Warning: X-Men: Before the Fall is a direct sequel to events in Sins of Sinister and other Destiny of X stories, so Late Arrival Spoilers for those comics are unmarked on this page.
X-Men: Before the Fall is a set of four linked one-shot comic books from Marvel Comics. Each one has a different creative team and, for the most part, a different cast.
The comics, set in the shared Marvel Universe, are part of the wider X-Men line and form part of the finale of Destiny of X, the third phase of the long-running Krakoan Age saga, leading into the fourth phase, Fall of X, which is referenced in their title.
In the wake of the Sins of Sinister event, a horrific alternate future has been averted, but the manipulative magician Mother Righteous has ensured that some of the future's secrets are sent back to the present. And meanwhile, still reeling from the outcome, Krakoa may be more vulnerable than ever.
The four one-shots are:
- Sons of X ("Fall of the House of X"), written by Simon Spurrier with art by Phil Noto, released on May 3rd, 2023.
- Mutant First Strike ("Here to Help"), written by Steve Orlando with art by Valentina Pinti and color art by Frank William, released June 7th, 2023.
- Heralds of Apocalypse ("War and Peace"), written by Al Ewing with art by Luca Pizzari, Stefano Landini and Raphael Pimento, and color art by Ceci De La Cruz. Released June 28th, 2023. In the wake of X of Swords, the ancient mutant Apocalypse left Earth to reunite with his family. His wife Genesis had only just escaped the power of the demon god Annihilation, after a war that raged for millennia. Genesis recently returned to Arakko, the terraformed world that was once Mars, but without her husband. What happened to him? And what secrets has Genesis been keeping ever since the start of that ancient war?
- Sinister Four ("Lonely Hearts Club"), written by Kieron Gillen with art by Paco Medina and color art by a Edgar Delgado and Fer Sifuentes-Sujo, released July 5th, 2023. The villainous Doctor Stasis is one of the four clones created by 19th century geneticist Nathaniel Essex, and is based on Essex himself, including a copy of his memories. Mother Righteous is one of the other three, cloned from Essex's dead wife Rebecca. In modern times, they've both been working against the X-Men and Krakoa... but they've only just met each other. Will their history lead them to rekindle their predecessors' relationship?
X-Men: Before the Fall contains the following tropes:
Sons of X
- Brainwashed and Crazy: In Sons of X, Orchis uses the mutated and mind-controlled Nightcrawler to kill anti-Krakoan politicians around the world, creating a PR disaster for the mutant nation.
- Call-Back: Nimrod was initially created by Brain Uploading a slain Orchis scientist. His personality was almost immediately lost again when Krakoa first tried to destroy Nimrod. In Legion of X, he was surprised to find he could enter the Astral Plane. In Sons of X, Mother Righteous uses her magics to show Nimrod what he's lost.
- Happy Ending Override: One of the few positive endings in the Bad Future of Sins of Sinister was for Legion, who abandoned the corrupted galaxy and ascended to a higher plane of existence, taking a number of others with him. In Sons of X Mother Righteous claims that they were immediately devoured by a Dominion entity after ascending.
- Laser-Guided Amnesia: Sons of X reveals that Banshee's lost all memory of his time as Vox Ignis, and it's suggested that the Spirit of Variance he was bound to has been completely erased by the magics that fed on it in the future. Legion's parting gift to him also removes some older traumatic memories - such as Moira killing him - and seems to provide some healing and closure.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Margali pays for her horrific exploitation of Kurt for power by having her benefactor, Mother Righteous, reveal she was nothing but an Unwitting Pawn before cashing in the boon she had granted to absorb Margali entirely into one of her orbs.
- Losing Your Head: In Sons of X Margali decapitates Legion, but Mother Righteous then intervenes. Whether through his own power or her help, Legion's still alive, and even carries his head under his arm before it's reattached.
- Obviously Evil: When Mother Righteous reveals her true colors in Sons of X, David sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose at how clearly shady she was and he still fell for her con. On the other hand, that's before he makes his own move, revealing that he's one step ahead and triggering her Villainous Breakdown.
