158 EARTH X
has mutated after being exposed to the mysterious Terrigen Mists, and the mutation has
caused humans to cease reproducing.
X-51 learns from Uatu that Earth was a chosen home for the Celestials, god-like
beings who use planets to plant a seed that will inevitably become another Celestial,
but in doing so, the entire planet will be destroyed. According to Uatu, Earth and its
entire people are mere insects fertilizing the planet so that a Celestial will be born, and
the time for harvesting is quickly approach. X-51 works together with other Marvel
heroes, including Mr. Fantastic, Cyclops, Blackbolt, Captain America, and Iron Man
to ruin the Celestials’ plans. Th rough the sacrifi ce of Blackbolt and Iron Man, they stall
long enough to beckon the only force strong enough to fend off the Celestials: Galactus,
the world devourer. With the Celestials vanquished from Earth, Galactus eradicates
the embryo. It is explained that this Galactus was Franklin Richards, Mr. Fantastic’s
son, who had achieved the highest but disempowering mutation level (the power to
be anything someone else imagines). Th us, Mr. Fantastic must give up any hold on his
son so that Franklin as Galactus can serve as a balance to the Celestial’s existence. At
the conclusion of the fi rst arc, Mr. Fantastic has found a way to counteract the human
mutation and hopes to return people back to themselves.
Universe X and Paradise X pick up shortly after the fi rst birth of a human in years
by Him and Her, artifi cially created beings. Th e child is a reincarnation of Mar-Vell,
also known as Captain Marvel, who teams up with Captain America to fi nd sources of
power in hopes of defeating the being known as Mistress Death in order to return the
heroes back to the world. Meanwhile, the Tong of Creel reassemble Absorbing Man,
who initially seeks to wreak havoc but is eventually convinced to turn himself into
vibranium in order to preserve the Earth from destruction. Th e fi nal piece of the series
has the characters struggling to understand the larger ramifi cations of a world without
death. By this time, X-51 traverses the multiverse spreading the word about the Celes-
tials’ seeds. In the end, Mr. Fantastic becomes the new replacement for the god-being
known as Eternity and erects a barrier around the universe to keep the Celestials from
ever returning.
Th e power of the narrative derives from the way in which Krueger and Ross lace
together a great deal of Marvel lore into a coherent piece that links so many of the
diff erent and slightly-contradictive myths and traditions, from the Norse Gods of
Asgard, to the existence of the devil-being Mephisto, to personifi ed death, Mistress
Death; they even include tangential universes within the Marvel Universe, including
the Microverse, and the Negative Zone. Many major character narratives are rewrit-
ten or augmented to make the story work in some very large ways, thereby creating
one succinct Marvel universe. Wolverine’s new origin consists of him being part of the
oldest intelligent race on Earth, predating humans and even the Celestials. Th e Norse
Gods were a race of beings who had achieved the highest mutation, and thus when
they encountered humans who believed they were gods, turned into Odin and the rest.
Uatu, the Watcher, no longer watches to record but rather to serve the needs of the
Celestials. Major Marvel characters (Fantastic Four, Captain America, Spider-Man)
