“The Mutant Virus”: X-Men Just Redefined Everything We Know About Mutant Powers

The X-Men just suffered a huge blow, as a new theory in Marvel Comics threatens to turn humans against them more drastically than ever. The franchise is currently in the opening stages of a brand new era, with several major events so far setting up a bold new status quo. Among these bombshells, adults have begun to mysteriously manifest mutant powers, despite the 61-year-old franchise having long established that the X-gene activates during adolescence (or, in very rare cases, earlier.)

Now, Jed MacKay and Ryan Stegman’s X-Men #3 reveals a devastating theory has emerged from this new development – humans are beginning to speculate that mutants are contagious, with a ‘mutant virus’ turning adult humans into mutants. The fact is revealed as Cyclops takes an antagonistic meeting with Agent Lundqvist of the Office of National Emergency, aka O*N*E, who are responsible for overseeing mutantkind in Marvel’s America.

Lundqvist reveals that leaked footage of the X-Men discussing an adult mutant’s powers is being used to fuel the new theory that mutants have become contagious. Given the way that mutants are hated and feared by many humans, the idea that their presence can cause homo sapiens to become homo superior is a hammer blow that’s likely to bring yet more violence and discrimination down on their heads… especially if it’s actually true.

Humanity Is Starting to Believe Mutants are Contagious

The ‘Mutant Virus’ Theory Poses a Huge Challenge to the Remaining X-Men

Marvel is still setting the stage for X-Men’s new era, moving in a new direction following the preceding ‘Krakoan Era’ where mutantkind gathered together to create a new island nation. That political project ended when the anti-mutant group Orchis assassinated key mutants and framed major X-Men heroes for a series of assassinations and terrorist attacks. While Orchis’ villainous intentions were eventually exposed, in many ways the damage was done, and mutants now find themselves in a world where humans are more afraid of them than everand where the bonds between various mutant factions have shattered in the wake of the Krakoan project.

Cyclops is fighting tooth and nail to maintain a team that can keep mutants safe and offer a serious deterrent to state-approved violence against them, however the idea of a ‘mutant virus’ is terrible news for what he’s trying to accomplish. At the same time, Scott doesn’t even know that the villainous 3K group are working behind the scenes, seemingly intending to wrest control of mutantkind’s future from the remnants of the X-Men.

Are the Villainous 3K Group Planning to Control Mutantkind’s Future?

Marvel’s New Adult Mutants Appear to be a Deliberate Power Grab

Teased in X-Men #1 (with a ‘bonus page’ walled behind a QR code), 3K are only shown in shadow, but fans have speculated from their silhouettes that the controlling members are Cassandra Nova, Astra, Joseph, Namor, and the Krakoan. The majority of these villains are mutants, and they do indeed have something to do with the new wave of X-gene activations in adults. If mutants really are turning humans into new homo superior, there’ll be nothing Cyclops’ team can do to put the genie back in the battle. Not only will 3K quickly have their own mutant army, but O*N*E will have all the excuse they need to crack down on mutant freedoms – something Agent Lundqvist clearly wants.

The idea that 3K are turning humans into mutants is bolstered by past X-Men history. The mutant hero known as Sage has the ability to perceive human DNA and activate any latent mutant powers that didn’t manifest naturally. There’s nothing ‘viral’ about this process – Sage essentially nudges people a little further into their genetic potential on a one-by-one basis – but it lends credence to the idea that 3K could have discovered the secret to activating adult mutants. If so, they can quickly turn themselves into the spokespeople of mutantkind’s future (the fact that their meeting table is branded with a gigantic ‘X’ suggests they have designs on the X-Men’s traditional role.)

Mutantkind Has Lost All Progress Towards Equality

X-Men Is Engaging with Real-World Hate Rhetoric

It’s easy to read X-Men’s new ‘mutant virus’ concept as commentary on modern-day hate rhetoric, with Marvel once again using ‘mutants’ as social commentary on real-world prejudice. The idea that the increased visibility of marginalized groups (especially LGBTQIA+ people) leads to otherwise straight people ‘turning’ queer is a persistent claim often weaponized against already disenfranchised groups. It’s easy to see how the ‘mutant virus’ concept could echo this real-life misconception (although the metaphor will be undercut if it turns out that 3K really are a group of ‘evil’ mutants.)

X-Men #3 shows that even as Lundqvist is verbally sparring with Cyclops, a team of O*N*E agents are infiltrating the X-Men’s base to investigate their activities. Whatever the truth behind the recent increase in adult mutant activations, even the idea of a ‘mutant virus’ is a powerful weapon that can be used to justify surveilling, imprisoning or even killing existing mutants. After years of mutants having their own fashion, music and political power in Marvel comics, the ‘mutant virus’ concept is enough to once again force young mutants to keep their powers under wraps for fear of being caught up in humanity’s fear and hatred.

X-Men’s Mutant Virus Idea Establishes the New Era’s Stakes

The X-Men Are Back Where They Started, But This Time Without Xavier’s Dream

‘From the Ashes’ has effectively functioned as a soft reboot of the franchise, with a major focus on appealing to new readers. That means getting the X-Men back to their defining status as a hated and feared minority living among the same humans who see them as an existential threat. However, it’s been a long time since the X-Men were in such dire straits, to the extent that the general public are open to wild conspiracy theories about the basic facts of mutant biology and their powers.

It’s a huge shake-up that represents a gigantic step back in human/mutant relations, and one that has the X-Men themselves flailing for meaning. Heroes like Wolverine and Kate ‘Kitty’ Pryde have officially quit the team, while Cyclops himself has a panic attack after confronting Lundqvist. It’s an incredibly dangerous time to be a mutant in the Marvel Universe, with even the idea of mutant powers becoming ‘contagious’ adding an urgent new level of threat to the X-Men‘s mission to safeguard innocent mutants.

X-Men #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.