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Planet X (comics)
Encyclopedia
"Planet X" is 2004 storyline published by Marvel Comics
that ran from New X-Men #146-150. The story is the climax of Grant Morrison
's run as writer on the X-Men, and features the return of Magneto
and the death of Jean Grey
.
" storyline, Jean Grey
, Beast
, and Emma Frost
leave the X-Mansion
while Xorn
forces the newest member of the "Special Class", Dust
, to attack Professor X
and destroy Cerebra. Confronting Xavier, Xorn
imprisons Dust
in a jar to keep her from helping the professor, and then removes his mask, to reveal that he is Magneto
in disguise.
Magneto, enjoying the lack of progress Xavier has made in improving mutantkind's lot since his "death" (partly due to his manipulations), has begun to teach his militant anti-human philosophy to the Special Class while indulging in the mutant-power enhancing drug Kick, supplied to him by his helper, Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos
. He also reveals that he (Magneto) has been responsible for restoring Xavier's mobility via reprogramming the nanite
Sentinels inserted into Xavier's body by Cassandra Nova
and shuts them down and places the once more crippled Xavier in a glass tank, in a state of suspended animation. Magneto, surrounded by his followers and original Brotherhood
member Toad
, takes over New York City
. Magneto lays waste to the city and engages in multiple acts of mass murder
, killing thousands of humans trapped in the city. Magneto also reveals his grand scheme: reversing Earth's magnetic field
and remake the planet as "Planet X" in which mutant
s, the possessors of the "X-gene", ruled over ordinary humans.
Meanwhile, in space, Jean Grey and Wolverine are stranded on Asteroid M
as Magneto has sent it hurling into the sun just as the two recognize the base. Wanting to end her suffering, Wolverine stabs Jean. Fortunately her seeming death allows her to be connect with the Phoenix Force
, though in full control over her powers this time, and escape with Logan back to Earth. They rescue Beast and Emma Frost, whose jetcraft was destroyed by Magneto, stranding the two at sea on the wreckage of the ship. Meanwhile Cyclops
and Fantomex
organize a resistance group with help from the remaining Stepford Cuckoos, and are joined by Beak, who rejects Magneto when the latter, in part due to his drug addiction and loss of sanity, starts killing humans by the hundreds.
In the final showdown, Xavier is freed and the New X-Men unite to fight Magneto. As Magneto murders Esme, Cyclops tells the grieving Emma that he's decided upon which woman (Jean or Emma) he loves but is interrupted by Magneto's attack and responds in kind, destroying his helmet as Fantomex frees Xavier. Desperate for protection against Xavier's telepathy, Magneto grabs his "Xorn" mask and puts it on. Having realized that Xorn is Magneto or at least believes himself to be Magneto, the X-Men attempt to unbalance him by calling him Xorn as they attack, complete with them begging "Xorn" to tell them why "he" betrayed the X-Men.
Magneto, whose sanity is slipping due to excessive "Kick" usage, begins to rant furiously that he is not Xorn, but Magneto as a crowd of Magneto's supporters gather alongside Xavier and Jean Grey. Jean orders Magneto to address his angry army, who are furious at Magneto for the way that he has failed to address the lack of food and water for his makeshift army of Manhattan mutants since taking over the island. Magneto (who removes the "Xorn" mask) tries to calm them down, but the crowd doesn't recognize him due to his optic blast damaged face. At that point Xavier explains that Magneto, with his murderous rampage, has lost all credibility with the masses. Xavier admits that in death, Magneto had finally gained legitimacy amongst humans and mutants alike as a true figure for change in society but that his return and the mass murders he committed had caused the world to label Magneto as a fraud. Xavier opines that the days of him and Magneto as the sole ideologies of mutantkind was over and that it was time for mutantkind to come up with their own opinions and theories of their place in the world.
Magneto falls over and Jean Grey approaches him, only to be hit by a lethal electro-magnetic pulse. As Jean falls to the ground dying, Magneto (putting the Xorn helmet back on) defiantly cries out for someone to kill him; as Magneto would rather be dead than judged by the mutant masses as a fraud. Wolverine, now berserk at the sight of Jean dying, uses his claws to decapitate Magneto.
Dying, Jean is held tightly by Cyclops as the two reconcile. With her dying breath, Jean begs Cyclops to move on with his life and not waste his remaining days mourning her, as she tells Scott, "All I ever do is die on you..."
The final pages of the issue cut to 150 years into the future, where a "Phoenix Egg" is found on the moon by an astronaut, offering a segue into the final arc of Morrison's X-Men run, the future based "Here Comes Tomorrow
".
