MaREADers: Marauders #2

In Marauders #2 by Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, and Federico Blee, Emma Frost reveals her machinations to Sebastian Shaw as the Marauders celebrate a victory with some bad decisions. Plus, the Red Queen of the Hellfire Trading Company is coronated with liquor, tattoos, and a new boat.

Christi Eddleman: I’m not sure if it’s due to Gerry Duggan and Matteo Lolli’s foreboding tweets about Marauders #3 or the beverages I imbibed, but Marauders #2 started to give me a sinking feeling in my stomach about the fate of our heroes. Emma’s machinations mixed with Kate and crew’s concerning bender seems to set the stage for what lies ahead. But before we dive in, I want to assure the readers that I can in fact dance and am therefore trustworthy to continue as your Captain.

Vishal Gullapalli: Wow, this issue has a lot of energy! I can’t tell if it’s exciting manic energy or worrisome manic energy, but I kind of want some of whatever this crew’s having. Pyro especially. I may or may not try to auction off a boat sometime very soon. [Ed. note: CatThinkingAboutBuyingABoatMeme.jpeg]

Cruze de la Booze

CE: This issue further expands on what duties of the Marauders may include beyond liberating and smuggling mutants out of unfriendly territories. They sure make scuttling a vessel transporting Krakoan drugs to the wealthy (instead of the needy) very appealing. Commandeering a pleasure craft, drinking all of it’s liquor, and fighting Batroc [Ed. note: ze Leaper] seems exactly like the sort of pirating I was expecting, minus stockpiling the treasure.

VG: Yeah, we also got another great look at Kate’s approach to being a pirate – between dancing with a goon who calls her “girly” before dumping him off his ship, refusing to negotiate with Batroc, and grabbing all the booze, she’s really bringing an attitude to this newfound job of hers. The rest of the crew seems to be having a lot of fun, too.

CE: Who wouldn’t have fun taking on one of my favorite mustached mercenaries, Batroc? The crew seems to have the beginnings of teamwork, especially from Pyro, who I did not anticipate being a team player.

VG: Pyro has been great! I squealed when he just bit Batroc in the arm – he’s really just going wild and having fun on this team. [Ed. note: as Cyclops’ large adult son said last week “it’s fight, flight, or bite, sis”]

But he’s also actually contributing and just being utterly delightful. Watching him rope Bobby into auctioning off the party boat was wonderful, and I honestly love his new face tattoo. I think I have a new favorite mutant now, or at the very least a favorite Marauder.

CE: I’m glad he got a chance to win our hearts and cement his place on the crew. However, while the rest of the crew seems to be having a rip-roaring good time, Storm seems to have been relegated to a team mom/designated driver. Reminding everyone of the no killing humans rule, inquiring as to whether the commandeered ship would be returned, never getting a tattoo – she is definitely here to make sure no one gets into more trouble than necessary.

VG: Yeah, she definitely was watching cautiously while the rest of the team stocked up on liquor. It’s a dynamic she’s had before, but I’d love to see her open up more and get WILD with the rest of them.

CE: We do at least get to see Storm let loose on the dancefloor in Taipei, so perhaps there’s hope yet! [Ed. note: With the promise of Callisto on the horizon, we very well may see this come soon.]

What Happens in Taipei, Stays in Taipei

VG: Speaking of the dancefloor, it turns out their partying in Taipei was a mistake – they were actually there to meet Bishop, who’s continuing his investigations from last issue. I feel like this Taipei business is where Kate’s blase attitude about being Captain may come back to bite her, because it’s seemingly quite low on her priorities. That being said, there’s something really sinister [Ed. note: lowercase “s”] going on in Taipei and I’m very curious where their investigation will go.

CE: Bishop’s investigation is a real Chekov’s gun. We could perhaps give Kate a little bit of grace, as the first bit of news that Bishop delivers is that Xavier was assassinated. It seems even with the five and a likely rebirth, this is a lot for the crew to process. What healthier way to process the death of a loved one than to get drunk(er) and get tattoos?

VG: Yeah, that’s very true. It’s not like Kate doesn’t have a good reason to get as drunk as she is. The new status quo for mutants has not been nearly as kind to her. That being said, we finally get to see her get the tattoos she was sporting on the variant to Marauders #1! It turns out they weren’t just there for style – that’s Kitty’s new look now, and she rocks it. [Ed. note: They say “Hold Fast”] She also totally overpaid the tattoo artist for both her knuckle tats and Pyro’s (awesome) new face skull. Kate’s just having a party, really.

