WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Hellions #16, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
From the onset, the Hellions of Krakoa were defined by their mission statement: giving violent and unstable mutants the chance to grow as a unit and develop bonds. But things took a very serious turn recently, leaving the team shattered.
Hellions #16 (by Zeb Wells, Stephen Segovia, Rain Beredo, and VC’s Ariana Maher) sets up the end of the team experiment on Krakoa — and positions two of its members to lash out in very dangerous and deadly ways.
The fallout of Mister Sinister’s machinations — and Emma Frost’s willingness to use the Hellions to counteract it — are reverberating through Krakoa. Although his position as a member of the Quiet Council means it’s unlikely Sinister will face genuine repercussions for his attempts to create a Chimera version of himself using the DNA of Tarn the Uncaring, his actions have exposed a new level of in-fighting on the island nation. Havok is left shaken by the experience of being used as a weapon to destroy Sinister’s lab and Kwannon’s child, and is only placated by Emma’s acknowledgment that she’ll try to ensure Madelyne Pryor’s resurrection. Meanwhile, Kwannon has seemingly decided to leave Krakoa (although her recent promotion to Great Captain and future role in the Marauders hints that this isn’t for good).
However, there are two members of the team who appear to be on a very dark path in the aftermath. Greycrow is a former Maurader who seemed to find some peace with the Hellions. He’d been forming bonds with Orphan-Maker and Wild Child, was snarking with Havok, and even seemed to be approaching a romance with Kwannon. However, the revelation that she hid the existence of her child’s mind within Sinister’s lab shook him, and her subsequent destruction seemed to be the final straw. Enraged that Empath controlled them again, Wild Child finds Greycrow arming himself, with his fury for Empath likely putting him on a deadly path. He reveals that he intends to not only kill Empath, but destroy any means of him ever returning to life.
Greycrow plans to break into the Cradle and destroy the backups of Empath’s mind, preventing him from ever being resurrected. He’s even willing to destroy every mind in the Cradle if it means killing him once and for all. Wildchild points out this will likely get Greycrow exiled — something he’s not just at peace with, but fully accepts as the price for his actions. It’s a tragic development for the mutant, especially considering how much progress the former murderer has made with the Hellions. There’s still a chance he could see the light or that Kwannon could return to him, but for now at least it appears that he’s going to become a serious threat. There might not be as much hope for Orphan-Maker, however.
Since being resurrected after being killed on Amenth with his genes effectively upgraded, the Orphan-Maker has been a ticking time-bomb. Making matters worse, Nanny has been preoccupied with the Smiley-Bot infant, and has been venting her frustrations at Orphan-Maker. In the aftermath of everything, the humans behind the Smiley-Bots decide to take the infant back. In the process, Nanny is forced to destroy her ship to save numerous mutant infants. In the chaos, she screams at Orphan-Maker when he comes to help and blames him for not being there for her, leading him to run off. The last page of the issue hints that in retrospect, Nanny realizes she “broke” Orphan-Maker, and that he did something drastic. Considering his sheer power, Orphan-Maker might just be the catalyst for serious changes to Krakoa.
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