Marvel’s newest Uncanny X-Men series reveals the horrifying new purpose of Charles Xavier’s famous school, and the new custodian of the estate, guaranteed to bring about massive changes to the status quo of Marvel’s Mutants.
The first issue of Gail Simone’s and David Marquez’s Uncanny X-Men #1 introduces Warden Ellis, who plans to convert the Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters into a prison to hold mutants. This new development for the Xavier School follows the fall of Krakoa, and hints at an uphill struggle for the X-Men in the future years to come.
Ellis, joined by her compatriots Captain Ezra and Phillip, examine Xavier’s School and discuss plans to convert each of the student dorms into prison cells with lethal deterrent measures added to keep future prisoners from escaping. Ellis also declares that all personal items will be burned while anything of value is to be sold as funding for her prison. Upon entering the Cerebro Chamber, Ellis declares her intention to burn it down and stage public executions if necessary, before welcoming the facility’s first prisoner: a captive Charles Xavier.
Turning The Xavier School Into A Prison Robs Mutants of Their Most Iconi Home
Following the loss of Krakoa, the perversion of Xavier’s School into a prison serves as yet another tragic loss for the X-Men, robbing them of a place they once called home. Once again, humankind has taken something of comfort from the X-Men, with plans to turn it against them. To make matters worse, this is happening to the Xavier School, a place where many of the X-Men grew up and undoubtedly have fond memories of. But above all else, the transformation of the school into a prison acts as a violation of happier memories.
Related
The X-Men Are Officially Being Replaced As The ‘Safe Haven’ For Mutants in Marvel’s Universe (Who Just Want The Events To Stop)
The X-Men have been the hub of mutant activity for decades, but Krakoa’s fall changed the landscape – and now a new safe haven is emerging.
The Xavier School Sends One Message: The X-Men Can Never Go Back
As Warden Ellis’s new prison will stand atop the Xavier School, its presence will serve as a reminder that the X-Men cannot go back to their lives before Krakoa. By asserting themselves with their own nation-state, and subsequently losing it, the loss of the school reinforces the idea that the X-Men must live in a post-Krakoa world and face all the consequences that this new world will bring forth. In addition, the loss of a former home will be a challenge to find a new home in a world which has already taken so much from them.
While this is not the first time a terrible fate has befallen Xavier’s School, Warden Ellis’s plans to turn it into a prison stand is one of the most grim things to happen to the school. A place once seen as a sanctuary for mutants has been turned into a danger for them. If the X-Men ever reclaim the school in the future, seeing the transformation of their former home into a prison will certainly be one of the deepest wounds the team will have to heal from.
Uncanny X-Men #4 is available now from Marvel Comics.