Marauders, Vol. 4

Marauders (2019)

by Gerry Duggan (Writer), Matteo Lolli (Illustrator)

The past can burn you! The Hellfire Gala may have ended, but the flames of hellfires past have started licking at the heels of the Inner Circle…and when this tinderbox of buried sins explodes, the Marauders may get burned! Meanwhile, the team takes to the highest seas of all — and points their bow to the stars! But what threat awaits them in the ocean of space…and why has it sworn vengeance? Secrets, lies and hidden agendas unravel as the Marauders adjust to an all-new future for mutantkind — if they can escape their past!

COLLECTING: Marauders (2019) 22-27

Genres: Comics, X Men, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2022

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 4 out of 5]

It may have taken four volumes to get here, but Marauders is finally clicking for me, as the book full tilts to being a Hellfire Club in the go! :D. The political and wider scheming and plotting by the likes of Emma Frost and Kathryn Pryde are what motors this book, and I have to say that all-in-all Duggan has done a stellar job rising this series above what I consider is a flotsam of accompanying titles in the Hickman X-verse. Easily one of the better books of the Hickman era and which deservedly led to Duggan being given the flagship book X-Men. The future is looking brighter for the X-books with Duggan at the helm. An 8 out of 12 Four stars for this one.

2024 read

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still my favorite of the HoX/PoX launch titles. There's always a nice combination of political chicanery and superhero action. Duggan sets up the last issue for a lot of turnover for the team.
Hopefully, Steve Orlando will be able to live up to this title with the relaunch.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Este número es un poco disparejo. Empieza con la ayuda que dan a la niña Wilhelmina Kensington para arreglar por fin su vida. Por otra parte se revela lo que Emma y Lourdes Chantel han hecho y su trato incluso con el perverso Kingpin.
Luego tenemos una aventura corta galáctica con el malvado Eden Rixlo (miembro de los Nova Corps) quien pondrá en aprieto a los Marauders de forma sorprendente aunque la historia en sí es un poco banal.
Finalmente en la conclusión de esta serie y la labor de Duggan (quien se va para los X-Men) ahora se hacen los cambios en la dirección del Hellfire con lo cual estoy de acuerdo en gran parte y se plantea cómo serán las cosas en los siguientes números. Aunque dinosaurios como Harry Leland no me convencen.
Debo decir que me gustó esta serie aunque más al inicio que al final, no me gustó que Duggan haga modificaciones sobre todo en las inclinaciones de Kitty. No sé el objetivo ni el fin pero toda la trama y el manejo del equipo sí me ha gustado. Esperemos que la serie que viene sea tan buena.

[Scratch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why does this title exist? Seemingly, so that fans of Kitty Prude and Emma Frost have an outlet to ooh over. I despise one and am indifferent to the other. The writer was pretty indifferent to using half his cast or more.

Just, why?

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the morning after the night before, as the effects of the Hellfire Gala run rampant over Hellfire Trading. Plus a space adventure, the return of Lourdes Chantal, and...the redemption of Sebastian Shaw? There's change on the horizon, and the Marauders are riding the wave!

I say this about a lot of X-books, but there's really nothing like Marauders. It's a book as much about political crisscrossing as it is superheroic insanity. Some of the set pieces in these issues, especially in the space arc, are just insane, and then there's equally as unexpected stuff going on in the theatre of the mind back on dry land when Kate Pryde, Emma Frost, and Sebastian Shaw get together.

Even though this era of Marauders is ending, Gerry Duggan doesn't just go into that good night without upturning the board. The last two issues of the run clear the deck and reset the table so that incoming writer Steve Orlando has something new to play with, as well as acting as a farewell to the book, which feels like it's been running much longer than 27 issues.

On art is series artist Matteo Lolli for three issues, while Duggan's Cable collaborator Phil Noto handles a couple as well. Unfortunately Stefano Caselli doesn't make a reappearance, but Lolli and Noto aren't anything to sniff at (especially Noto, whose beautiful painterly style is somehow a fit for whichever book he gets assigned to).

The Marauders are sailing away into the sunset (for now), but this final volume contains the same stuff that made the entire series so much fun up till now.

[Ross · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is just a weird collection of stories. Characters are resurrected. Powers are max'd out. A relationship from years ago was found to be nothing but an abuse angle....

