This week in the Fall of the House of X, one fallen X-Man must be resurrected, while another must be taken out of commission.

PRELUDE TO THE FALL OF X

This week: X-Force #48 and Resurrection of Magneto #1.

RECAP OF THE FALL OF X

Shortly before the escalation of the war on Orchis, Beast returns to the Greenhouse (X-Force HQ) after a global tour of crimes to steal a suit of Krakoan flora, which can function as a mobile base of operations. After he flees, Sage reveals that she’s secretly been hiding an old clone of his and says they should release him, arguing that the only way to fight Beast is with another Beast. X-Force reluctantly agrees and they release the clone, who initially retaliates but soon reverts back to his normal self, allowing himself to be detained for their safety. The Beast clone, who does not have any memories of Krakoa as it recently existed, is fascinated by what he hears. Black Tom —assigned to guard him— falls asleep on watch, allowing the clone Beast to escape captivity. He accesses a computer and learns of his other self’s various crimes throughout the Krakoa era. Horrified, he flees the Greenhouse.

Resurrection of Magneto #1 Later, during the escalation of the war, Storm dreams of the deceased Magneto, who tells her she he was wrong. Troubled by the vision, she visits Dr. Adam Brashear (the Blue Marvel) at Kadesh Base (Defenders HQ) and requests he help her in resurrecting Magneto. To her surprise; he agrees, telling her she needs entry to the Waiting Room — a sort-of purgatory Scarlet Witch created for mutants. When she arrives in the Waiting Room, she finds Tarn the Uncaring, the Omega-level Arakkiian who killed Magneto during Judgement Day. He taunts her mission and challenges her to a fight, but she makes quick work of him and proceeds forth. She’s then visited by Ashake, her sorceress ancestor she previously met as a child. She instructs her how to find him, warning it will not be easy, but Storm remains steadfast.

A misstep brings her to Dominion, the interdimensional entity Orchis has been courting for their ends; Storm recognizes its name from speaking with Brashear. It threatens to consume her, claiming she is more useful to them than Magneto was when he encountered it, but she once again escapes before it can do so. She then lands in yet another frightening dimension; Magneto is shown to be elsewhere therein, stuck in agony.

ANALYSIS OF THE FALL OF X

X-Force #48 doesn’t directly tie into the ongoing storyline, serving more as (what I presume to be) the start of the end of writer Benjamin Percy’s X-Force saga before the Krakoan era concludes. Beast has sorta emerged as the main antagonist of the title since Percy began it way back in 2019 —an unusually long run for today’s standards— and I can foresee an ending wherein the “corrupted” Beast is replaced by the purer, original flavor Beast ahead of their status quo reset later this year. Gotta put all the toys in the box back the way you found them, after all.

This week’s main component, however, is the long-awaited Resurrection of Magneto #1, although readers may be surprised to learn it’s actually a Storm story. This could change in later issues, but it seems the main thrust of the plot involves Storm bringing Magneto back to the land of the living just in time for the war on Orchis. (See: the previous note on putting toys back in the box.) Because it’s Al Ewing, it’s full of callbacks to his earlier works, namely his various Avengers/Defenders runs, and lots of dense comic book-y weirdness. I’m always in the tank for that from him, but some people who prefer a more straightforward narrative might be a little confused with this issue. But in any event, it’s setting up another banger from Ewing in a X-Era full of Ewing bangers/

NEXT IN THE FALL OF X

Wolverine #42 and Dead X-Men #1.