- Put on a Bus: At the end of Sons of X Legion and Blindfold seemingly leave the universe, closing down his astral plane 'Altar' and frustrating Mother's plan to manipulate him or control his power.
- Ret-Gone: Sons of X reveals that not only is Banshee no longer the Spirit of Variance, the Spirit itself has seemingly been burned out of all timelines by Mother Righteous' spell to exploit the Moira Engine.
- The Reveal: Weaponless Zsen's painting of Kurt's truth, created at the end of Legion of X's first arc, is finally revealed at the end of Sons of X. It depicts him crucified on a giant X against a backdrop of the globe, the Hope Sword piercing his torso.
- Shout-Out: In Sons of X, Mother Righteous quotes the introduction to British children's show Listen with Mother when she attacks Nimrod.
- Smug Snake: Mother Righteous is clearly feeling confident after all the information she got from the Bad Future of Sins of Sinister and all the influence she's now accruing from it, especially since she manages to get access to David's power. So she shows her hand, taking what she wants from him while gloating about everything he gave her. Luckily, David manages to thwart her for the moment by mysteriously managing to slip away.
- Villainous Breakdown: In Sons of X, when David manages to mysteriously escape being absorbed by Mother Righteous, she shouts about him running out on her deal, causing a small Angst Nuke that vaporizes Kurt and craters the ground.
- Wild Card: In keeping with her previous appearances, Sons of X shows that Mother Righteous is an Opportunistic Bastard who'll trick people into being indebted to her, no matter how small, to get her magical hooks in them and betray them at her latest convenience. When Margali asks whose side she's on, she scoffs at the stupid question.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: In Sons of X, during a mission to rescue Kurt from Margali, it's revealed that Mother Righteous was the one that gave Margali a boost in her powers. Mother then cashes in Margali's debt and depowers her before absorbing her into one of her spheres, deciding she's concluded her purpose in her schemes and getting on David's good side is more valuable.
- Your Soul Is Mine!: Sons of X reveals that Mother Righteous' control over those who thank her can go beyond merely torturing them body and soul, she can completely absorb them into one of her orbs, with no way so far to resist no matter how powerful the victim is.
Mutant First Strike
- Arc Welding: Orlando weaves together threads and characters from his Destiny of X-era stories: His Marauders run, X-Men: Green, and the Giant-Size X-Men: Thunderbird one-shot.
- Cameo Cluster: Steve Orlando's fondness for bringing back forgotten mutants continues, with characters such as Eye-Scream (from Obnoxio the Clown), Icarus (Cannonball's brother), Sanjar Javeed (one of Apocalypse's "Final Horsemen" from Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force run), Alchemist (from Warren Ellis's 1996 miniseries Pryde and Wisdom), and Thumbelina (from the Mutant Liberation Front).
- Extreme Omnivore: Crave, the Threshold mutant, is shown eating some biohazard material.
- False Flag Operation: Orchis attacks the small town of Milford in an attempt to frame mutants and make them look more dangerous.
- Food-Based Superpowers: Eye-Scream reappears after a long absence using his power to provide custom flavored ice cream to residents of Milford.
- Fully Absorbed Finale: Acts as a very loose coda for Orlando's Marauders run, featuring Bishop and other Marauders who'd fallen by the wayside.
- Heel–Face Turn: Obscure mutant Eye-Scream, whose only appearance was in Obnoxio the Clown one-shot in the 1980s, has joined the X-Men in helping the children of Milford.
Heralds of Apocalypse
- Bifurcated Weapon: The khopesh sword Isca forged for Apocalypse's children, Scarab, is revealed to be able to be split into four separate blades. In a confrontation with Genesis, she dual wields two while Apocalypse wields one.
- The Bus Came Back: Apocalypse finally reappears, nearly 3 years after the conclusion of X of Swords.
- Cross Through: Despite the title, it's basically just an extra issue of Ewing's X-Men Red (2022).
- Covers Always Lie: The cover showcases the children of Genesis and Apocalypse, the immortal First Horsemen, with their parents in the background. They only appear on a few pages and play a very minor role in the story, though - Death is only ever seen as a baby and toddler, in flashback, and none of the others gets more than two lines of dialogue. The real focus is on Apocalypse, Genesis and the demon-god Annihilation.