Oh, the effects placed on Shaw are just washed away. Again, it's pretty consistent with this series. They just take all kinds of liberties with the characters and histories. I don't pity the writers looking back on this years from now. It's a mess.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Consistently one of the best X-series, this Marauders volume was like a breath of fresh air after I waded through the final two Excalibur volumes. Tight storytelling, clear character arcs, crisp pacing - all hallmarks of an excellent comic. Marauders also benefits from getting to play the politics card. Political wrangling in the Hellfire Club is always going to be engaging.

This fourth Marauders volume picks up in the aftermath of the Hellfire Gala. We get some references to Scarlet Witch's death and a few scenes on newly terraformed Mars. There's not necessarily a clear throughline to the volume, but Gerry Duggan has done a successful job of making the reader care about these characters, enough so that the plot can take a backseat. Take, for example, the bottle episode issue in which the Hellfire Club must survive the void of space. It's a wildly fun issue that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. But it would never work in Excalibur, where every other line of dialogue is something like "I must defend my home from (name of new villain)!"

The final issue seems to wrap up this iteration of the Hellfire Club, with the team getting a wholesale overhaul. I especially like the idea of Iceman, having recently birthed life on a planet, off to explore just how powerful he truly is. Also nice to see Emma Frost show an iota of weakness - and a nice awareness of that weakness. Life isn't all about your job! Hoping this series continues in some in the post-Hickman world.

[Aisling · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

There’s really not much to the entire run of Marauders. It started off with appointing some people as leaders of the Hellfire company, you got to see Sebastian Shaw be a fly in the ointment against much more powerful mutants, and then it kind of just reverts to square one. Kitty Pryde is knuckle tattoo captain of a meaningless ship circling mutant paradise. Emma Frost is here and there with or without pants. Bishop has a modern haircut. Characters fade in and out of the background. And none of it matters.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 2 out of 5]

Otro interludio innecesario. La serie partió en muy buen nivel, y decayó en esto, que es básicamente relleno por cambio de personajes. Lástima.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this meandered a little bit, sort of wrapping a few things up, moving a few pieces to someplace different, and just filler before the end of the series. The art varies as well. I've really grown to like Emma on this title. She just seems more solidified as a character. Still don't love the title, but it's not the worst one for sure.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good outing, although some of the artwork here is pretty atrocious (flashback scenes in the first issue, most of the second issue). I don't keep up with Marvel news, but this reads like an ending...

[AJ Kallas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really enjoyed the space issues.

[Clint · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
This run ends with a mixed bag of issues and some fun highlights. I really enjoyed the Noto-drawn pair of Star Wars-y issues set in space; the imaginative combo of mutant powers that saves the day in those is particularly fun. Otherwise, there’s the usual teases at ongoing Hellfire scheming and international intrigue that are fine, but lack any meaningful payoff to really care much either way. There’s also a good bit of work setting up the status quo for the follow-up series that sees several current characters abandon ship and a few new ones come aboard. (If you thought those ship puns were kind of funny but also kind of wince-inducing, you’re ready for Duggan’s hit-or-miss quippy dialogue.)

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume fell a little shorter than other that I’ve enjoyed in this series. Overall, I did enjoy this run and I’m a bit bummed this is Duggan’s last volume with this title.

[JCRD]

Llega el final de la etapa de Gerry Duggan con los Merodeadores, un grupo con un roster tremendo y unas aventuras muy divertidas, aunque este último tomo diría que es el que más inconexo he sentido y el que menos he disfrutado.

Kate Pryde y Emma Frost han sido el corazón de esta etapa, y aunque se agradece que hayan dado peso a otros personajes ellas dos son la clave de todo. Alumna y maestra, antiguas enemigas, y ahora más unidas que nunca. Me da pena que Emma se aparte de los negocios de la Compañía Fuego Infernal, pero si a cambio tiene más peso en Immortal X-Men pues diría que salgo ganando. Y además Kate parece dispuesta a resolver el tema de las puertas como sea, aunque no sé si será Duggan el que dé respuesta a la gran incógnita de la etapa.

Pero eso, me lo he pasado muy bien con los Merodeadores. Viene una nueva etapa con una nueva tripulación y por supuesto que la leeré, pero me da pena perder a Emma, Pyro o Bobby.

Ha sido una buena etapa, y posiblemente mi título favorito krakoano aparte de los escritos por Hickman.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25
I've enjoyed this title quite a bit. Kate finally has an identity. But I think a reboot is a good idea. It was getting a bit stale.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marauders was the post HoX/PoX title I was least interested in and it’s turned out to be my absolute favourite. There’s been back stabbing, deaths, power battles and a lot of fashion. Emma Frost and Kate Pryde’s adventures have been very fun and this volume serves as a good send off for this run but also hints at a future these characters have ahead.

