Warning: Contains SPOILERS for X-Men #6! The the latest X-Men comic, one member of the team sums up exactly how tragically broken the heroes have become with just three damning words.

In a preview for X-Men #6 by Jed MacKay and Netho Diaz, Kid Omega and Temper are standing on the balcony of their Alaskan compound, looking down at a group of anti-mutant protesters below them. The X-Men had to move their organization to the outskirts of an Alaskan town and take over an abandoned Sentinel-production factory following the fall of Krakoa, and not everyone is happy about that.

A number of the town’s residents decided they were unhappy with the X-Men living there, and wanted to let them know that. They set up a picket line outside the factory in an effort to try to drive them out or at the very least provoke them. However, as Temper and Kid Omega looked down at them, Temper asked Quentin if he was going to mess with the protesters with his telepathic powers, and Kid Omega just said, “What’s the point?”.

“What’s the Point?”: Kid Omega Summed Up How Broken the X-Men Truly Are

The X-Men and All Mutantkind are at Their Lowest Right Now in Marvel Comics

While Kid Omega was literally just talking about his lack of interest in messing with the protestors (something a mischievous scamp like him would love to do in the past), his words ring true for the X-Men’s current state. Everything the X-Men built on Krakoa was torn down. An entire nation the mutants could call their own, which offered them true equality with humans in regard to global influence for the first time, gone in a flash.

Now, all the X-Men can do is what they did before Krakoa: protecting people while fighting for mutant rights. But, before, the X-Men had the one thing they do not have now: hope. There was hope that humans would accept them, that mutants could live in peace and even thrive in this world - and that hope was made manifest with Krakoa. But now, Krakoa is gone, and with it, the mutants’ hope for a better future. So, why do they continue to fight? Well, some don’t know, leaving them with just one question: “what’s the point?”.

The X-Men Only Have 1 Real Mission in The “From the Ashes” Era: Become Hopeful Again

Originally, the X-Men were the most optimistic superheroes in Marvel Comics. Time and again, they would risk their lives to save the entire world from global threats, fighting the likes of aliens, androids, and even other mutants. Yet throughout that time, the mutants were hated by what seemed like an overwhelming majority of humans. However, the X-Men still had hope in what they were fighting for, but the payoff of their hope - Krakoa - has been destroyed. And now, the team won’t be able to truly rebuild until they find a way to become hopeful again.

While the X-Men need to reclaim their optimism - which is seemingly the overarching goal in the “From the Ashes” era - they certainly do not have that now. The X-Men have their missions, and they have each other, but they are still far too broken after losing Krakoa to be hopeful, which is tragically summed up by just three damning words, “what’s the point?”.

X-Men #6 by Marvel Comics is available October 23, 2024.