The following contains spoilers for Immortal X-Men #7, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
One of the most engaging elements of A.X.E.: Judgment Day has been the impact that the Progenitor Celestial’s judgment has had on the Marvel Universe’s villains. Faced with the impending demise of their world, some of Marvel’s most infamous rogues are spending what may be their last hours proving that they’re more than monsters. However, the X-Men’s newest foes are using their previous day to strike at mutantkind in the prettiest way imaginable.
In Immortal X-Men #7 (by Kieron Gillen, Lucas Werneck, David Curiel, and VC’s Clayton Cowles), Nightcrawler discovered that the anti-mutant group Orchis was exploiting the hysteria unfolding across the world to spread their hateful ideology and recruit new followers. By focusing its efforts on furthering its bigoted agenda while the rest of the world is rallying together to fight the Progenitor, Orchis has revealed itself as the Marvel Universe’s most despicable institution.
Orchis is Already Blaming Judgment Day on Mutants
Debuting in House of X #1 (by Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Garcia, and VC’s Clayton Cowles), Orchis has served as the X-Men’s foremost antagonist throughout the era of Krakoa. Made up of the mutant-hating fringes of influential organizations like S.H.E.I.L.D. and Hydra, the members of Orchis believe that mutantkind is the single greatest threat to humanity’s long-term survival. Following this opinion, Orchis interpreted the formation of Krakoa as the first step of mutantkind’s inevitable attempt to subjugate humanity and establish itself as the Earth’s dominant species.
Throughout the era of Krakoa, Orchis has done everything within its power to destroy Krakoa and the millions of mutants who’ve come to call it home. These methods have ranged from developing advanced mutant-hunting Sentinels like Nimrod to launching an anti-mutant smear campaign that has contributed to a sharp rise in anti-mutant hate crimes. Following the reveal of mutant resurrection, Orchis incited the Eternals into declaring war on mutantkind, with the X-Men’s former ally Moira MacTaggert providing the Eternals’ leader Druig with vital intelligence that allowed the Eternals to deal several devastating blows to Krakoa.
However, while the Eternals eventually realized that the Progenitor’s wrath posed a more immediate threat to humanity than mutantkind and have since lent their support to the global campaign against the omnicidal deity, Orchis has continued to prioritize its anti-mutant agenda. As Nightcrawler discovered first-hand while recruiting Captain America, Orchis’ latest propaganda pamphlets are blaming mutantkind for inciting the Progenitor and encouraging the people of Earth to waste their final hours battling “the mutant menace” instead of spending them with loved ones.
Orchis is Putting The Extermination of Mutants Over The Survival of Humanity
As if this wasn’t heinous enough, Nightcrawler’s mission to Orchis’ orbital base revealed that Moira (and presumably Orchis’ other leaders) had planned on surviving the Progenitor’s annihilation of Earth by remaining off-world until the deity had finished wiping out all terrestrial life. In their desperation to ensure that they and their vision of humanity’s ideal future survived, Orchis was willing to stand by and allow billions to die without doing anything to help. Given the seemingly limitless resources the organization has at its disposal, Orchis could have easily saved hundreds if not millions of people, but they instead chose to dedicate them to continuing their anti-mutant crusade.
Despite its insistence that it’s acting in humanity’s best interests, Orchis’ actions have shown time and again that its true goal is to inflict as much harm on humankind as possible. While the rest of the world has come to accept the harsh but true realization that they have no one but themselves to blame for the current crisis, Orchis has stubbornly clung to a “us-vs.-them” mindset while refusing to accept any responsibility for inciting the war that led to the Progenitor’s reanimation. With the Progenitor on the verge of wiping out all life on Earth, Orchis’ refusal to let go of their hatred may end up sealing humanity’s fate.
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