Krakoa's greatest gift to the world has been their miraculous resurrection technology. But human access to that tech requires gifting mankind another proprietary mutant product. And the upcoming issue of X-Men reveals something is amiss with these seemingly selfless gifts.
The revelation comes in a preview of the upcoming X-Men #22, written by Gerry Duggan and illustrated by Joshua Cassara. There is a "Trojan horse" contained within Krakoa's exported medicines. At least, according to Karima Shapandar, aka Omega Sentinel. Shapandar shares this intel with Hordeculture's Opal Vetiver, who in exchange hands over her research on Krakoa's teleportation gates.
"The mutants put a Trojan horse into their medicines," Shapandar tells Vetiver. "The users of their medicines are in grave danger."
Vetiver suffers lung disease from chronic smoking. Despite being a foe of the X-Men, the agricultural bioengineer admits to the health benefits she's received from the Krakoan medicine. Shapandar cautions her against using the drug. She instead advises her to manufacture her own organic version, to avoid the alleged "Trojan horse."
Is There Something Sinister Inside Krakoa's Medicines?
The preview doesn't expound on exactly what Shapandar means. However, her allegation could be in reference to the recent machinations of Mister Sinister. The twisted geneticist had planted his own DNA within the Krakoan medicines prior to their global distribution. The mutant drugs enabled humans to benefit from Krakoa's resurrection protocols.
The drug's widespread usage, however, also enabled Sinister to quickly take control of the world. That defining event occured in Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck's Sins of Sinister #1. The one-shot kicked off the three-month, millennium-spanning Sins of Sinister event.
Sinister was ultimately defeated and his nightmarish dystopia averted. However, traces of Sinister's manipulations remain in the present day. In fact, potentially infected members of Krakoa's Quiet Council remain under close watch. So Shapandar's allegation could still refer to Sinister's tricks. Or, the corrupted medicines could indicate an entirely new threat.
Shapandar has joined forces with the anti-mutant conglomeration known as Orchis. The character’s reintroduction took place in Jonathan Hickman and Pepe Larraz’s House of X #1 in 2019. That issue ushered in the X-Men’s Krakoan age, aka Dawn of X. The new development is one of many in advance of the upcoming Fall of X event, beginning this August. Fall of X heralds the end of the Krakoan era.
X-Men #22 goes on sale May 17 from Marvel Comics.
Source: Marvel