Bishop (Marvel Comics)
Lucas Bishop | |
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Notable aliases | Captain Commander Archbishop Sergeant |
Abilities |
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Lucas Bishop is a character appearing in
Publication history
1990s
Lucas Bishop debuted in
2000s
Lucas Bishop appeared in the District X (2004–2005) series, a police procedural set in a mutant ghetto in New York City,[6] the Mutopia X (2005-2006) series,[citation needed] the Marauders (2019-2022) series,[7] the X-Men Legends (2022–2023) series,[8] and the Bishop: War College (2023) series, his fourth solo comic book series.[9]
Fictional character biography
Early life
Born about 80 years in the future of the Marvel Universe. He was raised in a mutant concentration camp in the aftermath of the Summers Rebellion, an uprising in which mutants and humans joined forces to destroy the Sentinels. Bishop has a distinctive M brand over his right eye, used to identify mutants in his era. After his parents were killed, Bishop was taken in by a man named LeBeau, also called Witness, who was reportedly the last man to see the legendary X-Men alive. According to LeBeau, Bishop's adoptive grandmother took Bishop away from him. Bishop and his younger sister, Shard, were then subsequently raised by his grandmother within the same mutant concentration camp in Brooklyn.[10]
Bishop's grandmother taught him many legends of the X-Men, who were old allies of hers. Depowered by unknown means, she had entered the camps in secret to raise her grandchildren. Upon her deathbed, she made Bishop swear to protect Shard. After the Rebellion, the mutants were "emancipated" and sent out of the camps to fend for themselves. Bishop and Shard, who were only children, were left alone. They lived on the streets, stealing to survive until coming under the care of a family friend, a war veteran named Hancock. Slightly blind, Hancock nevertheless took on the task of raising the two.
One day, Bishop encountered an anti-human group of mutants called the Exhumes, who took Shard hostage just before the XSE arrived. Until that time, Bishop had admired the Exhumes, attributing to them his proud, idealized notion of the legendary X-Men. It wasn't until the XSE defeated the Exhume and saved his sister that Bishop knew he wanted to join the XSE. When Bishop was 15, Hancock was murdered by criminals who were promptly arrested by the XSE, and he and Shard enlisted in their ranks. Shard soon surpassed Bishop to become the youngest XSE officer.
During a training class, Bishop's instructors and some of his fellow students were attacked and killed. Bishop rallied the survivors and led the struggle against the assailants until reinforcements arrived. Bishop gradually climbs the ranks of the XSE until finally becoming their commander.
While on a mission to wipe out a nest of
Immediately upon his re-installment as a commander in the XSE, Bishop and his XSE group the "Omega Squad" captured Trevor Fitzroy, a murderous ex-XSE trainee in the ruins of the Xavier Institute War Room. While there, Bishop discovered a damaged recording of Jean Grey, in which she spoke of a traitor destroying the X-Men from inside. Haunted by his discovery, Bishop confronts Witness for details, but receives only a vague, ambiguous response, leaving him to suspect his former master of being more than simply a witness to the downfall of the X-Men.[11]
Joining the X-Men
Fitzroy escaped from prison and used a large amount of mutant life-force to open a time portal and break out 93 mutant criminal "Lifers" in the process. Bishop found himself in the past in the time of his heroes, the X-Men. Bishop and the Omega Squad eventually "sanctioned" the Lifers, but did not get Fitzroy. Bishop encountered the X-Men for the first time but did not believe that they were really the X-Men. He then battled them but later allied with the X-Men in trying to stop Fitzroy. Malcolm and Randall, the two members of his Omega Squad, died in the process.[12] Professor Charles Xavier offered him a place in the X-Men, and he was placed under Storm's tutelage. He fought and defeated Styglut.[13] When he met Gambit, Bishop recognized him as possibly a younger version of the Witness and fought him.[14]
He soon met
Age of Apocalypse
