Preparations Are Made For The Hellfire Gala In Marauders #17

With Sebastian Shaw under their paw, the Red and White Queens begin to set the table for the world to learn just how strong Krakoa is. Will you be in attendance of The Hellfire Gala? Gerry Duggan, Matteo Lolli, Edgar Delgado and Cory Petit make sure all is in order in Marauders #17.

Christina Eddleman: I really wasn’t sure what to expect from a follow up to our last, incredibly powerful issue of Marauders, but I am so anxious to discuss this issue. We’re back full swing into a Marauders storyline and it feels familiar in a homey way while still bringing everything I’ve come to love about this title.

Vishal Gullapalli: Yeah, I absolutely needed this issue, yeah. What I didn’t realize until… well, now, is that Marauders is at its best when it’s dealing with a lot of moving parts at once. Each issue is at its most enjoyable when it’s hopping between various plotlines and allowing for a ton of character interactions. And that’s what we’re getting in spades here! I’m really happy.

Loose Ends

CE: While revenge against Sebastian Shaw seemed like the cherry on top of the Kate resurrection saga, this issue reminds us of some other important factors we’ve been wondering about. Shinobi Shaw has seemed like a real wild card since his resurrection. His loyalties are an unknown.

Beginning the issue with a flashback to a psychic probe into his role in Kate’s murder is exactly what I needed to really be reminded that he could probably do something awful at any time and I shouldn’t be surprised. But this time, he didn’t! And bonus: he had a hot date!

VG: Okay, but did Emma imply something about his parentage with that Harry Leland comment? Because that’s how I read it and it is some hilarious shade at Shaw, who cannot do anything to retaliate. I really hope we get to see her constantly throwing jabs at the Black King because he absolutely deserves every single one of them.

What really stuck out to me, though, was Callisto’s total lack of qualms with getting a kill order on Shinobi. Not that he wouldn’t deserve it if he had a hand in Kate’s death, and not that death means anything on Krakoa beyond an inconvenience, but the entire setup of Callisto as the white bishop is really fascinating. What I didn’t know, though, was that she was a depowered mutant. The Pretender’s reach knows no bounds.

CE: I know we’re not alone in that surprise. [Ed. note: While in Son of M it was an important plot point that Callisto was depowered, her abilities being very passive means it can be hard to remember.] Callisto is so incredibly capable that it wasn’t obvious that she was lacking her mutant abilities. (Which is just knives right? Lots of knives?) [Ed. note: It’s actually super senses]

Her acceptance of the role as the White Bishop was surprising enough, but that she did so while depowered actually seems 100% correct now that I think about it. While her reasons behind putting off undertaking the Crucible become clear, the restoration of Callisto’s powers isn’t the only loose end needing tying up. I was positively thrilled to see Kate and Lockheed revisit the Madripoor family that sheltered Lockheed after Shaw’s attempted murder. It was such a sweet interlude, and they were very deserving of a massive pile of cash.

VG: The family taking care of Lockheed was such a genuine act of kindness and it was really nice to see Kate return their favor. And of course, she gets to make some armed guard police looking jerks look stupid in the process. I want to point out that Lolli being back on art also brought back Kate’s curls, something that I’ve really come to appreciate over the last few months.

Also she tells the family to “hold fast” which is the nerdiest most wannabe pirate line I’ve ever seen a character say and for some reason that’s just delightful to me. Another loose end we get to see a little more of in this is the weird building that Magneto created for Emma in his Giant-Size X-Men issue. What’s up with that?

CE: For all intents and purposes it seems to be a party venue which is… rad. An incredibly impressive and imposing venue on non-Krakoan soil. A building ready for a gala.

Crucible

VG: Before the gala, though, the White Bishop wants – scratch that. Callisto needs her powers back. And she needs Ororo to be the one to give them back to her. I really appreciated that we got this explanation of how the Crucible changed due to Apocalypse’s indisposition. And while Ororo hasn’t always gotten the best spotlight in this series just due to its nature and scope, her inner conflict of having to be the one to murder Callisto was really gripping.

CE: The turmoil she experiences only serves to highlight how their relationship has grown from enemies to friends. Storm’s lack of remorse for stabbing Callisto to come to Kate’s defense in Uncanny X-Men #170 is forever burned into my brain. I imagine the same is true for Callisto, especially since she communicates that she really does not want to be stabbed. Callisto’s penchant for knives but apprehensions about being stabbed is even more poignant with this in mind. With Apocalypse out of the Crucible equation, there’s a possibility for resurrection without the stabbing.

