Warning: The following contains major spoilers for X-Men: Legends #2, by Fabian Nicieza, Brett Booth, Adelso Corona, Guru-eFX and VC’s Joe Caramagna, as well as recent issues of New Mutants and X-Men, all on sale now.
There are several key mutants in the Marvel Universe. Omega-Level mutants are valued for their power, while leaders like Cyclops are needed to keep mutantkind moving forward. However, out of all the mutants in the Marvel Universe, Adam X could be the most important one, at least from a galactic perspective.
Adam X’s importance was recently emphasized in X-Men: Legends #2. This flashback issue highlights how Adam has a legitimate claim to the Shi’ar throne. As a product of cell samples from both Katherine Summers and former Emperor D’Ken, Adam X is a potential heir to the Shi’ar Empire.
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Of course, when D’Ken was unseated from power in 1977’s X-Men #108, by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Adam X hadn’t even been born yet. Taken from the Shi’ar Empire by D’Ken’s elite guard, Adam was raised on the farm planet of Ch’Reesharaa, ignorant of his heritage. All of that changed in 1994’s X-Men #39, by Fabian Nicieza and Terry Dodson, when Erik the Red and the Crystal Claws set out to find Adam and force him to become the next Shi’ar Emperor.
After working with Cyclops, Havok and the Starjammers to free his grandparents from Erik in X-Men: Legends #2, Adam wanted liberation from the Shi’ar Empire, which he asked for after Erik’s deafeat. Lilandra granted Adam’s request, having her personal telepath, Oracle, remove any knowledge of Adam’s heritage from the entire Summers family.
Although he has no knowledge of his heritage, Adam X could potentially become the galaxy’s most important mutant. Adam is currently on Krakoa with the rest of mutantkind, while the Shi’ar Empire is ruled by Xandra, the daughter of Lilandra. Under specific circumstances, however, Adam could potentially find himself on the Shi’ar throne.
X-Men: Legends #2 ends with Mister Sinister watching over Adam, so perhaps there are still plans for him. Given Sinister’s penchant for manipulation, it’s possible that he’d find a way to restore Adam’s memories. Sinister was also being watched by someone else, meaning there could be larger forces at work here.
Possibly, someone could manipulate Xandra off the throne and restore Adam’s memories, forcing him into becoming the next Shi’ar Emperor. It’s true that the X-Men are great allies with the Shi’ar, so they would naturally support Xandra. Still. this friendship could put the mutants in the Shi’ar’s good graces if the throne ever needed to be filled.
The New Mutants already helped Xandra secure the throne, in 2020’s New Mutants #7, by Jonathan Hickman and Rod Reis. Afterward, Gladiator granted the mutants a Krakoan gateway on Chandilore, a Shi’ar moon. This favor brought the mutants and Shi’ar even closer than before.
On the slim chance that Adam X got his memories back and Xandra was dethroned, Adam could feasibly rule the Shi’ar Empire. With Adam on the throne, Krakoa’s influence would spread even further than before. Mutants would have a nation on Earth, a space station and an entire cosmic empire working in their favor.
As foreshadowed in Powers of X #1, by Jonathan Hickman and R.B. Silva, the Shi’ar Empire could possibly help preserve mutantkind. In Moira X’s ninth life, only a relative handful of mutants remain 100 in the future. Most of these mutants are hiding in Shi’ar space, including Benevolence and Chandilar, the Shi’ar homeworld.
This future doesn’t seem to have a mutant on the Shi’ar throne, yet it still indicates how important the Shi’ar will always be as mutant allies. Of course, Adam clearly didn’t want to inherit the Shi’ar throne, due to the potential civil war which would erupt. Even so, if there were some way that Adam could be peacefully seated as Shi’ar Emperor, mutantkind could thrive as a cosmic force, far beyond the world that once hated and feared them.
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