Welcome to the Wellington Comic Lover’s Guide, where we take you through the Wellington City Libraries’ collection of a comic book character or series. This post is all about Marvel’s most recent reboot of their merry band of mutants, the Krakoa Era of the X-Men!
[Video via the Marvel Entertainment Youtube channel]
Who are the X-Men?
In the Marvel Universe, ‘mutants’ are people born with superhuman powers, granting them anything from control over electromagnetism to teleportation to growing wings. Dubbed ‘homo superior’, mutants have faced hostile prejudice from ordinary people, due to their abilities, appearance, and the fear that they are ‘replacing’ humankind in the evolutionary ladder. Factions of mutants have gathered together over the years to protect themselves, the most famous of which is a team lead by educator and mutant telepath Professor Charles Xavier, aka Professor X. Together, they use their extraordinary powers to fight for a world that hates and fears them…they are the X-Men!
What is The Krakoa Era?
In 2019, writer Johnathan Hickman relaunched the X-Men line of comics with the twin series House of X and Powers of X (that’s X as in the Roman numeral for the latter, so it’s ‘powers of ten’).
To protect themselves from a future threat to mutantkind, the X-Men and their enemies join together to form a nation for all mutants, run by a government of prominent mutants such as Magento, Professor X, and Apocalypse, and founded on the living island of Krakoa (which first appeared in the landmark issue Giant-Size X-Men #1, the book that similarly reinvigorated the X-Men back in the 1970s).
Newly created mutant technology allows Krakoa’s citizenry to be resurrected in the event of death, making all mutants living there functionally immortal. Professor X also brokers deals with the world’s governments to provide them with miraculous mutant-derived medicine in exchange for Krakoa’s recognition as a sovereign nation and the placement of portal gates around the globe that can teleport mutants to Krakoa’s shores.
However, the creation of Krakoa reinvigorates anti-mutant causes, beginning with the Sentinel-building black-ops organisation Orchis. Internally, Krakoa also faces the growing pains of any developing nation, such as creating laws, diplomacy, and national security, as well as the ambitions of its less scrupulous citizens wanting to use Krakoa for their own ends.
The Krakoan era lasted five years and helped revitalize the X-Men franchise with an exciting new status quo, spawning dozens of new comics that celebrated the decades-long history of the series, all created by superstar artists and writers from Marvel Comics.
How do I read The Krakoa Era? 
The Krakoa era kicks off with House of X and Powers of X, which are collected together in one volume. After that, you can read the entire era in chronological publishing order with the Dawn/Reign/Trials of X collections, or read the individual team books listed below.
X-Men Krakoa Era Reading Order
House of X ; Powers of X / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X
Dawn of X. Volume 01 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 02 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 03 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 04 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 05 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 06 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 07 / Hickman, Jonathan
Dawn of X. Volume 08 / Duggan, Gerry
Dawn of X. Volume 09 / Brisson, Ed
Dawn of X. Volume 10 / Percy, Benjamin
Dawn of X. Volume 11 / Brisson, Ed
Dawn of X. Volume 12 / Wells, Zeb
Dawn of X. Volume 13 / Duggan, Gerry
Dawn of X. Volume 14 / Ayala, Vita
Dawn of X. Volume 15 / Williams, Leah
Dawn of X. Volume 16 / Hickman, Jonathan
X of swords / Hickman, Jonathan
Reign of X
Reign of X. Volume 1 / Ewing, Al
Reign of X. Volume 2 / Ayala, Vita
Reign of X. Volume 3 / Duggan, Gerry
Reign of X. Volume 4 / Percy, Benjamin
Reign of X. Volume 5 / Howard, Tini
Reign of X. Volume 6 / Ewing, Al
Reign of X. Volume 7 / Percy, Benjamin
Reign of X. Volume 8 / Duggan, Gerry
Reign of X. Volume 9 / Wells, Zeb
Reign of X. Volume 10 / Williams, Leah
Reign of X. Volume 11 / Spurrier, Simon
Reign of X. Volume 12 / Duggan, Gerry
Reign of X. Volume 13 / Duggan, Gerry
Reign of X. Volume 14 / Williams, Leah
Trials of X
Trials of X. Volume 01 / Williams, Leah
Trials of X. Volume 02 / Ewing, Al
Trials of X. Volume 03 / Percy, Benjamin
Trials of X. Volume 04 / Wells, Zeb
Trials of X. Volume 05 / Spurrier, Simon
Trials of X. Volume 06 / Howard, Tini
Trials of X. Volume 07 / Duggan, Gerry
Trials of X. Volume 08 / Howard, Tini
Trials of X. Volume 09 / Ewing, Al
Trials of X. Volume 10 / Wells, Zeb
Trials of X. Vol. 11 / Duggan, Gerry
Trials of X. Volume 12 / Duggan, Gerry
Main Krakoa Era X-Men series
In the Krakoa era, classic X-Men teams get rebooted and recontextualized to fit the roles needed for their new nation.
