Bishop (comics)
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Lucas Bishop is a
fictional character In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
appearing in American comic books published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
, particularly titles associated with the
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
. He first appears as a member of Xavier's Security Enforcers (XSE), a
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
police force from a dystopian future of the Marvel Universe. He travels to the 20th century and joins the X-Men, a team he knew only as legends. Bishop experiences difficulty adjusting to the norms of the time period. Bishop made frequent appearances in the ''X-Men'' animated series of the 1990s. Bishop was portrayed by
Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gain ...
in the 2014 film '' X-Men: Days of Future Past''.


Publication history

Created by
Whilce Portacio William "Whilce" Portacio (; born July 8, 1963) is a Filipino American comic book writer and artist noted for his work on such titles as '' The Punisher'', ''X-Factor'', ''Uncanny X-Men'', ''Iron Man'', '' Wetworks'' and ''Spawn''. Portacio was al ...
and John Byrne, the character first appeared in ''
The Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...
'' #282 (November 1991). Bishop had four limited series. The first series is the self-titled ''Bishop'' series, where he tracked and fought Mountjoy. The series ran for four issues, from Dec. 1994 to March 1995. The second series to star Bishop is ''XSE'', which showcased his past (future). The four-issue miniseries ran from Nov. 1996 to Feb. 1997. In the year of 1998, the series received a sequel titled, ''Bishop: Xavier's Security Enforcers''. The sequel is a three-issue miniseries, which ran from Jan. to March of the year 1998. He also teamed up with
Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...
to oppose
Stryfe Stryfe is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequen ...
in the eight-issue ''Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom''. The series ran in the year of 2001. He also starred in the series ''Bishop: The Last X-Man'' (1999–2001), in which he was trapped in another
alternate timeline Alternate history (also alternative history, althist, AH) is a genre of speculative fiction of stories in which one or more historical events occur and are resolved differently than in real life. As conjecture based upon historical fact, altern ...
. The fourteen-issue series ran from Aug. 1999 to Jan. 2001. He appeared regularly in ''
District X District X, also known as Mutant Town or the Middle East Side, is a fictional location appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a neighborhood in New York City primarily populated by mutants, first seen during Grant ...
'' (2004–2005), a police procedural set in a mutant ghetto in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. He was cast as a police officer in New York City’s "mutant town", but the series was canceled after 14 issues. He also starred in the
House of M "House of M" is a 2005 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics, consisting of a core eight-issue comic book Limited series (comics), limited series written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Olivier Coipel and a number of fictiona ...
tie-in, ''Mutopia''. Writer Sam Humphries revealed in an interview that Bishop would be back in our timeline and would be one of the first enemies of the new incarnation of
Uncanny X-Force ''Uncanny X-Force'' was a comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña, the first volume of the series continued the story of Wolverine and his X-Force team from the series '' X- ...
.


Fictional character biography


Early life

Born about 80 years in the future of the Marvel Universe, Bishop was the son of Aboriginal mutant refugees who fled to America from Australia one day before Australia was devastated by a nuclear attack. He was raised in a mutant
concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
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 A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...
over his right eye, used to identify
mutants In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
in his era. After his parents were killed, Bishop was taken in by a man named LeBeau, also called
Witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...
, 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 Shard or sherd is a sharp piece of glass, pottery or stone. Shard may also refer to: Places * Shard End, a place in Birmingham, United Kingdom Architecture * Dresden Shard, a redesign of the Bundeswehr Military History Museum in Dresden, Germa ...
, were then subsequently raised by his grandmother within the same mutant concentration camp in
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. 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 in order 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 Emplates, mutant
vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deat ...
s that feed on bone marrow, Shard was critically injured. Bishop went to Witness for help. Witness, then imprisoned at the New York Stark Fujikawa building, agreed to transfer Shard's essence into a holographic matrix if Bishop would work for him for one year. Bishop agreed, leaving the XSE for a time. The details of Bishop's work during this period are unknown; Bishop appears reticent on the subject, later refusing to tell Shard of his actions. 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 The X-Mansion or Xavier Institute is the common name for a mansion and research institute appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The mansion is depicted as the private estate of Charles Francis Xavier, a character in X-M ...
War Room. While there, Bishop discovered a damaged recording of
Jean Grey Jean Elaine Grey is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character has been known under the aliases Marvel Girl, Phoenix and Dark Phoenix. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack K ...
, 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 Bishop to suspect his former master of being more than simply a witness to the downfall of the X-Men.