Grant Morrison
had intended Xorn to be the real Magneto. However, Marvel reversed
several of Morrison's decisions after the "Planet X" arc, and reintroduced Magneto (in Chris Claremont's
new Excalibur
book), establishing that Magneto had survived the destruction of Genosha, and had remained there since. Marvel also introduced a new Xorn (in Chuck Austen
's X-Men), establishing that the new Xorn was the brother of the original and that the original had been possessed by some (unknown) force, widely believed to be Sublime, a conscious, highly evolved and intelligent bacteria colony. Austen explained Marvel's reasoning for the retconning, stating that "Marvel saw value in Magneto not being a mass-murderer of New Yorkers."
Morrison has expressed surprise at the various retcons and explanations for the events of the story that emerged after his departure from Marvel. During an interview, Morrison said "Here's how to explain what happened - XORN was NEVER REAL, he was a DISGUISE for MAGNETO who went MAD ON DRUGS and DIED...but we know he always COMES BACK, somehow, so expect a dramatic return sooner or later, True Believers!"
When asked to comment on his characterization of Magneto, Grant Morrison responded: "What people often forget, of course, is that Magneto, unlike the lovely Sir Ian McKellen
, is a mad old terrorist twat. No matter how he justifies his stupid, brutal behaviour, or how anyone else tries to justify it, in the end he's just an old bastard with daft, old ideas based on violence and coercion. I really wanted to make that clear at this time." Morrison also stated that the arc was intended as a statement on the rigidly elastic nature of the status quo in franchise comics, and that the arc had taken such dark leanings because "my loved ones were dying all around me" at the time of writing.
:
As well as:
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
that ran from New X-Men #146-150. The story is the climax of Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
's run as writer on the X-Men, and features the return of Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
and the death of Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
.
Plot
Coming off the heels of the "Assault on Weapon PlusAssault on Weapon Plus
"Assault on Weapon Plus" is the title of a four-part storyline which ran through New X-Men #142 - #145 . It was written by Grant Morrison and pencilled by Chris Bachalo....
" storyline, Jean Grey
Jean Grey
Jean Grey-Summers is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix, and Dark Phoenix and is best known as one of five original members of the X-Men, for her relationship with Cyclops, and for her...
, Beast
Beast (comics)
Beast , Dr. Henry Philip "Hank" McCoy, is a comic book character, a Marvel Comics superhero and a member of the mutant team of superheroes known as the X-Men...
, and Emma Frost
Emma Frost
Emma Grace Frost is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #129 , and was created by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer John Byrne....
leave the X-Mansion
X-Mansion
In the fictional Marvel Comics universe, the X-Mansion is the common name for Professor Xavier's mansion. It is the base of operations and training site of the X-Men and the location of a school for mutant teenagers, the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, formerly Xavier's School for Gifted...
while Xorn
Xorn
Xorn is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. First appearing in New X-Men Annual 2001, Xorn was a new addition to the X-Men membership during writer Grant Morrison's revamp of the franchise....
forces the newest member of the "Special Class", Dust
Dust (comics)
Dust , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She was created by author Grant Morrison and artist Ethan Van Sciver in New X-Men #133 , although her character was not fully developed until the New X-Men: Academy X series written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis...
, to attack Professor X
Professor X
Professor Charles Francis Xavier, also known as Professor X, is a fictional character, a Marvel Comics superhero known as the leader and founder of the X-Men....
and destroy Cerebra. Confronting Xavier, Xorn
Xorn
Xorn is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. First appearing in New X-Men Annual 2001, Xorn was a new addition to the X-Men membership during writer Grant Morrison's revamp of the franchise....
imprisons Dust
Dust (comics)
Dust , is a fictional character in Marvel Comics' X-Men-related comic books. She was created by author Grant Morrison and artist Ethan Van Sciver in New X-Men #133 , although her character was not fully developed until the New X-Men: Academy X series written by Christina Weir and Nunzio DeFilippis...
in a jar to keep her from helping the professor, and then removes his mask, to reveal that he is Magneto
Magneto (comics)
Magneto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the central villain of the X-Men comic, as well as the TV show and the films. The character first appears in X-Men #1 , and was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby...
in disguise.
Magneto, enjoying the lack of progress Xavier has made in improving mutantkind's lot since his "death" (partly due to his manipulations), has begun to teach his militant anti-human philosophy to the Special Class while indulging in the mutant-power enhancing drug Kick, supplied to him by his helper, Esme of the Stepford Cuckoos
Stepford Cuckoos
The Stepford Cuckoos are a set of fictional mutant psychically linked quintuplets . They are students at the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning and appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics...
