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Krakoa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the X-Men publishing initiative, see Krakoan Age.
Krakoa
Krakoa as portrayed in Wolverine #6 (2020) by artist Viktor Bogdanovic.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics
First appearanceGiant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
Created by
In-story information
SpeciesLiving island
Team affiliationsX-Men
Quiet Council of Krakoa
Notable aliasesThe Living Island
The Island That Walks Like a Man
Abilities
  • Energy draining
  • Lifeform creation
  • Outer space survival
  • Telepathic immunity

Krakoa is a fictional living island appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It first appeared in Giant-Size X-Men #1 and was created by Len Wein and Dave Cockrum. While often depicted as an antagonist, Krakoa later featured as having grown into a sentient habitat for the mutant nation that shared its name during the Krakoan Age of the X-Men comics.[1]

Publication history

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See also: Krakoan Age

On its first appearance in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (1975), Krakoa is introduced as the Pacific island setting where a previous team of X-Men have gone missing while investigating strong readings from Cerebro, a device with the ability to detect mutants. Its name recalls that of Krakatoa, a volcanic island in Indonesia which erupted in 1883. Charles Xavier recruits a new, international team to rescue them. On their arrival on Krakoa, they are attacked by the flora, fauna, and very ground of the island, until finally Angel—one of the original X-Men they are rescuing—warns them that "the island itself" is the powerful mutant which Cerebro had detected. That is, the entire island of Krakoa had become a single monstrous mutant, similar to the Aspidochelone of legend. It needs the mutants in order to leech their life-energy. Both teams escape as Krakoa is ripped from the ocean bed, hurled into space, and apparently dies. While the issue would be celebrated for revitalizing the X-Men, the character / setting of Krakoa was revived only very sporadically until Jonathan Hickman's 2019 X-Men event House of X and Powers of X. In those miniseries (which established the premise of the X-Men comics going forward), the mutants have established communication with Krakoa and agreed to live on it in a symbiotic relationship, establishing the island as an independent mutant nation-state. The true aims of Krakoa have so far been left ambiguous.

Fictional character biography

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Origin

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Krakoa was originally depicted as a small island in the Pacific Ocean that was located close to nuclear bombing tests.[2] The radiation somehow mutated the island's ecosystem into a hive-mind entity.[3] Nick Fury and his commando team were accidental witnesses to the bomb drop which created Krakoa in early 1945, and soon afterwards crashed on and encountered the island's collective intelligence, with whom they arranged a peaceful parting in exchange for keeping its existence a secret.[4]

Encounter with the X-Men

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However, Krakoa later became hungry for the unique life energy created by mutants. It was responsible for the deaths of a team of young mutants, composed of Petra, Sway, Darwin, and Kid Vulcan, from a parallel X-Men team led by Moira McTaggart. Darwin and Kid Vulcan survived, but were trapped within Krakoa. Krakoa was later able to capture the original X-Men (Cyclops, Angel, Havok, Iceman, Jean Grey, and Polaris), which led to the subsequent formation of the new team of X-Men (Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm, Sunfire, Thunderbird, Banshee, and Wolverine). The new X-Men team found the original X-Men and by using her powers, Polaris launched Krakoa into outer space.[3]

Found by the Stranger

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Krakoa was later apparently found and captured for study by the cosmic entity known as the Stranger, as seen when Quasar visited one of his 'laboratory worlds'.[5] Krakoa was eventually freed along with many other specimens and was last seen orbiting around Earth until the energy wave from M-Day and the Collective awakened Vulcan.[6][7] It is also revealed that before it was shot into outer space, Krakoa released several spores from itself, which later plagued the X-Men.[8]

Krakoan Age

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See also: House of X and Powers of X, Dawn of X, Reign of X, Destiny of X, and Fall of X

The House of X and Powers of X storyline transformed Krakoa into a sovereign nation state for the entire mutant race.[1][9][10][11] The Krakoan "Habitat" structures were self-sustained environments which functioned as an extension of Krakoa's shared consciousness. While the main body of Krakoa was situated in the Pacific Ocean, parts of it also existed off the coast of Africa in the mid-Atlantic Ocean, located south of the Azores and west of the Canary Islands. An island chain, which includes the Pointe, Transit, and Danger Island, was linked to the main island in the same interconnected manner as the habitats.[1][10][11] The lair of Emma Frost and Bar Sinister were incorporated into Krakoa.

