Marauders 1: Living and Dying in Krakoa, review

Marauders 1

The mutant revolution of Hickman has not only taken place on the pages of X-Men, but has seen a flourishing of parallel titles that have given the new dimension of the Sons of the Atom further depth. The events that led the mutants to become the dominant species of the planet, collected in House of X / Powers of X and Pax Krakoa, allowed to overturn the role of submission and segregation experienced by Xavier's pupils over the years, but to ascend the role of dominant power on the international chessboard requires the presence of stratagems that can deviate from the reputation of heroes usually associated with the X-Men. A need that is embodied by a team that makes affinity for a more direct and, if necessary, violent approach, a role that falls on the Marauders, whose first adventures are now collected in the volume Marauders 1: To live and to die in Krakoa.



Already protagonists of a series of staples, the mutants led by a far from docile Katherine Pryde are now at the center of the new volume-collection of Panini Marvel, which includes the first year of stories of these mutant pirates. A nice tome which, it must be specified, collects the first twelve numbers of the American numbering, which correspond to the first nine staples of the Italian publication. A necessary clarification, considering how Duggan's plot develops in these numbers within what we can consider a first narrative arc, central not only for the evolution of the events of the new mutant political order, but for the troubles of a character. in particular: Kitty Pryde.

Marauders 1: the other side of the krakoana utopia

if (jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log (" Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh2_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh2 "); } Older readers still have in mind the evolution of the young mutant, from being the tender idealist of Claremont to leading a new generation of X-Men. A character who has often represented the needle of the moral compass of Cyclops and his companions, Kitty Pryde in Marauders is portrayed in a fascinating way and apparently far from those that are her characteristics. Duggan, in reality, offers us a sort of atypical Kitty because she is unable to access what are the new possibilities of the mutants: to cross the Krakoan joints and resurrect. A condition that leads her to develop a caustic personality, an armor if you will, which at the same time makes her perfect as the guide of a team of adventurers, armed arm with a mutant fringe that refers to another strong female figure from the Marvel house: Emma Frost.

In fact, in the new mutant life, equivocal characters such as Emma Frost and Sebastian Shaw become central in the management of illicit operations, necessary to maintain contact with criminal environments that can be useful. Marauders 1, from this point of view, allows you to go beyond the veil of Krakoa's utopian power, letting it leak out how certain affairs are really managed in the rooms of mutant power. Above all, it is in this series that the true intentions of characters from the less than spotless past, such as Shaw, who seem to have accepted Xavier and Magneto's invitation to a new beginning, as an opportunity to give life to their own agenda, not necessarily linked to mutant well-being.



if (jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1"). is (": visible")) {console.log ("Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh3_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh3 "); } Duggan has the opportunity to address this interesting point of view by creating a long narrative arc that sees Kitty Pryde as her emotional pivot. The atypicality of the new mutant life of the ex-Shadowcat is admirably rendered through the dialogues in which the mutant lets out her hostility to her previous vision of an upright moral guide, betraying a desire to move freely without constraints imposed by others. A vision that seems metaphorically contrasted with its inability to use the Krakoan joints or enjoy the Resurrection Protocols.

From heroes to pirates for the future of Krakoa

Duggan uses these aspects to introduce us to the new secret world of the X-Men, making Marauders the series in which we can go beyond the seemingly hypocritical mask seen in X-Men, tying this petty and cynical vision to Kitty's personal story. The way in which the construction of the 'occult' power of the mutant government is constructed, the importance of the Infernal Corporation and the growth of Kitty are part of a compelling and often biting narrative, which coincides with an evolution of the mutant that seems complete with his resurrection, as if his rebirth is a return to his origins. This passage is also sanctioned graphically, with a Kitty portrayed by 'our' Matteo Lolli who seems to show off a hair that recalls her thick lock of curls typical of her adolescent period. A return to its origins that could indicate not only a completeness of its previously fragmented soul, but also a new existence for the Red Queen.



if (jQuery ("# ​​crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1 ") .is (": visible ")) {console.log (" Edinet ADV adding zone: tag crm_srl-th_culturapop_d_mh4_1 slot id: th_culturapop_d_mh4 "); } As per tradition, Panini Comics collects the first narrative arc of Marauders in a hardcover volume of good workmanship, with graphics that maintain the concept of the previous volumes dedicated to the new mutant course. On the cover is the illustration that welcomed readers in the first issue of the staples, created by Russel Dauterman and Matthew Wilson, which is joined by a rich gallery with the covers of the overseas stapled edition. With Marauders, which was also joined by the first volume of the New Mutants collection at the same time, the Panini Comics collection of the new mutant era by Jonathan Hickman continues.