The X-Men‘s Bishop may have just been taken down… by his own mother. The mutant race has settled on the living island of Krakoa, and Charles Xavier dreams of peace between man and mutant. For all that’s the case, though, the fact remains that mutants have a martial tradition. Generations of mutants have been taught to use their powers offensively, and many of them have learned to love the thrill of combat.
This week’s Cable #1 reveals that the mutants have found a way around this. Silver Samurai has established a training dojo in a quarry on Krakoa. There, mutants are invited to go head-to-head in one-on-one combat. One of the now-traditional information pages reveals a number of mutants have participated in the fights, with Callisto, in particular, enjoying regular sparring matches. One of the most startling, however, involves the time-traveling mutant Bishop.
Click the button below to start this article in quick view.
It seems one of the earliest matches was between Bishop and M, a powerhouse mutant from Generation X. Bishop was defeated, which frankly isn’t much of a surprise; Monet St. Croix is a physical powerhouse, with powerful psychic abilities as well. House of X revealed she can now transform into a Penance form, where her skin is incredibly durable and her hands end in razor-sharp talons.
At first glance, this fight appears pretty random. But there’s actually a subtle connection between Bishop and Monet St. Croix; back in the ’90s, Generation X #14 subtly implied that Bishop is actually M’s son, from a future timeline. There, an injured and disoriented Bishop caught a blurry glimpse of Monet, and called her “mother.” Neither mutant has ever conducted genetic tests to ascertain whether Bishop’s instinctive recognition of Monet is true, but presumably, Charles Xavier knows the truth; he has access to mutants’ genetic codes, after all. This is a seriously deep cut into X-Men lore, and it’s delightful to see it referenced in such a subtle way.
The interesting question is whether or not Bishop’s timeline has been successfully averted. In his timeline, the mutant race was extinguished by the Scarlet Witch, but was mysteriously restored courtesy of Hope Summers. More concerning, Hope rose to a position of prominence among the mutants, and ultimately led them in a war against humanity; that may correspond with her now being the central figure in the Five, the mutants who command the resurrection protocols of Krakoa. It’s entirely possible the X-Men are headed for Bishop’s dystopia – and that Bishop is about to learn his true parentage.
Cable #1 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
