Madripoor

Type Asian country
First appearance New Mutants #32 (October 1985)
Publisher Marvel Comics

The Principality of Madripoor is a fictional island located in Southeast Asia in the Marvel Comics universe. Based on illustrations, it is in the southern portion of the Strait of Malacca between Singapore and Sumatra.

Publication history

Madripoor first appeared in New Mutants #32 (October 1985). It was created by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha.

Madripoor received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #4.

It appeared in the fourth issue of Hawkeye Vol. 4 by Matt Fraction, as well as The Punisher War Zone #22 (December 1993) by Larry Hama.

Madripoor appears once again in the twenty-fourth issue of Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender

Description

Madripoor is a fictional island apparently modeled on Singapore.[1] They are both Southeast Asian island port nations with a single major city. Its capital and single large city is Madripoor, which is divided between Hightown and Lowtown. This serves to represent the extreme social inequality in Madripoor, described as "a place for the very rich and the very poor".

Madripoor was once a haven for pirates, and that tradition is somewhat continued today with its lawless quality. The principality does not allow other nations to extradite criminals. However, it is one of the business capitals of the Pacific Rim, with its own Trade Center.

Other locations of note in the Central Business District are the Bank of Hong Kong and the Bank of Malaysia, luxurious Sovereign Hotel, and the Prince's Palace, said to rival Versailles.[2]

An attempt was made to conquer the nation by China. General Lo Chien attempts an invasion using modern and mystical weaponry but is stopped by the ad-hoc 'Heroes for Hire' group.[3]

The nation was taken over by HYDRA with Madame Hydra as de facto ruler, using the nation to finance terrorist plots against the world. Side-effects of this are seen in Spider-Woman: Agent Of S.W.O.R.D.[4] With HYDRA's terrorist operations causing deaths in the thousands, Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. took it upon themselves to overthrow the HYDRA regime and place the nation in the hands of Tyger Tiger, as she was the only person—apart from the long-absent Patch—who the natives would follow in the event of a revolt. Stark wanted someone who would run Madripoor the right way without needing someone else to monitor them and ensure that the situation did not repeat itself.[5]

Madripoor is later controlled by Wolverine's son Daken after he managed to wrestle and manipulate power away from Tyger Tiger by acquiring control of various financial resources and key people. This results in several days of intense violence throughout the entire nation.[6] Part of this chaos was the result of Malcolm Colcord, who wanted free rein in Madripoor to for his super-soldier experiments. Colcord was stopped by Daken, Tyger, X-23 and Gambit. After Daken's death, Tyger Tiger was once again the figurehead of Madripoor.

A prominent Madripoor hotel was later used to hold an auction for a videotape of Hawkeye committing an illegal assassination. Barton was captured while trying to retrieve the tape, but was rescued by Kate Bishop, who had infiltrated the hotel by tying up and gagging Madame Masque and stealing her identity.[7]

In the pages of Avengers World, it is revealed that Madripoor rests on the head of a giant dragon that is as large as an island continent. The giant dragon was awakened by a ritual performed by Gorgon and the Hand.[8] The beast decides to attack Shanghai, China.[9]

Mystique tried to make Madripoor a mutant utopia; this involved flooding the island with 'Mutant Growth Hormone', a drug which grants powers.[10]

Geography

Madripoor is estimated to be 100 miles (160 km) in diameter. Its coastline is pockmarked with deep water bays and inlets. The center of the island is a large plateau with steep cliffs. As mentioned above, Madriopoor rests on the head of a giant dragon that is as large as an island continent.[8]

Points of Interest

The following are locations found in Madripoor:

Known residents

Notable current and former residents of Madripoor include:

Alternate versions

A future version of Madripoor was the site of a battle between the Guardians of the Galaxy and the criminal gang headed by 'Rancor'.[17]

In other media

Television

References

  1. Boatz, Darrel L. (November 1988). "John Buscema". Comics Interview (62). Fictioneer Books. pp. 18–19.
  2. Wolverine #6, April 1989.
  3. "Heroes for Hire" #18-19 (Dec. 1998, Jan. 1999)
  4. "Spider-Woman: Agent Of S.W.O.R.D." #1-5 (2009)
  5. "Iron Man: Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Annual #1 (November 2007)
  6. Dark Wolverine #5-7 (2011)
  7. Hawkeye #4-5
  8. 1 2 Avengers World #3 (Feb. 2014)
  9. "Avengers World" #13 (2014)
  10. All-New X-Men #37 (2012)
  11. "Death Of Wolverine" #2 (Sept. 2014)
  12. "Wolverine Encyclopedia" Vol. 1 #2 (Dec. 1996)
  13. "Wolverine" #6 (May 2014)
  14. Wolverine #5 (Mar 1989)
  15. "Wolverine" Vol2 #98 (Feb 1996)
  16. New Avengers (vol. 2) #10, May 2011
  17. "Guardians of the Galaxy" #23 (April 1992)
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