X-Men
Handpicked by Cyclops, these X-Men are Krakoa’s public-facing super-team that defend mutantkind from a world that hates and fears them. A new team is elected annually and announced at the Hellfire Gala, a yearly ball held on Krakoa’s shores.
Krakoa X-Men reading order
X-Men. Vol. 1 / Hickman, Jonathan
X-Men. Vol. 2 / Hickman, Jonathan
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman. Vol. 3 / Hickman, Jonathan
X-Men : Hellfire gala / Hickman, Jonathan
X-Men by Gerry Duggan. Volume 2 / Duggan, Gerry
X-Men : Hellfire Gala : immortal / Duggan, Gerry
X-Men : Hellfire Gala : fall of X
X-Force
X-Force is the national security and special operations group for Krakoa, a ‘mutant CIA’. Previous X-Force members like Domino, Colossus, and Wolverine return, as well as new members Marvel Girl, Kid Omega, and Beast, who slowly begins to repurpose the team for his own malicious ends.
X-Force. Vol. 1 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Force. Vol. 2 / Percy, Benjamin (also on Libby)
X-Force. Vol. 3 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Force. Vol. 4 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Force. Vol. 5 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Force. Vol. 6 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Force. Vol. 7 / Percy, Benjamin
X-Factor
Even though mutants can now be resurrected in the event of their demise, the circumstances of their deaths still need investigating. That’s where Krakoa’s detective force X-Factor comes in, made up of an elite team of telepathic and tracking mutants.
X-Factor by Leah Williams. Vol. 1 / Williams, Leah (also on Libby)
X-Factor. Vol. 2 / Williams, Leah
Excalibur/Knights of X
Lead by Betsy Braddock (the former Psylocke, now Captain Britain) and Apocalypse, Excalibur deals with the supernatural side of mutantkind and its ties with the magical dimension Otherworld.
Excalibur. Vol. 1 / Howard, Tini
Excalibur. Vol. 2 / Howard, Tini
Excalibur. Vol. 3 / Howard, Tini
Excalibur. Vol. 4 / Howard, Tini
New Mutants
The original team of New Mutants, including Sunspot, Cannonball, Cypher, Dani Moonstar, and Magik, team up once more for adventures in Krakoa and beyond.
Krakoa era New Mutants reading order
New Mutants. Vol. 1 / Hickman, Jonathan
New Mutants. Vol. 1 / Brisson, Ed
New Mutants. Vol. 1 / Ayala, Vita
New Mutants. Vol. 2 / Ayala, Vita
New mutants : lethal legion / Anders, Charlie Jane
Marauders
Led by Kitty Pryde, this pirate team of X-Men sail the seven seas to rescue mutants being held against their will in their native countries. Later, the team is retooled as a personal strike force for Emma Frost, the telepathic White Queen.
Marauders. Vol. 1 / Duggan, Gerry
Marauders. Vol. 2 / Duggan, Gerry
Marauders. Vol. 3 / Duggan, Gerry
Marauders. Vol. 4 / Duggan, Gerry
Marauders. Vol. 1 / Orlando, Steve
Marauders. Vol. 2 / Orlando, Steve
Fallen Angels and Hellions
These series deal with the mutants who either oppose or have difficulty assimilating into Krakoa’s new society, led by frequent X-Men villain turned tenuous ally Mister Sinister.
Fallen Angels. Vol. 1 / Hill, Bryan Edward
Way of X and Legion of X
Believing that the blessing of immortality might change mutant nature for the worst, Nightcrawler tries to create a new system of justice and ethics for Krakoa with the help of Professor X’s wayward son, the multi-powered mutant Legion.
Way of X. Vol. 1 / Spurrier, Simon
Legion of X. Vol. 1 / Spurrier, Simon
Legion of X. Vol. 2 / Spurrier, Simon
S.W.O.R.D and X-Men Red
S.W.O.R.D is the former extraterrestrial arm of S.H.I.E.L.D, now rebranded as the Krakoan space program. In the sequel series X-Men Red, the X-Men terraform the planet Mars with the aid of a newly discovered society of mutants from the living island of Arrako.
Immortal X-Men
This series follows the Quiet Council of Krakoa, the island nation’s ruling body made up of prominent mutants such as Emma Frost, Apocalypse, Magneto, Jean Grey, Storm and Nightcrawler.
Immortal X-Men. Vol. 1 / Gillen, Kieron
Immortal X-Men. Vol. 2 / Gillen, Kieron
Immortal X-Men. Volume 3 / Gillen, Kieron
X-Cellent
‘The X-Statix’, a team of celebrity mutants from the 2000s, get resurrected for the Krakoa era and return to the Hollywood spotlight, struggling to adapt to the 2020s style of fame.
The X-Cellent. [Vol. 1], New blood, new world / Milligan, Peter
The X-Cellent. Vol. 2, Unsocial media / Milligan, Peter
Krakoa Era Miniseries
Giant-Size X-Men
An anthology series spotlighting specific mutant’s early adventures in Krakoa.
Giant-size X-Men. Volume 1 / Hickman, Jonathan (also on Libby)
Children of the Atom
A group of human high-schoolers try to pass themselves off as the X-Men’s sidekicks.
