A murder most foul has occurred in the pages of Marvel's X-Men. After weeks of teasing a death in the X-Men: The Hellfire Murder one-shot, we finally know who met their untimely demise. Before Wolverine solved the case, however, The Hellfire Murder treated readers to extreme levels of horniness.

The Hellfire Gala was a tradition that began during Jonathan Hickman's Krakoan age for the X-Men. It served the dual purpose of letting artists design beautiful outfits for Marvel's mutants and marking major turning points in the overarching X-Men story. The first Hellfire Gala saw the mutants announcing they had terraformed Mars and a later instance culminated in the death of Wanda Maximoff (she got better). With Krakoa a thing of the past, this new iteration of the Hellfire Gala was hosted by villain Sebastian Shaw.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for X-Men: The Hellfire Murder.

The first half of The Hellfire Murder stuck to its gala roots. Everyone in attendance donned dazzling attire befitting the masquerade theme and rubbed shoulders with each other. Some characters got closer than others. Gambit and Rogue getting cozy isn't all that wild, but readers may be surprised to see Cyclops and Psylocke sharing some heated flirtations mid-dance. Other pairings we see dabbling in romance include Temper and Ransom as well as Kitty Pryde having a steamy flirtation with a woman who is later revealed to be the new Mastermind. Emma Frost and Namor get up to the most explicit activities, popping off to a private room after reminiscing about past dalliances with each other. However, everyone's fun is ruined when Wolverine and Jubilee discover Sebastian Shaw has been murdered.

Image: Marvel Comics

Death is often seen as a malleable thing in comics due to how often the medium chooses to revive characters as it sees fit. During the Krakoan age, death was made obsolete for mutants after the creation of resurrection protocols that could revive almost any mutant. With the fall of Krakoa, death is a very real threat to mutantkind once again. That means Shaw's murder is likely to stick for a while, and it marks the most high-profile character death in the X-Men since the Krakoan age ended in 2024.

Once the body is discovered, the issue transforms from Eyes Wide Shut shenanigans into an Agatha Christie investigation. Wolverine takes the lead with Jubilee at his side. Suspicions immediately fall on Frost as her scent was apparently all over the room Shaw died in. Namor speaks up to offer an alibi for Emma that also explains why the room is so fragrant. After some more detective work, Wolverine finally confronts Toad, but he's not alone. It's at this point The Hellfire Murder introduces a new version of the Brotherhood of Mutants made up of Toad, Mystique, Destiny, Mastermind, and Empath. They claim that Shaw was in possession of a weapon that would lead to mutant genocide and so Mystique had to take him off the board using nerve gas. Wolverine lets the Brotherhood escape and closes the case without telling Jubilee or anyone else what he's learned about Shaw's death.

Image: Marvel Comics

Most of the X-Men aren't likely to mourn Shaw, as the character has been nothing but trouble for decades. Even during the age of mutant peace in Krakoa, the conniving villain couldn't help but try to get one over on his fellow mutants. Shaw was a major part of Krakoa's fall, having allied himself with the human organization Orchis.

With the gala over and the murder seemingly solved, everyone goes their separate ways. However, The Hellfire Murder has one final twist up its sleeve. The final scene in the one-shot sees Wolverine getting a drink with Emma Frost a few days after the gala. While he doesn't accuse her directly, Wolverine observes that Shaw's body was missing some signs of death from nerve gas. He instead theorizes that a telepath could overload Shaw's brain to kill him and that the release of nerve gas in the room by the Brotherhood after the fact covered the real murder. Wolverine ends by saying that Shaw had to go, and that he doesn't care how it happened.

While the Krakoan age may be over, The Hellfire Murder shows that the gala still brings major changes to the X-Men status quo. Taking Shaw off the board is a big move by Emma and the new Brotherhood is sure to pop up again in the near future.

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