Warning: The following contains spoilers from Hellions #17, on sale now from Marvel Comics.

The First Age of Krakoa has been a tumultuous one for the mutants of the Marvel Universe. For every step forward the X-Men and their allies take, they find themselves forced to confront new enemies around every corner. Various allies have turned against the mutants, and things could only get more worrisome as the threats to their island nation grow.

Hellions #17 (by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, Rain Beredo, and VC's Ariana Maher) sees a member of the specialized mutant team go rogue, and the ensuing international incident on American soil might set up a conflict between Krakoa and America.

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Hellions Orphan-Maker Murder 2

The Hellions have been splintered due to their time working with Mister Sinister and the revelation of his plans to create a new Chimera mutant. But they're forced to reunite when Doctor Murch, a scientist with the mutant-hating organization known as the Right, resurfaces. When the doctor's organization captures the infant Smiley robot that Nanny had been secretly attempting to raise herself, Orphan-Maker goes on the offensive. This is a serious concern for the nation of Krakoa, as they have largely maintained an alliance with the United States, working alongside them and basing the official X-Men team back in New York City. All of this is compromised, however, as an unhinged Orphan-Maker makes his way to the Right's base in Arizona.

Emma Frost assembles the Hellions to contend with the threat of their teammate, while she goes on a PR offensive to pre-emptively smooth things over with the U.S. government. However, her job is made more complicated when the battle extends beyond the Right's base of operations. Orphan-Maker resorts to brutal tactics against the assembled humans in the base, likely landing him in banishment within Krakoa for breaking one of the nation's first laws. But as Emma notes in an internal memo to other diplomatic resources, this could still be spun as an effective confrontation of a troubling homegrown terrorist cell in the United States.

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Hellions Orphan-Maker Murder 1

The Hellions arrive in time to find Orphan-Maker having found his adopted brother. Nanny joins them and is killed by the robotic infant, as it enacts a programmed hatred for mutants. Enraged, Orphan-Maker brutally murders the scientists and terrorists he encounters. When local law enforcement arrives on the scene, he refuses to surrender and ends up killing two police officers. When the rest of the Hellions reach him, they find Orphan-Maker kneeling in the dirt, realizing the full weight of what he's done and admitting he just couldn't stop himself. It's a horrifying sight and one that will likely damage Krakoa's image in the United States.

It's likely that the United States will demand the surrender of Orphan-Maker if not the entire Hellions roster, and it's not something the X-Men can brush under the rug without the unethical use of their resident telepaths. It was bad enough when Maverick, a non-Krakoa affiliated mutant, committed crimes on American soil. Now, it's a genuine citizen of the mutant nation who has opened fire on American citizens, with horrifying results.

With elements in the United States government already working alongside the anti-mutant Orchis, this could give them the perfect opportunity to gain the support of the rest of the nation. In one fateful act, Orphan-Maker may have just set the stage for a war between Krakoa and the United States at a point when the mutant nation is already being targeted by countless threats.

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