Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #27A major X-Men secret has finally been revealed years after it was first teased, all thanks to a casual comment Kamala Khan makes to Reed Richards in X-Men #27. Years ago the Krakoan founder Charles Xavier wiped a secret from Reed’s memory, thinking it was a threat towards mutantkind, and now in Krakoa’s darkest hour the vitally important secret has finally been unmasked.
Ms. Marvel’s tragic death in Amazing Spider-Man #26 was swiftly reversed at this year’s X-Men: Hellfire Gala, where Kamala was resurrected, and it was revealed that she was both an Inhuman and a mutant.
X-Men #26, from writer Gerry Duggan and artist Phil Noto, sees Kamala casually mentioning to Reed Richards that Xavier told her that her Inhuman DNA somehow masked her mutant X-Gene… which turns out to be the missing piece of a secret puzzle that Charles wiped from Mister Fantastic’s memory years ago!
Ms. Marvel’s Inhuman Identity Was The Answer To A Vital Secret
To stop Franklin Richards from running away to Krakoa, Reed devised Code-X, a device to mask a mutant X-Gene, thus taking away Franklin’s ability to use the Krakoan Gates. In X-Men/Fantastic Four (2020) #4 the telepathic Charles Xavier wiped Reed’s mind, removing his ability to make Code-X again, after Reed revealed that the device could potentially fully remove the X-Gene, not just mask it. In X-Men #26 Talon, Synch, Rasputin IV, and Ms. Marvel travel to Ben Grimm’s family farm to speak with Reed, desperate to find a way to restore his memories, so he can recreate Code-X to mask the X-Men’s movement from the evil Orchis.
Even with Rasputin IV’s telepathic intervention, they are unable to retrieve Reed’s stolen memories. That is until Kamala mentions that on the night of the Hellfire Gala, Xavier told her that her Inhuman genes were able to mask her mutant X-Gene, prompting Reed to burst out laughing before revealing that the secret to Code-X was the Inhuman’s Terrigen Mists. Mister Fantastic explains that while in large quantities the Mists are deadly to mutants, creating the devastating M-Pox, in smaller quantities they are able to “camouflage” the X-Gene. Ms. Marvel’s mutant powers have still not been revealed, most likely because her Inhuman genes are preventing their emergence, but her exciting new dual identity as a mutant Inhuman may have just saved the X-Men.
Reed Will Help The Mutants Even After Xavier’s Betrayal
Xavier wiping Reed’s memory was a major act of betrayal, even though Xavier was doing what he thought necessary for mutant survival, and it created intense tension between Krakoa and The Fantastic Four. However, at the end of the day, Reed Richards is an honorable hero who wants to save people, so he is of course willing to do whatever he can to help the mutants hide from Orchis during their rebellion. Reed promises to reach out to Kamala and the X-Men after he is able to recreate an X-Gene mask, especially because he and his family are no friends to Orchis.
Mister Fantastic also offers to help Ms. Marvel unlock her mutant ability, which might come into play in Kamala’s own series Ms Marvel: The New Mutants, after acknowledging how glad he is that Krakoa was able to resurrect her. The iconic Kamala Khan’s journey towards accepting her new identity as a mutant Inhuman is slowly progressing, especially after her Krakoan resurrection just helped to unveil a vital X-Men secret, which might be the key to taking down Orchis once and for all.
X-Men #27 from Marvel Comics is available now in stores.