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. Professor Charles Xavier offered him a place in the X-Men, and he was placed under
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
's tutelage. He fought and defeated Styglut. When he met Gambit, Bishop recognized him as possibly a younger version of the Witness and fought him. He soon met Mystique for the first time, and alongside the X-Men he battled the
Morlocks Morlocks are a fictional species created by H. G. Wells for his 1895 novel,''The Time Machine'', and are the main antagonists. Since their creation by H. G. Wells, the Morlocks have appeared in many other works such as sequels, films, televis ...
and the Death Sponsors. Bishop assigned himself the role of Xavier's personal bodyguard, which he failed at when Stryfe, the evil double of
Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
, critically wounded Xavier. Initially, the X-Men believed that Cable was the would-be assassin, so
Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...
and Bishop tracked down Cable, but then travelled to Cable's "Graymalkin" space station and joined with him in finding Stryfe. Citing his failure to protect Professor X, Bishop offered to resign from the X-Men. His resignation was rejected by Xavier, and then alongside the X-Men he battled the Acolytes.


Age of Apocalypse

When Professor Xavier's insane son, the mutant
Legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Spanish Legion, an elite military unit within the Spanish Army * Legion of the United States, a reorganization of the United States Army from 179 ...
, went back in time to assassinate
Magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...
, Bishop was one of the X-Men sent to stop him. 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 "Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The ''Age of Apocalypse'' briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics ...
. 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. After the timeline reset itself, Bishop received some of his counterpart's unsettling memories of the Age of Apocalypse. The traitor in the X-Men was eventually revealed to be Professor X in the form of
Onslaught Onslaught may refer to: Characters * Onslaught (Marvel Comics), a Marvel Comics supervillain * Onslaught (DC Comics), a DC Comics team of Quraci terrorists * Onslaught (Transformers), the leader of the Combaticons in the ''Transformers'' series ...
. 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. 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 Apocalypse who needed him as one of The Twelve, before finally returning permanently during the
Maximum Security Maximum Security may refer to: * Supermax, "control-unit" prisons, or units within prisons * Maximum Security (comics), a comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics * ''Maximum Security'' (Tony MacAlpine album), 1987 * ''Maximum Security'' ...
crossover.


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 Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often ...
. 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.


District X

Bishop joined the
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
. 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 in order to resolve mutant-related crimes.


Civil War

In the '' Civil War: X-Men'' miniseries, Bishop sides with the O*N*E* to bring in the X-Men and the 198. He argues with Cyclops over allowing their escape and states his fear of what the future might hold. Val Cooper and
Tony Stark Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charac ...
let Bishop lead Micromax and
Sabra Sabra may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Sabra (comics), a fictional Israeli female superhero in the Marvel Comics universe * Sabra (magazine), a Japanese magazine for men * '' Sabra Command'' the original title of the film ''Warhead'' * "Sab ...
into action against
Domino Dominoes is a family of tile-based games played with gaming pieces, commonly known as dominoes. Each domino is a rectangular tile, usually with a line dividing its face into two square ''ends''. Each end is marked with a number of spots (also c ...
,
Shatterstar Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) is a fictional mutant superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in '' The New Mutants'' #99 (March 19 ...
, and the rest of the 198. Bishop led them to the base where the 198 was hiding and told the X-Men to stand down upon their arrival. General Demetrius Lazer betrayed him by ensuring that Cyclops attacked Bishop. Though at first he simply absorbed it, the power was too much for him to control and he was overwhelmed. Bishop was forced to direct the energy he had absorbed upwards in a powerful blast that destroyed an O*N*E* Sentinel. He later teamed up with the X-Men to save the 198 from a bomb explosion and then went his own way, leaving the X-Men. Bishop was among Iron Man's pro-registration forces that guarded the
Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain Mar ...
prison. When Captain America's team breaks in, a fight ensues, putting Bishop at odds with his former teammates Storm and Cable.


