Marauders (comics)

The Marauders is a team of fictional supervillain characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Marauders are mutant assassins employed by the X-Men archfiend Mister Sinister, with the purpose of assassination of other mutants, and act in unison as a commando strike-force to carry out acts of mass murder.

Publication history

The Marauders first appeared in Uncanny X-Men #210 (Oct. 1986) and were created by writer Chris Claremont and artist John Romita, Jr..

Fictional team biography

The Marauders make their first appearance during the 1986 crossover, the "Mutant Massacre", slaughtering a large percentage of the mutant community living beneath Manhattan known as the Morlocks. During their battles with the X-Men, X-Factor and the Norse God Thor, several Marauders are apparently killed; Riptide in Uncanny X-Men #211; Prism in X-Factor #10; and Blockbuster in The Mighty Thor #374. After the Mutant Massacre, Sabretooth attacked some kids in the tunnels in Daredevil #238.

In Uncanny X-Men #213, Sabretooth attacks Xavier's mansion while Malice succeeds in possessing Dazzler but is driven out.^[1] The Marauders attack Polaris, whom Malice takes possession of and becomes leader over the Marauders.^[2] The Marauders then try to assassinate Madelyne Pryor in issues #221-222. It also shows flashbacks of them in X-Factor #39, and Uncanny X-Men #215.

During the 1989 crossover "Inferno", the dead Marauders mysteriously reappear alive in Uncanny X-Men #240 and battle the X-Men during the demonic invasion of Manhattan. Most of them perish here. Blockbuster, Malice, and Sabretooth later attack the X-Men at Xavier's mansion in issue #243.

X-Men #34 (vol. 2, July 1994) reveals that Sinister is able to clone the Marauders back to life; Gambit #8 (vol. 3, Sept. 1999) further reveals that all the clones have gene imprints that would shut them down if they turn against Sinister. In Gambit #9, the clone samples for Sabretooth were seemingly destroyed. However, in later issues of X-Force,^[3] a clone of Sabretooth was shown.

The Marauders also chase after the mutant Threnody in X-Man issues #13-18-19 (March-Sept. 1996).

The 1996 miniseries, The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, features a band of criminals known as the Marauders during the 19th century, hired by Mister Sinister to kidnap homeless and deformed people on which to experiment.

Uncanny X-Men #350 (December 1997) reveals that it was Gambit who had organized the modern day Marauders, although he was never actually a member. It also says that it was he who brought them down to the Morlock tunnels. He had no idea of their intentions, and when they started killing all of them, all he could do is save a little girl named Sarah (later Marrow). This contradicts with previous versions of the story since in Uncanny X-Men #210, it was shown that the Marauders followed a young Morlock girl, Tommy. This is one of several contradictions between the two versions of the story.^[4]

The Marauders also make an appearance in Cable Annual '99, disguised as minions of Apocalypse and battle Cable after he sees through the guise.

The Marauders return in X-Men #200 (vol. 2, August 2007), attacking the X-Men and Providence to obtain certain mutants on a list. This incarnation of the team consists of the original lineup as well as Malice, who possessed Omega Sentinel after disguising herself as an e-mail; the former X-Men Lady Mastermind; Sunfire; Gambit; and Mystique, who have all aligned themselves with Acolytes Exodus, Random, Frenzy, Tempo, and Unuscione.^[5]

On the list is a group of people or places that have information of the future, or even alternate timelines. In Cable and Deadpool #42 and X-Men #200, Sunfire and Gambit seemingly killed Cable, while Senyaka attacked Deadpool. Also in X-Men #200, Riptide killed Quiet Bill, and Scalphunter and Vertigo killed the Witness. In issue #202, it is revealed that Arclight brought down the Wohnhaus Strucker, a building that has ties to the future. Also in issue #202, it is revealed that Harpoon impaled Vargas with harpoons until his death. The Dark Mother was another victim taken out. They also thought they killed Gateway, although he survived. Bishop was also sought after in these attacks. Later in issue #202, the Acolytes attack the X-Mansion looking for Destiny's diaries, but find fakes. They also go to take out Blindfold, but she saw them coming and prevented her death. In issue #203, Iceman and Cannonball go against the Marauders for the diaries, but the diaries are destroyed in the process.