. He also reveals that he (Magneto) has been responsible for restoring Xavier's mobility via reprogramming the nanite
Nanorobotics
Nanorobotics is the emerging technology field of creating machines or robots whose components are at or close to the scale of a nanometer . More specifically, nanorobotics refers to the nanotechnology engineering discipline of designing and building nanorobots, with devices ranging in size from...
Sentinels inserted into Xavier's body by Cassandra Nova
Cassandra Nova
Cassandra Nova is a fictional enemy of the X-Men in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, Cassandra first appeared in New X-Men #114 . Cassandra is a "mummudrai," a parasitic life form born bodiless on the astral plane...
and shuts them down and places the once more crippled Xavier in a glass tank, in a state of suspended animation. Magneto, surrounded by his followers and original Brotherhood
Brotherhood of Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants, originally known as the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, is a fictional Marvel Comics supervillain team devoted to mutant superiority over normal humans. They are among the chief adversaries of the X-Men...
member Toad
Toad (comics)
Toad is a Marvel Comics supervillain, an enemy of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-writer Jack Kirby, he first appeared in X-Men #4 ....
, takes over New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Magneto lays waste to the city and engages in multiple acts of mass murder
Mass murder
Mass murder is the act of murdering a large number of people , typically at the same time or over a relatively short period of time. According to the FBI, mass murder is defined as four or more murders occurring during a particular event with no cooling-off period between the murders...
, killing thousands of humans trapped in the city. Magneto also reveals his grand scheme: reversing Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field
Earth's magnetic field is the magnetic field that extends from the Earth's inner core to where it meets the solar wind, a stream of energetic particles emanating from the Sun...
and remake the planet as "Planet X" in which mutant
Mutant (Marvel Comics)
In comic books published by Marvel Comics, a mutant is an organism who possesses a genetic trait called an X-gene that allows the mutant to naturally develop superhuman powers and abilities...
s, the possessors of the "X-gene", ruled over ordinary humans.
Meanwhile, in space, Jean Grey and Wolverine are stranded on Asteroid M
Asteroid M
Utopia is the name of the sepratist mutant homeland created by the X-Men from the remains of Asteroid M which is the name of several fictional settings, each an asteroid converted by the mutant Magneto into his home/orbiting base, in the Marvel Comics Universe...
as Magneto has sent it hurling into the sun just as the two recognize the base. Wanting to end her suffering, Wolverine stabs Jean. Fortunately her seeming death allows her to be connect with the Phoenix Force
Phoenix Force
Phoenix Force is a series of action-adventure novels first published in 1982 by American Gold Eagle publishers. It is a spin-off of the Executioner series created by Don Pendleton....
, though in full control over her powers this time, and escape with Logan back to Earth. They rescue Beast and Emma Frost, whose jetcraft was destroyed by Magneto, stranding the two at sea on the wreckage of the ship. Meanwhile Cyclops
Cyclops (comics)
Cyclops is a fictional character, the leader of the X-Men superhero team in the . A mutant, Cyclops emits a powerful energy beam from his eyes...
and Fantomex
Fantomex
Fantomex is a fictional superhero associated with the X-Men in titles published by Marvel Comics. Fantomex first appeared in New X-Men #128 and was created by Grant Morrison and Igor Kordey....
organize a resistance group with help from the remaining Stepford Cuckoos, and are joined by Beak, who rejects Magneto when the latter, in part due to his drug addiction and loss of sanity, starts killing humans by the hundreds.
In the final showdown, Xavier is freed and the New X-Men unite to fight Magneto. As Magneto murders Esme, Cyclops tells the grieving Emma that he's decided upon which woman (Jean or Emma) he loves but is interrupted by Magneto's attack and responds in kind, destroying his helmet as Fantomex frees Xavier. Desperate for protection against Xavier's telepathy, Magneto grabs his "Xorn" mask and puts it on. Having realized that Xorn is Magneto or at least believes himself to be Magneto, the X-Men attempt to unbalance him by calling him Xorn as they attack, complete with them begging "Xorn" to tell them why "he" betrayed the X-Men.
Magneto, whose sanity is slipping due to excessive "Kick" usage, begins to rant furiously that he is not Xorn, but Magneto as a crowd of Magneto's supporters gather alongside Xavier and Jean Grey. Jean orders Magneto to address his angry army, who are furious at Magneto for the way that he has failed to address the lack of food and water for his makeshift army of Manhattan mutants since taking over the island. Magneto (who removes the "Xorn" mask) tries to calm them down, but the crowd doesn't recognize him due to his optic blast damaged face. At that point Xavier explains that Magneto, with his murderous rampage, has lost all credibility with the masses. Xavier admits that in death, Magneto had finally gained legitimacy amongst humans and mutants alike as a true figure for change in society but that his return and the mass murders he committed had caused the world to label Magneto as a fraud. Xavier opines that the days of him and Magneto as the sole ideologies of mutantkind was over and that it was time for mutantkind to come up with their own opinions and theories of their place in the world.
