In Marauders #25, Bishop makes one of his first moves as a commander of Krakoa by taking serious steps to militarize Marvel’s mutants.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #25, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The formation of the mutant nation of Krakoa has been a major advancement for the X-Men and their allies, allowing mutant technologies and culture to advance at a fast rate. But there’s one mutant who has a vision of creating something bigger and better, and for that he’ll need an army…literally.
In Marauders #25 (by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, and VC’s Cory Petit), one of Bishop’s suggestions for a change to Krakoa could result in the formation of an official mutant army, which could be both a good and bad development for Marvel’s mutants going forward.
Originally hailing from a possible future of the Marvel Universe, Bishop has always enjoyed a position of authority. In his original time period, he was a member of the X.S.E. (Xavier’s Security Enforcers), a police force that helped contend with a world still reeling from Sentinel conquest and the ensuing Summers Rebellion. He’s a character who has always seemed best suited for the kind of work a police force or military could provide, working to protect the present from the horrors he witnessed in his timeline. At the end of Marauders #25, a letter from Bishop to the other War Captains of Krakoa (currently Cyclops, Psylocke, and Magik) reveals his views on Krakoa.
While Bishop believes morale is high among the general mutant population and that the three primary mutant response teams (the X-Men, Marauders, and X-Force) are in great shape, he believes the rest of the island needs more work. While Silver Samurai and the Quarry have sharpened the combat skills of a certain number of mutants, the majority of their group is becoming too soft in his opinion. While it’s a similar sentiment to what the Shadow King has been expressing in New Mutants, Bishop has a much better way of handling the situation. The former police officer wants to prepare everyone on the island to defend their home, and proposes increased training for the mutants, which would allow them to operate as a unified army going forward.
Bishop’s plan includes war games held once a season, helping prepare mutants to go on the defensive in case of emergency. Although Magik responds by calling it “Krakoan jury duty,” the New Mutants teacher agrees that it’s a good idea. Thanks to his newfound authority as the Captain Commander of Krakoa, it’s likely Bishop will be able to push this through and help enact it as a new custom. On the one hand, it’s a promising start to a genuine mutant military. Thanks to the innate power and potential of the mutant population, they could quickly handle themselves in the event of an emergency.
If the mutants were properly trained and prepared for conflict, they could quickly become one of the world’s most powerful forces. However, there are other complications that could come with this development. It’s likely that anti-mutant forces such as Orchis (who have been secretly monitoring Krakoa) will see this as a new act of aggression, turning Bishop’s idea into the spark that ignites an arms race.
Bishop himself has also expressed some unexpected ideas — such as arguing for the potential creation of Chimeras by combining mutant DNA into new forms, and working with Beast on a plan to kill Cyclops and Storm when they were taken over by symbiotes during King in Black. These kinds of ideas could end threats early or set up more chaos going forward. In light of the threats to Krakoa that exist in the world, it makes sense to have a more overt response force at the ready, but a full-fledged mutant army might end up fully inviting more trouble than it is worth.
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