What is the Shocking Truth About the X-Men’s Dominion?

For more than sixty years, the X-Men have faced off against seemingly every threat that the Marvel Universe could possibly send their way. While the X-Men are no strangers to mechanized menaces of all shapes and sizes, they have rarely if ever faced any quite as ominous as those of Dominion. Besides the sheer scale of these awe-striking artificial intelligence, the power they wield is quite literally a threat to the existence of the entire Multiverse, and Storm has just discovered how deep that threat truly runs.

Resurrection of Magneto #1 (by Al Ewing, Luciano Vecchio, Davide Curiel, Tom Muller, Jay Bowen, and VC’s Joe Sabino) finds Storm roused from an ominous nightmare, one that emboldens her resolve to bring the now deceased Magneto back to life by any means necessary. Without the help of The Five and Cerebro, there is no way to bring Magneto or any other mutant back through the Resurrection Protocols established on Krakoa, yet Storm is well aware that there are plenty of other methods to accomplish the same feat. To that end, she enlists the help of Blue Marvel and his vast scientific resources in journeying through space, time, and various realities. While each step along the way brings her one step closer to her ultimate goal, one in particular also brings her face-to-face with one of the very same Dominion entities who Storm and her fellow mutant heroes are so desperate to stop, and what she learns only makes their emergence that much worse.

Marvel Comics’ Dominion – Explained

The highest intelligence in the Marvel Universe is also the most dangerous

First glimpsed in the pages of 2019’s Powers of X #5 (by Jonathan Hickman, R.B. Silva, and Marte Gracia), the beings known as Dominion are the highest possible form of intelligence in the cosmos, having ascended to a plane that is beyond both space and time. Typically, these beings are perceived as vast, glowing entities of differing shapes and sizes, though nearly all exhibit a machine-like quality that belies the seemingly divine powers they wield.

This particular feature is largely because the majority of those seen to have attained Dominionhood started as artificial intelligences of one variety or another. Although that doesn’t mean that organic beings cannot achieve Dominionhood for themselves, it does indicate the rarity with which such ascensions occur. Or rather, it indicates the rarity with which such ascensions occurred previously, as the omnitemporal nature of Dominions means that once they have come into being, they have always existed as such.

This specific aspect of the existence of Dominions has created numerous problems for the future endeavors of the man who initially set out to achieve that status for himself, Nathaniel Essex, or at least for the future endeavors of the versions of himself, he created to carry on his work long after his death. Obsessed with becoming a Dominion in a bid to beat artificial intelligence to the punch, Essex crafted three clones of himself who would go on to be known as Mister Sinister, Doctor Stasis, and Orbis Stellaris, as well as a clone of his late wife Rebecca in the form of Mother Righteous, each of whom would seek to attain Dominionhood through various means.

Thanks to the original Essex eventually becoming the Dominion known as Enigma, the clones he created each failed in doing so for themselves despite seemingly crossing that threshold when they were all greeted by a preexisting Dominion who, as far as they knew, should never have been. This more than confirmed how vast the powers of Dominions truly are, not to mention how important those capable of standing against them will be in the days to come, and none are more prepared than the Beyonders.

Dominion Has a Secret Connection to Marvel’s Other Interdimensional Big Bads

Resurrection of Magneto reveals a dire relationship between Dominion and the Beyonders

So far, only a handful of beings exist who are known to be capable of posing any sort of threat to a Dominion entity. These include the Devourer of Worlds, Galactus, as well as the cosmic raptor that is the Phoenix Force, though they aren’t the only ones who stand some chance of fighting back against Dominions. As Storm discovers when brought face-to-face with a former Phalanx that attained Dominionhood, another set of near unfathomable beings are well on their way toward developing their means of striking back against Dominions. While this isn’t all that surprising considering everything that readers have already seen the Beyonders accomplish, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are on the same side as the rest of the Marvel Universe.

The first real appearance of a Beyonder in the pages of Marvel Comics, apart from instances of retroactive continuity, took place in 1984’s Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #1 (by Jim Shooter, Michael Zeck, John Beatty, and Christie Scheele). In this instance, the Beyonder known simply as such brought together the heroes and villains of Earth to take place in what would quickly stand out as the most iconic battle royale the Marvel Universe has ever known. With the power to bend time, space, and reality to their whims, the Beyonders are undoubtedly one of the greatest forces in the cosmos, yet their endeavors have rarely resembled anything beneficial to lesser beings. The Beyonders have frequently put the entirety of the Multiverse at risk, and it is hard to imagine that their apparent war against the likes of Enigma is any different.

What Dominion’s Latest Revelations Mean for the Future of Marvel Comics

Marvel’s Enigma might not be the worst threat poised to strike the Marvel Universe

Just as the Beyonders have likened themselves to cosmic judge and jury or proclaimed themselves to be the Kings in White who stand firm against the supposed threat of symbiotes, the Beyonders have often assumed that their efforts are just for no reason other than being theirs. As such, the Beyonders have no reason to concern themselves with what the effects of their actions might be regarding humanity, mutantkind, or any other form of mortal.

If the Beyonders truly are willing to risk their existence by fighting back against Enigma or any other Dominion, they would also be willing to risk the lives of any and every other entity in the Multiverse if it meant getting any closer to victory. Of course, there is an argument to be made that any life lost in the process of defeating Enigma would be one well spent, but that isn’t exactly the Beyonders’ decision to be making for the rest of reality.

On the other hand, there is the idea that the Beyonders may not be able to overcome the threat of Dominion, especially now that it has emerged. The Beyonders might be limitless in the scope of their abilities, but Dominion are limitless in the scope of their very existence. Even if the Beyonders have made great strides in regards to fighting back against the threat of Dominion, there is no indication that any of those strides exist as anything other than theory.

If there were any practical applications of those hypothetical methods, it would stand to reason that Enigma and other Dominions would simply not exist as they do today. Then again, the existence of Dominions as a whole is seemingly antithetical to the rules that govern the Marvel Universe as fans know it, so assuming that any of the usual signs that readers could look to for some indication of what is going on probably won’t get those same readers any closer to the truth of the matter at hand.