Marauders

Publication history

Volume 1 (2019–2022)

Marauders was announced in July 2019 as one of the six launch titles for Marvel's Dawn of X initiative, a franchise-wide reset of the status quo of the X-Men series created by Jonathan Hickman. In October 2019, Marauders was launched as a sister book to the flagship X-Men title, featuring a team of X-Men traveling the world by ship to protect mutantkind.

Volume 2 (2022–2024)

As part of the Destiny of X revamp, writer Steve Orlando took the helm of the book with a second volume and a new main cast: Kate Pryde, Bishop, Tempo, Daken, Aurora, Psylocke (Kwannon), and new character Somnus. Their first stint together had them encounter Brimstone Love, a character originally from the alternate continuity of X-Men 2099.

Plot

After arriving on Krakoa, Kate Pryde is contacted by Emma Frost who explains to her that some countries refuse to recognize Krakoa's sovereignty, have rejected life-saving Krakoan drugs, and refuse to let their mutant citizens enter Krakoa. Iceman heads through a Krakoan gateway to Russia, where he is attacked by the Russian military. Kate, Storm, Iceman, and Pyro sail to Russia and take out the blockade, allowing the mutants passage. Frost offers Kate the chance to captain her own ship to protect Krakoa's interests. In London, Frost and Sebastian Shaw clash over their designs for the vacant seat on the Quiet Council of Krakoa. The Marauders rendezvous with Bishop, who is investigating the disappearance of the husband of anti-mutant socialite Mrs. Zhao.

Shaw has the Five resurrect his son Shinobi, with plans on crowning him Red King. Shaw is thwarted by Emma, who undermines him and appoints Kate as the Red Queen. In turn, Kate appoints Bishop as Red Bishop. Enraged, Shaw reluctantly makes Shinobi his Black Bishop.

Kate and Bishop discover that Mrs. Zhao had locked her husband away and blamed it on mutants to increase tensions. They release the husband, who now worships mutants as gods following the establishment of Krakoa. Zhao partners with the Homines Verendi, a human supremacy group based in Madripoor, in the hopes of getting revenge. Christian Frost arrives at a Hellfire Company meeting, where Shaw attempts to divert the Marauders to Madripoor. Although Christian abstains from the vote, Emma and Kate vote for Shinobi to continue his route to Madripoor. However, they learn that his boat is being attacked. When the Marauders arrive, they are attacked by Donald Pierce and soldiers led by Zhao. The Marauders split up, with Kate tasked with transporting Pierce's armor to Krakoa so it can be researched. However, Shaw ambushes Kate and leaves her to drown so that he can claim her Council seat for Shinobi.

Emma meets with Callisto and invites her to be her White Knight, which she agrees to as long as Emma funds an enclave in Arizona for the Morlocks to live. Homines Verendi meet with the Russian ambassador and offer to sell her intel on Krakoa in exchange for their power-dampening technology. Bishop attacks a Verendi group and sneaks aboard their ship, where he finds Kate's corpse. After Emma and Pyro warn Verendi not to interfere with mutant affairs, the Marauders and Forge destroy the Russian ship transporting the power-dampening tech. At Kate's funeral, Emma discovers that Shaw murdered Kate. After initial difficulties, the Five resurrect Kate, who plans revenge.

List of characters

Members

In 2019, the X-Men's splinter team debuted in Marauders #1.

Supporting characters

Chen Zhao

Christian Frost

Emergency Response Team (Alchemist, Birdy, Brutha Nature, Triage, Wind Dancer)

Lourdes Chantel

Masque

Morlocks

Modus Verendi

Shinobi Shaw

Critical reception

In February 2020, Oliver Sava of The A.V. Club stated that the first volume "combines political intrigue with breathtaking action and a sharp sense of humor, digging deep into X-Men history while enthusiastically sailing into a future full of promise and danger. The first arc of Marauders expertly balances light and dark elements as it details the exploits of the new Hellfire Corporation, splitting power three ways between White Queen Emma Frost, Black King Sebastian Shaw, and Red Queen Kate Pryde". Sava thought the Dawn of X series hit "on all of the major plot points of the Hickman era while enriching its steadily expanding cast of the characters" and became even stronger in its second story arc, with illustrator Stefano Caselli and colorist Edgar Delgado elevating "the book's visuals with sleek action and rich expressions that sell both the drama and humor of Duggan’s script". Sava also highlighted that Duggan "does remarkable work incorporating the data pages that Hickman and designer Tom Muller introduced in HOX/POX, using them to build an ongoing side narrative". In an April 2022 overview of Destiny Of X, Sava highlighted the second volume's new creative team – "writer Steve Orlando, artist Eleonora Carlini, and colorist Matt Milla" – and opined that "the first volume of Marauders was one of the early highlights of the Krakoa era, but started to lose its way, so some fresh creative blood is welcome. This new direction shifts the book from pirate ships to spaceships, sending a newly formed team into Shi'ar territory".

In May 2022, Micheal Foulk of The Beat commented that "Kate is at her most cantankerous in this series. She's often drunk, foul-mouthed, messy, stubborn, and intrepid in all the ways Kate should be. Kate is also a brutal, savage fighter in a way we haven't witnessed in a very long time if ever". Foulk highlighted the "charming" scenes between Kate and Emma Frost which "set the tone for their working relationship throughout the series. [...] Having an entire series that is built around mutant women making power plays and working together is refreshing for this reader, and apparently frustrating to toxic men like Sebastian Shaw". While Foulk enjoyed "what Marauders does with Iceman, Pyro, and to a larger degree Bishop", he thought centering the series on women was "a good thing".