The following contains spoilers for X-Force #39, now on sale from Marvel Comics
The Quiet Council has been a big part of the Krakoa experiment, an arguable representation of the X-Men's mutant nation. After years of in-fighting and conflict, the mutant community came together and strived to make a safe haven for themselves and their families. Led by a council of twelve mutant leaders with very different perspectives on the future of the Marvel Universe, the Quiet Council is supposed to be the very best of the mutant race's potential as self-assured people.
But they've been forced to make compromises and embrace violent means to accomplish some of their goals -- and their latest act might have just doomed them and the entire Krakoa experiment. X-Force #39 (by Benjamin Percy, Robert Gill, GURU-eFX, and VC's Joe Caramagna) highlights the Quiet Council's perspective on Beast's recent crimes, and their acceptance of it spells trouble for the mutant ruling body. With the mutant nation taking an increasingly dark path, it could set off the events of Fall of X.
The Quiet Council's Response to Beast's Actions
At the formation of the mutant nation of Krakoa, a ruling body was assembled from different corners of the mutant community. The Quiet Council, split into four sectors, represents a wealth of perspectives. The optimistic and good intentions of Storm, Marvel Girl, and Nightcrawler could openly debate the more pragmatic approach of the Hellfire Trading Company affiliates or the cynical perspectives of Mystique and Mister Sinister. The Quiet Council was a means of uniting the disparate views and goals of the mutant community behind a single cause. But as the Council shifted in membership, it's found itself confronted with more and more challenges.
Perhaps the most disruptive is the latest, with the mutant government forced to reckon with the actions of X-Force while under the command of Beast. Confronted with his clandestine crimes - all taken in the name of ensuring Krakoa's "security" - the Quiet Council discuss his actions. While the darker parts of the council embrace Beast's grim turn, nominally moral figures such as Emma Frost and Charles Xavier accept it as a useful development for Krakoa. Although Storm demands genuine consequences for Beast's actions, she's ultimately assuaged by Sage taking over X-Force and fellow Quiet Council member Colossus overseeing the operation. On top of being a morally bankrupt decision to make in the face of Beast's actions, this turn of events, along with other recent and upcoming changes, are clear indicators that the unity among the Quiet Council is done for.
The X-Men's Quiet Council is Falling Apart
The Quiet Council has gone through some serious changes since it was first formed. Apocalypse and Marvel Girl left the group in the aftermath of X of Swords, and Magneto was killed (seemingly permanently) after his retirement. These spots were ultimately filled by Destiny, Colossus, and Hope Summers, with the former two having ulterior motives. Things are only going to become more disjointed for the group in the coming months, with previews teasing Shadowcat and Nightcrawler taking far more active roles outside of the Council.
Colossus being compromised by Mikhail Rasputin and Storm keeping her attention on Arakko, leaves the Quiet Council increasingly dominated by darker motivations and perspectives. Coupled with Mister Sinister's outright traitorous actions in Sins of Sinister, the Quiet Council may soon have numerous open seats. Charles Xavier's acceptance of Beast's actions could be a major reason why Nightcrawler and Kate Pryde feel it's time to leave. This could leave the Council to become even worse, as one of the last heroic perspectives in the group, Hope Summers, embraced lethal tactics.
The Quiet Council's Collapse Could Set Off Fall of X
The core concept of the Quiet Council and Krakoa as a whole is to unite mutants. As Xavier explains, they've become increasingly morally compromised in the name of forging Krakoa into a safe haven for mutants, and they're using that fact to justify dark decisions, such as making peace with Beast's actions and allowing him to carry on. This could cost the Quiet Council any remaining loyalty or faith the nation had left for them, and could truly cause a new schism between the X-Men. And, this turn comes just ahead of Fall of X, which has been teased to be the end of the Krakoa Era. The splintering of the Quiet Council could even play a major part in that event.
These turns could leave the X-Men and the mutant nation as a whole truly divided even as the threats against them pile up. Figures like Moira MacTaggert could use this disruption as an incentive to set off the next (potentially disastrous) period for the X-Men. With traditionally heroic voices in the council absent and vicious acts carried out in the name of mutant supremacy, forces like Orchis could paint Krakoa's government in a very bad light -- and allow them and like-minded organizations to justify their assaults on mutants. Their attempts to remedy Beast's crimes only placed a dangerous double agent in charge of Krakoa's national security apparatus. If Beast's crimes and the Quiet Council's acceptance of them comes to light, then the world at large would likely turn on Krakoa.