These habitats were connected by Gateways that allowed instantaneous travel from one part of Krakoa to another. The gateways could only be accessed by mutants but if a mutant brought a human with them voluntarily, that human needed Krakoa's permission to use the gateway. During the Krakoan Age, Krakoa expanded to the Blue Area of the Moon, the Green Area on Mars and beyond the solar system. Some of these structures served as embassies around several countries on Earth.[1][9][12][13][14] Various pharmaceuticals could also only be produced from flowers grown on Krakoa such as special pills that extend human life by five years, a "universal" antibiotic and a cure for "disease of the mind, in humans" – these pharmaceuticals were only available to nations that recognized Krakoa's sovereignty.[1][9][15][16] Krakoan as a national language was introduced in this era; Jonathan Hickman described as it as "mutantdom's first autochthonous language" created by Cypher.[17] He noted that it "is a manufactured language and is not the native language of Krakoa the living mutant island. The language of Krakoa is untranslatable, and almost any human/mutant brains are incapable of comprehending it", with Cypher as the "only known exception".[17]

During the third Hellfire Gala (July 2023), Krakoa was attacked by Orchis; the mutants there were forced through Gateways and initially thought to be lost.[18][19][20] However, these "mutants landed in an arid wasteland".[21] Unbeknownst to them, Mother Righteous had transported Atlantic Krakoa into the White Hot Room which allowed the surviving mutants to rebuild.[22] The X-Men trapped there managed to escape back to Earth and defeat Orchis.[20] X-Men #35 (June 2024), legacy Uncanny X-Men #700, marked the official end of the Krakoan Age with a brief opening to the White Hot Room. Fifteen years had passed for the mutants within and during this time jump, they flourished in "New Krakoa" while continuing the vision of the original mutant nation.[20][23] After briefly visiting Earth, New Krakoa and the majority of its inhabitants return to the White Hot Room permanently.[24][25]

From the Ashes

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In Invincible Iron Man (vol. 4) #20, Tony Stark fulfills Emma Frost's request for a Krakoan mutant memorial. With Ironheart's help, they craft the memorial "out of an abandoned Krakoan gate in Manhattan, with the inscription: 'Dedicated to Those Who Paid the Ultimate Price to Fight Fascism'".[26] In NYX (vol. 2), Prodigy teaches a class titled "Examinations of Post-Krakoan Diaspora" at Empire State University, with Kamala Khan and Sophie Cuckoo as students.[27][28][29]

During the crossover event storylines "X-Manhunt" and "One World Under Doom", Charles Xavier escapes Graymalkin Prison and travels to New York City with the goal of recovering a Cerebro helmet. However, he informed NYX mutants that his mission was to recover the last Krakoa Seed which had been stolen by Doctor Doom. While Xavier pursued his own objective, Anole and Ms. Marvel successfully locate the seed at the old X-Men Treehouse. Despite their success, Xavier abandons them to continue his personal mission. Unbeknownst to the NYX mutants, the true Krakoa Seed is in the hands of Mojo and his majordomo Fauna. Mojo plans to use the Krakoa Seed to control New York City and transform it into a version of Mojo's domain.[30]

Quiet Council of Krakoa

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Main article: Quiet Council of Krakoa

The Quiet Council of Krakoa is a fictional council of mutant superheroes and supervillains which governed mutantkind during the Krakoan Age.[10][31][32][33] The twelve-member governing body was divided up into four sections (with three seats each) along with an adjunct section.[34][31]

Reception

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In 2020, CBR.com ranked Krakoa 3rd in their "10 Most Powerful Fictional Nations In the Marvel Universe" list.[35] In 2021, Screen Rant included Krakoa in their "10 Most Important Fictional Marvel Comics Countries" list.[36]

Academic Brett Butler in the Journal of Science Fiction viewed Krakoa as "an integral part of the narrative" during the Krakoan Age, commenting that while "Xavier has established the mutant society on Krakoa, the island itself actually controls all of the major aspects of that society".[10]: 76–77  Butler highlighted that "Hickman and other writers show how mutants declare independence through exclusive trade, create laws and punishment, establish mass transit routes, identify a national language, and negotiate property rights—none of which would be possible without the island of Krakoa providing the means and/or permitting them to do so".[10]: 77  Readers have been divided as to whether the storyline is intended as an extended allegory for the state of Israel.[37]

Other versions

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  • In the Ultimate Marvel reality, Krakoa is featured in issues of Ultimate X-Men. Krakoa Island is south of Genosha (which in this reality is vastly anti-mutant under the reign of Lord Scheele) and the filming location for Mojo Adams' reality TV shows for executing mutants, such as Scheele's killer Arthur Centino / Longshot.[38]
  • In What If?: Deadly Genesis, Vulcan's trip to Krakoa saw him kill the rest of the X-Men by accident before the island itself was jettisoned into deep space. Years later, it is discovered by the Silver Surfer, and analysis of the cavern with Sway's powers reveals what really happened to the original team.

