Xorn Is Officially Back with the X-Men
The Krakoan Era is over, and the X-men's new era has officially begun. Cyclops is in charge of a new team of misfits and heroes. But among franchise favorites like Magneto, Beast, and Psylocke, some surprising mutants are also on-hand as the team's support staff. One of them is Xorn, the franchise's most controversial hero of all time. This might be the final chance for Marvel to get Xorn right, and if they nail it, the X-Men could get one of its best heroes back.
The Xorn Debacle Explained in 2 Minutes
Understanding why Xorn is so controversial can't be done by looking at the character's in-canon history. You have to understand how Marvel has handled the character as intellectual property. In Grant Morrison and Leinil Francis Yu's New X-men 2001 #1, Xorn's story is simple: he's Magneto in disguise. Magneto wanted to infiltrate Xavier's school, so he created a new persona and disguised himself as someone who could never remove his helmet. Xorn's healing is explained by Magneto using his powers in clever ways. For example, using metal to bind Xavier's spine, giving the illusion of having healed him. Magneto's plan culminates in a mass terror attack on New York, where he plans to realign the Earth's magnetic poles and ends up killing Jean Grey.
However, following New X-Men, Marvel wasn't happy with Magneto's new status quo as a genocidal terrorist. To redeem Magneto, Marvel revealed that Xorn was a totally separate person - one who had been influenced by one of the X-Men's many villains to pose as the Master of Magnetism and cause chaos. Since Xorn was popular and now a separate character, Marvel tried to have its cake and eat it by replacing him with Kuan-Yin Xorn - the original Xorn's twin brother with similar powers (but this time with a black hole for a brain, not a sun.)
At the same time, Marvel published multiple stories which tried to give fans Xorn without truly bringing him back. Xorn's consciousness was introduced as a new villain controlling all the mutant powers Scarlet Witch removed in House of M (aka the Collective). A future version of Jean Grey and corrupted Emma Frost both used Xorn 'disguises,' creating a number of stories where it seemed like Xorn was back and had a new status quo. This was quickly reversed. Xorn was resurrected during X-Men's Krakoan Era (hence why he's alive now), but didn't get much to do other than hanging out with his twin.
With two Xorns and a tangled history of what either of them actually did, the character has become impenetrable for fans trying to catch up. This wasn't helped by the fact that Morrison and Frank Quitely's X-Men run was followed by one of the most unpopular runs in the franchise's history, meaning that even many X-Men fans haven't read the entirety of the era where Marvel tried to establish Xorn's new status quo. However, despite all this complexity and confusion, Xorn is a great character, and there's an easy way to proceed.
Xorn's Return Already Suggests Marvel Knows How to Handle Him
The simple answer to how to fix Xorn is to simply ignore the vast majority of his history since Morrison and Quitely's New X-Men. Fans know that Xorn is a separate character who impersonated Magneto for a while, and that's all they need to know. If X-Men simply brings back Xorn with his original personality and powers, with some kind of nod to the fact his backstory was complicated in ways that no longer matter, the character can simply be used once again.
Confusing as it was, his impersonation of Magneto is a) finished and b) wasn't his fault. Many Superheroes, even A-list heroes, have come back from wilder stories and twists simply by moving forward (see Superman splitting into two separate Red/Blue forms.) The fact that Xorn is wearing his Morrison era costume in his appearance in X-Men #1 suggests that Marvel is taking the exact right route - telling X-Men fans who loved him in his original appearances that they can simply re-engage with the character as they knew him.
However, bringing back a simplified, recognizable Xorn isn't just a plus because he's a great character or because he offers things no other mutant hero does. He's the perfect voice to put on this team as a new era begins.
Xorn's Philosophy Is an Essential Replacement for Xavier
In the closing months of the Krakoan Era, Charles Xavier turned on the X-Men, working with the anti-mutant group Orchis to subjugate his own people. His reasons were complex, but his decision broke his relationship with his students, and it's hard to see Cyclops and his team ever treating Xavier as a mentor again. That's a big deal, since Xavier embodies the 'dream' that the X-Men franchise was built on top of. With Magneto now advising the team and outcasts like Kid Omega and Psylocke on the main roster, the X-Men need a voice who places a high premium on human and mutant lives.
One of the best X-Men comics of all time is New X-Men #127, from Grant Morrison and John Paul Leon. The issue is a standalone Xorn story where the hero attempts to help a young mutant whose powers have just activated, turning him into a hulking 'monster' as a pupal stage for his true mutant form. The kid is killed by the NYPD, who can only see him as a threat, and Xorn despairs at the tragic loss of a young mutant's life. That idea - that every lost life is a singular tragedy - is essential as the X-Men enter one of their darkest periods ever.
X-Men's new era finds the team on a knife-edge, fighting for survival in a world where Xavier's dream has more or less failed. The majority of team members on X-Men's new roster have no issue killing if it serves the greater good. Having a voice like Xorn's arguing that all lives are worth safeguarding is (whether he's right or wrong) a way to offer the emotional and philosophical depth that Morrison and Quitely's New X-Men is remembered for.
X-Men's new era just began by bringing back a character who is emblematic of one of the most creative eras in the franchise's history, but also the ways in which Marvel as a company can undermine good ideas in service of keeping the overall franchise as marketable as possible. With fans still making up their minds how to feel about X-Men's 'From the Ashes' era, Xorn acts as both a symbol of hope for the path ahead and a warning of how quickly this franchise can fly off the tracks.
