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Two major leaders from the history of the X-Men are increasingly turning against each other, with Hellions setting off major conflicts.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #16, available now from Marvel.
The mutant nation of Krakoa was always meant to unite the mutants of the world — but the conflicting interests of the various mutants on the island have created genuine problems for the group. Making matters worse, two major veteran X-Men are increasingly turning against each other, all in the name of making Krakoa a safer place.
Beast and White Queen have increasingly been confronting each other, with Hellions #16 by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, Rain Beredo, and VC’s Ariana Maher suggesting their conflict could escalate in light of her machinations of the Hellions.
Krakoa was designed as the ultimate mutant utopia, a place where all mutants could put aside their differences and come together in the name of creating a new future for their people. But although they’ve attempted to keep that unity at the center of their decisions, there has been a growing sense of tension in various corners of the nation. The Five have come up against the rulings of the Quiet Council, and both X-Factor and the New Mutants have expressed reluctance to confer to their decisions. Beast has increasingly become a contentious leader within X-Force, fostering anger from outside and inside that branch of Krakoa. Potentially most dangerously, the machinations of Mystique have finally begun to see fruition in Inferno — with her long-simmering plans to revive Destiny seemingly taking place.
But Hellions has added a new layer to this conflict. Mister Sinister has secretly been using the titular team to his own ends, hoping to create an Omega-Level Chimera. But Empath — who’d secretly been on the team in part at the orders of Quiet Council member Emma Frost — took the opportunity to destroy the lab by controlling Havok. In the aftermath, the Hellions were left splintered — with half of the team more or less turning on each other. Emma’s actions may have kept Sinister’s plans at bay for at least a while longer, but they came at a cost. On top of agreeing to shelter Empath and appease Havok by helping revive Madelyne Pryor, Emma finds herself confronted with a message from Beast, more or less condemning her actions.
Since taking control of X-Force, Beast has increasingly allowed himself to embrace a darker, more cynical worldview. He thinks Krakoa needs “a bastard” to survive, and he’s more than happy to fill that position. This has allowed him to make some seemingly cruel decisions and embrace risky plans in the name of national security — with Emma even calling him out over his choices. But it turns out he genuinely believed in the idea of the Hellions, and that it being a path towards redemption and healing was one element of Krakoa he had actual hope in. But no, Emma made it into a weapon. And while it may have done good for Krakoa and Beast openly admits he has no way to argue from the moral high ground given his recent choices, he demands Emma make things right for their fellow mutants.
Emma and Hank were once friends, forging a surprisingly tight bond during New X-Men before their loyalties landed them on opposite sides of Schism. Beast even became something of a confidant for her for a time when she was first dealing with her feelings for Cyclops. But now, in the era of hard decisions in the name of a safer future, the White Queen and Beast are increasingly turning against one another. If Krakoa is to survive in the aftermath of whatever Inferno brings, it’ll likely fall on these two as some of Krakoa’s most prominent leaders. But if they continue to butt heads like this, then Krakoa could be on the road towards another mutant civil war.
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