The New X-Men Team Already Made a Huge Mistake by Dropping a Key Hero

Votes for the next X-Men team are in, and the absence of one particular mutant, Marrow, spells trouble for the inhabitants of Krakoa. Earlier this year, Marvel Comics announced that a fan vote would decide the newest member of the X-Men team. Candidates up for the position were Cannonball, Forge, Armor, Polaris, Strong Guy, Boom-Boom, Tempo, Sunspot, Banshee, and Marrow. And while Polaris took the top spot in the election, some were disappointed to see that Marrow (Sarah Rushman), a fan favorite, was knocked out earlier in the voting process. As one of the only mutants in the fan vote with a visible mutation, and the only one with a direct connection to the Morlocks, Marrow could have been the Krakoa’s ticket to forming a strong alliance with the group. But now that she is not on the team, it looks like they missed their crucial chance.

While the vote is being passed off as a democratic election in the comics, the consequences for Marrow’s absence will likely affect the X-Men moving forwards, due to their relationship with the Morlocks. While being an outcast has been the center of mutantkind’s identity in Krakoa and beyond, the Morlocks are even greater outcasts due to their visible mutations. Unable to pass as human, they survive by living in the sewers and other shadowy parts of society. Not surprisingly, the Morlocks remain skeptical of Krakoa as a nation.

Taking into consideration that Krakoa’s goal is to unite mutants as a political body like never before, the exclusion of a Morlock from Krakoa’s first official X-Men team is a missed opportunity. It is the latest in the nation’s political failings, and likely won’t be the last. Mutants have never been more visible than they are right now, with Krakoa being officially recognized by the United Nations, which only exacerbates the existing tensions between the Morlocks and the Krakoans. The Morlocks have never felt comfortable with being made visible, due to their visible mutations which has made them outcasts in both mutant and human society, and the absence of a Morlock in the new X-Men team maintains this status quo.

The failure to leave a spot for a Morlock member of the X-Men speaks to the underlying exclusive culture that has slowly come into focus on Krakoa. One of the main problems with the island’s culture is that its leadership espouses a belief that all mutants are welcome there, but there are very little actions made that are in support of this idea. It is not enough to just simply say “all mutants are welcome here” without first recognizing the inequalities within mutants’ experiences to begin with.

Krakoa’s population includes people with non-visible mutations, others with visible mutations like Cosmar, Morlocks like Marrow, and clones like Gabby Kinney. As time has gone on, the specific tensions that these groups face on the island have surfaced as very pressing issues that have yet to be addressed by the island’s leadership. All of these groups have very different experiences from each other, and these experiences should be recognized, and responded to accordingly, rather than swept under the rug in the name of “mutant unity.”

By not reserving a spot for a Morlock on the X-Men, Krakoa’s leadership confuses division and recognition. Acknowledging that, as a Morlock, Marrow has had a vastly different life experience than someone like Jean Grey is not divisive or antithetical to Krakoa’s goals. In fact, taking into consideration the extra marginalization that Morlocks face, and addressing it by actively reserving a position for one on the team is a better expression of Krakoan ideals. If no one is going to recognize the inequality between different mutants’ life experiences, then how can Krakoa become a better nation for all?

Ultimately, the fate of Krakoa rests in the decisions of its leaders, and while Marrow’s exclusion from the X-Men was disappointing to see, it does not spell the end for Morlock-Krakoan relations. At this point, the future of the X-Men and Krakoa remains unwritten, with plenty of opportunity for the Quiet Council to acknowledge their shortcomings. Until that happens, however, Krakoa remains far from its utopic vision.

About The Author

Jules Chin Greene
(245 Articles Published)

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Jules Chin Greene is an editor, filmmaker, and animator based in Los Angeles. She has a B.A. in English and Cinema Studies from Oberlin College, where she was awarded Excellence in Critical Writing for her thesis on Indigeneity and Anti-Imperialism in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In her free time, she enjoys roller-skating and horror movies. You can find her on Twitter at @JulesChinGreene.

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