When Professor Xavier's insane son, the mutant Legion, went back in time to assassinate Magneto, Bishop was one of the X-Men sent to stop him.[20] When they failed and Legion accidentally killed Professor Xavier, Bishop was the only time-traveler to remain when history was altered and became the Age of Apocalypse.[21] He eventually convinced the Magneto of that era that the existence of this reality was wrong, and with a great amount of sacrifice, managed to correct the error and stop Legion.[22] After the timeline reset itself, Bishop received some of his counterpart's unsettling memories of the Age of Apocalypse.[23]
The traitor in the X-Men was eventually revealed to be Professor X in the form of Onslaught. Bishop's knowledge of the future was the only thing that stopped Onslaught from killing the X-Men. As Onslaught fired a massive blast of psionic energy at the distracted X-Men, Bishop threw himself in front of them and absorbed the blast that would have killed them. Onslaught, winded from such a massive attack, said that his blast was enough to kill a thousand mutants and "Another time, another place, I would have been proud". Bishop lost consciousness after absorbing the blast but soon recovered, although it was not enough to prevent Onslaught from nearly destroying all of humanity. He made peace with Gambit, who was not the traitor after all.[24]
Following this, Bishop was captured by Trevor Fitzroy's henchmen and taken to a distant possible future, detailed in the Bishop: The Last X-Man series. He again faced Fitzroy, with Bishop eventually killing him. He was temporarily returned to the present by
X-Treme X-Men
Bishop was a founding member of Storm's splinter team of X-Men, whose mission was to search for the Books of Truth, the diaries of the precognitive mutant Destiny.[26] They left against the will and knowledge of the main team, as the splinter group did not trust in Xavier or the others to use the diaries for the benefit of humanity.[27]
District X
Bishop joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation. District X, or 'Mutant Town', had a high-population density. It was also a poverty-stricken area with high crime rates. Bishop was assigned to the area to resolve mutant-related crimes.[28]
Civil War
In the
Messiah Complex
In Messiah Complex, an event revitalized Bishop's timeline as a viable future: the birth of the first mutant child since
Chasing the Mutant Messiah
Bishop managed to escape the X-Men after he seemingly killed their mentor, and stole a nuclear powered bionic arm from Forge equipped with a timeslide device, which he uses to track down Cable and the newborn mutant.
Messiah War
After multiple failings at killing Hope, Bishop locates and enlists the aid of Stryfe, promising him that he would aid him in killing Apocalypse and Cable. Stryfe and Bishop travel to a point in the future where Apocalypse is at his weakest and manage to defeat him.[36] Stryfe builds an empire using Celestial technology and Bishop becomes his right-hand man, waiting for Cable and Hope to re-emerge. When they do appear along with X-Force, Hope is kidnapped. Bishop betrays Stryfe and his plot to kill Hope is foiled by Stryfe, who wants to make her his heir. Both attempts are foiled by Apocalypse, X-Force, and Cable. Cable manages to rescue Hope and escape yet again.[37] Bishop escapes into the "near future" of the 21st century, reconstructing his arm, vowing to find Hope once again.[38][39]
Homecoming
After several years of running from Bishop, Hope finally decides that it is time to return to the present. During a battle, Bishop manages to knock out Cable. In a fit of rage, Hope's powers awaken and render Bishop unconscious. Hope then attempts to kill Bishop, but is stopped by Cable. They take Bishop's time machine and leave him stranded. Bishop is somehow transported with them and begins chasing them through time, in an attempt to kill Hope before they reach the present.[40] In Cable vol. 2 #24, Hope and Cable return to the present time but Bishop follows them. He attacks them, running Cable through with a sword. As Cable is incapacitated, Hope rushes to his aid but is ultimately overpowered by Bishop. Cable takes out Bishop's time-traveling device from his techno-organic arm, performs some alterations on it, and places it in Bishop's robotic arm. Cable recovers enough to toss Bishop into the subway. As Bishop attempts to kill Hope one last time, he is transported to a barren and dead Earth (as a result of his efforts to limit Cable and Hope's attempts to find allies and shelter through different time periods) with a red sun in the sky (cause unknown). Bishop, being overconfident, attempts to travel back to the present time to continue his quest to kill Cable and Hope Summers, but due to Cable sabotaging Bishop's time-traveling device, this attempt causes his robotic arm to explode. This leaves him stranded in the year 6700 A.D. Bishop is last shown thinking to himself concerning Cable and Hope, "I was as much a father to that girl as you were. Whatever she becomes, it's because of me. I was doing the right thing. Wasn't I?"[41]
