Warning: contains mild spoilers for X-Force #18!
Krakoa has been a utopian paradise for the mutant community since its founding, but now X-Force find themselves facing a nightmarish new foe, one who seems to combine the powers of the most dangerous X-Men. Since Jonathan Hickman masterminded the X-Men relaunch in 2019, the island of Krakoa has served as a haven for Earth’s mutant population. Key to that paradise are X-Force, Krakoa’s secret service, but recently they’ve run up against a threat they can’t understand, and one which seems born out of their worst nightmares.
In X-Force #17, Quentin Quire investigated a reported mutant attack, discovering that the survivors had memories of being brutalized by major X-Men figures like Wolverine and Colossus – individuals they remembered in nightmarish fashion thanks to the resultant trauma, but also heroes who had alibis for the time of the attack. Phoebe Cuckoo confirmed the survivors bore Quentin’s psychic ‘fingerprint,’ and a little girl even identified Quentin as the bad guy before he was killed by an unseen foe he declared “impossible.” Now, it seems that foe is about to hit the X-Men where they live.
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In a Marvel Comics preview for X-Force #18 – from Benjamin Percy and Garry Brown - Black Tom Cassidy is enjoying a nap when he’s woken by an unexpected sound. Tom’s wood and plant-based powers have allowed him a special bond with Krakoa not shared by other mutants. He hears a rustling in the distance and when he goes to investigate, he sees a nightmarish foe approaching. Tom’s deep connection to Krakoa allows him to use the island’s awareness as his own senses, and yet the creature is invisible to everything but his human body. Tom wonders why his regular and mutant senses are in disagreement, concluding that the demonic entity has somehow cut him off from Krakoa. Enjoy the preview pages and issue summary from Marvel Comics below:
WELCOME TO THEIR NIGHTMARES! QUENTIN QUIRE returns to Krakoa to find a nightmare creature wreaking havoc on X-Force. But what deadly secrets are X-Force hiding… and who’s trying to unearth them?
Readers are treated to only a brief glimpses of the creature in the preview, but it looks terrifying, and the fact that it was able to slip onto Krakoa more or less undetected is truly scary. The island has served as a safe space for mutants, an impenetrable sanctuary in the middle of the ocean, but this creature’s arrival calls that into question. Despite this, the issue summary’s reference to nightmares opens up another possibility, as Black Tom is shown sleeping before the creature appears, suggesting the possibility that this threat could be Marvel’s version of Freddy Krueger – something capable of harming people in their dreams.
These hints offer new context to the nightmare X-Men from last issue, though Phoebe’s detection of Quentin’s psychic signature remains a major question mark. In previous stories, X-Force have gone up against XENO - a well-funded anti-mutant organization who have shown some skill at capturing mutants and using medical science to graft their abilities onto willing servants. Given the number of times Quentin has died and been resurrected, leaving his body out in the world, it’s possible this new threat is in part down to his own psychic gifts.
X-Force have been growing more and more monstrous in what they’re prepared to do to protect the mutant nation, so it’s perfectly fitting that Quentin’s recent bid for redemption and growth would see him facing a nightmare brought down on the team by their secrets. This is the perfect chance for Quentin to face his demons, even if they do come in the form of some of the most dangerous X-Men around. X-Force #18 will be available in stores and on digital comics platforms March 17.
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