Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Immortal X-Men #7
In the latest issue of Immortal X-Men, the new tie-in to Marvel’s Judgment Day crossover sees Nightcrawler breaking the X-Men’s rules regarding their resurrection protocols. With the world in complete crisis due to the Progenitor Celestial judging the world and finding it lacking, Nightcrawler has taken some drastic steps to save the entire planet. However, rewriting the resurrection protocols comes with a brutal personal cost as well.
Previously in Marvel’s Judgment Day, the Progenitor Celestial was awakened by the Avengers, X-Men, and a select number of Eternal allies seeking to end the Eternals’ new war with mutantkind. While the plan massively backfired with the Progenitor choosing instead to judge the world’s population both individually and collectively, judgment has now come with the majority not being seen as worthy. Now, last-ditch attempts to save the world have been enacted such as a team of heroes being sent within the Celestial to try and activate its self-destruct failsafe after a direct assault only resulted in major losses. However, Nightcrawler has initiated a new plan as well which began with resurrecting Captain America whom the Celestial had murdered, breaking a major rule and belief that only mutants could be brought back using the protocols.
Now, the new Immortal X-Men #7 sees Nightcrawler continuing his campaign and breaking even more resurrection rules. After confirming from the precognitive Destiny that the future’s best chance is killing the Celestial, Nightcrawler teams up with Captain America to unite the Earth as one force. He then has Xavier psychically show the entire population Rogers facing the Progenitor as a source of inspiration (hence the need to resurrect himself and breaking the rules to bring back Rogers). However, Nightcrawler breaks another major rule with a request that Xavier uploads his memories into his new body in real-time, rather than using the traditional backup of memories from a few days prior.
Nightcrawler Breaking The Rules Has Brutal Personal Consequences
Unable to afford any lost time during this major global crisis, it makes sense that Nightcrawler would need to remember everything despite any deaths that can and will need to happen. However, the personal cost is that he remembers the death itself, knowing exactly what it felt like to be ripped apart by the Progenitor. Likewise, the next phase of his plan involves continually infiltrating the anti-mutant organization Orchis until he can find Moira Mactaggert rather than being killed over and over by the Nimrod Sentinel, meaning he’s now felt and experienced all of those deaths as well. It’s a brutal sacrifice Nightcrawler is willing to pay in his belief that the world can be united and saved from its judgment.
As such, the end result is that the X-Men and Orchis will become united against the Celestial, an unprecedented (and likely very temporary) alliance that would have never happened without Nightcrawler’s multiple sacrifices and willingness to rewrite the resurrection protocols, even if many initially saw his actions as blasphemous. While many heroes have come together to save the world, it’s clear after this issue that success wouldn’t have been achieved without Nightcrawler being one of the greatest X-Men of all time. Immortal X-Men #7 is on sale now.