Messiah Complex

In ''Messiah Complex'', an event revitalized Bishop's timeline as a viable future: the birth of the first mutant child since M-Day. As the Marauders, on
Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Mara ...
's orders, try to gather anyone and anything with knowledge of the future, Bishop is the only target they were unable to locate and terminate. It is revealed that he had betrayed the X-Men and he attempted to kill the baby. Before he could succeed, he was thwarted by the Marauders, who escaped with the baby. As X-Men arrive on the scene, Bishop pretends to have attempted to retrieve the baby. As
Multiple Man James Arthur Madrox, also called the Multiple Man, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Len Wein, he first appeared in '' Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' #4 (February 1975). ...
's duplicate and Layla Miller find out in their mission to one of the planet's possible futures (80 years in the future) that the birth of the child created, the child apparently kills a million people in an event dubbed the Six-Minute War, and the U.S. government incarcerates all the mutants into concentration camps, where Bishop is born, grows up, and sees his parents killed. As Multiple Man's dupe and Layla find out, Bishop wishes at a young age to have had the opportunity to kill the baby, so that while he would not be born, he would also not have to see his parents die, and to endure the horrors of life in the concentration camps. Layla kills the dupe so that the information conveyed to them by young Bishop can return to the present, to the Multiple Man prime, who conveys Bishop's treachery to the X-Men. The X-Men then attempted to alert
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in '' New Mutants'' #100 ...
of Bishop's betrayal, but he managed to block all of their communication channels. After arriving on
Muir Island The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features. Places Certain places fe ...
and fighting past the Marauders, Bishop found Cable attempting to escape with the baby and the two fight. Both mutants are then attacked by Predator X, who viciously rips off Bishop's right arm. Bishop cauterizes his torn shoulder on an unconscious Sunfire and in an attempt to shoot down a teleporting Cable, he misses and hits Professor X instead.


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. Upon finding them, he shoots Cable twice before being hindered by a local gang. With Cable severely weakened by blood loss, he makes a risky attack before the gang can find heavier weapons. He later manages to track down Cable, slaying several mutated beasts in the process, and shoot the Mutant Messiah. He also finds that in the future generated by his choice, Cable will be always revered as a messianic figure who tried his best to protect the child and saved humanity from the very beasts that Bishop unwillingly saved Cable from. It has been revealed that the Messiah child is still alive and Bishop has been captured by the X-Men. In his efforts to kill the child, Bishop has left several traps for Cable throughout the timestream, killing millions in the process, though he doesn't see them as people who actually exist but as people who wouldn't exist or come back to life if he kills Hope.


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. 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. Bishop escapes into the "near future" of the 21st century, reconstructing his arm, vowing to find Hope once again.


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. 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?"


Return to the Present

In ''
Uncanny X-Force ''Uncanny X-Force'' was a comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña, the first volume of the series continued the story of Wolverine and his X-Force team from the series '' X- ...
'' vol. 2 #1, Bishop makes his first appearance since being stranded in the future. He is shown arriving in 2013 Los Angeles and announcing "I'm baaack!" He battles the members of the new
X-Force X-Force is a fictional team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, most commonly in association with the X-Men. Conceived by writer/illustrator Rob Liefeld, the team first appeared in '' New Mutants'' #100 ...
before it is revealed that his mind is apparently being possessed by the Demon Bear that once terrorized
Danielle Moonstar Danielle "Dani" Moonstar, originally codenamed Psyche and later Mirage, is a fictional Northern Cheyenne superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in the graphic novel ''The New Mutants'' (Sept. 19 ...
. After a lengthy conflict,
Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...
manages to pull the Bear out of Bishop's mind. Storm also uses the opportunity to disrupt the part of Bishop's mind holding his memories of his hunt for Hope, in the hopes that she will thus restore her old friend.''Uncanny X-Force'' vol. 2 #5 Bishop is later shown comatose as a result of his ordeal. He eventually regains his memories of Hope. The self-control he has learned during his time in the future helps him move past his former vendetta, 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. 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, which results in Charles Xavier being reborn in Fantomex's body. 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. 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. 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. 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. This leads to the events of mini-series ''Prisoner X'', where Bishop is take to be "reconditioned".