- Faking the Dead: At the start of the story, one of the demons of Amenth approaches Apocalypse to ask about the true meaning of strength. When Genesis arrives, she strikes it dead with a blade through its head. At the end of the issue it's revealed that not only did it survive, but that Apocalypse was fully aware of its survival all along.
- Fatal Flaw: Genesis's pride and bloodlust are tied together by her philosophy that only the strong survive. At a parley, Amenth's demon god Annihilation offers to end the war and leave Arakko, if Genesis simply asks. But Amenth's previous attacks will then go unpunished - and Arakko will survive, but not win. Annihilation, a manipulative entity well aware of her flaws, claims that the war has made Genesis, her family and her nation stronger, transforming a "paranoid outsider" into a queen. She refuses the offer and continues a war that proves unwinnable, dooming Arakko to millennia of battle and oppression in Amenth.
- Given Name Reveal: Apocalypse's conversation with an Amenthi demon reveals that his Krakoan name (represented in Speech Bubbles as a symbol, with no clue as to pronunciation) has been a Meaningful Rename, not just a translation. He is Revelation, a name he believes suits his new philosophy far better than his old one.
- Internal Reveal: The Summoners of Amenth felt Tarn's death when Magneto killed him (back in X-Men Red), and through them Genesis discovers, to her shock, that her old ally's been killed.
- Interquel: The whole story is set in the past and provides context for the "Genesis War" arc of X-Men Red, which began shortly before the one-shot was published. The modern scenes are set after X of Swords, with the most recent ones just before the end of X-Men Red #11. The scenes in ancient Okkara are set before any of the Krakoan Age arc's previous flashbacks to the dawn of Arakko, but after the Rise Of Apocalypse origin series.
- Meaningful Name: The First Horsemen were actually named Famine, War, Pestilence and Death (in the language of Okkara) as babies, by their parents Apocalypse and Genesis. Apocalypse saw the names as a memory of the hardships Okkara had left behind, but Genesis saw them as fitting for a warlike future. And given the prophetic dreams that Genesis received from Annihilation, the way their names reflect the powers they later manifested doesn't seem entirely coincidental.
- Multi-Armed and Dangerous: After being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice, Apocalypse manifests an extra pair of arms for his final duel with Genesis, taking the twin swords he's been stabbed with - halves of the same weapon - and splitting them again so that he has one in each hand.
- The Reveal:
- Back in Swords of X, when Apocalypse covered the story of the Arakko-Krakoa split, Genesis had a private conversation with Annihilation, the details of which he never learned about. Here, Genesis finally tells him, and by extension the reader.
- In X-Men Red #12, Genesis and the Four Horsemen reappeared without Apocalypse, and didn't answer the White Sword's questions about his absence. Turns out it's because he doesn't agree with Genesis's designs.
- Speech Bubbles: Whereas Annihilation spoke in ragged black speech bubbles during X of Swords, its direct conversation with Genesis uses a different style. Bubbles use white text on a dark blue background, with a light blue border.
- Sword of Plot Advancement: Annihilation really wants Purity, sword of the White Sword, since its Dimensional Cutter ability would let Amenth conquer pretty much anywhere. Annihilation's own blade, the Twilight Sword, was forged to try to imitate Purity's power.
- Traumatic Superpower Awakening: Apocalypse recalls that Arakko was only saved from Amenth's initial assault because Blue, son of Ingios the swordmaker, first manifested his powers in grief, after his father was slain. He took up his father's sword and raised a hundred warriors from the dead, eventually becoming the White Sword.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: The sword Isca forged for her nieces and nephews were made in a challenge against a renowned blacksmith of Okkara named Ingios. She notes that as exceptional as they are, Ingios isn't as skilled as his own late mother, who forged the sword Purity for her grandson's birth. Purity being the sword that Annihilation is seeking for this arc, that is sharpness incarnate capable of cutting through dimensions.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: An unnamed Okkaran swordmaker forged the white sword Purity as a gift for her son Ingios. The blade, a Dimensional Cutter, was so fine that the demon god Annihilation was inspired to craft its own version - which allowed the invasion of Okkara and led to Ingios's death, the rift between Arakko and Krakoa, and millennia of war and misery.
