Bishop: War College #1
(Spoilers!!)
So…I would probably give this issue a 5-7; not AMAZING for a first issue…but not bad either.
It definitely HAS room to grow and become better…but there is a part of me that worries it gonna be like Tini Howard’s Excalibur…and more or less be kind of voiceless.
So as we saw in the Preview, Bishop is pushing the old X-students and Surge and CO AREN’T having IT. (We also IMMEDIATELY know why Hellion WASN’T included on this team 😂🤣)
Dani, Noriko’s old teacher, chews Bishop out and tells him essentially the problem ISN’T the kids…it’s him.
I actually REALLY like this take on Bishop- rarely do writers HAVE the adult X-Men be flawed after Utopia and I think J. Holtham does a really nice job essentially incorporating the flaw that has been following Bishop since his inception- Bishop is an intensely dedicated, “The ends justify the means” kind of guy. He doesn’t care about morality if it gets the job done, which we more or less SAW in Messiah Complex.
As Bishop is thinking this all over on a beach, Fernis subtly pops up with a ray gun and a evil plan after he leaves.
We also get a cute Aura/Cam scene…and Armor hanging out with Amass- both essentially saying that they should forgive Bishop…because…well…he has PTSD.
We also get Bishop asking Tempo for a favor to essentially try and win the kids back and later having a nightmare about his time in the mutant camps.
The next day Bishop basically does his “My bad…I just have really bad PTSD” explanation, and all is well as they journey to the center of the earth…or at least the center of Krakoa, to do another training exercise.
We see the exercise planned with “Wrongslide” and Tempo (Seeing zombie Santo just makes me damn SAD every time because Marvel essentially neutered a great character…just think how great OLD Rockslide would have been in this book!!), and unsurprisingly there’s little reaction from Surge because Marvel CAN’T allow that 😐.
Fernis shows up, hits everyone with a “Blightswill” ray except (I think!) Bishop and Tempo…who instead get sucked into some portal because Tempo’s having trouble with her powers. Bishop gets sucked essentially into a “what if Xavier accepted more POC mutants into his school” fantasy 😂🤣 (Bishop is apparently subconsciously railing against the classism of private schools!…which…so are we ALL, Bishop!)
The kids run off from Fernis, planning to get help…only to realize that they are all powerless. 🙁
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Thoughts:
Like I said earlier- I definitely THINK this book has potential!
Sure, the first issue was pretty “by the numbers” and “choppy”…but I definitely think there is room for improvement in future issues!
The thing that worries me…is much like Tini Howard’s Excalibur, there’s not anything really “grabbing” about this book. At times, the dialogue and characters feel a bit “flat” honestly.
That being said, part of the problem is I felt Holtham is trying to set up the plot FAST- you don’t really HAVE time for Bishop to chat in depth with Dani or Tempo (also why I HATE the information pages! because they TAKE UP character interaction time SO MUCH), let alone really get a sense of their relationships. No one feels connected in this book.
It is something that CAN easily be fixed…the question is whether the writer will or not; I would say Howard never fixed this problem and the team always felt like strangers with no connection what so ever as a result…which is why none of her books with Betsy REALLY have managed to catch on 😬.
Along those lines- I really DO hope he brings up Surge’s history from Messiah Complex and why Surge probably does not trust him completely (I doubt it knowing Marvel though, especially since they seemed to only skim over that history…)
I would also say, I do think this book could have used a “Hellion” or a “old Rockslide” kind of character to add some spice and humor… besides Surge and maybe Armor, there’s not really anyone who’ll push back against Bishop and the supporting cast all feels a little too “same-y”…Aura, Amass, and Cam just feel too nice. Too willing to go along with the flow. I just really think this book needed a better variety in personalities.
So far I have liked Holtham’s writing of Fernis- it really reminded me of Claremont’s writing of the characters, and I really enjoyed him bringing them back into the fold! I especially liked the homage to Storm being dispowered and fighting them in “Life/Death”!
One of TWO things is going to happen- the kids go to save him powerless and we get a kickass, “the kids are alright and can take care of themselves…” little moment OR the writer really hammers in that Bishop was RIGHT and the kids need more “training” 😐. We will see what we get….
ALSO Holtham…if you fix “Wrongslide” and bring back “old Santo” I will give you ALL the kudos in the world! 🙌🙌🙌