Dawn of X and Krakoa

In the new status quo for the X-Men ( Dawn of X), helmed by writer
Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman (born September 3, 1972) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', ''The Manhattan Projects'' and ''East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on M ...
, Bishop is part of the crew of the Marauders, led by
Kitty Pryde Katherine Anne "Kitty" Pryde is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The character first appeared in ''The Uncanny X-Men'' #129 (January 1980) and was co-created by wri ...
, and becomes Red Bishop of the
Hellfire Club (comics) The Hellfire Club is a fictional society appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Hellfire Club often comes into confrontation with the mutant superhero team, the X-Men. Although the Club appears to merely be an internati ...
. 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. 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. 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.


Powers and abilities

Bishop's
mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ...
ability enables him to absorb all forms of radiant or conductive energy that are directed towards him and to release that energy from his body. 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. Bishop can also store absorbed energy within his personal reserves, whereupon the energy increases his strength and recuperative abilities as well as affording him a measure of invulnerability. He is also able to absorb magic energy (as seen when fighting " growing men" in
Limbo In Catholic theology, Limbo (Latin '' limbus'', edge or boundary, referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned. Medieval theologians of Western Euro ...
) and the psychic energies of psionics as easily as all the other kinds. This does not prevent him from being read or manipulated by a telepath but only sustains him and helps him to slow them down and potentially exhaust them. It has been clearly stated that Bishop is also able to absorb and process kinetic energy similarly to Sebastian Shaw, but in a much less effective way. 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. 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. Bishop is also resistant to most poisons. 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 '' X-Treme X-Men'' #1. Although being the great-grandson of Gateway, a mutant possessing extensive dealings with time travel, this aspect is not one of Bishop's mutant powers. Bishop's explanation is that due to training; he knows where he is at all times. 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 Forge. A nuclear-powered battle-ready arm, it incorporates in its design a time-travel device, the ability to channel his energy blasts through, and enhanced strength and resilience. It has since been destroyed after Bishop tried to use it to time travel from 6700 A.D. to 2010 to kill Cable and Hope Summers due to Cable tampering with the time traveling device within it. His real arm has apparently been re-grown after he was healed in the future by the remnants of humanity.


Reception

* In 2018, '' CBR.com'' ranked Bishop 26th in their "Age Of Apocalypse: The 30 Strongest Characters In Marvel's Coolest Alternate World" list.


Other versions


Ultimate Marvel

In
Ultimate Marvel Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe. Those characters ...
, a time-traveling Bishop appears in ''
Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...
'' #76. Moments after the battle with
Cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...
concludes, he appears asking if he is too late to stop Cable. Wolverine knocks him unconscious and the X-Men interrogate him. He is wearing the same uniform as the members of Cable's squad and appears to be much older than the mainstream Bishop. He then leads the team into battle with Cable's squad. He fails to stop Cable from kidnapping
Charles Xavier Professor X (Charles Francis Xavier) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is depicted as the founder and sometimes leader of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist/co- ...
(everyone believes Xavier is dead) and is trapped in the present day, due to Cable's destruction of the device that allowed him to time travel. 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,
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstorm), ...
, Pyro, Dazzler,
Angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
,
Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...
, and himself).''Ultimate X-Men'' #84 He is using the new team to stop a new wave of Sentinel attacks on mutants, caused by an unknown enemy, revealed in that issue to be the Fenris twins and
Bolivar Trask Bolivar Trask is a fictional supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a military scientist whose company Trask Industries is well known as the creator of the Sentinels. He is also the father of Larry Trask ...
. Wolverine appears to distrust Bishop, promising to gut him if he tries anything suspicious. Bishop was unconscious during the fight with the Fenris twins and the Sentinels, but when
Psylocke Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men. The first character to use the Psylocke moniker, Betsy Braddock, was initially a suppo ...
's life was at risk, he woke up to defend her and revealed that she was his future wife. 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. After the battle with Apocalypse is undone by the
Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, there is no evidence that Bishop has been returned to life, even though Angel was. His powers have been revealed as density control.''Ultimate X-Men'' #43 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. He also has access to teleportation technology. Robert Kirkman later admitted that the Bishop mentioned earlier in the series 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.


