Flashback Friday: Bishop, The Last X-Man
Mar 04, 2022
The X-Men have had their share of brash antiheroes over the years, though perhaps none were quite as dangerous and unpredictable as Bishop. Lucas Bishop was introduced as a member of Xavier’s Security Enforcers in 1991 but has gone on to act alongside the main X-Men team, as well as in the X-Treme X-Men.
Like several X-Men of the early 1990s, Bishop came from the future of the Marvel Universe, and it wasn’t a particularly great one. The son of Aborigine refugees, he was raised in a mutant concentration camp after the Summers Rebellion. The “M” over his right eye was used to identify mutants in his era; after spending most of his childhood in his own time, a series of events triggered a portal to the past, where he joined up with his heroes, the X-Men.
Though he fought alongside the team during significant events such as the “Age of Apocalypse” storyline, he eventually found himself at odds with many members of the team – particularly fellow time-traveler Cable. The events of “Messiah Complex” and “Messiah War” saw Bishop go from an antihero to a true antagonist, as he chased Cable through time in various attempts to kill Cable’s adopted daughter, Hope Summers. Cable not only was able to defeat Bishop, but also stranded him thousands of years in the future.
Despite Cable’s best efforts, Bishop returned in Uncanny X-Force and battled the new X-Force team. As it turned out, though, he was being possessed by the Demon Bear and was only brought down after Psylocke pulled the Bear out of Bishop’s head. Bishop was left comatose after this, and after his recovery he was able to move past his vendetta against Cable and Hope.
As a mutant, Bishop’s abilities include energy absorption and redirection, and as it’s a passive power, he’s constantly absorbing energy. He’s able to release this energy from his body, usually in the form of a kinectic blast. Beyond that, he’s highly athletic, making him a force to be reckoned with regardless of his abilities.
Bishop has become one of the most prominent black characters in the X-Men, past or present – and is second only to Storm. His popularity has led to his appearances in the animated X-Men television series, as well as in several video games, and in the most recent X-Men film, Days of Future Past, where he was played by Omar Sy. It’s likely that he’ll play a part in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse as well, and regardless of what time he shows up, it’s clear he’ll always be around to butt heads with Cable.
The coming of Bishop! The reunited X-Men have expanded into two squads - and while the blue team takes on Omega Red and learns secrets of Wolverine's past, the gold team brokers peace with the Hellfire Club! But when advanced Sentinels crash the party, one X-Man may not survive! Then, guns blazing, the man called Bishop arrives from the future pursuing hundreds of escaped convicts through time - and finds himself stranded in the present! Bishop was raised to idolize the X-Men...but he knows a deadly secret waiting in their future! Plus: Colossus is reunited with his brother, the X-Men face the machinations of Mojo and the blue team battles a New Orleans Brood infestation alongside Ghost Rider and...Gambit's wife?! Collecting UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) #281-288, UNCANNY X-MEN ANNUAL (1992) #16, X-MEN (1991) #4-9, X-MEN ANNUAL (1992) #1 and GHOST RIDER (1990) #26-27.
Rated T
This article originally appeared in Gemstone Publishing’s e-newsletter Scoop.
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Amanda Sheriff is Gemstone Publishing’s Associate Editor, serving as the writer/editor of the e-newsletter, Scoop. She is the author of The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Movie Posters, The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Concert Posters, and The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Horror, and co-author of The Overstreet Price Guide to Star Wars Collectibles and The Overstreet Price Guide to Batman.