The Sinister Four
- Bad Boss: Dr. Stasis begins the story tense, but fortunately he has minions to yell at, which helps ease his tensions somewhat.Dr. Stasis: If you can't yell at the help, what can you do?
- Continuity Nod: Stasis and Righteous's date starts off rocky after their prior meeting in Gerry Duggan's X-Men, where Righteous kicked Stasis in the crotch.
- Conveniently Interrupted Document: The text pages are taken from a manuscript titled "Fall of X". Much of it is blanked out. The last page is almost entirely blacked out.
- Dateless Grave: There are no dates on the headstone that Stasis reconstructs for Essex's wife Rebecca, son Adam and daughter Morgan. As they died in the 19th century, this isn't just a case of Comic-Book Time.
- Death Is Cheap: Discussed by the resurrected Selene, who's pretty clear that their death wouldn't have been a permanent issue anyway.Selene: You should know I would have made my own way back eventually. It does a girl good to lie down now and then.
- Depleted Phlebotinum Rounds: Stasis has a Sinister-Sixgun. Nothing to do with Mr Sinister, it's just made of weaponized abilities from the Sinister Six.
- Foreshadowing: Stasis-Sinister's recollection of his activities to Mother Righteous shows a panel with him in front of the door to the Vault (as in "The Children of..."), with his balloon saying he's been "busy". Rise of the Powers of X reveals Stasis was a co-creator of the Children of the Vault.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: One of Mother Righteous's glowing orbs is revealed to be an ancient god of the Beaker People, who settled Britain but later died out. It's a god of sunrise and sunset, life and death, and it's been forgotten and starved of belief for millennia.
- The Grim Reaper: Selene's magical resurrection taps into London's ancient history and calls up a very angry Charon, determined not to let the two Sinisters steal her from death. This version is a hooded skeleton who uses the shaft of his scythe as a punt pole.
- Interquel: There are a few flashbacks to the two Sinisters' younger days, but it eventually becomes clear that the modern parts of the story are set before Immortal X-Men #12, as The Sinister Four culminates in Selene's resurrection. That Immortal X-Men issue shows her subsequent return to Krakoa, whose leaders originally killed her - but although it hinted at Righteous's involvement, this is the first confirmation that Stasis and Orchis were involved.
- Mundane Utility: Stasis uses his research into the Hulk to craft a gamma ray gun - which he then uses to prepare a steak. A tiny piece of meat "hulks out" to become a much bigger green steak. Apparently it tastes divine, complete with puns about "a smashing steak".
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Dr. Stasis finds he still has some of the 18th century mindset, and makes a faux pas by dismissing Righteous's interests as "feminist fluff", before apologizing and admitting he should be more supportive. However, his end goal is still to make Mother Righteous obey him.
- The Reveal:
- Mother Righteous comments that Stasis and Orchis are asking her for the moon. The ancient mutant Selene, who was killed in Immortal X-Men but inexplicably returned in a later issue, is then resurrected by Mother Righteous at their request (revealing the story to be an Interquel). Selene shares her name with the moon goddess.
- Stasis is shocked when Mother Righteous reveals the existence of a fourth Sinister clone, Orbis Stellaris. The final page reveals that he already knows about Stellaris and the two men are working together. After a story in which Stasis seems to be smitten with Mother Righteous, seeing her as his dead wife reborn, it's suddenly clear that he's not quite so easy to manipulate.
- Time-Compression Montage: Mother Righteous's "how has the last century been for you?" is answered with a montage for Stasis and then a similar one for Righteous herself. Stasis is shown at the creation of Captain America, on the military base when Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk, and in the background when Peter Parker is about to be bitten by a spider. Righteous is shown visiting a sleeping Apocalypse, babysitting a pair of twins in a cradle, reading the mystical Darkhold and visiting the demon Belasco.