Return to the Present
In
He eventually regains his memories of Hope.[44] The self-control he has learned during his time in the future helps him move past his former vendetta,[volume & issue needed] even helping to save Hope's life when Stryfe attempted to manipulate them into attacking each other in revenge for their actions against him during their time-traveling search.[46]
Bishop is shown carrying out research in a library in London, preparing himself for the next 'scheduled' threat he recalls from his future history, when he becomes caught up in the latest attack by the Shadow King,[47] which results in Charles Xavier being reborn in Fantomex's body.[48] After the reborn Proteus and Shadow King are defeated, Xavier—now calling himself 'X'—erases the memories of his resurrection from most of the X-Men who worked with him, but he grants each of them a gift, stating that his gift to Bishop is the ability to put his quest to protect the future to the side at times and allow himself to enjoy his life in the present.[49]
Bishop later receives a warning (apparently by Kid Cable) about an unspecified, imminent event that would have catastrophic consequences on the X-Men's timeline. This leads him to Sugar Man's lab where the X-Man has a quick confrontation with the frightened villain before getting knocked unconscious. By the time Bishop wakes up, Sugar Man is dead with his body split in two.[50] The event was soon afterward revealed to be the return of Nate Grey, who had found and used the Life Seed on himself. This not only made him recover his powers, but also increased them to the point of overriding the black X-shaped tattoo which was protecting him, and in the process twisted his mind. Nate then uses all his powers, though Jean tries to reason with him, to reshape the world in his image, a world where the X-Men no longer exist.[51]
Under the illusionary world, every type of human intimate interaction is forbidden, although this does not stop Bishop and Jean Grey from starting a relationship.[52] This leads to the events of mini-series Prisoner X, where Bishop is taken to be "reconditioned".[53]
Dawn of X and Krakoa
In the new status quo for the X-Men (Dawn of X), helmed by writer Jonathan Hickman, Bishop is part of the crew of the Marauders, led by Kitty Pryde, and becomes Red Bishop of the Hellfire Club (comics).[54] He is also one of the Krakoa's Great Captains—alongside Cyclops, Magik, and Gorgon—before becoming Captain Commander when Cyclops steps aside to lead the X-Men.[55] During King in Black, Beast was able to convince Bishop to ignore his orders from Pryde and shoot to kill the symbiote-infected Cyclops and Storm, hinting that he's okay being used by different organizations against one another.[56] He's also suggested the idea of fusing mutant DNA into new forms—inadvertently arguing for chimeras, which became a major part of Moira MacTaggert's previous failed timelines.[citation needed]
Powers and abilities
Lucas Bishop possesses energy absorption mutant powers.[57] He can absorb all forms of radiant or conductive energy that are directed towards him and to release that energy from his body.[58] This power is mostly passive, allowing Bishop to absorb energy at all times.
He can release this energy in many different forms, usually as concussive blasts of biokinetic energy, even amplified compared to the absorbed amount.
His powers make it difficult to harm him with energy-based attacks; however, he can become overloaded from absorbing too much energy, though his upper limits are unknown, even to himself; when Rogue was suffering a power overload after absorbing Skrull telepath Z'Cann, Bishop was pushed to his limit simply by grabbing Rogue as he tried to help her drain off her excess power.[63] While he can achieve a sort of invulnerability, even against conventional attacks and depending on his energy reserves, some parts of at least the transformation process are also participatory, as for example after falling from a great height he transformed the kinetic energy into pure light and sound, but only could do so because he was conscious.[64] Bishop is also resistant to most poisons.[65]
He can "let his spirit go" as seen in X-Treme X-Men Annual #1. However, it was never clearly explained what this actually means and if this is also part of his powers or if it was taught to him.