3/5

[Sid · Rating 5 out of 5]

no one's doing it like emma frost and her little band of merry men (and women)

[Zac Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5
Marauders vol 1 was absolutely one of the strongest titles from the Krakoa era.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Endings and new beginnings mark the end of an incredible run on Marauders for Duggan. This volume was very much about tying up loose ends and setting up what's to come, so wasn't as incredible as this book has been in the past.

But on the other hand, still had some amazing moments and I'm excited to see where Orlando takes these characters next!

[Tuni · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh boy. The first two issues were... ROUGH. Some truly questionable choices were made using the same old tired tropes of sexual and domestic abuse as motivators for women. It was like a double whammy of BAD. Honestly would have DNF'd & not read the next three issues if I didn't know a restructuring was coming after this volume.

As for those last three issues, they were much more fun. A filler sci-fi adventure with major Star Wars vibes. Getting things set up and ready for the new lineup and writer. Not great, but not bad either.

At least the art always looks good.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book clearly has no reason to exist beyond closing the shaw loop last vol, which probably would have been done before if not for XoS. At this stage this book is treading water in the worst way to fill issues. I won't lie, I skimmed all of these at best. Duggan didn't seem that interested by this point, some of the material was questionable, and no one really cares about what he reveals. Praying the Orlando run after this has purpose. It's a curse of the Reign of X that most of it is wasted space

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume of Marauders is mostly standalone issues with one two-issue arc, all of which were fun but none of which were particularly memorable. However, there was some noteworthy retconning regarding old members of the Hellfire Club (what with the things Krakoan mutants can do), that put some long-absent characters back on the board.

The first issue in this volume deals with the return of Lordes Chantel, whose death it turns out was faked by Emma Frost all those years ago as a means for her to escape her abusive relationship with Sebastian Shaw. I find these kinds of retconnings interesting when they are well done, and I feel that this one found a clever and all-too-believable way to bring back an old character, and one that didn't just use the all-too convenient explanation of "Krakoa".

Following that we have a highly forgettable issue about some human mafia thugs attacking a Hellfire distribution warehouse in Ireland. While it's always nice to see Banshee, and it was entertaining to see Jumbo Carnation mixing it up in a fight, there's nothing particularly noteworthy here. Tempo has a nice moment where she gets to save the day, and there's a backup plot featuring Wilhelmina Kensington from Verendi that doesn't contribute much.

Then we get a two-issue arc involving a space criminal by name of Eden Rixlo, who is mad that Emma Frost stole his telepathically controlled spaceship. These stories don't feel particularly important, though it is interesting to see how the Marauders use their powers to solve the problem of being stranded in the vacuum of space. Aside from that, meh.

Another throwaway story follows this that has dragon Fin Fang Foom attacking the Marauders as they deliver some casks of whisky to Madripor. A few fun moments here, but thankfully this issue actually does deliver something quite important in the form of finally bringing Hellfire member Henry Leland back from the dead via Krakoan resurrection protocols. There's a lot of potential here with these old characters having been brought back into the fold, but whether the next writer to take over the series actually does anything with them remains to be seen.

The final issue is a decent sendoff for writer Gerry Duggan, who delivers us some entertaining and meaningful character moments, but most of the plot is transparent set up for the next iteration of the team, with so many of the characters just randomly deciding out of the blue that they're going to move on to do something else to make room for the new roster. The Wilhelmina Kensington side plot seemingly gets its resolution here as well, thought that whole story just felt shoehorned into the book for no good purpose.

The art duties here were handled by several different artists who all complimented each other quite well with no jarring outliers: Matteo Lolli, Phil Noto, Ivan Fiorelli, and Klaus Janson. Very good work by all of them. I really wanted to love this series, it had such a promising set up but ultimately I found myself feeling that every volume was just "pretty okay". The title had its fun moments for sure, but nothing truly important or game changing ever felt like it happened in this book. If you really like these characters, I'd say it's not a bad way to spend your time, but if you don't, you wouldn't be missing out on anything amazing by skipping this series. And that's a shame.

[Akshay · Rating 5 out of 5]

...And so comes the end of an unexpected gem!

This was a series that I don't think anyone saw coming and fewer still saw it being a success. Even someone like me who has been a fan of a lot of the books written by Gerry Duggan did not expect a story about Kitty Pryde as a kind of modern day pirate queen with a prety rag-tag crew to be nearly as good as this eventually turned out.

