WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #23, on sale now.
The Marauders have been juggling a number of problems across the globe, including the interference of Homines Verendi. Composed of the younger Hellfire Club who were able to become frequent foes of Wolverine and the X-Men and their new allies, the group has proven to be a surprisingly durable enemy to Kate Pryde and her allies.
But thanks to the Cuckoos, the Marauders just gained an edge in Marauders #23 by Gerry Duggan, Ivan Fiorelli, Rain Beredo and VC's Cory Petit -- with one of the primary members of Homines Verendi, Wilhelmina Kensington, fully pulling out of the group.
The X-Men and their allies on Krakoa have been readjusting to their place in the world as general defenders of the world -- especially after recent events have largely forced the mutants to primarily focus on the protection and expansion of their new nation. One of the most surprising displays of this returned empathy occurred during the Hellfire Gala. Wilhelmina has been an enemy of the X-Men for a time now, joining the upstart Hellfire Club that helped set off the Schism event before becoming one of the primary players in their plans against the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning.
She's since reunited with those allies as a part of Homines Verendi, a group trying to foster relations with the anti-mutant Madripoor Government while generally being a thorn in the side of Krakoa interests. Invited to the Gala by Kate Pryde, Wilhelmina's hidden mental anguish caught the attention of the Cuckoos. Although this opened up the possibility of a connection between them and the young woman, it turns out that instead, they just felt the pain at the core of her memories hidden away within her mind. Using their telepathy, the Cuckoos opened up her memories to the full extent of the abuse her cruel father had perpetrated against her. The five young women then offered their help to Wilhelmina, joining her as she returned to London to confront her father.
Using their psychic abilities, the Cuckoos quickly alert everyone nearby about the crimes he committed (likely leading to the destruction of his public persona) before leaving him to the mercy of Wilhelmina -- with the man soon being forced out of the window, potentially by the murderous Wilhelmina's hand. Afterward, Wilhelmina returns to Madripoor and announces that she's leaving Verendi, despite the insistence of Kade Kilgore that she stay. Her wealth has been a major benefit for their mission, and her departure could jeopardize their plans. But Wilhelmina quickly kicks her former partner below the belt and makes her way out, suggesting that he not give his life to Verendi and its hatred of "someone else's successes."
It's a major move for Wilhemina and positions the unpredictable young woman more like a wild card going forward. Instead of being a strict enemy of Krakoa, she could eventually decide to repay the Cuckoos for their assistance in bringing down her father. While it doesn't necessarily make her an ally of the X-Men by any strict means, it does remove one person from the category of a pure enemy, and likely weakens one of their most consistent problems in Madripoor. This is quietly a major win for the Cuckoos and could help facilitate the Marauder's plans to help Madripoor contend with the forces of Homines Verendi.