I
wrote this blog entry on Facebook before I started The Howling Glen. In an effort to centralize all of my blogs, I
am re-posting this one on this blog site.
Today's
review will highlight the mutant known as Bishop. Honestly, I am more
than happy to review this character because he tends to be one of my favorite
X-Men characters due to his story, his tactics, and his overall character
arc. As mentioned in the previous review, I will detail the characters
first appearance, origins, powers, favorite storylines, and if the character can be translated to film features. However, in
all technicality, Bishop has been featured in both animated and live-action
film. However, I feel like the animated X-Men series of the 1990's and
X-Men: Days of Future Past did not reveal enough about Bishop to my
liking. Plus, there are so many more complexities to Bishop that I think
need to be reviewed to really appreciate this character. So without further
ado:
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| Bishop looking bad ass with his guns. |
Lucas Bishop first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #292,
1991. Bishop was born to an Aborigine woman incarcerated in a mutant
concentration camp in a dystopian future where mutants are severely
persecuted. The concentration camp marks all mutants with the letter
"M" for mutant branded over their right eye. Bishop, along with
his younger sister Shard, grew up in the concentration camp before being
assigned to the Xavier Security Enforcers, or X.S.E. serving as law enforcement
agents protecting the ideals of Professor X.
After discovering a message from
X-Man Jean Grey in the past revealing the X-Men were killed by a traitor within
their own ranks, Bishop is sent back in time to prevent the traitor from
destroying the X-Men. This would lead to Bishop eventually joining the
X-Men.
Bishop comes across as very intense and paranoid as he searches
for the traitor within the X-Men ranks. This has led to many conflicts
between himself and various members of the X-teams. Bishop's primary
focus would be directed toward the mutant thief Gambit causing fights to break
out between the two. It was only during the Onslaught Saga that the
traitor was revealed as the evil psyche of X-Men Headmaster and founder,
Professor Charles Xavier.
After the traitor was revealed, Bishop remained with the
X-Men serving on various teams and missions. Eventually, Bishop would
find himself at odds with his teammates for various reasons with one of them
being Bishop siding with Iron Man during the Civil War. Bishop believed
every superhero should be registered for the safety of the public.
Further conflict between Bishop and his former allies would occur during the
Messiah Complex storyline in which a single mutant was born. While the
X-Men believed this birth would signify a reemergence of the mutant race (see
House of M storyline for details), Bishop feared this child would lead to the
dystopian future he had grown up in. Bishop would try to kidnap the
infant only to be thwarted by another time traveling and gun-toting mutant
Cable. Cable would rescue the child and hop into the future with Bishop
trailing close behind. This would lead to eventually Bishop tracking a
now grown Hope and older Cable back to the present and with the X-Men.
When Bishop attempted to kill Cable, Professor X would instead be shot in the
head. Ironically, Bishop became the person he was sent back in time to
stop thus making true the statement: you either die a hero or live long enough
to see yourself become the villain.
Bishop's powers are energy absorption and redirect.
This allows Bishop to absorb any kinetic energy directed towards him and then
redirect it in powerful energy blasts from his hands at his target.
However, Bishop does not rely on his mutant powers only. Having a
background in law enforcement, Bishop utilizes various hand guns and rifles to
dole out his style of justice. The bigger the guns the better for Bishop.
Bishop was created in the 1990's which carried a philosophy
in the comic book publishing of the bigger the better. This was evident
with Bishop as he would be drawn with larger than life rifles and handguns that
realistically could never be welded. Some of his weapons looked like they
should have been mounted on a tank. However, this was done to show just
how much of a badass Bishop was and it worked to perfection.
If you really want to see Bishop in action then here are
some stories I have read to get you started:
1. The X-Cutioner's Song: Cable is framed by his clone
Stryfe for the attempted assassination of Charles Xavier. This causes the
X-Men and X-Factor teams to band together to track down Cable and his X-Force
team. Bishop, believing this to be the reason why he was sent to the
past, becomes obsessed with tracking down Cable himself and putting a bullet in
his head. Accompanied by Wolverine, Bishop tracks Cable down only for the
largest guns in the world to be drawn by both Cable and Bishop. This
prompts Wolverine to intervene and advise Bishop to drink some decaf.
