Marvel released the first issue of Extraordinary X-Men today, which offered a closer look at the precarious state of the mutant race in the post-Secret Wars Marvel Universe.

Warning: this article contains spoilers for Extraordinary X-Men #1!

Art by Humberto Ramos

Things are looking worse than ever for the mutant race in the aftermath of Secret Wars. Building on recent revelations in books like Uncanny Avengers, Extraordinary X-Men #1 revealed that the mutant race is under threat of imminent extinction thanks to the Terrigen Mist cloud that's been circling the globe since the events of Infinity. This cloud is killing mutants who are exposed to it and has even led to the emergence of a new disease called "M-Pox." Naturally, with this disease running rampant, humans are more afraid of mutants than ever.As a response to this threat, Storm has tasked the X-Men with rounding up any and all mutants they can find and bringing them to a remote hideaway called "X-Haven."The worst news, however, came when Storm attempted to recruit the time-displaced Jean Grey back into the fold. After reading Storm's mind, Jean learned that the Terrigen cloud isn't just killing mutants, it's rendered their entire race sterile. Unless a cure can be found, no more mutants will be born in the Marvel Universe.This isn't the first time mutantkind has faced imminent extinction. The 2005 storyline House of M culminated with Scarlet Witch uttering her infamous spell "No more mutants," and reducing the mutant population to a scant 198. That status quo lasted until 2012's Avengers vs. X-Men crossover restored the mutant race. Apparently that was just a reprieve.Interestingly, this development comes even as some Marvel readers are voicing concerns about the Inhumans franchise supplanting the X-Men as one of the main pillars of the Marvel Universe. Whether there's any merit to those fears, it seems the mutant/Inhuman rivalry will be a major focus in this series going forward.

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