Thor’s story is one of transformation: from arrogant prince to worthy king, from isolated warrior to beloved protector.
You bring the storm when it’s needed — and the warmth when it matters just as much.
Brooklyn, New York · The Avengers
🛡️ Captain America
You believe in something bigger than yourself — and you fight for it even when the world has moved on and nobody else will.
You don’t bully the small guy, and you never stop when it gets hard.
Steve Rogers didn’t become a hero when he got the serum — he was always one. So were you.
Your strength isn’t in your fists; it’s in your refusal to compromise what’s right, no matter the cost.
In a world full of people taking the easy road, you’re the one who picks up the shield and stands up — every single time.
Why Is Immortal X-Men the Best Storyline in the Team’s Recent History?
Image via Marvel Comics
Immortal X-Men excels because it’s an entirely character-driven political thriller. Most superhero comic book storylines are plot-driven, meaning the characters serve the narrative. X-Men storylines tend to favor a more balanced approach between character and plot, but Immortal X-Men openly embraces characterization as a cornerstone for its storytelling. The writing is spectacular from start to finish, with Kieron Gillen injecting a lot of personality into his writing and making every major character pop out of the page.
The dynamics between each member of the Council are fascinating. In particular, Charles Xavier is the best he’s been in years—decades even—playing a major supporting role and often operating from the shadows in a borderline Machiavellian way. He’s in his element here: surveilling, manipulating, controlling, and carrying secret agendas, working for what he believes are Krakoa’s interests while actively eroding the Quiet Council from within. It’s a fascinating depiction of a morally compromised character who very few writers have been able to get right, especially in the 21st century.
The political angle of Immortal X-Men is very strong, too, recalling the glory days of Game of Thrones. Like the high-fantasy series, Immortal X-Menuses multiple POVs to present a comprehensive look into the Quiet Council. Each issue showcases a character, providing a deep dive into their mindset while still balancing the larger ensemble. The result is a complete and utterly fascinating look into this mutant society. One issue you’re scheming alongside Xavier and Moira MacTaggert, the next you’re inside Destiny or Mister Sinister’s minds, seeing them calculate their next move, weighing risks versus rewards while wondering what their next move will be.
Particularly, Immortal X-Men is willing to fully engage with the very idea of Krakoa, and the struggles it faces as a new nation in a hyper-competitive, commercialized, profit-focused world. As it turns out, the Quiet Council is Krakoa’s biggest enemy, corrupting the nation from the inside out despite the best efforts of many within. Indeed, the Quiet Council is flawed to its core, full of backstabbing, lies, egos, hubris, and misunderstandings. At its core, Immortal X-Men questions whether self-interest can coexist with idealism, whether the greater good can actually benefit from amorality, and whether a noble goal can amount to anything if the people set out to carry it don’t understand it.
Immortal X-Men Proves That Mutants Have the Most Complex Storylines in Marvel
The Quiet Council’s machinations during Immortal X-Men eventually led to the Fall of X initiative, the final chapter in the Krakoan Age, which saw the ultimate confrontation with the anti-mutant organization Orchis and Krakoa’s departure from Earth (remember, the island is sentient). Thus, another mutant nation bit the dust, joining the likes of Genosha as a failed experiment. Alongside Krakoa went The Five, ending the mutants’ de facto immortality.
The role of the Quiet Council in Krakoa’s failure cannot be understated, and it’s a major reason why revisiting Immortal X-Men is such a rewarding experience. This group of profoundly broken, unapologetically amoral, and dangerously (in)effective mutants was a force to be reckoned with; alas, and true to life, their differences prove too significant to overcome. In this way, Immortal X-Men offers a rather sobering and bleak observation about the inherent flaw within any governance system. Are all systems bound to fail, even the superpowered ones?
Immortal X-Men is by far the most complex and worthwhile mutant-centric comic book storyline since House of M, and further proof that this corner of the Marvel Universe is home to the most riveting, layered, and thought-provoking storytelling in the medium. The MCU would do well to adapt it for its upcoming X-Men movie; we already know Emma Frost will play a major role, so will we see Krakoa on the big screen soon? Only time will tell.
