Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

For more read our review.

Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men magnum opus continues this week and once again he’s got our jaws wide with surprise. Something that has been left open-ended in House of X is the people coming out of pods as Xavier smiles fondly at them. Here it is, to jog your memory:

Many assumed it meant mutants who have died can come back to life, or at the very least Xavier was involved with Krakoa in making new mutants entirely. That is all put to rest this week as we learn Goldballs, Proteus, Elixir, Tempus, and Hope all work together to bring mutants back to life.



Listen to the latest episode of our weekly Comics podcast!

In a rather big reveal, we learn via Magneto that Goldballs doesn’t simply make balls of nothing, but instead they are eggs. Think of them as the building blocks of life, minus the DNA and fertilization.

Then, combining the powers of Hope, Proteus, Elixir, and Tempus, the egg is turned into an embryo.

We then learn there is one more step and it involves Xavier. More specifically it involves Cerebro, which we then learn is so much more than we thought. In a surprising turn, Hickman reveals one last bit of magic to make the process complete. Cerebro didn’t just find mutants, but could copy their mind, DNA, and everything that that made them who they are. A little Xavier upload and…

There you have it — House of X #5 reveals Xavier and a few mutants can combine forces to literally bring someone back from the dead. It’s a huge reveal that ties back to the beginning of the series and it has implications for many twists and turns.

This is only a fraction of the story though and I highly recommend you read the whole thing to truly understand what is going on!