X-Men Noir

In ''
X-Men Noir ''Marvel Noir'' is a 2009/2010 Marvel Comics alternative continuity combining elements of film noir and pulp fiction with the Marvel Universe. The central premise of the mini-series replaces super powers with driven, noir-flavored characterizatio ...
'', Bishop is depicted as the muscle for Remy LeBeau, the owner of a nightclub and casino called The Creole Club.


X-Men: The End

In '' X-Men: The End'', the non-canon trilogy of miniseries by Chris Claremont, Bishop learns he has a teenage daughter, Aliyah, by
Deathbird Deathbird (Cal'syee Neramani-Summers) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont, John Byrne, and Dave Cockrum, she is usually depicted as a supervillain, an adversary of ...
. She becomes Majestrix of the
Shi'ar The Shi'ar ( ) are a fictional species of aliens appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Shi'ar Empire (or Imperium), is a vast collection of alien species, cultures, and worlds situated close to the Skrull and Kree Emp ...
with her father as her Imperial Chancellor.


In other media


Television

* Bishop was featured in several episodes of ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in 1970 due to lo ...
'', voiced by Philip Akin. In his first appearance, he travels back in time to stop the assassination of Senator Kelly and prevent the ''Days of Future Past'' timeline from occurring. Bishop believes Gambit to be the assassin, but it is later revealed that Mystique attempts the assassination in the guise of Gambit. Upon returning to his own time after saving Kelly, he finds the world infected with a deadly plague. He returns in a later episode to stop the spread of Apocalypse's
techno-organic virus A techno-organic virus (T-O virus) is a fictional virus appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. In the comics, the T-O virus transforms organic material into techno-organic material, which resembles both machinery and living ...
, but he also faces resistance from Cable, who knows the virus is necessary as it will create antibodies needed for the stabilization of the mutant genetic code. Later, he appears in a set of episodes where he and his sister travel back in time to stop Trevor Fitzroy from killing the young Charles Xavier in the past, causing constant war between mutants and humans in the X-Men's time. The time travelers eventually manage to save Xavier, but Bishop is trapped in the Axis of Time during Apocalypse's attempt to control all of time in the "Beyond Good and Evil" episodes, during which he plays a pivotal role in Apocalypse's defeat. After Bishop leaves the Axis of Time, he reunites with his sister. * Bishop appears in '' Wolverine and the X-Men'', voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson. This version is a member of Professor X's future X-Men team in the Sentinel-dominated future and was trained by Wolverine at a young age.


Film

Bishop appears in the 2014 film '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', played by
Omar Sy Omar Sy (, ff, 𞤌𞤥𞤢𞤪 𞤅𞤭, Omar Si; born 20 January 1978) is a French actor, best known in France for his sketches with Fred Testot on the '' Service après-vente des émissions'' television show on Canal+ (2005–2012). He gain ...
. In the film, he is among the mutants who meet with Professor X and Magneto at an abandoned Chinese monastery. He is shown regularly working with Kitty to use her new time-projection abilities to save them from Sentinel ambushes, Kitty projecting him back in time a few days so that he can warn the others and they can move on before they are caught. However, Logan is chosen for the plan to undo the creation of the Sentinels as the other mutants either are not old enough to go back that far or could not cope with the psychological strain. In the final stand against the Sentinels, Bishop is killed when the Sentinels overload his energy absorption abilities and he explodes. These events are later erased by the altering of the timeline.