VG: Apparently if you don’t have a goddess willing to do the job, Silver Samurai will volunteer himself to do it with some stabbing. So it’s a good thing that Ororo showed up at the last possible second, her loyalty to Callisto (their relationship is something that I, a dude, do not feel comfortable putting a label on) beating out her moral compunctions with killing a fellow mutant.

Sidenote, of freaking course Fenris wants to partake in some of this mutant killing. They’re still the worst. The actual battle between Ororo and Callisto is really short but it’s got so much emotional depth to it. How’d it hit you, Christi?

CE: As a queer lady, this had the emotional complexity of nearly all of my gal pal relationships. Meaning: I don’t know what this is but it’s way hotter than just friends. It’s just two gals, being pals. I mean if you wouldn’t stop your friend’s heart and hold them for their dying breaths sobbing, are you even platonic friends?

I have to make note of Callisto’s whole aesthetic here. I have gotten so much and yet entirely not enough white suits in Marauders. How much would be enough? I’ll tell you when we get there. Callisto looks exactly like someone I’d like to cradle lovingly in my arms in a definitely platonic and nothing more sort of way.

VG: What really got me good was Ororo’s monologue at the end. She’s not going to be in our coverage anymore, it seems, and while I’m happy because she’ll hopefully get to be in a book where she can be a headliner in the way Emma and Kate are here, it’s still really bittersweet. What’s even more emotional is Storm’s description of Callisto once she got her powers back. Powers that, apparently, are not just knives. Duggan doesn’t write in a very poetic style most of the time, but the way he describes Callisto’s first meeting with Krakoa felt incredibly powerful.

CE: I couldn’t agree more. Lolli and Delgado capture that poetry nicely in the art during that monologue. The overlay of Callisto’s silhouette with a nearly psychedelic array of colors was a nice touch. It does seem that Storm will be moving on beyond the Marauders though. It makes me hopeful for the big Storm things in the future hinted at by the office. I hope this is a set up for bigger and better things for Ororo.

Party Planning

VG: Speaking of setup for bigger things, we’re getting some interesting looks at the Hellfire Gala. Specifically that Delores of the X-Desk is invited! We love Delores, who is probably not a great person but also supported our beloved Marauders against Verendi. She claims that “many in the intelligence community have” been invited to the Gala, which changes my perspective on this significantly. I thought it was a specific Krakoan event, but it seems to be an international and diplomatic event, which makes the announcement of the new X-Men team there far more interesting.

CE: Yes. I am definitely also considering the important things. Not just the outfits and the menu. I am so confident Jumbo and Saucier are going to deliver and I have been fantasizing about Red Queen outfits for reasons totally related to literary criticism and not cosplay at all. In all seriousness, this does seem to be shaping up to be quite the event. While Delores may be my favorite invitee thus far, it is important to note that Verendi is on the guest list!?! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer I suppose.

VG: Verendi’s reaction to the invitation fascinates me. It’s apparently worse than being sued by Emma Frost, something that does genuinely terrify me. Kate positioned the invitation as the alternative to the “easy way” of Verendi leaving Lowtown, which again makes this look like something to be worried about. What is this Gala going to be? I am far more intrigued about this than I have been about most things in comics.

CE: If the X of Swords banquet is any indication, this gala will be nothing we can anticipate. I do love that we learn that The Hellfire Trading Co has been purchasing Lowtown to save it from gentrification. Emma has all the means and the cunning to be so fantastically generous and conniving all at once. It truly is a beautiful combination. This gala will be, without a doubt, spectacular.

VG: Marauders is really back to firing on all cylinders again, which I’m really happy about. This setup for the gala is intriguing as hell, and I’m really excited to see my favorite boy Pyro next issue. It feels good to be back.

CE: The lack of Pyro in this issue is a crime against you specifically, Vishal.

We’re officially back in my favorite tasting-menu style of story building that Duggan has so deliciously delivered thus far. Do all roads lead to the gala? I can’t wait to find out.

X-Traneous Thoughts

What “special project” is Verendi working on? Sure seems ominous.
I’m incredibly curious as to the status of Bobby and Christian after seeing Christian meet up with Shinobi. I am here for that background relationship drama.
Kate’s dropping “Ahoy”s and leaning so hard into the pirate vibe. I want all of the cheesy goodness.
Krakoan reads: Healing