Appointing The Red Bishop: Marauders #4 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
The Marauders save a group of mutants in Brazil. Later, Captain Kate Pryde, aka the new Red Queen, and Bishop are performing a secret infiltration into the Zhao family penthouse in Taipei, China. Chen Zhao has been spreading anti-mutant propaganda while claiming that the X-Men kidnapped her husband, Lim. They didn’t, and Kate and Bishop want to know what Chen is hiding. What they find throws their plans into chaos and puts them in the path of the Order of X, the growing cult of human mutant-worshippers. Kate uses the opportunity to try and convince Lucas to become her Red Bishop.
Marauders #4 finds Kate trying to reinforce her position in the Hellfire Trading Company. She’s been appointed as the Red Queen by Emma Frost, but she needs someone she can trust as her Red Bishop. Ironically, Lucas Bishop may just be her ideal choice.
It also finds the Marauders continuing her mission of mutant liberation and inhibiting anti-mutant activism. We get to see Storm unleash on a powered Brazilian military officer and Kate and Bishop kick the ass of some Lady Deathstrike wannabes.
Gerry Duggan has a knack for making superhero comics light and fun and that particular talent has served Marauders well so far. It gives the book its own identity apart from the other X-titles while just making it an overall fun read. Also, Pyro has been a thoroughly enjoyable part of this team.
Lucas Werneck joins up as the artist on this issue and the visual quality doesn’t dip whatsoever. His detailing work is fantastic and he knows how to draw out the expression and body language of characters. Federico Blee continues to bring vibrant and lively color work to Marauders, backing up Werneck’s line work excellently.
Marauders #4 is, surprise, surprise, another excellent comic from the X-department at Marvel. The X-Men titles have been absolutely brilliant since the beginning of Jonathan Hickman’s takeover and I’ve yet to be disappointed by a single issue out of the six titles we’ve gotten so far. In other words, I recommend Marauders #4. Check it out.
Marauders #4 comes to us from writer Gerry Duggan, artist Lucas Werneck, color artist Federico Blee, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, and cover artist Russell Dauterman with Matthew Wilson.
Final Score: 8/10