Our final volume is very much a goodbye to the Marauders we knew as it tries to tie up many threads and also builds new things unexpectedly.
For a start, the first issue in this volume starts off with a bang as it reintroduces Lourdes Chantel (Sebastian Shaw’s long thought deceased wife) to the X-books who is going to play a role in this volume. If you happened to have read Classic X-Men #7 by the legendary X-scribe Chris Claremont, you might already know that she was murdered by Sentinels at the very first Hellfire Gala… Or was she?! Duggan does a fantastic job doing a deep-cut retcon for two of the characters at the core of his run on this series as he continues to redefine and refresh Shaw and the deadly Ms. Emma Frost. In fact I would go so far as to say that he has in this issue taken Emma to a whole new level, which is saying something given how he has already grown her character and evolved her more than she has been since her turn from villain to X-Man oh so many years ago!
The action over the chapters takes the Marauders on one hell of a wild ride as they travel to Ireland to help out Banshee (who is quite hilariously written in his small cameo) and with the new status quo on Arakko/Mars (a concept I'm loving by the way) they head off on a space adventure that gave us a shiny new Han Solo-esque space-pirate - Eden Rixlo - and in fact was so fun and unexpected that I don't want to spoil it here - suffice to say that I didn't see it coming, nor did I expect it to play out quite as it did and in a really short span, it showed how the team has grown both individually and together. By the end, we return to Krakoa and the last two issues are a kind of loving closure as the Marauders as we know them now in true Marauders fashion close out this chapter in their story and set us up to look forward to an exciting new phase for the crew and Captain Pryde. Heck, we even get one damned entertaining and hilarious cameo from Fin Fang Foom of all possible characters!
For the bulk of the volume we get to enjoy the art of Phil Noto who is most unlike your average comic artist today. By that I mean he has an uncanny (heh) gift for capturing people, i.e, his faces are genuinely textured (lines on the face, bags under eyes, etc) in a way that feels real and natural and his anatomy work is impeccable. I find his art has an almost classical painting-like feel to it which can seem both out of place in and perfect when you are reading his pages. I started to love his work through his Marvel covers and remain a fan. I will however admit that his backgrounds sometime suffer, perhaps due to the detail he puts into his characters, and his non-human characters (or morphed as with Emma's diamond form) tend to look far... blander. By contrast, the last two chapters are a more traditional comic look courtesy of Matteo Lolli who I had not really known before but whose work here I was quite pleased to peruse. After the more emotional and slightly serious stories being told under Noto's art, Matteo brings us a punch-up with Fin Fang Foom and the closing bits and he has a dynamic energy that is in contrast to the earlier chapters and works quite well with the high-energy writing that is the finale.
Overall, this was for me a great way to close out a series that I never expected to like - especially since I can honestly say that I was only mildly a fan of Kitty, I mean Katherine Pryde but this has made me a proper fan. She's grown and matured and developed a great dynamic with the White Queen, becoming a Queen in her own right along the way and has surrounded herself with a new life and new people that have grown with her. Can the comic be a bit overly feminist at times? Sure, but it's nowhere near the ham-fisted social commentary in many stories out there, in fact it does a pretty even-handed job I felt and by the end I wish there was a female word for Bro-mance because I would apply that to Kate and Emma's relationship through the whole story that culminates beautifully here. The art was a treat and overall I am left both wanting more of the same and extremely excited for the next volume - this is without argument, my favourite X-comic in years and hands down the most fun since the HoX/PoX revamp of the comic line.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the post-Hellfire Gala, pre-Inferno time that this Volume takes place, the comic takes a slight turn for the better and focuses heavily on spotlighting certain characters and their motivations, as well as reconnecting to old and new characters to create something very stable for when the comic reboots (after this Volume).
Highlights:
- Wilhemina Kensington of Verendi is given a second chance by the Cuckoos when they take her to get revenge on her abusive and absent father. She could be a valuable ally in the future.
- Emma reveals the truth of Lourdes Chantel, a teleporter who had a relationship with Sebastian Shaw. Due to his abusiveness, she worked with Emma to fake her death and thus has been in hiding, which is why she hasn't been able to be resurrected. With the truth out, she returns and joins the Hellfire Trading Club, taking over for Shaw as the Black Queen.
- A rare story featuring Banshee (who needs to be back active... missed the dynamic between he and Emma from the Generation X days) who needs the Marauders help to protect a shipment of meds in Ireland from Reavers and gangsters (after the UK broke ties with Krakoa)
- We meet Eden Rixlo (probably not his real name) who has ties with Emma regarding the telepathically controlled ship she uses. We get a very action packed adventure in space involving lots of teamwork to survive in a vacuum. Emma keeps the ship and Eden gets to find out what happens when you mess with the White Queen.
- Another old character returns, Harry Leland, having finally been resurrected. They establish him as Krakoa's representative for the UN.
- Fin Fang Foom vs Iceman... you have to read it to believe me.
- Bishop and Pyro liberate 8 billion from Verendi by selling them busted Helicarriers... this story is hilarious.
- Emma steps down from the Hellfire Trading Board, giving her seat to the Cuckoos. Something is definitely going on with Emma.... I need to find out what.
- Kate Pryde is tired of waiting for Forge to figure out how she can use the Krakoan gates, so she goes to Reed Richards. His deal for helping? Help him remember what Xavier made him forget... oooh mystery....

