Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics, Review | Tagged: marauders, marvel, x-men, X-ual Healing - The Weekly X-Men Recap Column

Marauding Mishaps in Madripoor in Marauders #5 [X-ual Healing 1-1-2020]

Published Sun, 05 Jan 2020 18:00:01 -0600

by Jude Terror

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Last week saw just two X-books hit the stands: X-Men #4 and Marauders #5. When the flagship X-Men comic goes head to head with everyone's beloved Kate Pryde bender book, which will come out the winner? We previously recapped X-Men #4. Now let's find out what happened in Marauders #5.

Sworn to sell comics for Marvel executives who feared and hated the fact that Fox owned their movie rights, The Uncanny X-Men suffered great indignities, but thanks to a corporate merger and a line-wide relaunch, the X-Men can finally get back to doing what they do best: being objectively the best franchise in all of comics.

What happened in Marauders #5?

MARAUDERS #5 DX
AUG198991
(W) Gerry Duggan (A) Matteo Lolli (CA) Russell Dauterman
The Marauders are caught between the forces of Madripoor and the Black King's machinations! Thankfully, they have TWO Omega Level mutants onboard…
Rated T+
In Shops: Jan 01, 2020
SRP: $3.99

The issue opens with Iceman chilling with Christian Frost on Frost's submarine, the Mercury. They stop in the arctic so Iceman can combat climate change and then they head for Krakoa. On the way, Christian brings the mood down by pointing out that Iceman and Storm are in the Marauders because they're afraid that, in the same way Kate can't travel through Krakoan portals, she may also not be eligible for resurrection technology and so they need to keep her safe, especially with the nonstop reckless bender she's been on.

Back at Hellfire Bay, the Inner Circle holds a meeting where Sebastian Shaw tries to get the Marauders to take care of his responsibilities in Madripoor, calling it "women's work." He's voted down, of course, so it remains Shinobi Shaw's responsibility. Kate and Emma have a laugh about it afterward in the Marauders' rec room, but their fun is interrupted when they learn Shinobi's boat, the Upstart, is under attack in Madripoor Bay. The Marauders spring into action and set sail as Sebastian Shaw calmly watches. This is seemingly part of his evil plans.

An infographic page features a report from the redacted government intelligence official in charge of handling mutants who we have been getting to know through these reports over the last few issues, making this one of the most acceptable uses of the prose in these X-books so far. Apparently the official's mom has taken Krakoan drugs that cured her of senility she's been suffering from for years. Also, Kade Kilgore's rival inner circle of former Hellfire Club kid members based out of Madripoor, which we learn is called Homines Verendi, has gotten their hands on some mutant drugs and seems to be planning to lace them with poison to kill a bunch of people and cause trouble for mutants.

In Madripoor, Storm and Bishop make their way onto the Upstart from the shore and find Shinobi Shaw, who wonders how they got past the attackers' power-dampening technology. Oops! Super-powered soldiers attack, and Storm stabs one in the face with a vibranium knife while the Homines Verendi Inner Circle watches from a distance. The Marauder arrives and is charged by an enemy boat, forcing Kitty to phase the entire Marauder to avoid a crash. They're boarded by more Homines Verendi soldiers who also use the phrase "Homines Verendi" as a battle cry (you have to appreciate good branding), but this time, they're recognizable villains: Hate-Monger and X-Cutioner. Fitting.

Was it any good?

Marauders has been a good book from the start, but it's really hitting its stride now that all the characters are positioned. A lot of ground was covered in this issue, quite a few characters got their time to shine, and we're starting to see all of the backstabbing and plotting bear fruit just five issues in. This is largely because Marauders and some of the other supporting X-books like Excalibur make full use of the comics medium, which is in contrast to Hickman's core X-book work, which is paced like a slow-moving prestige television show and takes forever to get to any point. Another way Marauders differs from the core title is that Hickman has spent sixteen issues in HoXPoX and X-Men using the characters to establish his grand premise, while Marauders explores how that premise has affected its misfit cast, how they're reacting to it, and what they're doing to control their own narratives in this strange new world. One could argue that the latter wouldn't be possible without the former, but either way, I really enjoy the latter a lot more.

Of course, at risk of sounding like an old man yelling at clouds (again), I could point out that, back in the day, all of this stuff would have been combined into one single title so that readers get a little bit of everything, rather than needing to read a line of six or more ongoing series just to get the full range of story a single title use to provide, but you've probably gotten the point on how I feel about that by now, right?

All that's left now is to pick the weiner… we mean winner. Come back tomorrow to find out!