WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #3 by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, and David Curiel, on sale now.
Two of the X-Men's darkest moments are coming to life again in Krakoa as Madelyne Pryor, the Goblin Queen, is planning a new Mutant Massacre. This deadly plan has the potential to cause more casualties than both the Genosha tragedy and the original Mutant Massacre, considering the fact that the mutants are all in one concentrated location and believe themselves to be safe.
The story is playing out in the pages of Hellions, and in the third issue Madelyne has Havok in her grasp at Mister Sinister's clone farm. It was here that she laid out her plan, which includes recreating clones of the original Marauders and sending them into Krakoa to commit a second Mutant Massacre. Not only would this shatter the mutant community to the core, but it is very ironic considering Madelyne's past.
Madelyne is a clone of Jean Grey, created by Mister Sinister. She first appeared in Chris Claremont and Paul Smith's Uncanny X-Men #168 when she met Scott Summers, who immediately mistook her for Jean, his first love who he believed had perished at the conclusion of the Phoenix Saga in Uncanny X-Men #137. Cyclops ended up marrying Madelyne and left the X-Men when Storm became the leader of the team. The couple moved to Alaska, where she had their child, Nathan Christopher Summers, who grew up to become the time-traveling X-Man Cable.
However, when Jean was discovered to be alive, Scott left Madelyne and returned to his original love. As Madelyne said in the newest issue of Hellions, she cherished Scott when they were together, and when he left, she became "a nothing person in a nowhere place." Now, she has a chance to strike out at everyone who hurt her and made her feel like nothing.
Krakoa is a place where all mutants have a home, a place to live and exist, and a place where they belong. However, for Madelyne, she never had a home — not since Scott Summers left her alone and unwanted when Jean returned. As she tells Havok in this issue, Krakoa was a new home for all mutants, but she was not welcome there. Madelyne said that they rejected her and are still acting like she does not exist.
Madelyne plans to create thousands of clones of the Marauders and flood the entry gates to Krakoa, slaughtering as many mutants as possible. Her rationale is that once she has done this, no one will ever be able to forget her again. Ironically, Madelyne has a previous connection with the Marauders. Once Jean returned, Mister Sinister saw Madelyne as a danger to his plans, and he sent his Marauders to kill her and kidnap her baby. She tried to defend herself, but the Marauders shot her multiple times, left her for dead, and abducted the child.
These were the same Mauraders who worked with Gambit to find the Morlocks, the mutant outcasts living underground. Gambit, unaware of their plans to slaughter all the mutants, tried to stop them but failed. Several heroes intervened in an effort to help, but in the end, the Mutant Massacre saw the death of hundreds of mutants.
This is a drastic measure for Madelyne Pryor and speaks volumes about the emotional pain and confusion she is feeling. As someone who has lived her entire life believing that no one cares about her, it tragically makes sense. Her creator sent the Marauders to kill her. Now, she has a chance for revenge against the mutants who have shunned her for years.