The Marauders also play a major role in X-Men: Messiah Complex storyline. In Messiah Complex: Chapter One, they arrive in Alaska and kill some Purifiers with the loss of Blockbuster and Prism, without finding the special mutant child.^[6] In X-Men #205, the Marauders battles the X-Men at Sinister's Antarctic base. In Uncanny X-Men #494, the Marauders track Cable and the baby to Forge's Aerie in Dallas, where they defeat Bishop and seize the mutant child. The Marauders fight in the final battle on Muir Island and Scrambler and Vertigo seemingly all die.^[7]

The Marauders appeared once again in the ongoing series of X-Force, where a contingent of Marauders clones had recently awakened after the death of Mister Sinister. X-Force returns to the facility where Vanisher lost the virus and battle and killed all the cloned assassins.^[3]

The Marauders returned in the pages of Astonishing X-Men, with a yet undetermined motive. The new lineup consists of: Arclight, Blockbuster, Harpoon, Prism, and Vanisher, with Chimera as the apparent new leader.^[8] It was eventually revealed that they were actually assembled by Susan Hatchi, actually Da'o Coy Manh, the half-sister of the mutant known as Karma, so she could get her revenge on their father. They were eventually defeated.^[9]

The clones of the Marauders except for Sabretooth and Malice where later hunted down by Magneto (who was determined to make them pay once and for all for the massacre of the Morlocks). However, as Magneto killed each of the Marauder clones, new clones were activated. He eventually hunted all the clones down and killed them all with the exception of Scapulhunter, whose arms and legs were cut. After tracking the remained clones in a port and killing them all, Magneto prevented the new clones from being activated and instead modifies their personalities to deploy in the future at his command.^[10]

Following World War Hate, Magneto lead various mutants from the Red Skull's concentration camp in Genosha and began reconstructing the island. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared to take Magneto into custody. Powered by MGH, Magneto over powered S.H.I.E.L.D. but, surrounded.^[11]

Magneto had the intention of destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mutant files along their Cerebro. Magneto unleashed the Marauders as a distraction while he completed his objective. Not wanting to wage war against S.H.I.E.L.D. yet, Magneto and the Marauders retired, however, noting that the Sabretooth clone's healing factor and killing tendencies were resisting his programming, he killed him before leaving. After various mutants were killed, the Marauders accompanied Magneto's investigation.^[12]

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Mister Sinister later formed another incarnation of the Marauders consisting of Aries, Azimuth, Chimera, and Coda. They pursued Nightcrawler through the sewers in order to capture Nightcrawler and bring him back to Mister Sinister to be one of his specimens. Azimuth was the one who knocked out Nightcrawler.^[13]

Members

Original roster

The Marauders featured on the X-Men #200 wrap-around cover, with art by Humberto Ramos. Several characters include Vertigo, Riptide, Sunfire, Harpoon, Scalphunter, Malice, Gambit and Lady Mastermind.

Second roster

• Hans: A creation of Mister Sinister while he was infiltrated at the Weapon X Program, at a time in which only Scalphunter remained loyal to Sinister. Even though he possessed a wide array of powers, he was nonetheless killed by Sabretooth. Hans was the first of Mister Sinister's creations dubbed The Children. He has no relation to the Children of the Vault.

Third roster

The Marauders in Messiah Complex. Art by Simon Bianchi.

During the Messiah Complex storyline, four former X-Men joined the original roster of the Marauders, and Sabretooth was not among the group.

