WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #17, by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, Rain Beredo and Ariana Maher, now on sale from Marvel.
One of the X-Men's creepiest villains just met their untimely demise.
In recent issues of Hellions, Krakoa's outcast mutants have been tearing themselves apart. Following their betrayal at the hands of Mister Sinister and the revelation that Emma Frost had been spying on the Hellions, the members of the team have turned against one another. As a result, the splintered mutants have become easy prey for their enemies. In Hellions #17, this fragmentation causes one of the team's ranks to meet their untimely end at the hands of the one they held closest.
After getting into an argument with Nanny at the end of the last issue, an enraged Orphan-Maker took it upon himself to confront the Right, an anti-mutant extremist group who had been targeting the Hellions. Recognizing that Orphan-Maker's attack was short-sighted, Emma Frost sends the Hellions to aide him. During the fight, Orphan-Maker snuck into the Right's base and retrieved an infant robot that Nanny has been caring for throughout the series. However, the infant revealed that it had retained the anti-mutant programming of the Right's Smiley robots, turned against its caretaker and brutally murdered Nanny. This betrayal struck at the heart of Orphan-Maker, who then proceeded to slaughter the surviving members of the Right -- including Nanny's ex-husband -- and local police who were investigating the disturbance.
First appearing in X-Factor #30 by Louise and Walter Simonson, Nanny was originally a member of the Right before finding out that she was herself a mutant and deciding to protect herself in a cybernetic egg. She then began to kidnap mutant babies such as Orphan-Maker, with whom she developed an abusive parental relationship. The two eventually joined the Hellions but were killed at the hands of X of Swords' twisted villain Tarn. When they were reborn via the X-Men's resurrection protocols, the Hellions discovered that something was different about Nanny and Orphan-Maker. Along with Wild Child, their deaths on Arakko changed their biology, making them experience unforeseen power boosts. Given the volatile nature of Orphan-Maker's abilities and the danger they present to those around him, this power-up may contribute towards the downfall of the Hellions.
Though the X-Men have seemingly overcome death, Nanny's untimely demise still presents a number of problems for the Hellions. For one, Orphan-Maker's actions broke one of the Laws of Krakoa; mutants shall not murder humans. This threatens not only his future but the lives of all Krakoan citizens since it could be seen as an attack against the United States of America. Additionally, Nanny's resurrection isn't guaranteed to have the desired result. Since her last rebirth came with numerous changes, there's no way of knowing exactly what will come to happen if she is brought back to life.
Next month's Hellions #18 will be the finale of the series. Marvel's solicit advertises immediate consequences for Orphan-Maker's crime, as well as the return of a fan-favorite X-Men character. Recent issues have teased the return of Madelyne Pryor. Should she come back, there's no telling what impact the Goblin Queen will have on the landscape of Krakoa.
Source: Marvel Comics