This article contains spoilers for Marauders #11.
The X-Men's mutant nation looks set to fail - for the most obvious reason imaginable. These are exciting times for the mutant race, who have gathered on the living island of Krakoa and are creating their own society, one set apart from the bigotry and prejudice of humanity. The United Nations General Assembly has officially recognized the nation of Krakoa - albeit with a telepathic prod from Emma Frost.
The idea is a bold one, and Charles Xavier agreed an amnesty for all mutants worldwide, meaning their past crimes have been erased. Any mutant is welcome on Krakoa, no matter their background, and so far the X-Men have welcome mutant vampires like Selene and Emplate and literal Nazis like the von Strucker twins. The Quiet Council of Krakoa, the island's unelected government, even includes prominent villains such as Apocalypse, Exodus, and Mr. Sinister. All mutants are expected to set aside their own agenda in the furtherance of the mutant race, and there are only a handful of laws in place.
This week's Marauders #11 suggests Krakoa is a lot closer to failing as a concept than the X-Men would like to admit. It's a stunning and emotional issue, with the X-Men finally succeeding in resurrecting Kate Pryde. While that's naturally great news, it's clearly going to set up a lot of conflict on Krakoa. Emma Frost has learned Sebastian Shaw was responsible for killing Kate in the first place, and she and Kate are out to get serious payback. They're planning this to be an internal matter for the Hellfire Trading Corporation, which basically means they won't be asking for permission to take extreme measures.
This strikes to the problem that lies at the heart of Xavier's Krakoan Dream. He's expecting everyone to put their old vendettas behind them and work for the good of the mutant race. But every mutant has arrived on Krakoa with a lot of baggage behind them. So many of these mutants have fought and (these being comics) killed one another; everybody has their own agenda, their own idea of what a perfect world would look like. For Sebastian Shaw, it involves a position of dominance in the Hellfire Trading Corporation. For Apocalypse, it involves the conquest of Otherworld and the recovery of his First Horsemen. What's more, because Krakoa has so few laws, they are free to do anything they want to achieve their goal. There is no law against what Sebastian Shaw did to Kate Pryde, and there will be no law against the vengeance Kate and Emma exact upon him. And so old vendettas will become new vendettas, and because death has been conquered on Krakoa, they will just rumble on forever.
The sad but simple truth is that the Quiet Council are going to need to actually decide on a permanent government, and establish more laws - and punishment for crimes. If they do not, the mutant paradise will soon became chaos, a place of disharmony and constant violence. The haven has lasted so far with only relatively little infighting, but this week's Marauders #11 makes it clear that isn't going to last.