Bishop: War College #1 - Review/Spoilers

[JB]

Bishop was right. This was great and we got some good cameos.

We open with a data page, an email from Dani Moonstar to Magik. She is renewing and expressing her concerns to Illyana about Bishop and his "war college" and wants to put it in writing. She has nothing but respect for Bishop but feels he can be too intense. She understands the need to protect the island and to be ready for attacks but she's not convinced he's the one that should lead the training due to being brought up in a violent and dangerous world, living his life fighting some war or another, and his history with trying to kill Hope. She tried talking to him but is unsure if he'll soften his approach. Illyana responds saying she hears and understands Dani's concerns. She thinks everything will be fine but she'll keep an eye on things.

The preview pages of Bishop training Armor, Surge, Aura Charles, Cam Long, and Amass. Bishop is working them hard, ordering them to repeat their drills "again" and "again!" Cam demands a time out saying they need and have earned a break, that they've been at this all day. Bishop responds with, "again." Cam quits and Surge comments that they have indeed been at it all day. Bishop reminds Surge that Orchis won't allow them a break. Amass says Bishop has a point. Surge reminds Bishop that she and Armor aren't new around here and have risked their lives, that they're not children anymore. They know this isn't a game and they're done playing Bishop's. The group leaves.

Dani appears from behind some trees and says to Bishop that Surge has a point. Bishop says he always expects some whining and that they'll be back. Dani says what if they don't come back? They go back and forth, Dani saying he has one more day with the group and that's it, and Bishop saying he appreciates her feedback but he's the Captain Commander and he decides what's best. Dani says that she checked in with the other War Captains and Bishop grows angry because she didn't speak to him first. Things get heated and Dani says she won't be bullied. Bishop calms down and asks if she really thinks he's a bully. She says no but thinks he should ask himself if this is really for the trainees or for him as she walks off.
Bishop sits on the beach staring out at the ocean. He says "there just isn't enough... time." He picks up some sand and lets it slip through his fingers. He has an idea and walks off. Once he's gone the Fenris twins appear, saying they thought he would never leave. Him and his "little brats." They mock the intentions of the war college and walk into a cave saying they shouldn't keep their guests waiting.

Cam Long is throwing a bit of a tantrum and Aura Charles is trying to calm Cam down. Cam is saying they don't need to be treated like this and keeps cutting Aura Charles off. Aura is like "the way you're treating me right now?" Cam softens and apologizes for being a jerk. They hug and Aura says Bishop is doing what he thinks is right and though he may not be going about it the right way, he isn't trying to hurt anyone. Aura agrees with Bishop that they have to be ready to protect themselves, Krakoa, and each other. They know someone will come sooner than later and they need to be trained, they can't let someone take their home from them, can't let them take "us". They kiss.

Armor and Amass are at the Green Lagoon discussing the events of the day and Armor says things will blow over. Amass wonders if all of this intensity is good for them. Armor says this is normal, flare-ups, dustups, it's all inevitable on a island full of mutants. Armor asks if things were always hunky-dory in Threshold and Amass says there was always gossiping and little arguments and deadpans that they settled things with ritual combat to the death. Armor is speechless but Amass says just kidding. They just gave each other the silent treatment. It's a cute scene.
Bishop is meeting with Tempo over tea, sharing with her his idea regarding time.



Data page, an email from the QC to Bishop from the recent past. They say since Bishop has already started his war college with Armor and Surge, they want to give the project their official blessing in writing. They weren't too pleased with Bishop dressing the trainees as Avengers the day of the Gala so let's not do that again. They ask him to stick to the stated goal of training small groups to work together as a team and they ask him to include Cam, Aura, and Amass. "Be a teacher. Not just a drill sergeant."

Bishop as a child is walking down a hallway with mirrors lining both walls depicting horrors he experienced as a child, his different costumes as an adult, etc. Little Bishop opens a door and starts drowning in a room full of skulls. Our Bishop wakes up from the nightmare with a start.
He's now in uniform watching the sunrise, waiting for the group.



Bishop smiles and leads them into a cave to start their exercise. I'm posting this page because it looks a lot like the cover of the Mutant First Strike one-shot.