In other media

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Krakoa appears as a map in Marvel Rivals.[39][40]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e House of X #1 (July 2019)
  2. ^ Negus, M. N. (April 23, 2022). "Mutant Nations: The Differences Between Arakko and Krakoa". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975)
  4. ^ Journey into Mystery: The Birth of Krakoa one-shot (November 2018)
  5. ^ Quasar #15 (October 1990)
  6. ^ Quasar #16 (November 1990)
  7. ^ X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6 (January - July 2006)
  8. ^ Excalibur #31 (November 1990)
  9. ^ a b c Powers of X #4 (November 2019)
  10. ^ a b c d e Butler, Brett (August 16, 2020). "The Mutant Land: How the Island Krakoa Dictates the Mutant Society in House of X". MOSF Journal of Science Fiction. 4 (1): 75–85. ISSN 2474-0837. Archived from the original on May 16, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Polo, Susana (July 24, 2019). "Professor X's House of X plan is big, weird, and very, very 'X-Men'". Polygon. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Schlesinger, Alex (December 23, 2021). "X-Men's Inferno Finally Reveals How Krakoan Gateways Were Created". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Webber, Tim (October 16, 2019). "The X-Men Just Took Over One of Marvel's Most Important Places". CBR. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  14. ^ Rivera, Joshua (June 16, 2021). "The X-Men just made a new planet-sized mark on the Marvel Universe". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 10, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  15. ^ Webber, Tim (August 3, 2023). "The History of Krakoan Medicine, Explained". Marvel. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Sonneville, Ryan (January 17, 2020). "X-Men Foreign Policy #2: How might Krakoa's natural resources guide foreign policy?". AIPT. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Ridgely, Charlie (August 28, 2019). "House of X Reveals Krakoan Language Guide". ComicBook.com. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  18. ^ Schedeen, Jesse (July 26, 2023). "How X-Men: The Hellfire Gala 2023 Overturns the Mutant Status Quo". IGN. Archived from the original on June 2, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  19. ^ Whitbrook, James (July 27, 2023). "The X-Men's Dream Has Died In Fire Again". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on April 16, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  20. ^ a b c Schlesinger, Alex (June 5, 2024). "X-Men Concludes Epic 5-Year Reinvention with the Best 2 Words We Were Ever Going to Get". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  21. ^ Webber, Tim (October 6, 2023). "The White Hot Room, Explained". Marvel. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  22. ^ Turetsky, Mark; Gorton, Austin (November 27, 2023). "No one else was in the White Hot Room where it happened in Immortal X-Men #17". COMICSXF. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  23. ^ Johnston, Rich (June 5, 2024). "X-Men Get A Time Jump, No Going Back For Krakoa (X-Men #35 Spoilers)". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  24. ^ Lapin-Bertone, Joshua (June 5, 2024). "Marvel: X-Men Krakoa Era ending explained from X-Men #35 / Uncanny X-Men #700". Popverse. Archived from the original on June 7, 2024. Retrieved June 7, 2024.
  25. ^ Johnston, Rich (June 5, 2024). "These Mutants Are Confirmed As Staying On Earth (X-Men #35 Spoilers)". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  26. ^ Connor, Casey (July 25, 2024). "Iron Man's Marriage Officially Ends with the Perfect Tribute to His Former Wife". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  27. ^ Dudas-Larmondin, Austin (July 23, 2024). "X-Men Redefines the Traditional Superhero Team as NYX Officially Debuts". ScreenRant. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  28. ^ Johnston, Rich (July 24, 2024). "Krakoa, In The Time Of From The Ashes With NYX And X-Men (XSpoilers)". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  29. ^ Brooke, David (July 24, 2024). "NYX #1 review". AIPT. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  30. ^ Dodge, John (March 11, 2025). "A Classic X-Men Villain Turns the Next Krakoa into a Marvel Nightmare". CBR. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  31. ^ a b Webber, Tim (February 23, 2023). "X-Men: Krakoa's Quiet Council, Explained". Marvel. Archived from the original on March 29, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  32. ^ Sonneville, Ryan (January 1, 2020). "X-Men Foreign Policy #3: What will Krakoa's leadership say about its direction as a state?". AIPT. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  33. ^ Zachary, Brandon (July 13, 2023). "The X-Men's Nation Has Turned Against its Leaders -- Literally". CBR. Archived from the original on September 20, 2023. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  34. ^ Puc, Samantha (September 25, 2019). "This page in POWERS OF X #5 might reveal major spoilers for the upcoming DAWN OF X". Comics Beat. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved December 29, 2022.
  35. ^ Brueheim, Jackson (2020-05-17). "The 10 Most Powerful Fictional Nations In the Marvel Universe, Ranked". CBR. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  36. ^ Harn, Darby (2021-04-08). "10 Most Important Fictional Marvel Comics Countries, Including Madripoor". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
  37. ^ Salem, Mahmoud (19 June 2024). "The Israel of Marvel's X-Men". New Lines Magazine.
  38. ^ Ultimate X-Men #54-55 (February - March 2005)
  39. ^ Whitbrook, James (April 3, 2025). "Marvel Rivals Season 2 Welcomes You to the Hellfire Gala". Gizmodo. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
  40. ^ Goslin, Austen (April 3, 2025). "Marvel Rivals season 2 is all about the extravagant Hellfire Gala". Polygon. Retrieved April 4, 2025.
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