ObjLayout::initialize() is called in Arguments::parse(const JavaVMInitArgs*) which sets ObjLayout::_klass_mode. FullGCForwarding::initialize_flags(size_t) is called in init_globals() which seems to be later in the Threads::create_vm(JavaVMInitArgs*, bool*) routine. The latter, however, can unset the UseCompactObjectHeaders flag, which leads to a potential mismatch with ObjLayout::_klass_mode, firing the asserts in ObjLayout::klass_mode().