Wrongslide appears and knocks the trainees down with a swing of his arm. He's here to assist with the training. Tempo appears as well and we learn Bishop's idea was for Tempo to create a time bubble they can train inside of. Since Bishop only has one day with the group he wants to maximize it with a time loop. Wrongslide hits them again. The drill repeats and repeats and we see the trainees are getting better.

Then suddenly one of the walls surrounding them blasts open. It's the Fenris twins with a bunch of Orchis soldiers and a huge tunnel-digging drill that is digging through Krakoa! Bishop tells the younger ones to run and get help. The giant drill also has little guns that fire a green substance that Armor recognizes immediately as Blightswill.

[JB]

The Fenris twins fire a combined blast at the same time Bishop fires blasts at them. The collision of the blasts seems to create some kind of strange vortex that sucks Bishop and Tempo in.



The trainees and Wrongslide run, Andreas orders Orchis to go after them but Andrea says they won't make it far. As they're running Surge isn't feeling well and says something's wrong.



Cam says this is bad and Armor says they have to find a way out to get help but they seem to be lost in the tunnels. Surge is like and what happened to Bishop and Tempo??

Bishop wakes up on the ground somewhere. He sits up and he's at the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters front gate. "What the...???"

[JB]

I didn't know what to expect coming into this issue and I really enjoyed it. I'm not familiar with the newer characters because I haven't read Prisoner X or much of Marauders but J. Holtham did a great job of making me interested in them, and a fantastic job getting me invested in the story. I'm very much looking forward to issue #2!

[Master of Sound]

Is it me or are we seeing a different skin tone on Cyke and Jean?

[JB]

Is it me or are we seeing a different skin tone on Cyke and Jean?

You are correct. From an interview:

How did Larry Stroman and Duane Swierczynski's X-Men: The Life and Times of Lucas Bishop limited series inspire you? And how did the scene from that series of Lucas Bishop's childhood vision of the X-Men impact your idea for this new story?

J. Holtham: That was a BIG inspiration. Particularly the part about Bishop imagining the X-Men were Black when he heard their stories as a child. Bishop's childhood hangs over his head, the awful things he experienced, the dark world he was born into. I wanted to dive into that, into how that makes him who he is...and who he might have been if he was raised in a different world.

[davetvs]

Rise, Black Quean!

[JB]

Rise, Black Quean!

She is serving!

[Kingdom X]

I like how this book interacted with what’s been done in New Mutants. So much of Ayala’s run was moving away from the “students are soldiers” paradigm of the past, so I like that this book acknowledged that tension.

I think this book could do some interesting character work with Bishop, but we’ll have to wait and see!

[Steroid]

The issue definitely gave some great insight into Bishop's POV and I'm very interested to see what comes next. My only nitpick is I don't really like how Dani basically went around Bishop instead of just talking to him to begin with about her concerns.

[Master of Sound]

I never knew Mirage could be such a busybody. Disappointed in her behavior.

[davetvs]

The issue definitely gave some great insight into Bishop's POV and I'm very interested to see what comes next. My only nitpick is I don't really like how Dani basically went around Bishop instead of just talking to him to begin with about her concerns.

TBH, that is very realistic. Maybe not for Dani but in general.

[Steroid]

TBH, that is very realistic. Maybe not for Dani but in general.

It's definitely realistic in a real world sense for sure but for me personally it's just a thing I don't like when it happens in real life either.

[JB]

The issue definitely gave some great insight into Bishop's POV and I'm very interested to see what comes next. My only nitpick is I don't really like how Dani basically went around Bishop instead of just talking to him to begin with about her concerns.

I like how the trainees ended up coming around and realizing how important the training is (particularly Cam) and how Bishop ended up being proven right. I'm gonna need Dani's next email to Magik to read, "He was right."

[gonnagiveittoya]

Finally the Fenris twins are gonna actually going to get beat up instead of everyone just being fine with Nazis hanging around the island. It seems more and more like the villain mutants are finally going to get to be bad guys instead of being benched.

[gonnagiveittoya]

I like how the trainees ended up coming around and realizing how important the training is (particularly Cam) and how Bishop ended up being proven right. I'm gonna need Dani's next email to Magik to read, "He was right."

You mean how his intensive training method has left his students at the mercy of Orchis and Fenris and him stranded in another universe? That to you is him being proven right?