The "Mutant X" universe (Earth-1298) is a reimagination of the Earth-616 universe. In this continuum, Scott Summers was captured along with his parents by the Shi'ar and only Alex (Havok) escaped, allowing him to be the eventual leader of the X-Men. Originally, the highlighted difference between the Mutant X universe and Earth-616 was that mutants have come to be accepted by the overwhelming majority of humanity, and anti-mutant sentiments are regarded as outdated. However, a retcon in "Mutant X" #15 asserts that hatred against mutants is even stronger than in Earth-616, and that Havok had simply failed to notice this. Another significant difference in the Mutant X universe is that the mutant gene is not present at conception, and instead appears due to random gene mutations that can happen at any age.