WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #18 by Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli, Matteo Lolli, Edgar Delgado & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now.
Although the era of Krakoa has allowed the X-Men to make peace with many of their greatest villains, others have been biding their time and planning new strategies against the mutant nation. One of the mutants' most dangerous enemies just made their presence known.
In Marauders #18, the team's attempts to help salvage Madripoor just ran into some serious problems thanks to the Homines Verendi and their newly revealed forces, a new version of the Reavers.
With Homines Verendi and Chen Zhao working to take control of Madripoor's Lowtown, the Marauders have begun to invest heavily into the island nation in an attempt to support it. This has already made serious in-roads for the island, with the Hellfire Trading Company building a hospital and other resources across the impoverished part of the island. But things get complicated when Iceman, Pyro and Bishop decide to purchase a bar in the downtown area. Although the owner is more than happy to sell the building to the mutants, an agent for Verendi reports in and alerts the villains. This prompts them to unleash their newest plan to bring down the mutants -- a new incarnation of the Reavers.
First appearing in Uncanny X-Men #229 by Chris Claremont and Marc Silvestri, the Reavers are a band of cybernetically enhanced mutant-haters who've endangered the X-Men multiple times over the years. Typically composed of criminals and mercenaries who harbor grudges towards mutants like the X-Men, the Reavers have attempted to murder the X-Men multiple times over the years. Notable members of their group have included Lady Deathstrike and Donald Pierce, but the current incarnation of the group seems defined by recent events. Many of the Reavers are revealed to be people who encountered the X-Men and their allies in recent months, with one notable soldier revealing himself to be one of the men Iceman maimed in a rage following Kate Pryde's first death.
Although this initially surprises the Marauders, Iceman doesn't let it slow him down -- pointing out that he's not going to feel bad for hurting someone who had been actively trying to kill him. But the battle isn't really about killing the Marauders. When the fight spills out into the streets, it's revealed that cameras have been positioned to capture all the ensuing chaos. Donald Pierce -- who currently serves as the UN Ambassador of Madripoor -- is able to use the footage to frame the Marauders as violent and dangerous mutants. This allows them to petition the UN to gain clearance to bar the Marauders from docking in Madripoor, which could become a major hindrance for Krakoa.
This prevents the Marauders from openly helping Madripoor, which could give Verendi the opening they need to wipe out Lowtown and take the land for themselves. The Reavers have reestablished themselves as a legitimate threat, even if the possibility of death at their hands has been reduced thanks to the resurrection capabilities of the Five. The Reavers could now be the arm of some very dangerous figures, spreading chaos and working with other fake news sources to paint the X-Men and their allies as something for the rest of the world to hate and fear. While the X-Men likely still have the means to reach Madripoor through Krakoa Gates or planes, it's imperative that the team overcomes this roadblock before Lowtown is wiped out by the Reavers.