Children of the atom. Vol. 1 / Ayala, Vita
Children of the Vault
A group of human zealots artificially evolved into superhumans opposes Krakoa, offering their technology to the world to advance humankind to their level, whether people want it or not.
Children of the Vault / Camp, Deniz
X-Terminators
A comedy series that sees Dazzler, Boom Boom, Jubilee, and Wolverine (Laura Kinney, the former X-23) team up to get revenge on Dazzler’s vampire ex-boyfriend and his clan of bloodsuckers.
X-Terminators / Williams, Leah
X-Corp
Angel and Monet run the corporate side of Krakoa, applying their business acumen and mutant abilities to both the boardroom and the battlefield.
Bishop: War College
Time-travelling mutant Bishop trains a defense force of young mutants to protect Krakoa.
Bishop : war college / Holtham, Jason
X-Men ’92: House of XCII
This series imagines the Krakoa era if it happened during the time of the 1992 X-Men animated series (recently revived as X-Men ’97).
X-Men ’92 : House of XCII / Foxe, Steve
Krakoa Era Events
These series cover the major events in the Krakoa era.
X of swords / Hickman, Jonathan – The X-Men discover a rival mutant society on the living island of Arrako.
X-Men : Hellfire gala / Hickman, Jonathan – Come for the election of the new X-Men team, stay for the fashion!
X-Men : the trial of Magneto / Williams, Leah – A murder occurs on Krakoa, and all signs point to Magneto as the culprit. But what happens when the victim resurrects herself?
Inferno / Hickman, Jonathan – An unfulfilled promise to Mystique may spell the end of Krakoa.
X lives of Wolverine ; X deaths of Wolverine / Percy, Benjamin – Wolverine goes back to his past to stop a time-travelling assassin who could end the Krakoa era before it even began.
Crossovers
These are the X-Men centric series that tie into the yearly Marvel summer crossover events during the Krakoa era, or crossover with other Marvel characters like the Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.
X-Men/Fantastic Four. the world has changed / 4X / Zdarsky, Chip – Franklin Richards, the son of Mr Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, is invited to Krakoa due to his X-Gene, but his family have other ideas.
Empyre : X-Men / Hickman, Jonathan – The X-Men have to fight a zombie uprising on Krakoa at the same time that Earth is invaded by an empire of plant-like aliens.
Avengers / X-Men / Eternals : Judgment Day / Gillen, Kieron – The Eternals are tasked with destroying Krakoa, leading the Avengers to step in and stop a conflict between the two ‘chosen species’ of Earth.
Devil’s reign : X-Men / Duggan, Gerry – As Mayor Wilson Fisk (the Kingpin) launches his attack on New York’s superheroes, his secret ties to the X-Men are revealed.
Dark Web / Wells, Zeb – The X-Men team up with Spider-Man and Venom to stop their villains, the Goblin Queen and Chasm, from unleashing demons on New York.
Ghost Rider/Wolverine : weapons of vengeance / Percy, Benjamin – A mysterious string of killings crosses the Ghost Rider’s path with that of Wolverine.
Character-specific Krakoa Era series
Wolverine
What does mutantkind’s fiercest protector do when no mutant can die? Retire quietly? But Logan’s newfound peace on Krakoa can’t last forever, and soon enough, he’s back to doing what he does best.
Wolverine. Vol. 1 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 2 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 3 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 4 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 5 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 6 / Percy, Benjamin
Wolverine. Vol. 7 / Percy, Benjamin
X lives of Wolverine ; X deaths of Wolverine / Percy, Benjamin
Ghost Rider/Wolverine : weapons of vengeance / Percy, Benjamin
Deadpool
Everyone’s favourite Merc with a Mouth (and mutant on a technicality) joins Krakoa’s X-Force, while also auditioning to join a top assassin guild and dealing with an alien life form growing inside him.
Deadpool Vol. 1 / Wong, Alyssa
Deadpool. Vol. 2 / Wong, Alyssa
Cable
Cable, the time-travelling future son of Cyclops and Phoenix, returns as a fellow defender of Krakoa (albeit reborn as a teenage mutant rather than a grizzled elder veteran) tasked with investigating the disappearance of multiple mutant children.
Sabretooth
Victor Creed is Sabretooth, an animalistic killer mutant and archnemesis of Wolverine. While most mutants are given amnesty for their crimes committed prior to Krakoa’s founding, the Quiet Council make an exception for Victor, casting him into ‘The Pit of Exile’. Later, Sabretooth bands together with other Exiles to attack Krakoa from within.
Sabretooth : the adversary / LaValle, Victor
Sabretooth & the exiles / LaValle, Victor
More X-Men members
Beloved X-Men writers return to the classic characters for all new miniseries that celebrate the histories of Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue, Gambit and more.
Jean Grey : flames of fear / Simonson, Louise
Rogue & Gambit : power play / Phillips, Stephanie
Gambit : thick as thieves / Claremont, Chris
Magneto : Magneto was right / DeMatteis, J. M
Storm [1] : blowback / Nocenti, Ann
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