Marauders is still one of the best X-Books being made. Looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Strong recommend.

[Alex Sarll]

A definite sense of wheels spinning here, as the team tie up various loose ends from the Hellfire Gala which would probably never have been noticed had they remained untied. And that's not an ideal sensation for an X-book, not if one remembers how long they spent twiddling their thumbs waiting for Hickman to have the Krakoan age ready for launch. The difference, thank heavens, is that where those runs, already so easy to put out of the memory, were at best generic and at worst both boring and miserable, this is still on some level, and despite the increasingly wobbly art, a lot of fun. Jumbo Carnation getting to come out of the salon and lay down a beating! Kate and Emma doing Star Wars riffs! The Cuckoos destroying a nonce dad who drove his daughter to villainy (and casually fucking other flatscans up along the way: "Punch your teeth out. Now forget math. Ha ha!"). Not to mention a beautifully ingenious impromptu mutant circuit to get the team out of what looks for a moment like an ineluctable predicament even for them. OK, there was one point at which I was overwhelmed by a sense of a dreary trudge without purpose, but that was largely extratexual, when I realised that even the mutant-hating UK government of Marvel Earth, making bad decisions for worse reasons, would look at the shower currently in charge on this parallel and wonder what the fuck they think they're playing at.

[Michael Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure what all to say about this. It was clearly the end of an era with the creative team set to shift after this volume. I still enjoyed the characters and some interesting things happened. The space part was probably my favorite. The way they combined their powers was pretty unrealistic, but undoubtedly cool.

This also included one of the best Iceman issues I’ve read. Though it does feel like a retread of some of the same themes that Iceman has been going through for the last 30 years (exploring his potential, etc.).

I’m curious to see what happens with Hellfire now that both Emma and Shaw seem to be refocusing on the Quiet Council. I think that will play out between the Marauders relaunch and the new Immortal X-Men title.

As an ending, it feels pretty loose, more just a way to take a pause before restarting something else. The art was fantastic despite having a couple of different artists on the book. As one of the strongest initial titles from the Krakoan relaunch, this kind of went out with a whimper, but I’m still interested to see what comes next.

[Adan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I keep changing my mind, but I think Marauders is my favorite X-book right now. Emma and Katherine are excellent in this book, Lourdes is a great new/vintage addition, and the male supporting cast are pretty good too. The last issue is setting up a lot of changes for the next stage of the Marauders and I’m here for it. Duggan is a fantastic writer, and I always forget that for some reason (I really shouldn’t; he is truly great). The art is shared between three main artists in this collection (Matteo Lolli, Ivan Fiorelli, and Phil Noto), but they’re all pretty good (Noto especially) and it’s never distracting like it sometimes can be when you have multiple artists. There’s even a section in the first chapter by veteran Klaus Janson that takes place during 80s-era X-Men comics.

But honestly, as long as I keep getting kickass Emma, kickass Katherine, and now kickass Lourdes, I’m good.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final volume of Duggan's Marauders is unfortunately a bit of a disappointment. Oh, it's not *bad* like the contemporary X-Men Vol. 1, it just loses a lot of its heart.

The characters are still great, and Duggan does terrific work expanding the Hellfire Club by returning Leland and Lourdes. But the stories just aren't that inspiring. A fight with a random thief in space? Fin Fan Foom? These just aren't of interest to the ongoing Krakoan narrative.

And then we get a dull setup for the next writer as all the playing pieces are shuffled.

Dunno what happened to Duggan at this point between this and the uninspiring start of his new comic, but hopefully he continues to bounce back.