X-Men Wasted The Mutant Messiah – Can They Redeem Her?
The X-Men comics have wasted Hope Summers, the so-called “Mutant Messiah” – can the upcoming Destiny of X possibly redeem the character at last?
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Marvel Comics wasted the X-Men’s “Mutant Messiah” – but can they still redeem her? The 2004-2005 House of M storyline shook the mutant community to the core, with Scarlet Witch depowering most of the world’s mutants. It was a bold twist, imposed by editors who felt there were too many mutants, and it resulted in an extended period in which the remaining X-Men desperately attempted to keep the mutant race alive. It didn’t help that anti-mutant groups had been bolstered by a Nimrod Sentinel from the future, which had given them prior warning of the coming catastrophe.
All this led up to 2007’s “Messiah CompleX,” one of the strongest X-Men events of the last 20 years. A mutant child was born, one apparently destined to undo Scarlet Witch’s curse, and the X-Men’s enemies desperately attempted to kill her; fortunately, the time traveler Cable intervened, aware of the infant’s destiny, and he saved her. Cable took the girl, who he christened “Hope Summers,” into the future for safekeeping – and she wouldn’t return until 2010’s “Second Coming” event. As the titles of those events demonstrate, Hope was positioned as the “Mutant Messiah,” the one who would lead the mutant race to their destiny. The mutant race was restored in 2012’s “Avengers Vs. X-Men,” an event that saw Hope Summers combine her powers with Scarlet Witch’s to undo the mutant genocide. And ever since then… Marvel has struggled to figure out just what to do with her.
The core problem with Hope Summers is a simple one; she was as much a plot device as a character, created for the specific purpose of bringing back the mutant race. Marvel doesn’t appear to have had any plans for Hope beyond that, and as a result she soon faded into the background, neglected and forgotten. It’s singularly unsatisfying, given the comics had modeled her arc on the Bible narrative of Jesus, meaning she really should have been the most important mutant of the last 20 years. She’s powerful enough to match any X-Man or Avenger – and while still just a teenager, beat the Scarlet Witch in an impromptu skirmish that threatened to destroy reality itself.
Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men relaunch finally remembered Hope Summers, giving her an important role as leader of the Five – a group of mutants who synergize their powers with Cerebro technology to resurrect the dead. Hope serves as a unifier, with her powers allowing these abilities to operate in unison. There have been hints many mutants are beginning to revere Hope with a quasi-religious fervor, but until recently there’s been no sign she’ll ever step into a real leadership role. But now Mystique has given Hope her own Cerebro helmet, and Hope has immediately begun taking charge of the Resurrection Protocols, defying Krakoa’s ruling Quiet Council by establishing new rules over the resurrection of clones. A recent teaser for the upcoming “Destiny of X” era featured an image of Hope now clad in the black uniform of Professor X, still wearing Cerebro on her head; it clearly symbolizes her ascension to the role of leader of the mutant race.
The possibility is an exciting one, not least because it may well mean the Hickman era is inaugurating a timeline readers have already experienced. One of the opponents of the “Mutant Messiah” was the time traveling Bishop, who originated from a timeline in which she became ruler of the mutant race and led them into a war with humanity. Bishop tried, and failed, to kill Hope when she was just a baby; while that timeline seems to have been averted, there’s no reason to assume Hope couldn’t still walk a similar path. And given Bishop has recently been elevated to the position of Great Captain of Krakoa, charged with defense of the nation, that possibility could see X-Men turn on one another. Such an arc would see Hope Summers finally begin to fulfil the potential teased from “Messiah CompleX” through to “Avengers Vs. X-Men,” and it would be thrilling to see that potential realized.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/x-men-wasted-mutant-messiah-hope-summers-redemption/