Video games

* Bishop is a
playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
in '' X-Men: Next Dimension''. * Bishop is a
playable character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not contr ...
in '' X-Men: Gamesmaster's Legacy''. * A younger version of Bishop makes a cameo in ''
X-Men Legends ''X-Men Legends'' is an action role-playing video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. It was released on the GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles in 2004. Barking Lizards Technologies developed the N-Gage port of ...
'', voiced by
Grey DeLisle Grey DeLisle (; born Erin Grey Van Oosbree; August 24, 1973), sometimes credited as Grey Griffin, is an American voice actress, comedian and singer-songwriter. DeLisle is known for various roles in animated productions and video games. On Sept ...
. The X-Men encounter him while fighting Sentinels on the streets of New York. *
Khary Payton Khary Payton (born May 16, 1972) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as King Ezekiel on the horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' and Dr. Terrell Jackson on the soap opera ''General Hospital'', as well as voicing Cyborg across va ...
voices Bishop who is a playable character in '' X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse''. * Bishop appears in '' Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2'', voiced by Emerson Brooks. He appears as an NPC for the Pro-Registration side and serves as a boss fight for the Anti-Registration Side. In n-Space versions ( PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable,
Nintendo Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major home game console, f ...
and Nintendo DS), he is not a boss character, but still an NPC. When the heroes are fighting Tinkerer in a Repeater Tower to broadcast a jamming signal, Black Panther mentions over the radio that Bishop has been taken over by The Fold. * Bishop appears in '' Marvel Heroes'' as an NPC voiced again by Emerson Brooks. The version who is being used by Doctor Doom to empower himself with a
Cosmic Cube The Cosmic Cube is a fictional object appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. There are multiple Cubes in the Marvel Universe, all of which are depicted as containment devices that can empower whoever wields them. Although th ...
on the mutant is actually a clone created by
Mister Sinister Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the character was first mentioned as the employer behind the team of assassins known as the Mara ...
. * Bishop appears as a playable character in the ''
Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
'' game '' Marvel: Avengers Alliance'', and was the PVP Reward for the 10th PVP tournament. * Bishop appears as a playable character in ''
Marvel Contest of Champions ''Marvel Contest of Champions'' is a 2014 fighting video game developed and published by Kabam. It was released on December 10, 2014, for iOS and Android. The fighting game is primarily set in the Marvel Universe. The game is strongly based o ...
''. * Bishop appears as a playable character in '' Marvel Future Fight''.


Books

* Bishop plays a small part in the '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' novelization by Chris Claremont. * Bishop is a main character in the Spider-Man and X-Men novel trilogy ''Time's Arrow'' by
Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor'', and ''Fantastic Four''. Career While in college, DeFalco "wrote fo ...
with
Jason Henderson Jason Douglas Henderson (born September 4, 1971) is an American writer of computer games, novels and several comic book series. He is the writer of the young adult novel series Alex Van Helsing from HarperCollins and the comic book series '' Sw ...
(''The Past''), Adam-Troy Castro (''The Present''), and Rosemary Edghill, eluki bes shahar (''The Future''), in which he and Spider-Man travel through time and into parallel universes.


References


External links

*
World of Black Heroes: Lucas Bishop Biography

UncannyXmen.net Spotlight on Bishop
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop (Comics) Australian superheroes Characters created by John Byrne (comics) Characters created by Whilce Portacio Comics characters introduced in 1991 Cyborg superheroes Fictional amputees Fictional bounty hunters Fictional characters displaced in time Fictional characters from parallel universes Fictional characters with absorption or parasitic abilities Fictional characters with energy-manipulation abilities Fictional indigenous people of Australia Fictional mass murderers Fictional mercenaries in comics Marvel Comics cyborgs Marvel Comics film characters Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics mutants Marvel Comics orphans Marvel Comics police officers X-Men members