Following the Fall of Krakoa, the Xavier School was repurposed by anti-Mutant bigots. Remade into Greymalkin Prison, the former home of the X-Men is now a symbol of Mutant repression. Despite this, Cyclops was content to leave the past in the past — until Greymalkin came for Beast. Now he’s ready to fight anyone who tries to stop him from saving his friend and teammate, even his fellow heroes. This sets the stage for the Raid on Graymalkin crossover event.
Written by Jed MacKay with art by Ryan Stegman, X-Men #8 opens with Beast having a rude awakening. This Beast, a clone of the original from before Dr. Hank McCoy went mad with power, is apparently meant to pay for the crimes of the original. This would be enough to spur Cyclops into action, beyond his personal pain at losing one of his best friends so close after getting them back.
The main cover and first five pages of X-Men #8 may be viewed below:
(Image Source; Marvel / Ryan Stegman)
Ryan Stegman’s cover hints at the core conflict of the Raid on Greymalkin event, with Rogue fighting Cyclops. The former teammates were content to go their separate ways after the Fall of Krakoa. Cyclops established a new team of troubleshooters in Alaska, while Rogue mentored a group of teen Mutants in Louisiana.
However, recent events in Uncanny X-Men saw one of Rogue’s new students being captured by the authorities at Greymalkin Prison. While Rogue is unlikely to take that lying down, she’s also more likely to care about collateral damage than Cyclops. This could spur the conflict teased by the cover and lead to two teams of X-Men doing battle.
X-Men #8 arrives in comic shops everywhere on December 4, 2024.