Tom Brevoort Reveals He Envisioned X-Force as “The Krakoa Mossad” in His Post-Krakoa X-Men Plans
The Krakoan Age was marked by the creation of a mutant nation on the living island of Krakoa and mutants gaining near-immortality through resurrection protocols. The storylines spanned different timelines, with mutants battling threats like the human supremacist group Orchis, who worked to destroy Krakoa. They also faced the Dominion, powerful beings beyond space and time, threatening their survival.
After the events of ‘Rise of the Powers of X,’ the mutant nation of Krakoa was destroyed, and most mutants were trapped in the White Hot Room. Earth’s mutant population shrank drastically, and humanity’s fear and hatred of mutants returned. While the Krakoan Age has ended, it isn’t a complete return to the old X-Men status quo, but a significant reset for their storylines, with no way back to Krakoa’s era.
With the Krakoan era over, it was time to come up with fresh ideas for the X-Men comics. In his recent Substack post, Marvel Executive VP Tom Brevoort shared the first email he sent to then-X-Men Group Editor Jordan White.
The email came after a brainstorming session about how to reshape the X-Men stories moving forward. This happened before David Buckley offered Brevoort the role of X-Men Group Editor, and Brevoort noted, “That email might have been one of the reasons I got the job.”
Bretvoort described X-Force as a group akin to the Mossad, Israel’s secret security force, portraying them as determined and aggressive defenders of Krakoa’s ideals after its destruction.
The team’s mission would presumably focus on avenging their lost homeland and targeting its enemies directly.
This vision reflects Brevoort’s broader approach to the X-Line, which includes interconnected teams with philosophical conflicts, reduced mutant visibility, and themes of rebuilding lost rights and relationships. Brevoort noted that many of his early ideas, including X-Force’s evolution, influenced the direction the X-Men comics eventually took.
X-MEN – Primary heroic super hero team. Focused on universal situations whether they specifically involve mutants or not.
UNCANNY X-MEN – Secondary heroic super hero team. Philosophically at odds with X-Men. Focused primarily on mutant situations.
School X-MEN – Kitty and new players recruit new mutants and train them in the use of their powers. Wear modified school uniforms ala New Mutants or Generation X. This book effectively is NEW MUTANTS but it could use a stronger X-centric title.
X-FORCE – The Krakoa Mossad, clinging to the idea and ideals of their destroyed homeland and taking the fight to its enemies.
X-FACTOR – Government-affiliated mutant squad. Freedom Force. If integration is the goal, then these are the most integrated heroes.
WOLVERINE – Wolverine as a solo player. Pick him up living in remote cabin in Canada, where he’s brought back into the fight by somebody?
THE SENTINELS – People transformed into stealth Sentinels. Programmed to hunt down mutants, but they can do more and be heroic as well.
MYSTIQUE – Cool spy/espionage book with a morally ambiguous lead.
“Professor M”? Magneto wheelchair-bound?
Take founders and ANAD characters off the board for a while?
Brotherhood of X
Need fewer active mutants overall, and need to scatter the ones we know across the globe.
New villains. Old villains in new and interesting places. Some theoretically heroic mutants now in villain roles.
Mutants mostly living under the radar/inside the closet. A Red State future. Trying to pry open the door again/regain lost rights and cultural gains.
Mutants have families and friends and lives apart from being mutant super heroes. Not everybody drops everything else in their lives to live as a mutant full time.
Mutants interacting with normal people in society, good and bad.
Build relations between all X-Teams so they’re each in opposition to at least one other faction, providing story grist. So X-FACTOR doesn’t like SENTINELS because they’re anti-mutant but they’re forced to work with them. One team of X-MEN doesn’t agree with the stance of the other team of X-MEN. X-FORCE has a chip on its shoulder for X-FACTOR, whom they consider sell-outs. And so forth. Arrange the factions like on a wheel.
Tom Brevoort acknowledged that while some details changed, like swapping the premises of ‘X-Men’ and ‘Uncanny X-Men’ and taking ‘X-Force’ in a new direction, the overall vision stayed close to his original ideas. He believes his memo outlining these concepts may have been a key factor in him being chosen for the role.
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