Charles Xavier, with a major assist from Moira McTaggert and Magneto, gets the bulk of the credit for changing the X-Men's status quo. As the leader of the X-Men, Xavier is the face of the new mutant movement. But even though he invited every mutant in the Marvel Universe to relocate to the island of Krakoa, he cannot lead a nation alone. That's why the X-Men have joined together with their greatest enemies to form the Quiet Council, the island's ruling body.
The first meeting of the Quiet Council was held in House of X #6. Some of the most influential mutants on Krakoa deliberated on what laws mutants would be held accountable for. The members of the Quiet Council played major roles in many of the Dawn of X titles. However, this unified governing body has started to show some cracks in its armor.
With the imminent return of X-Men comics, we're taking a look back at what misdeeds the Quiet Council has getting been up to lately. From betrayals to backhanded scheming, here is everything you might have missed or forgotten about the Quiet Council.
Hellfire Power Struggle
The Hellfire Club underwent a slight name change when it aligned with the X-Men and Krakoa. Now, the Hellfire Trading Company is the legitimate organization in charge of transporting Krakoa's mutant drugs around the world. Emma Frost was recruited by Xavier and Magneto to oversee this venture, with Hellfire represented by three seats on the Quiet Council. Emma is the familiar White Queen, and Sebastian Shaw joined her on the Quiet Council as the Black King, with the identity of the elusive Red King initially kept a secret.
However, the launch of Marauders made it very clear who Emma had in mind to fill the role of the Red King. It took some convincing by Emma but Kitty Pryde, now going by Captain Kate Pryde, finally accepted the invitation to be the Red Queen of the Hellfire Trading Company.
The only problem is Sebastian already earmarked his newly-resurrected son, Shinobi Shaw, to be the Red King. This led Sebastian to double-cross Emma and manipulate events so he could secretly murder Kate. The Marauders have learned of their captain's death, but it remains to be seen if Shaw will get away with murder.
Sinister Secrets
Another villain who has found himself with a seat on the Quiet Council is Mister Sinister. Not content to sit idly back in the shadows, Mister Sinister has taken it upon himself oversee the mutants who are having trouble acclimating themselves to the Krakoan lifestyle.
While the majority of Krakoa's residents have followed the rules, there are a small number who are proving to be more trouble than they are worth. These outcasts have now taken on the name of Hellions. When the Quiet Council gathered to pass judgment on a group of problem mutants that included Cyclops' brother, Havok, Mister Sinister stepped forward to take the Hellions under his wing to provide them a proper outlet to unleash their pent up frustration and rage.
Mister Sinister's good intentions appeared to be noble, but he naturally had an ulterior motive. The Hellions' first mission takes them to Mister Sinister's Essex State Home for Foundlings to destroy his clone farm. The Hellions are told the original evil version of Marauders are on the property, but what they don't know is Madelyne Pryor has them under her control. It all appears to be orchestrated by Mister Sinister for his nefarious plans.
Apocalypse, Master of the Mystic Arts
Apocalypse is one of the oldest mutants in the Marvel Universe and always lives by his "Survival of the fittest" mantra. This may be why he was the first villain to openly embrace Xavier on Krakoa. Apocalypse respected Xavier for finally changing his way of thinking and vowed to play nicely for a change. The villain's adventures currently play out in Excalibur, where Apocalypse has taken an interest in the mystical arts.
When the realm of Otherworld started to invade the main plane of existence, Apocalypse first sensed the incoming threat. Though his motives were sketchy, he did help Rictor learn to harness his troubled powers and also saved Rogue when she fell victim to a spell that put her to sleep. Morgan Le Fay once ruled over Otherworld with a mind-controlled Brian Braddock, but when Excalibur stopped her, Apocalypse chose the black sheep of the Braddock Family, Jamie Braddock, to be Otherworld's new king. Plus, the new Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock) caught Apocalypse with his fellow Quiet Council member Exodus, reading Apocalypse's grimoire for unknown reasons.
Mystique's Destiny
Xavier and Magneto had to make some concessions when picking who would be on the Quiet Council. In order to get Mystique to join, the duo had to promise her that they would use the mutant resurrection protocols to revive her long-dead partner, Destiny. Under normal circumstances this would be fine, but one of Moira MacTaggert's demands for Krakoa was that all precogs be denied entry. This all goes back to House of X #2, which revealed how Destiny used her mutant powers to foil Moira's plans in one of her many lives.
The hatred between Destiny and Moira runs deep, and Xavier and Magneto are using these feelings to manipulate Mystique to do their bidding. She keeps doing secret missions for them, yet they come up with excuses for why they can't bring Destiny back to life. X-Men #6 put the spotlight on these events and closed out with a flashback of Destiny giving Mystique dark orders: If the X-Men don't resurrect her, then Mystique is to burn Krakoa to the ground.
A Phalanx Invasion?
The two unofficial members of the Quiet Council are Cypher and Krakoa. Cypher developed the Krakoan language that only mutants can read, while Krakoa is the actual mutant island everyone is living on. X-Men #7 revealed Cypher and Krakoa may have formed their own Quiet Council with another member of the New Mutants who was believed to be dead: the Technarch called Warlock.
X-Men #7 showed Cypher without his techno-organic arm, holding a conversation with Warlock and Krakoa. Cyclops does a double-take when he passed by, and when we see the scene a second time, Warlock is gone and Cypher's right arm is covered in the techno-organic virus again. Giant-Size X-Men: Nightcrawler #1 revealed Cypher has been hiding Warlock's presence on Krakoa, though he doesn't get the chance to explain his reasoning to Magik.
One doomsday possibility is the Phalanx, the creators of the Technarch, are pulling strings from the shadows. Powers of X established the Phalanx as a major cosmic threat in the future, and they may be using Cypher and Warlock as their puppets in the present-day.