'Hellions', 'X of Swords' and return of Madelyne Pryor to give Cyclops and family one hell of a ride
Over the years, Scott Summers / Cyclops and his family have been through quite a lot, including clones, demons, terrible prophecies and the usual share of marital woes. But despite all that, things have never been better for the Summers-Grey family and the 'Dawn of X' relaunch has given them the sort of peace that they always thought was impossible.
Well, as it turns out, this is just the calm before the storm and things are going to get pretty intense for the Summers-Grey clan soon enough. Or at least, that's what it looks like with a number of storylines coming up that seem poised to make Scott's life a living hell once again.
One big happy family
As a result of the 'Dawn of X' relaunch and the founding of Krakoa, the entire Summers family, time-displaced children included, are now living happily together for the first time. That includes Vulcan / Gabriel Summers, who appears to have gotten over his maniacal conqueror phase and become little more than a regular twenty-something with an odd manner of speaking.
Unfortunately, it has been revealed that the original Vulcan, the one who supposedly died in 'War of Kings', is still alive so not only are there two Gabriels kicking around in the Marvel Comics universe, one of them is an absolutely evil monster who probably wouldn't hesitate to massacre his entire family. And that's not even the most pressing concern.
Pryor Homewrecker
It's the same old story: boy meets girl, girl meets cosmic force that transforms her into its avatar, girl commits suicide, boy meets a clone of the girl, falls in love, gets married and has a kid. Then the dead girlfriend comes back to life so boy ditches wife and kid to go bone her and hang out with his high school buddies. Just your average family drama.
Madelyne Pryor, the clone of Jean Grey, has been a recurring thorn in the X-Men's side for a while, especially during the 1989 'Inferno' crossover when she literally brought hell (or rather Limbo) on Earth. We haven't seen her since 'Dawn of X' but she will be making her return in the new 'Hellions' series and her reappearance could be foreshadowing some major unpleasantness for all mutants, especially her ex-husband and his family.
The Second Coming
In the summer of 2020, Marvel will be launching a 15-part crossover 'X-Men: X of Swords', which will tie together 10 different X-books to tell a story that sounds suspiciously like a sequel to 'Inferno'. From what we've figured out so far, it may involve the return of a race of demons who were once defeated by Apocalypse and his First Horsemen untold centuries ago and exiled to another dimension.
According to Marvel's press release announcing the event, “Ten mutants will rise up to defend their home. Arming themselves with legendary blades, both new and familiar ones from Marvel history, mutantkind will finally meet its mystical destiny.”
If the event really is a spiritual successor to 'Inferno', you can bet Madelyne Pryor is going to be at the heart of it and it's going to be hell for Cyclops and his family. After all, if it wasn't for Scott abandoning her and the infant Cable to be with Jean Grey, perhaps an entire lifetime of demonic invasions, psychic battles, and surprisingly feministic villain groups could have been avoided.
Catch the return of Madelyne Pryor in the new 'Hellions' series that begins with 'Hellions' #1, arriving in stores on March 25. 'X of Swords' is scheduled to kick off in July.