He has also demonstrated the ability to instinctively know where he is and the present hour and date even if asleep, first mentioned in
Bishop is a highly athletic man, an excellent hand-to-hand combatant with many years of armed and unarmed combat training, and a superb marksman with firearms. When he first came to the modern era, Bishop carried XSE guns from his time that fired laser beams and plasma charges. He also wore his XSE uniform, modeled after X-Men uniforms, which contained body armor.
For a significant period of time, his right arm was a prosthetic, stolen from
Reception
Critical response
Sara Century of
Impact
In 2020, American rapper Method Man cosplayed Lucas Bishop.[71][72] In 2021, he expressed interest in portraying the character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).[73]
Other versions
Ultimate Marvel
In
Wolverine knocks him unconscious and the X-Men interrogate him. He is wearing the same uniform as the members of Cable's
In Ultimate X-Men #80, Bishop has a conversation with his younger self, who is incarcerated, in which he tells him not to use his powers to escape. By Ultimate X-Men #84, Bishop has formed a new team of X-Men (consisting of Wolverine,
He killed both the Fenris twins with his abilities and went on to lead the New X-Men against the Sentinels. At the end of the battle, it was revealed to the reader that he was in fact working with Cable and that the entire "Cable" affair had been a ruse to make the X-Men a stronger team. The team remains unaware of the deception and Wolverine stabbed Bishop at the end of issue #90 when Bishop stopped Storm and Dazzler from being able to save Angel from being killed by Sinister before Bishop could reveal this. Bishop believes that it couldn't have happened any other way. Cable later reveals the ruse, but Wolverine shows no regret for killing Bishop.[77] After the battle with Apocalypse is undone by the Phoenix, there is no evidence that Bishop has been returned to life, even though Angel was.[78]
His powers have been revealed as density control.[79] For example, he destroyed a Sentinel robot by causing its shell to increase in density and crush its inner parts; Bishop then reduced his own density (or increased that of the air around him) and floated to the ground.[80] He also has access to teleportation technology.
Robert Kirkman later admitted that the Bishop mentioned earlier in the series[79] is the same as the one he introduced; faced with the fact that this Bishop was already introduced into continuity when he would have preferred the character to work with Cable, Kirkman simply introduced him as an older version of the previously-mentioned Bishop.[81]
X-Men Noir
In
X-Men: The End
In
In other media
Television
- Lucas Bishop appears in X-Men: The Animated Series, voiced by Philip Akin.[85] This version hails from the year 2055 and travels back in time on separate occasions to avert various events.
- Lucas Bishop appears in Wolverine and the X-Men, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson.[87] This version is a member of Professor X's future X-Men who was trained by Wolverine at a young age.
Film
Lucas Bishop appears in X-Men: Days of Future Past, portrayed by Omar Sy.[88] This version is a member of a future incarnation of the X-Men from the year 2023.
Video games
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in X-Men: Next Dimension.[89]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy.[90]
- A young Lucas Bishop makes a cameo appearance in X-Men Legends, voiced by Grey DeLisle.[citation needed]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse, voiced by Khary Payton.[91]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a boss in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, voiced by Emerson Brooks.[92]
- A clone of Lucas Bishop appears as a non-playable character in Marvel Heroes, voiced again by Emerson Brooks.[93]
- Lucas Bishop appears as an unlockable playable character in Marvel: Avengers Alliance.[citation needed]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in Marvel Puzzle Quest.[94]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in Marvel Contest of Champions.[95]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable character in Marvel Future Fight.[96]
- Lucas Bishop appears as a playable card in Marvel Snap.[97]
Miscellaneous
- Lucas Bishop appears in the X-Men & Spider-Man: Time's Arrow novel trilogy, written by Tom DeFalco.[98]
- Lucas Bishop appears in the novelization for X-Men: The Last Stand, written by Chris Claremont.[99]
References
- Marvel.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ II, Walter Lovett (February 25, 2023). "15 Strongest Black Superheroes". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ISBN 978-1-4654-7890-0.
- ^ Connolly, Spencer (March 10, 2024). "X-Men: 10 Best Comic Stories Starring Bishop, The Time Traveler". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- Marvel.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Bradley, Ryan (December 10, 2020). "District X: How Marvel's Mutant Town Turned Into X-Men's Version of The Wire". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- Marvel.com. October 14, 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (February 8, 2023). "Marvel's X-Men Have A Very Different Take On Black History Month". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ XSE #4
- ISBN 978-1465455505.