CE: Perhaps some of that extra cash can pay for the jacket she lays claim to (or is that what the makeout session with the tattoo artist was for?)

I do love the inclusion of Gateway in this issue, although I do feel like the issues brought up about Blee’s coloring of people of color after the first issue has persisted some throughout this issue, Gateway included.

VG: Yeah, that’s been really frustrating to read. I’m hoping there was just a delayed response and they’ll get it worked out by #3. Back to the book, though, the team doesn’t spend too much time in Taipei because it turns out Emma needs them back in London for her own machinations.

Hellfire Intrigue

CE: Emma has certainly been busy. She is bound and determined to maintain control of the Hellfire Trading Company through any means necessary. In this case, this seems to mean doing everything within her power to tick off Sebastian Shaw.

VG: It’s not just using the Marauders to meddle with Shaw’s business dealings, either (although she’s definitely doing that). Emma’s using her very sharp tongue to insult Shaw with almost every word she speaks, and it’s utterly delightful to read. [Ed. note: For fans who thought Emma becoming the White Queen and working with Shaw again might mean she would be subservient to him, this is welcome.]

CE: While Emma toys with Sebastian over the vacant Red Throne, I can’t help but feel sad that Kate’s identity as the Red Queen had to be announced prematurely. The build to that reveal within this issue is so fantastic. I envy the comic readers that do not look at anything online. [Ed. note: It’s worth noting that the authorial intent was not to have had this revealed until this issue.]

The pacing of this discussion as well gives us the feeling that whatever Kate and the Marauders do, it’s definitely part of a much larger plan of Emma’s that they know nothing about.

VG: Yeah the cover also directly alludes to Emma using Kate and the Marauders as pieces in her own game against Shaw. Speaking of Kate becoming the new Red Queen, we also started off the issue with who Emma’s other prospect for the seat was before Kate: The Stepford Cuckoos. It was really fun seeing Emma get to interact with her daughters here, and also to see all of the sisters alive and together.

CE: Agreed. We’ve gotten to see several of the Cuckoos in House of X and Powers of X, but not all together. It was quite the beautiful telepathic sequence. However, I wasn’t certain exactly what Emma was requesting of them. It seemed that last issue that Kate accepted Emma’s offer of Red Queen, and Emma at least leads Shaw to believe she invited Kate to be Red Queen before Shaw took the mantle of the Black King. We still have several vacant positions on our Hellfire Trading Company Chart (including the Lord Imperial), but I’m more excited about what isn’t vacant, Christian Frost as The White Bishop!

VG: That’s a good point about the Cuckoos, I may have totally gotten the chronology confused. I love the Hellfire Trading Company Chart, it reminds me a lot of how Greg Rucka’s Checkmate structured its cast, and I’m very excited to see these teams get filled out. I’m a bit embarrassed to say, the first time I saw the Bishop title I thought it was talking about the character, and that impression lasted a bit longer than it should have. [Ed. note: Thanks to X-Men, disambiguation is nearly impossible.]

CE: Oh, same. Perhaps his name will wind up on this chart yet. Bishop, The Red Bishop. Bishop Bishop. It has a fun ring to it. I’ll be very intrigued to see who Kate picks, and how willing a pawn she will remain to Emma.

CE: This issue left me empathising a lot with Storm. I want Kate and crew to live their best lives, but I’m also cautious of their decision making. There’s some fascinating framework laid down in terms of the mystery in Taipei and the plans that Emma has in store for the Hellfire Trading Company. I’m fairly certain we’ll be in for some surprises next issue, and I for one can’t wait.

VG: I, on the other hand, ended up being fully onboard with everything the team was doing – especially Pyro. It’s true, though, Kate may not be of the most sound mind right now. I’m incredibly excited to see all this Hellfire intrigue play out, but I’m also super hooked by the mystery in Taipei. I trust Duggan in whatever direction he decides to go.

X-Traneous Thoughts

There’s been a lot of criticism for the colors on this book, especially with how black characters are colored, and unfortunately this hasn’t really improved.
Pyro bit Batroc the Leaper and we all need to take a moment to appreciate this.
“My body is already a temple of perfection.” – Bobby
Get it, Bobby!
“If Krakoan business was conducted in Tokyo, it occured in whiskey bars, gay dance clubs and an underground casino.”
Krakoan reads: QUEEN
This week we also have Excalibur to talk about!

Christi Eddleman is the worlds first Captain Kate Pryde cosplayer and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths

Vishal Gullapalli is a comics enthusiast studying computer science to enable his media consumption. He’s currently reading through the entirety of DC’s New 52 (for some reason) and logging his experience.