Magneto falls over and Jean Grey approaches him, only to be hit by a lethal electro-magnetic pulse. As Jean falls to the ground dying, Magneto (putting the Xorn helmet back on) defiantly cries out for someone to kill him; as Magneto would rather be dead than judged by the mutant masses as a fraud. Wolverine, now berserk at the sight of Jean dying, uses his claws to decapitate Magneto.
Dying, Jean is held tightly by Cyclops as the two reconcile. With her dying breath, Jean begs Cyclops to move on with his life and not waste his remaining days mourning her, as she tells Scott, "All I ever do is die on you..."
The final pages of the issue cut to 150 years into the future, where a "Phoenix Egg" is found on the moon by an astronaut, offering a segue into the final arc of Morrison's X-Men run, the future based "Here Comes Tomorrow
Here Comes Tomorrow
"Here Comes Tomorrow" is the eighth and final story arc in Grant Morrison's run on the Marvel Comics series New X-Men, which ran from issues #151-154...
".
Behind the scenes
Grant Morrison
Grant Morrison is a Scottish comic book writer, playwright and occultist. He is known for his nonlinear narratives and counter-cultural leanings, as well as his successful runs on titles like Animal Man, Doom Patrol, JLA, The Invisibles, New X-Men, Fantastic Four, All-Star Superman, and...
had intended Xorn to be the real Magneto. However, Marvel reversed
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
several of Morrison's decisions after the "Planet X" arc, and reintroduced Magneto (in Chris Claremont's
Chris Claremont
Chris Claremont is an award-winning American comic book writer and novelist, known for his 17-year stint on Uncanny X-Men, far longer than any other writer, during which he is credited with developing strong female characters, and with introducing complex literary themes into superhero...
new Excalibur
Excalibur (comics)
Excalibur is a Marvel Comics superhero group, an off-shoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, the original Excalibur first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition , also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn.The...
book), establishing that Magneto had survived the destruction of Genosha, and had remained there since. Marvel also introduced a new Xorn (in Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen
Chuck Austen is an American comic book writer/artist, TV writer and animator. In the comics industry, he is known for his work on War Machine, Elektra, Action Comics, and the X-Men franchise, and in television, he is known for co-creating the aniamted TV series Tripping the Rift.-Early life:Austen...
's X-Men), establishing that the new Xorn was the brother of the original and that the original had been possessed by some (unknown) force, widely believed to be Sublime, a conscious, highly evolved and intelligent bacteria colony. Austen explained Marvel's reasoning for the retconning, stating that "Marvel saw value in Magneto not being a mass-murderer of New Yorkers."
Morrison has expressed surprise at the various retcons and explanations for the events of the story that emerged after his departure from Marvel. During an interview, Morrison said "Here's how to explain what happened - XORN was NEVER REAL, he was a DISGUISE for MAGNETO who went MAD ON DRUGS and DIED...but we know he always COMES BACK, somehow, so expect a dramatic return sooner or later, True Believers!"
When asked to comment on his characterization of Magneto, Grant Morrison responded: "What people often forget, of course, is that Magneto, unlike the lovely Sir Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
, is a mad old terrorist twat. No matter how he justifies his stupid, brutal behaviour, or how anyone else tries to justify it, in the end he's just an old bastard with daft, old ideas based on violence and coercion. I really wanted to make that clear at this time." Morrison also stated that the arc was intended as a statement on the rigidly elastic nature of the status quo in franchise comics, and that the arc had taken such dark leanings because "my loved ones were dying all around me" at the time of writing.
Collected editions
The series has been collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
- Planet X (collects New X-Men #146-150, ISBN 0-7851-1201-4)
As well as:
- New X-Men OmnibusMarvel OmnibusMarvel Omnibus is a line of comic book series collections published by Marvel Comics. These collections provide full color compilations of several comics, aiming at complete runs...
(collects New X-Men #114-154 and Annual 2001, 992 pages, December 2006 ISBN 0-7851-2326-1) - New X-Men by Grant Morrison Ultimate Collection: Volume 3 (collects New X-Men #142-154, 336 pages, December 2008, ISBN 0-7851-3253-8)