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The deadly actions of a mutant in X-Men Unlimited #5 may cause a serious international incident that could potentially cause problems for Krakoa,
WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for X-Men: Unlimited #5, available now on Marvel Unlimited.
One of the biggest hurdles that the founders of Krakoa had to overcome was the fact that many of the soon-to-be nation’s citizens were criminals in the eyes of other countries. Through a combination of diplomacy, force, and minor bribery, Emma Frost and the Quiet Council were able to secure a pardon for all mutants living in the United States by promising to take full responsibility for them once they become citizens of Krakoa.
Unfortunately, the recent actions of Lin Li, Nature Girl, have threatened that tumultuous agreement and brought Krakoa to international attention in the worst way possible. After taking the life of a United States citizen in X-Men Unlimited #5 (by Gerry Duggan, Emico Laiso, Rachele Rosenburg, and VC’s Joe Sabino), Lin has become a fugitive in the eyes of Krakoa and the United States, and the battle that might play out over which nation should have custody over her could plunge Krakoa’s reputation to new lows.
Thanks to her mutant ability to commune with nature, Nature Girl has always had a strong bond with the natural world. While her relationship with other mutants is strained by her shyness, Lin is never without friends, as she can always count on the plants and animals around her to keep her company. Unfortunately, this also means that Lin is highly sensitive to the negative effects human activity has had on the environment. Despite her best efforts to maintain a positive attitude, the collective voices of a suffering ecosystem have always haunted her. In X-Men Unlimited #5, Lin encounters a dying tea turtle on the beaches of Krakoa, and the turtle’s traumatizing last breath finally shatter the young girl’s hope for the future of a human-ruled world. As it spits up the plastic bag that ended its life, Lin decides that she’s done standing by while humanity destroys the planet.
When Nature Girl arrives at the Las Vegas convenience store that the bag originated from, she’s met with nothing but contempt and annoyance by the store’s manager, who doesn’t seem at all bothered by the fact that his store is indirectly responsible for causing the turtle’s death. An outraged Lin fatally stabs the manager in the neck with a pair of scissors and watches as he bleeds out on the floor. When the police arrive to take her into custody, Lin escapes the surrounded store by summoning an army of animals to maul the officers, adding assault and eco-terrorism to her growing list of crimes. As she walks into the sunrise with her new companion, a former police dog named Saoirse, she implies that her plans have only just begun.
Although the Quiet Council has dispatched Nature Girl’s former teacher Wolverine to apprehend her before the situation gets any worse, word of Lin’s actions will likely spread before Logan can get her back to Krakoa to stand trial for her crimes. Once the upper echelons of the United States government learn what Lin has done, Krakoa might be drawn into its first international incident. While Lin is technically a citizen of Krakoa, her crimes were committed on American soil, meaning that the United States government will almost certainly want her to stand trial within its justice system. However, the Quiet Council has made it clear that they believe mutants will never be treated fairly under human law. As a result, depending on which country captures Lin first, one will probably demand that the other hand her over. Considering the controversial nature of Krakoa’s existence, this conflict could get very ugly very fast.
The political struggle over Nature Girl’s fate has the potential to become a greater threat to Krakoa than that of Onslaught lurking within the island’s psionic ecosystem. Not only could Krakoa face serious political consequences for keeping Lin out of the United States’ court system, but the situation could also make already-existing prejudice against mutants within the country even worse. The anti-mutant coalition Orchis has been actively looking for a chance to bring down Krakoa, and Lin’s rampage could give them deadly ammunition in their war of propaganda against the mutant nation. Even those who have been longtime allies of the mutants such as the Fantastic Four have been put off by Krakoa’s militant stance on mutant rights and could find themselves drawn into the conflict if the United States government calls on them for assistance.
Regardless of how either side proceeds, Nature Girl’s actions, and their consequences add another potential disaster to the many that the Quiet Council is already dealing with. Considering how Krakoa deals with those who break its three founding laws, Lin might be better off if she’s taken into custody by the United States.
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