X-Men fans have been wondering who is under the mask of the latest member of the mutant team, Captain Krakoa, since his impending introduction to the team was announced with the mystery of his true identity central to his story.
Now, in X-Men #6 from writer Gerry Duggan, artists Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia, and letterer Clayton Cowles, Captain Krakoa's secret identity is revealed - and it's a mutant we know quite well, though in a very different context.
Read on to find out about the secret identity of Captain Krakoa, and what the truth could mean for the X-Men going forward.
Spoilers ahead for X-Men #6
X-Men #6 opens with a scene set "six days from now," in the future of the current Marvel Universe. The scene shows Captain Krakoa rescuing a cat from a tree for a little girl, immediately embodying one of the most classic superhero tropes to demonstrate his place as the X-Men's newest hero, and showing off his Krakoan plant-based powers.
He then returns to the X-Men headquarters, traveling to Krakoa to meet with the Quiet Council - and in the process revealing that Captain Krakoa is actually Cyclops in a new costume, using Krakoa tech-based powers.
As for why Cyclops has taken on a new codename seemingly divested of his actual mutant powers, it all comes down to the Krakoan power of resurrection.
Apparently, some time in the six-day gap between the 'present day' Marvel Universe and the 'six days later' setting of X-Men #6, Cyclops died in battle - only instead of both dying and being resurrected in secret, Cyclops' death was public and violent, leading people to witness his demise.
This means that Cyclops can't be brought back without revealing the secret of mutant resurrection - something the Quiet Council refuses to allow, forcing Cyclops to take on a new costume and codename to hide the secret.
At the same time, on Mars' moon of Phobos, Sunfire confronts Feilong, who has come to the moon to terraform and colonize it just as mutants turned Mars into Planet Arakko - though with the implication that he's planning to transform Mars itself next.
Finally, dejected that he can't simply be himself, Cyclops tries to set a meeting with reporter Phil Urich who has been investigating mutant resurrection, though Urich cryptically turns him away, leaving Cyclops seemingly lonely and sad, away from the rest of the team.
The story continues in January 26's X-Men #7, which promises to reveal "the origin of Captain Krakoa."
Use Newsarama's list of all new X-Men comics, graphic novels, and collections arriving in 2022 to keep up with an ever-evolving X-Men line.