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #282
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #287-288
- ^ X-Men #8
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #289-290
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #291-293
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men Annual #16
- ^ X-Factor #84-86; X-Force #16-18; X-Men #14-16; The Uncanny X-Men #294-296
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #298
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #320
- ^ X-Men: Alpha one-shot
- ^ X-Men: Omega one-shot
- ^ X-Men: Prime one-shot
- ^ Onslaught: X-Men one-shot
- ^ Bishop:The Last X-Man #15 (Jan. 2000)
- ^ X-Treme X-Men #1
- ^ X-Treme X-Men #3
- ^ District X #1 (2004)
- ^ Civil War #6
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men #494
- ^ X-Factor #27
- ^ X-Men #207
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #2
- ^ Cable vol. 2 Annual #1
- ^ Cable #9
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #14
- ^ X-Force vol. 3 # 16
- ^ X-Force vol. 3 #14-17
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #12-15
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #21
- ^ a b Cable vol. 2 #24
- ^ Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #1
- ^ Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #4
- ^ a b Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #5
- ^ Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #6
- ^ Uncanny X-Force vol. 2 #17
- ^ Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #1
- ^ Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #6
- ^ Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #12
- ^ The Uncanny X-Men vol. 5 #1
- ^ The Uncanny X-men vol. 5 #10
- ^ The Marvelous X-Men #1.
- ^ Prisoner X #1-5.
- ^ Marauders #1-present
- ^ Inferno #1
- ^ King in Black: Marauders #1
- ^ Lealos, Shawn S. (September 16, 2018). "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Wyse, Alex (April 11, 2018). "X-Force: 20 Powerful Members Ranked From Weakest To Strongest". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ X-Treme X-Men #26. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Bishop's Official Marvel Universe Entry
- ^ X-Men #140. Marvel Comics.
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #3 (2008). Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men #107
- ^ Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #4
- ^ The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #1
- ^ X-Treme X-Men X-Posé #1
- ^ Cable vol. 2 #2 (2008)
- ^ Astonishing X-Men vol. 4 #1-6
- ^ Century, Sara (January 11, 2019). "The 13 greatest X-Men of all time". Syfy. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Dominguez, Noah (April 26, 2020). "Wu-Tang Clan's Method Man Cosplays as X-Men's Bishop". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Lockard, Gary (August 31, 2021). "Method Man Shows Marvel Why He Should Play Lucas Bishop in the MCU's X-Men Reboot". MovieWeb. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #75-80
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #76
- ^ a b Ultimate X-Men #84
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #90
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #91
- ^ a b Ultimate X-Men #43
- ^ Ultimate X-Men #82
- ^ "Kirby 100: Mark Waid". News - Marvel.com.
- ^ X-Men: Noir #1
- ^ X-Men: The End #1
- ^ X-Men: The End #2-3
- ^ "Voice Of Lucas Bishop – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ Romano, Nick (February 15, 2024). "'X-Men '97' exclusive look reveals legacy costumes, Theo James casting". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
- ^ "Voice Of Bishop – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "IGN: X-Men: Next Dimension Cheats, Codes and Cheat Codes". Archived from the original on 2007-12-05. Retrieved 2009-09-17.
- ^ Rivers, Buck (September 29, 2020). "All 28 Official X-Men Video Games (& What Mutants You Can Play As)". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ "Voice Of Bishop – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Voice Of Lucas Bishop – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Voice Of Bishop – Behind The Voice Actors". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
- ^ "Bishop (Classic) (11/13/18)". forums.d3go.com. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2023.
- Marvel.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- Marvel.com. February 2, 2021. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- Marvel.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
- ^ X-Men & Spider-Man: Time's Arrow (1998). Marvel Comics.
- ^ X-Men: The Last Stand (May 16, 2006). Marvel Comics.
External links
- Bishop (Lucas Bishop) at the Marvel Universe wiki
- World of Black Heroes: Lucas Bishop Biography
- UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Bishop
- Bishop at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)