Those of you who follow this blog regularly know that I’ve been providing links to a series of blogs by David Canham over at Sequart analyzing religious themes in Jonathan Hickman’s House of X/Powers of X series.

The following is an excerpt from the latest entry in the blog series:

“X-Men stories often deal with evolution. After all, mutants are supposed to be the next step in human evolution. And taking a quick overview of the history of the human race, one could get the idea of a continual advancement in intelligence, power and general capabilities. But, when one starts to speculate, as Hickman does in this series, ‘What is the apex of our potential; what can we ultimately become?’ the theories quickly leave the field of biology and enter the realm of philosophy and religion. The obvious limitations of our physical bodies suggest that the true future steps of evolution will occur in the mind, or for the religious, the soul. This also agrees with our observations. More discoveries are made each year; more mysteries of the universe understood; more advanced technology created. Many religions imagine a final ascension of the soul or the mind to a higher plane of existence, sometimes to a godlike state. This usually involves a spiritual or intellectual enlightenment. In various esoteric beliefs, the final ascension entails becoming one with a great communal consciousness. In Powers of X #2, Hickman plays with these themes of Enlightenment and Union as he works towards his own theory on the ultimate realization of Ascension.”

Click here to to read the entire analysis of Powers of X #2.