Warning: contains spoilers for X-Men #35The beloved Krakoan Age of the X-Men would never have been possible without the era’s namesake, the sentient mutant island called Krakoa. The recent ending of the Krakoan Age in X-Men #35 saw Pacific Krakoa finally reunited with its lost sibling Atlantic Krakoa. This led to the two islands merging and returning to the White Hot Room, a tragedy for the mutants of Earth, but a blessing because Krakoa was able to continue living as a mutant utopia.

Krakoa is canonically one of the oldest living mutants in existence – having secretly evolved from the mutant Grove during the ancient Threshold era – and was introduced 49 years ago in 1975’s Giant-Size X-Men, the same issue that debuted iconic heroes like Nightcrawler and Storm.

During the chaos of Orchis’ assault on the Hellfire Gala, Mother Righteous stole Atlantic Krakoa and sent it to the White Hot Room. Eventually, the 200,000 mutants stranded in the WHR made this Krakoa their new home, and X-Men #35 saw Kafka bringing Atlantic Krakoa back to Earth, finally reuniting it with its other half.

Krakoa Has Left Earth, Permanently Ending The Krakoan Age

While Krakoa may return one day, it will never be the same

The living island of Krakoa was introduced as an X-Men villain, a monstrous entity that violently absorbed mutant powers, and killed one of Xavier’s mutant teams. Over the years, Krakoa’s character has developed and been used in various mutant settings, but it wasn’t until House of X that Krakoa really became the focus of X-Men comics. The mutant nation of Krakoa was only successful because of the habitats Krakoa was easily able to build, the Gateways it created with its flowers, and the powerful medicine crafted from its various flora.

With the mass amount of mutants living on Krakoa, the island could absorb minimal amounts from each mutant, not harming them in the slightest, allowing it to live a peaceful coexistence with its mutant brethren. Plus, its intimate connection to the mutant Cypher allowed it a direct relationship with the island’s people. Seeing Atlantic Krakoa return from the White Hot Room, and merge with Earth’s Krakoa, is a beautiful and powerful sight to behold. While Krakoa leaving Earth and returning with Kafka to the WHR room is tragic, so cataclysmic that the mutant Exodus went into a murderous rage, it is also a blessing to know that Krakoa is safe, loved, and protected from the violence of Earth.

After Years Of Strife Krakoa Has Finally Found True Peace

The mutant utopia will hopefully thrive for centuries to come

The Krakoa Age revealed that Krakoa used to be Okkara before being split into Krakoa and Arakko, and before that, it was actually an ancient mutant called Grove who lived in the city of Threshold. Throughout all that time, the island rarely lived in peace, often fighting for survival or existence. Now, tucked away with thousands of loving mutants in the White Hot Room, Krakoa gets a chance to truly thrive without the threat of violence, and evolve into the magical mutant utopia it was always meant to become.

The mutant Krakoa has been with the X-Men for nearly 50 years and has played a monumental role in one of their most daring, bold, and defining eras. Krakoa was a person, a place, a nation, and a way of life, and the X-Men will never be the same because of the lessons they learned while living on the island.

X-Men #35 from Marvel Comics is available now in stores.