The X-Men may have some surprising allies well-positioned within the United States government, which could really help out in the long run for Krakoa.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #11, by Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli, Edgar Delgado & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now
The X-Men have recently made a lot of enemies since their move to Krakoa, attracting negative attention from multiple groups from multiple nations. However, it appears that at least one aspect of the United States government is supportive of the mutant population.
In Marauders #11, Storm just made contact with an agent of the CIA and parted on good terms, which suggests that the X-Men might have surprising allies in the American government.
While aboard a subway train in Washington DC, Storm and the Stepford Cuckoos confront Delores Ramirez, an agent of the CIA and a member of the X-Desk, the department of the organization that keeps tabs on the comings and goings of the mutant population. Although Ramirez is quick to point out that intimidation and bribes will have little effect on her, Storm is quick to reveal that this is more of a courtesy call. The X-Men wanted to personally thank Ramirez and the CIA for their cooperation in dealing with Verendi, the former Hellfire Club now based in Madripoor. With the help of the CIA, the Marauders were alerted about a tainted Krakoa medicine supply, and were able to replace it with workable versions of the medicine.
This resulted in Verendi accidentally bringing healthy medicine to needy people. And by stopping this fake medicine, the Marauders also prevented a plan to frame Krakoa for an international incident. Ramirez is quick to laugh at this, and tells Storm that she’s also thankful for the X-Men; because of the Krakoa medicine they’ve released, Delores’ mother has had her mental problems cured. Given the letter Delores sends to her fellow agents following the meeting, Delores left the situation impressed with the X-Men and the Marauders. This makes the second ally the X-Men have recently found in the CIA: Wolverine recently worked with Jeff Bannister to stop the Pale Girl and rescue the agent’s daughter.
All of this suggests that the X-Desk might actually sympathize with the mutant nation and could provide more help in the future. This could be a huge boon for the X-Men, especially with multiple other world governments turning against Krakoa and their bids for autonomy. Even having an empathic ear in the FBI could seriously help the X-Men going forward, especially with Krakoa becoming a more important global player.
This isn’t the first time representatives of the US government have worked with the X-Men: FBI agent Fred Duncan was a consistent ally to the original X-Men, and the government once sponsored a version of the X-Factor team, with Valerie Cooper working directly with the mutant heroes for their missions. In fact, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Val connected to the X-Desk in some way, which could set her up to work with former allies like Polaris in the new X-Factor or Forge, who currently provides technology for X-Force.
This is a huge advantage for the X-Men going forward. This contact could continue to provide information for the X-Men and give them a sympathetic corner of the US establishment to approach in times of crisis.
