A Marvel mutant with the power to see into the future has at last become an X-Man, forty-six years after her first appearance. The character is Destiny, a precognitive whose decades of enigmatic presence made her one of the franchise’s most intriguing figures. She joined the team under the most dire of circumstances.
Ashley Allen, Sumit Kumar, Sonia Oback and Clayton Cowles’ recent What If…? X-Men #1 sees Destiny joining Cassandra Nova’s X-Men. The issue imagines a Marvel Universe where Cassandra Nova killed and replaced Charles Xavier in the womb, taking over as the corrupt “leader” of mutantkind.
The Story Behind the Twist
The premise is simple and absurd. In this reality, Nova has captured and experimented on telepaths, hoping to use them to trigger an apocalyptic event that will grant her omnipotent power. The result would turn humanity into psychic parasites known as Mummundrai, Cassandra’s actual species before she stole Xavier’s DNA to create her mutant body.
Nova sets her X-Men loose after Jean Grey and Emma Frost get away from this reality. The group is made up of Cyclops, Wolverine, Psylocke, Rogue and Destiny. Destiny makes use of her visions of the future to aim deadly crossbow bolts at spots where her targets will be.
As the tale closes, Jean taps into her complete power as the Phoenix, while Cassandra Nova transforms into a colossal psionic dragon. The issue plants the seeds for a battle of epic proportions — and fans will be rooting for Marvel to turn this one-shot comic into an ongoing series so the story can continue.
How Destiny’s Powers Actually Work
Destiny ranks among the most potent villains in Marvel lore, a precognitive whose gift lets her see and change the future, whether far off or close at hand. She has said again and again that one fixed future does not exist — only a vast ocean of possible paths, through which she moves with particular ease.
In Immortal X-Men #3, Destiny laid out how her abilities function, as told by Kieron Gillen with art from Lucas Werneck. She revealed that since she can perceive every possible future simultaneously, she must look for major events spanning many realities instead. These serve as landmarks, letting her guide outcomes toward or away from what she wants.
Her powers work like this:
- She perceives every possible future simultaneously.
- She looks for major events spanning many realities instead of focusing on one timeline.
- Those events serve as landmarks, letting her guide outcomes toward or away from what she wants.
Destiny ultimately plays a role more fitting of a hero than of a villain. She and her wife Mystique have stopped the end of the world countless times. Yet her reasons for doing so are frequently hard to grasp, and she has committed truly evil acts — including burning people alive — to bring about her chosen end. At times she intervenes to preserve the world; at other times she merely acts to keep Mystique alive no matter the cost.
A Long History of Influence
This marks the first time Destiny has ever served on an X-Men team, though she might fairly rank among their most devoted friends when viewed from a particular angle. Her diaries have stood as a potent relic within X-Men history, shielding the group from ruin more than once. Additionally, she arranged circumstances that brought both Rogue and Nightcrawler into the fold of the X-Men.
The choice demanded an enormous personal sacrifice from Destiny. She was convinced to let go of her biological son Nightcrawler because he had to ultimately join the X-Men and stop a demonic invasion led by his false father Azrael. The effort required to make that decision was so great that she actually pleaded with Xavier to strip away her affection for her son. Even decades later, she held a hidden grudge against him.
Cassandra Nova kills Xavier and brings about armageddon, and it turns out that all it takes to get Destiny to join the team is that single act. A longtime X-Men enemy and easily the franchise’s most enigmatic character, she joins after the world plunges into destruction. The armageddon will hopefully continue in a future series set in this compelling alternate reality.
The Brotherhood Connection
Throughout the history of the X-Men, Destiny has faced opposition from the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, which was founded by Magneto and eventually developed into something independent of him. The group changed leadership several times over the years, with Mystique, Exodus and Wolverine’s evil son Daken all taking charge in turn. At one point, even the amphibian malcontent Toad briefly led the team.
A number of mutants have served as regular Brotherhood stalwarts, with few of them matching the loyalty or sheer power of the former member Irene Adler. In this alternate reality, though, Destiny has departed from the Brotherhood entirely.
What Happens Next
What If…? X-Men #1 is available now from Marvel Comics. The issue is a standalone story, but it leaves the door open for more. The clash between Jean Grey as the Phoenix and Cassandra Nova as a psionic dragon is a big moment, and fans are hoping the story continues.
Because she already spends her days looking at timelines, the twist lands naturally on a character built to understand such things. The reason behind it, Cassandra Nova killing Xavier, is the kind of twist that forces you to question whether choice and destiny are truly separate.
This tale serves as a reminder that within the realm of mutants, the distinction between friend and foe is seldom obvious. Destiny has spent her whole career serving both sides — and now she is finally aligned with the X-Men, though in a world where the ruler of mutantkind is a parasitic psychopath.
Forty-six years after her first appearance, Destiny has become an X-Man, and the book is setting up a confrontation that could define the series. Fans are hoping Marvel turns this standalone issue into a larger story.
See the video the story is built around at Screenrant.
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