It’s the mutant misfits versus the uncanny Inhumans, and nothing will be the same again...

(Panini Books)

The truce is over, and war is here at last.

The roots of the conflict between mutants and Inhumans can be traced back to the events of the Infinity crossover, which saw the forces of the mad Titan Thanos attack the ancient Inhuman city of Attlian.

To save his race, the monarch Black Bolt destroyed the city, activating a bomb which spread the shape-changing Terrigen Mists across the planet, activating the powers of thousands of descendants of the original Inhumans who have been living unaware amongst humanity.

Many of these Nu-Humans joined their fellows in New Attilan, while more were created each day as two Terrigen Clouds swept across the globe. But hitherto unexpected consequences of the mists come to light as mutants exposed to Terrigen become sick and die, victims of what comes to be known as the M-Pox.

As you might expect, this triggers a conflict between X-Men determined to destroy the clouds, and Inhumans desperate to preserve their ancient heritage, as seen in the Death of X event.

Running out of options, senior X-Man Scott (Cyclops) Summers resolves to save his race from extinction through any means necessary, but dies before completing his mission, apparently slain by Black Bolt after destroying one of the clouds.

Horrified by the consequences of their battle, the X-Men and the Inhumans form a truce and resolve to work together in order to find a cure to the M-Pox, with the elder version of Henry McCoy, aka the Beast, joining them in New Attlian to carry out research into Terrigen.

Meanwhile, Scott’s grieving lover Emma Frost begins recruiting mutants for an inevitable counter-attack against the Inhumans, her hunger for vengeance outstripping any sense of reason.

Events come to a head when McCoy discovers that the Terrigen effect is heading towards a tipping point which will see the remaining mists dissipate throughout the Earth’s atmosphere, rendering the planet permanently inhabitable for mutants.

Two options remain for the X-Men: flee the planet of their birth forever, or destroy the last Terrigen Cloud. The consequences of their decision unfold during the course of this series…

A much stronger read than Death of X, which also patches over some of the continuity glitches from that earlier narrative, this storyline once again shakes up the status quo for mutants and Inhumans alike, following several (publishing) years of the former taking a backseat in the Marvel Universe as their rivals grew in power and prominence.