• Gambit (Remy LeBeau): Before joining the X-Men, Gambit was hired by Sinister to assemble the Marauders. Feeling responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Morlocks, Gambit kept this a secret from the X-Men until Rogue absorbed his memories and found out Gambit's secret. His brainwashing by Apocalypse and manipulation by Sinister led him to abandon the X-Men, though he has since returned to the team.
• Lady Mastermind (Regan Wyngarde): An illusion-creating mutant and one of Jason Wyngarde's (the original Mastermind) daughters.
• Mystique: A shapeshifter, mother of Nightcrawler and the adoptive mother of Rogue. She infiltrated the X-Men in order to betray them from within.
• Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida): A Japanese mutant and former X-Man with fire generation and manipulation abilities.

Fourth roster

After the Schism storyline, two enemies of the X-Men joined the Marauders.

• Chimera: A former interdimensional pirate from an unknown Earth, who can generate dragon-shaped flares of greenish-transparent ectoplasmic energy to strike her enemies on various planes of being (i.e. physical, astral, etc.).
• Vanisher (Telford Porter): Longtime criminal and former member of the X-Force, he possesses the ability to teleport himself, his clothes, and an as yet undetermined amount of additional mass.

Fifth roster

Magneto eventually tracked the original Marauders remaining clones, except for Sabretooth and Malice, and killed them all, which activated new clones of them. He prevented the activation of the clones and programmed them to deploy at his command in the future. Scalphunter was also spared, though his arms and legs were severed.

Sixth roster

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Mister Sinister has formed another incarnation of the Marauders. Besides Chimera, this membership consisted of:

• Aries: A mutant with the horns and hindquarters of a ram. Aries has no connections with the Zodiac.
• Azimuth: A female mutant who can unhinge her jaws to form an oral singularity/black hole that can disrupt even Nightcrawler's teleportation.
• Coda: A mummified mutant with a forked tongue.

Other versions

Age of Apocalypse

In the Age of Apocalypse storyline, the Marauders are a band of human terrorists equipped with wrist-armories and air-steppers, serving Apocalypse and consisting of Arcade, Dirigible, the Owl and Red. The group was sent by Apocalypse to destroy the land of Wakanda where Arcade was able to murder Black Panther and together destroy much of the land, the Marauders' life was cut short by Clint Barton and Gwen Stacy.^[16]

House of M

In the House of M reality, the Marauders are a covert ops group led by Callisto and consisting of Banshee, Black Tom Cassidy, Blob, Caliban, Mammomax, Sunder, and T-Rex.

Mutant X

In the Mutant X dimension, a group of thieves calling themselves the Marauders are made up of mostly X-Force and Generation X associates, such as an overweight Cannonball, Jubilee, Husk, Sunspot and Wolfsbane.^[17]

Ultimate Marvel

In the Ultimate Marvel universe, the Marauders appear in the Ultimate X-Men series and are a white supremacist group led by Arnim Zola.^[18]

What If?

The Marauders are featured in What If? vol. 2, #101.

In other media

Television

• The Marauders as a group are not featured in X-Men. Sabretooth is a major recurring villain, but is usually seen working alone. Additionally, Mister Sinister's primary underlings are instead the Nasty Boys and the Savage Land Mutates. Vertigo belongs to the latter group and is later seen with the Nasty Boys in the "Beyond Good and Evil" storyline.
• The Marauders first appear in the Wolverine and the X-Men episode "eXcessive Force". It consists of Arclight, Blockbuster, Harpoon, Mister Sinister, Multiple Man, and Vertigo. Like the comics, they tend to collect Mutant DNA by force for Mister Sinister's plans to create the "Ultimate Mutant." Cyclops ended up disrupting their missions at the time when Cyclops thought Mister Sinister had Jean Grey. In the episode "Guardian Angel", Mister Sinister transforms Angel into Archangel as a way to restore his wings. Archangel becomes a full Marauder in the episode "Shades of Grey" in which he and the other Marauders (namely Arclight, Blockbuster, and Vertigo) are captured but escape. The final scene showed that Mister Sinister and the Marauders are in league with Apocalypse.

Video games

• The Marauders appear in the Deadpool video game. The group is led by Mister Sinister and consists of Vertigo, Riptide, Blockbuster, and Arclight.^[19]

References

External links

• Marauders at the Marvel Universe wiki
• Uncannyxmen.net feature on the Marauders