2. The Age of Apocalypse: When Professor X's psychologically
damaged son Legion travels back in time to murder Magneto, he instead
accidentally murders his own father Xavier. Bearing witness is Bishop who
followed Legion through the time stream. With Xavier assassinated,
Magneto forms the X-Men and leads them in battle in a dystopian alternate
reality against the forces of Apocalypse. However, Bishop knows this
timeline is wrong and convinces this different X-Men teams to work on restoring
the timeline.
3. The Onslaught Saga: After Professor X wiped out Magneto's
psyche, it manifests itself within him and breaks out in the form of an evil
entity called Onslaught. Jean Grey sends out a message that Bishop would
find in the future. It is then Bishop realizes it was Professor X that he
came back in time to stop from destroying the X-Men.
4. The Messiah Complex: After most of the mutant race is
wiped out from the end events of The House of M, a new mutant is born which
brings hope to most of the X-Men. However, Bishop feels differently as he
attempts to kidnap the new mutant only to be thwarted by Cable. This causes
Bishop to be the villain as he pursues Cable and Hope across the time stream.
As previously mentioned, Bishop has been featured in
animated series and film. However, Bishop mainly served as
"eye-candy" in X-Men: Days of Future Past with no storyline given for
the character. Bishop has a complicated story and if a solo outing was to
be attempted, I doubt it could hold up on the silver screen. Simply,
there is not enough popularity or awareness for Bishop to translate into box
office money. An animated series on TV may work but it would be limited
by age rating restrictions. Live-action TV show would not be good either
as the cost of special effects for Bishop and time traveling would be
limited. I think the best way to showcase Bishop would be in a series of direct-to-video
animated movies influenced by Time Trax and Continuum TV shows.
If I were to plan it here is how I would break it down:
1. X.S.E. (Xavier Security Enforcers): The first DVD would
show Bishop's origins in the concentration camp, his release and enlistment
into the X.S.E., his early missions, and finally ending in finding the message
from Jean Grey in the past. The X.S.E. could serve as time cops hopping
back and forth through time to stop time traveling villains from altering the timeline.
None of the popular X-Men would be shown in this first film with the exception
of the brief appearance of Jean Grey in recorded video form.
2. Traitor Within: Picks up right where the first one left
off with Bishop and the X.S.E. viewing the recorded message. Bishop is
then sent back in time to prevent the traitor from carrying out the destruction
of the X-Men. Bishop also becomes obsessed with preventing the dystopian
future he grew up in. This would plant seeds for the later episodes.
I would not reveal the traitor in this video but instead highlight the initial
conflicts between Bishop and the X-Men as he hunts for the traitor and then
eventually joins the X-Men. This episode would end with Bishop tracking
Legion as he travels back in time.
3. The Age of Apocalypse: Bishop follows Legion back into
the past and witnesses the accidental killing of Charles Xavier. Bishop
is then trapped in the alternate timeline with Apocalypse ruling the world and
Magneto leading the X-Men against him. When they find Bishop and he
reveals the truth about the alternate timeline, the X-Men put all their effort
into battling Apocalypse and trying to restore the timeline.
4. Traitor Revealed: With Bishop returned to the correct
timeline, the traitor is then revealed. This causes an all-out war to
break out within the X-Men as they track down the traitor. Eventually, through
a series of events, Bishop would inadvertently become the traitor he was sent
back in time to track down as he accidentally kills Charles Xavier.
5. Bishop Hunted: Bishop becomes the villain as the X-teams
try to track down and avenge the death of their mentor. This would be a
great chance to feature Cable and Deadpool as they conduct their own mission to
track and kill Bishop.
Bishop is one of my favorite B-list X-Men superhero
characters because of his personality, his militaristic bearing, and the use of
ridiculously large weaponry. He also becomes a tragic character by
becoming perhaps the villain he was trying to stop in the first place.
What do you think? Are you interested in Bishop
now? Leave your comments below and give me some recommendations for
future installments. Next up will be another time-traveling, big gun
welding soldier from another dystopian future, the mutant known as Cable.
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