The “Reign of X” was the official branding for the entire line of X-Men comic books published by Marvel Comics from December 2020 to March 2022. It served as the direct follow-up to the initial “Dawn of X” branding that launched the Krakoan Age. While head writer Jonathan Hickman remained the chief architect of the overarching narrative, the Reign of X era saw an expansion of the creative teams and a greater focus on individual titles developing their own long-form subplots under the larger Krakoan umbrella. The era was officially announced with a teaser image by artist Mahmud Asrar in September 2020, featuring key characters like Magneto, Professor X, Cyclops, Storm, and Apocalypse standing over the phrase “A new Reign is coming.” This branding provided a cohesive identity for the X-line after the reality-bending crossover event, X of Swords. Key titles during this period included X-Men, S.W.O.R.D., Hellions, X-Force, and Inferno. The era concluded with the end of the Inferno miniseries and the X Lives of Wolverine/X Deaths of Wolverine event, paving the way for the next chapter, branded as the “Destiny of X.”
The Reign of X begins in the immediate aftermath of the X of Swords crossover. The tournament against the forces of Amenth has concluded with a hard-won victory for Krakoa, but at a great cost. Apocalypse has chosen to remain in the demonic dimension of Amenth with his long-lost wife, Genesis, and their children, the original Horsemen. In his place, the entire lost mutant island of Arakko and its millions of battle-hardened, ancient mutants have returned to Earth, merging with Krakoa. This sudden demographic and cultural shift creates immediate tension. The Arakki, who have known nothing but war for millennia, are a stark contrast to the more idealistic Krakoans. This fragile peace sets the stage for the era's primary conflicts. With Apocalypse gone from the Quiet Council, a power vacuum emerges. Furthermore, having proven their strength in combat, the mutants of Krakoa turn their attention from mere survival to expansion and solidifying their place in the universe. Cyclops and Jean Grey, recognizing that the Quiet Council's covert operations do not represent all mutants, push for the establishment of a new, public-facing X-Men team to act as superheroes for a world that still fears and hates them. This new era is defined by these two parallel drives: the internal challenge of integrating Arakko and the external ambition of becoming a galactic power.
The Reign of X storyline, and indeed the entire Krakoan Age, does not exist in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth-199999). As of the current phase of the MCU, mutants are only just beginning to be introduced. The concept of a mutant as a distinct human offshoot was first explicitly confirmed in the Disney+ series Ms. Marvel, where Kamala Khan's powers were revealed to be the result of a “mutation.” Professor Charles Xavier also appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as the leader of the X-Men from an alternate reality (Earth-838), but this was not the prime MCU. The absence of the Krakoan Age in the MCU is a matter of narrative sequencing. The films and series have not yet established the core components necessary for such a storyline:
While a direct adaptation is unlikely for many years, it is plausible that the MCU could eventually adapt core themes from the Reign of X. For example, a future storyline could explore the idea of a “mutant homeland” (like Genosha or Utopia, which were precursors to Krakoa in the comics) or the political challenges faced by a publicly-known mutant leadership. However, the specific events of Reign of X are intrinsically tied to decades of comic book continuity that the MCU has yet to build.
The Reign of X is best understood through the major political, cultural, and structural changes it introduced to the mutant status quo. It was an era less about a single, driving event and more about the consequences of nationhood.
The narrative of the Reign of X was told across a dozen interlocking titles. The following were the most central to the era's progression.
This was not a traditional crossover but a storyline that ran through all the X-titles in June 2021. Presented as a single night of a high-fashion, diplomatic event, the Gala was Krakoa's “Met Gala,” designed to awe the human world. Several monumental events occurred:
Written by Al Ewing, this series redefined Krakoa's cosmic presence. Under the command of Abigail Brand, mutants took control of the S.W.O.R.D. station, The Peak. The team, composed of mutants with unique abilities suited for space (e.g., Magneto, Frenzy, Manifold), established mutants as a major player in galactic politics. Their greatest achievement was the mining of Mysterium, a psionically-attuned metal from a white-hot dimension, which became more valuable than any resource in the known universe.
Written by Zeb Wells, this critically acclaimed series followed a team of Krakoa's most unstable and dangerous mutants, including Mister Sinister, Psylocke (Kwannon), Havok, Wild Child, and Empath. Tasked with missions too dirty for X-Force, the book was a dark comedy of errors, exploring themes of redemption and trauma. It provided crucial setup for future events, particularly through Mister Sinister's clandestine experiments and his secret cloning farms.
This four-issue miniseries by Jonathan Hickman served as the explosive finale to his run and the entire foundational Krakoan storyline. The plot centered on Mystique, who, after being denied her wife Destiny's resurrection for over a year, set a plan in motion to burn Krakoa's leadership to the ground. Key revelations from Inferno include:
Reign of X was a transformative era for Storm. Initially a member of the Quiet Council and the Marauders, she found a new purpose with the arrival of the Arakki. Recognizing a kinship with their warrior culture, she vied for a seat on their Great Ring. This culminated in her challenging Isca the Unbeaten for the Regency of Planet Arakko. Despite her Omega-level powers, Storm's first-ever defeat (due to Isca's power) led to a spiritual crisis and rebirth. She ultimately claimed the title “Regent of Sol,” becoming the political and spiritual leader of the solar system's new capital and arguably the most important political figure in the galaxy.
After spending the Dawn of X grappling with his new life and family on Krakoa, Scott Summers stepped back into his classic role as a leader and hero. Frustrated with the Quiet Council's secrecy, he and Jean Grey championed the idea of a new X-Men team. As field leader of this elected squad, he became the public face of mutant heroism again, fighting villains in New York and trying to win hearts and minds. His arc was about trying to reconcile the original dream of peaceful coexistence with the new reality of mutant nationalism.
Moira went from the secret, heroic savior of mutantkind to the era's most tragic villain. For most of Reign of X, she was an unseen background figure, advising Xavier and Magneto. However, Inferno re-contextualized her entire existence. Her discovery that mutants were destined to always lose to artificial intelligence had twisted her into a bitter, manipulative figure who now believed the only way to “win” was to eradicate the mutant gene. The era ends with her, now a powerless human, allied with Orchis and dedicated to the complete destruction of the nation she helped create.
While always a villain, Sinister's time on the Quiet Council during Reign of X allowed his schemes to flourish. In Hellions, he used his dysfunctional team as cover for his personal genetic experiments. He was secretly building a database of all mutant DNA for his own purposes and creating rogue clones (or “Sinister” variants). His flamboyant, gossipy, and utterly amoral personality made him a fan-favorite character, but his actions laid the groundwork for the devastating Sins of Sinister event that would come later.
Though she only appeared at the very end of the era, Destiny's return was its most significant paradigm shift. Denied resurrection by Xavier and Moira due to her precognitive abilities, her eventual return was Mystique's singular focus. Once alive, she immediately proved why she was feared. Her visions gave her unparalleled insight into Krakoa's future, and her ruthless political maneuvering with Mystique allowed them to seize power on the Council. Her presence marked the end of the “Hickman” era of hopeful expansion and the beginning of the “Destiny of X,” an era defined by trying to survive a dark, pre-ordained future.
The Reign of X was a crucial, transformative period that ended the “honeymoon phase” of the Krakoan Age and introduced the complex, often grim, realities of self-governance. Its legacy is multifaceted.