July 21's Marauders #22 picks up on the threads left hanging by the recently concluded line-wide X-Men mini-event 'The Hellfire Gala' which ran through almost all of June's X-Men titles.
In a two-page preview of interior art from Matteo Lolli and Klaus Janson, Emma Frost - the White Queen of the Hellfire Trading Company and emcee/host of the now concluded Hellfire Gala party - ruminates on the events of the Hellfire Gala in repose on her yacht in stark contrast to Scarlet Witch who lies dead on the grounds of Krakoa.
It's a startling juxtaposition of imagery that lends itself to the notion of the massive impact the death of Wanda Maximoff will have on the Marvel Universe, even beyond the bounds of the upcoming Trial of Magneto limited series, in which Magneto goes on trial for his apparent murder of Scarlet Witch - with whom he seemingly reconciled just before her death.
What's more, Marvel's sparse solicitation text for Marauders #22 hints at what's to come, and it may all tie into Jonathan Hickman's upcoming Inferno limited series, which will bring to bear many of the simmering conflicts that have been brewing on Krakoa since Hickman relaunched the X-Men line with House of X/Powers of X.
"The Past can still burn you!" reads Marvel's description for Marauders #22. "The Hellfire Gala may be over, but the flames of Hellfire past come licking at the heels of the Inner Circle…"
Here's the gallery of pages, along with both covers:
'The Hellfire Gala' brought the population of the outside world to Krakoa for a huge mutant coming out party in which humanity witnessed mutantkind transform Mars into Planet Arakko using mutant powers and technology, while also sending the continent of Arakko and its citizens to the newly inhabitable mutant homeworld.
This development hasn't been without its share of controversy - Marauders writer Gerry Duggan's recently relaunched X-Men #1 directly followed up the threads laid by the mutant colonization of Mars with Storm as Regent, and mutantkind's subsequent work to become the representatives of Earth's solar system in galactic politics, making it clear this will be a driving factor in mutant/human relations as well as the X-Men's adventures for some time to come.
Marauders #22 goes on sale on July 21.
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