It has been revealed that the X-Men’s upcoming war with both the Eternals and the Avengers will reintroduce a forgotten plot point from Marvel mythos: Destiny’s Diaries. Marvel dropped this bombshell in a news post that provided fans with a sneak peek at what’s in store for the ongoing X-Men titles this May.
Marvel is touting these upcoming titles under the branding as Destiny Of X, which will set the stage for Kieron Gillen and Valerio Schiti’s upcoming Judgment Day event that will bring the X-Men into conflict with both the Eternals and the Avengers. Destiny of X will reportedly begin tying together plot elements from the three franchises in preparation for the event and will begin in May with the release of Immortal X-Men #3 by Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck. In its post, Marvel revealed that Gillen will be reviving a long-abandoned X-Men plotline, Destiny’s Diaries, in Immortal X-Men #3.
Destiny’s Diaries were a central plot point of the late ’90s and early 2000s X-Men titles. They were first referenced in X-Men #94 by Alan Davis and Terry Kavanaugh, and later became the focus of Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca’s X-Treme X-Men. The diaries were written more than a hundred years ago by Irene Adler, the blind mutant precog Destiny and the paramour of Mystique. Destiny wrote down her visions of future events that would befall mutantkind in twelve volumes. For obvious reasons, these volumes became desperately sought after, and the mutant hero Storm formed the X-Treme X-Men to seek out the books and keep them from falling into the wrong hands. While the inevitability of the prophecies Destiny wrote down has often been disputed, they have accurately predicted major events in X-Men history such as the Scarlet Witch’s actions during the House of M storyline. The saga of the diaries seemingly came to an end in 2007 in Mike Carey and Humberto Ramos’ X-Men # 203 when Gambit burned the books to keep them from Mister Sinister. However it was revealed in May of 2021 in the pages of X-Men #20, by Jonathan Hickman and Francesco Mobili, that the diaries had somehow been rescued from Gambit’s arson and were now on the nation of Krakoa in the possession of the resurrecting mutant Moira MacTaggert.
It’s interesting if not surprising that Kieron Gillen would seek to revive the plot point of Destiny’s Diaries. Destiny has returned as a prominent character in the recent X-Men titles, and the future of Krakoa has been the driving narrative force across all X-Men books for the last three years. Interestingly Marvel’s post states: “Over one hundred years ago, Irene Adler wrote twelve books. A sequel is long overdue.” It seems that Immortal X-Men #3 will see Destiny write the thirteenth volume of her predictions, perhaps directly related to the fate of Krakoa. If this is indeed the case, then control over this volume could be the catalyst that brings mutants into conflict with the Eternals and Avengers. Knowledge is power, and knowledge of the future is a power that few Marvel heroes could resist.
Whatever the cause of the X-Men’s war with the Eternals and the Avengers, readers will have to make sure to pick up Immortal X-Men #3 to see Destiny’s Diaries are coming back into play and learn how this long forgotten, but once integral, part of X-Men lore will help shape the future of the characters.
