The Juggernaut is an official member of the flagship X-Men team in the mutants’ upcoming Marvel Comics era, From the Ashes, which calls into question the standing of his stepbrother, Professor X. Cain Marko has famously been Charles Xavier’s ‘evil opposite’, so to speak, as he’s a villainous brute while Xavier is a heroic intellectual. However, the tables may have just permanently turned in X-Men canon regarding these famous enemies.

A recent indication that Charles Xavier may be on the permanent path of villainy in X-Men lore comes from an interview conducted by the AIPT Comics’ series X-Men Monday (episode #256) with Jed MacKay. Jed MacKay is the writer for the upcoming X-Men #1, kicking off their From the Ashes era. In that book, the Juggernaut is prominently featured as a member of the core team, which also features one notable absence: Professor X.

During the interview, Jed MacKay says that From the Ashes will not only focus on the significance of a non-mutant superhuman like Juggernaut fighting alongside mutantkind during a time when the world hates them the most, but it will also delve into the Juggernaut’s personal relationship with Xavier, as well as what becomes of Charles following the permanent fall of Krakoa.

Jed MacKay: We’re going to explore Juggernaut’s ongoing relationship with the X-Men and why he’s doing what he’s doing. Because, you know, it’s not insignificant in a world where mutants are suddenly given a newer and rawer deal that you have a guy who’s not a mutant wearing an “X” between his eyes. That’s something we’re going to look at. And again, is he perhaps suddenly the good stepbrother?

X-Men’s Krakoan Era Saw Juggernaut’s Redemption, & Xavier’s Corruption

The Juggernaut officially found redemption during his 2020 miniseries when he cut ties with Cyttorak for good while retaining his unstoppable powers. At that point, the mutants had firmly established Krakoa, and the Juggernaut eventually received an invitation to live there once he had proven he was fully redeemed. Over time, Juggernaut’s good deeds on Krakoa earned him an official spot on the X-Men, which has carried over into the From the Ashes era.

Professor X, on the other hand, only became more corrupt as he ran the mutant nation. His corruption started slowly, with Charles being forced to make tough choices on behalf of the entirety of Krakoa (exile mutants, sign-off on strike-force assaults, etc). However, Xavier wouldn’t fully lose himself until the Fall of X, when he teamed up with Mister Sinister to assassinate Moira MacTaggert when she was a child, which would thereby erase the entire Krakoan Era, resulting in the permanent deaths of countless mutants. Now, fans don’t know what will become of Xavier, but it doesn’t look good.

X-Men Has the Chance to Flip Juggernaut & Xavier’s Hero/Villain Roles

The Juggernaut was famously introduced as a villain in X-Men #12, which is a role he’d play for decades afterward, all while Professor X remained the righteous leader of the heroic X-Men. The Juggernaut made efforts to change himself during the Krakoan Era, which temporarily aligned the two arch enemies. But now, their status quo seems to be resetting itself, but in the opposite way. Now, the Juggernaut is a prominent member of the main X-Men team, while Xavier could become a full-on villain, making the Juggernaut “the good stepbrother”.

Only time will tell if Professor X will actually fully devolve into a villain while the Juggernaut continues his trajectory as a hero. But, if the evidence from their recent histories, plus the words of X-Men writer himself, Jed MacKay, are any indication, it seems more than likely that Professor X and the Juggernaut have, indeed, swapped roles.

Source: AIPT Comics