WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men #1 by Gerry Duggan, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia & VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
The X-Men and mutantkind in general have been at the center of controversy in the Marvel Universe ever since House of X. With an all-new, all-different status quo that puts the once feared and hated species essentially on top of the world, the everyday human citizens of planet Earth aren't exactly seeing eye to eye with the actions of Charles Xavier and his mutant nation.
This enmity may be changing with the new X-Men team, who return to New York to defend it as a superhero team once again. The X-Men's presence in the Big Apple and their gesture to humanity is certainly heroic, but it may simply be a PR stunt from the less than beloved Professor X.
The first issue of the new X-Men series has Cyclops' team planting a Krakoan tree base in New York, using it as their headquarters in the city as well as a gift to the local population. This "treehouse" is a scientific wonder, and doubles as a safe haven for local animals, with a snow owl supposedly spotted nesting in the foliage.
New Yorkers marvel at the landmark, including Daily Bugle writer and co-owner Ben Urich. In fact, the seemingly innocuous nature of the treehouse eases everyone's minds about the X-Men returning to New York, especially given current events. Urich notes that the team is bringing positivity and optimism to the city through their actions, no matter how unorthodox they may seem. There's also the fact that, upon saving the day from a gigantic alien creature, the X-Men are thanked by the Avengers and Fantastic Four, who are glad to be rubbing shoulders with the heroes again. As good as this all goes for Cyclops' team, this is likely the exact outcome that their return to the Big Apple was intended to achieve.
The actions of Charles Xavier and the mutant nation of Krakoa have been especially controversial in the Marvel Universe, with the once put upon species now at the top of the food chain almost overnight. This means that those who would have once oppressed them now live with some level of fear and respect for the mutants, being at least temporarily unable to strike against them without serious repercussions. This has thrown the world into disarray, and although mutants can't be physically discriminated against, they're now more mistrusted than ever. The situation with the recent Hellfire Gala only exacerbates this general unpopularity.
Having a team of X-Men be so connected to humanity is a strategic way to curtail some of this criticism, using them essentially as mascots to boost the favorability of mutants as a whole. This is done somewhat by the press, including Urich, making the distinction between the X-Men and mutants in general. In doing so, he helps further the idea that these are socially acceptable mutants, even if they are still connected to what Xavier is doing.
This recalls the original X-Factor team, who pretended to hunt mutants but were instead helping them. Such a tactic seems to be necessary now given the seedy aspects of the happenings on Krakoa. After all, the general public seems to be completely unaware that resurrection is a common practice on the island nation. This would only add to their seedy reputation, so having a public face that's comparatively much more approachable and "human" certainly helps in regards to giving mutants and the X-Men in particular a squeaky clean public image similar to other teams like the Avengers. It remains debatable, however, whether this is a genuine effort or ultimately a lavish publicity stunt.
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