Epic Ways Fall of X Could End

The Fall of X has completely decimated the mutant population. Many of the X-Men are on their own. They have no way to find each other, no way to communicate, and no way to resolve the crisis at hand. Mutants have been butchered, exiled, and depowered by the increasingly powerful Orchis.

It’s a status quo that has seen the mutants at their lowest. With tragedy befalling the X-Men at every angle, the future has never appeared to be bleaker. Yet, despite it all, the X-Men still have the opportunity to return to proper form. When Fall of X ends, the mutants can still rise — if they can secure the right tomorrow.

RELATED: 10 X-Men Showdowns We’re Still Waiting For

10 Planet X

The Earth has never truly welcomed mutants. Humanity and AI alike have waged a near-constant war against the X-Men that has left them suffering a lifetime of running. The entire Krakoan Era has featured mutants under attack, and circumstances only appear to be getting worse. Mutants are no longer welcome, so why bother to stay?

The X-Men can avoid another desperate fight by forging a home on Arakko. They have an entire terraformed planet waiting to house them, and they can live in peace away from humanity. It would mean the death of Charles Xavier’s dream of true integration, but it would mean fewer massacres in the long run, and it could very well be the next move that the mutants make. Away from humans, they can build lives and strongholds of their own. In all reality, it would just be Krakoa with extra steps.

9 A Return To Krakoa

If mutants want to stay close to home, they can always return to the mutant island. After Fall of X, they can likely reunite with Krakoa and rebuild their nation. Resurrection can resume, Orchis can be permanently expelled, and traitors like Sebastian Shaw and Selene can be shown the door to the Pit.

It would mean that Fall of X is little more than a detour along the mutant ascension. They can purify the Quiet Council and ensure a stronger future. They can learn from mistakes and render the Hellfire Gala a thing of the past. Xavier’s dream would still be within reach, even if it relegates mutants to their island.

RELATED: 10 X-Men Fights Where The Wrong Character Won

8 A Return To The School

The X-Men are best known for Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. Long before they ruled Krakoa, they were students and teachers working to ensure a better future for the children of the atom. So many mutants are teachers that they can easily return to their old lives at Xavier’s school.

Krakoa may not be meant to last, which could very well mean that the mutants end up back at their old haunt. If they can purge it of the current alien presence, they can get right back to where they left off. Children will not need to be soldiers defending their nation, and mutants can live alongside humanity and continue pursuing the great Dream. It would make Krakoa itself a footnote in mutant history, but it is a possibility when Fall of X comes to an end.

7 A New Quiet Council

The Quiet Council has been a complete and utter disaster. Half of the Council has motives that are completely against the interests of Krakoa, and the other half has been oblivious to their machinations. Mister Sinister, Colossus, Shaw, Mystique, and Selene have spent numerous issues actively trying to dismantle the entire institution of the island.

It could very well be time for a new Quiet Council — and one that isn’t full of mutants waiting to betray the X-Men. A new Council can reestablish a status quo for the citizens of the island, establish actual security, and punish bad actors within their own ranks. Without the arrogance of the previous Council weighing it down, Krakoa could truly thrive in the wake of the Fall of X.

6 The Phoenix Rises

After the Hellfire Gala, Jean Grey is once again dead. After being cut by Blightswill, the mutant appears to have met a definitive ending. Fortunately, the existence of her own Fall of X solo series, Jean Grey, disputes the idea that she will be permanently dead. Jean Grey will forever be the Phoenix, and that could benefit all the X-Men.

If Jean can escape the White Hot Room and return to the land of the living, she can revive the dead mutants, even without the help of the Five and the Resurrection Protocols. The mutant population can rise from 250,000 to over 17 million, and that would be enough to change the makeup of the Marvel universe forever. It would be interesting to see a true Rise of X when Fall of X is over.

RELATED: 10 X-Men Comics Even Fans Try To Avoid

5 Mutant Conquest

After everything that the mutants have been through, the time of peace may be at an end. They have been hunted, hated, and feared for decades, and the Mutant Massacre at the Hellfire Gala could be the final straw. Once the X-Men recover from Fall of X, they may turn their attention to humanity, and they may be angry.

Shadowkat, Psylocke, and Wolverine have all shown a willingness to completely abandon the “Kill No Man” law from Krakoa. They have entered a war, and the end of Fall of X might not change that. The X-Men need revenge when this desperate fight is over. Many may wage a war of conquest against humanity and take the entire world as penance for the crimes done against their people.

4 Equality Between Mutants And Humans

The most unlikely — but still possible — ending for Fall of X is mutants actually achieving the Dream. They can secure true equality between mutants and humans and live completely integrated lives. Their children can go to school together, sentinels can be dismantled, and Orchis can be a thing of the past. If the X-Men can find a way to end the many threats targeting them, they can earn lasting peace.

Unfortunately, it would leave few opportunities for future stories. Being hated and feared is at the heart of X-Men lore. If they ever actually achieve Xavier’s dream, they will have nothing to fight for. In an ongoing universe like Earth-616, it just isn’t a likely possibility. Still, it would be interesting to see the X-Men actually achieve their goals and find a new angle to explore the lives of mutants.

3 Galactic X-Men

The X-Men have already secured a planet of their own. If they really want to increase the stakes after Fall of X, they may turn their attention to an area greater than Arakko. With the solar system already on their side, the X-Men might just claim the entire galaxy for themselves.

They are already allied with the Shi’ar empire, and an alliance with the Kree and Skrulls is on the table now that they have ensured a friendship with the Scarlet Witch. If the mutants want to grow from Fall of X, they can leave the Milky Way behind and produce a space empire. Sins of Sinister already showed what unified mutants are capable of. The X-Men can learn from that experience and grow far beyond their prior limits.

2 Xavier’s Death

Together, Moira MacTaggert, Magneto, and Charles Xavier created the Krakoan Era. For all its faults, they worked together and founded something great. It wasn’t meant to last. Magneto is dead, Moira is a malevolent cyborg, and Xavier is the last one left. For Fall of X to truly close out the era, it may do so by killing Professor X.

Every mistake of the Krakoan Era has tied back to Xavier somehow. His arrogance meant that Mister Sinister joined the Quiet Council. His deceit kept Krakoa from recognizing the danger in its No Place. His self-pity meant that he was blind to the Council’s machinations after Magneto’s death. If Krakoa is ever to truly grow, it may need Xavier to disappear. After all, children struggle to grow until they leave their parents, and Xavier is the father of Krakoa.

RELATED: 10 X-Men Plots Marvel Comics Never Resolved

1 Disbanding The X-Men

The X-Men have always been an important part of mutant outreach. They protect the people who hate and fear them and spend their days sacrificing themselves for humanity. After Fall of X saw the vast majority of humanity turn on the X-Men without the slightest consideration, it may be time for the X-Men to abandon their mission.

Jean’s empathy for her enemies only saw her dead. Left in her wake, Cyclops may order the X-Men to be completely disbanded. Mutants can return to whatever homes they like, or else they can remain scattered. The Central Park-based X-Men, however, might not take up arms again. Humanity has always fought the X-Men, and the X-Men might just decide that saving them is no longer worth it.