The United States has been carved up by violence. Hundreds of thousands have already been displaced and the coming conflict threatens to unsettle millions more...

It began with a fool and his folly, a terrorist attack that eventually ended up targeting both humans and mutants alike. However, it was the mutants who suffered the most dire consequences. No longer able to hide in plain sight after being exposed by the Dark Cerebro Incident, they were systematically uprooted from their homes and brutally attacked. Those that survived the initial onslaught sought each other out for protection. The numerous bands and ragtag armies that formed did not hesitate in taking what they needed from the human population, leaving destruction in their wake. The resulting fear and panic, along with increasing hostility, quickly silenced those working towards a peaceful settlement. It wasn't long before radicals on both sides came to power amidst calls for "just" retribution. The bloodshed grew to be a common occurrence as the two sides continued to clash. Human refugees filled the cities, abandoning the countryside in their search for safety. The mutant attacks began soon after.

Now, after several coordinated offensives, mutants are in control of large tracts of the country and actively engaging the National Guard. Rumors abound that the armed forces are being mobilized to counter the threat as well. The troops are said to be equipped with a new weapon, the recently developed cure for mutancy. This has incited even more anger from the mutant populace and reinforced the notion that the humans must be stopped at all costs. From the chaos, Magneto has emerged triumphant, gathering the various mutant forces around his message of mutant superiority. Still his hold is tenuous at best. Not all mutants are satisfied by simply subjugating the humans. These individuals believe that the world must be cleansed of them. Though few in number, they are by far the most powerful of mutantkind. The Mutant Underground also resists his influence. Consisting of the most independent and free-thinking of the mutant population, this group, though not seeking to actively undermine his leadership, nonetheless offers a tempting, practical alternative to his rhetoric.

Then there are those who would rather cooperate with the humans, not just the followers of Charles Xavier and his fading dream but the entrepreneurs who see a profit to be made by playing each side against the other. The members of this social elite readily dismiss Magneto's trite notions of brotherhood and feel no compunction to spare their mutant "brethren" from their secretive machinations.

Opposed to the mutant forces are the humans themselves, led by organizations such as the Friends of Humanity, the Church of William Stryker and the U.S. government itself. To combat the advantage that mutant powers provide, these groups have resorted to technology. They have acquired the most advanced weaponry known to both humans and mutants alike. In addition, Stryker's Weapon X program was revived and used to deploy captured mutants against their own kind. These brainwashed individuals will soon be accompanied by bio-engineered hybrids and robotic shock troops as well as regular forces equipped with the newly-developed cure.