WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for X-Men: Curse of the Man-Thing #1 by Steve Orlando, Andrea Broccardo, Guru-eFX and VC's Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
Curse of the Man-Thing has seen the titular swamp god's fiery plague sweep across the globe, and every last hero available has been called in to lend a hand in dousing the supernatural flames. While the likes of the Avengers are front and center in the battle, the mutants of Krakoa are far more divided on how much assistance they should offer. However, there are at least a few who have jumped into the fight, with Marrow, in particular, making up for her recent lost bid at a spot on the latest X-Men team by leading a team of her own.
While Ted Sallis has been trapped in the Dreadscape that exists within Man-Thing, he has encountered multiple heroes all trying to aid him in getting to the bottom of what exactly has happened. After speaking to Captain America and Spider-Man, Ted was finally able to once again assume a physical form as Man-Thing, afterwards heading to his old office to call upon the villain who might actually be able to help. Ted made a dark deal with Belasco many years ago, but that isn't who he summons in the present. Now that Magik is the ruler of Limbo, Ted has to deal with her as the owner of his demonic contract. Magik is quick to try and give Ted a free pass, but when he chooses the more heroic route, she proudly introduces him to her very own team of misfits: the Dark Riders. This band of heroic malcontents is full of fearsome faces, and at the helm of them is the former Morlock known as Marrow.
First appearing as part of a horde of Morlock's in 1994's Cable #15, the girl known only as Marrow grew up with the underground mutants until being saved from the Marauders' massacre by Gambit. When the majority of the surviving Morlocks were kidnapped by Mikhail Rasputin, Marrow was one of the few who proved themselves brutal enough to secure a place as part of the mutant terrorist group Gene Nation. Marrow's time with Gene Nation came to an end after a near-lethal confrontation with Storm, and shortly after this Marrow found herself as part of the X-Men she had fought against for so long. In the years since she has been a sleeper-agent for S.H.I.E.L.D., a member of X-Force and the Hellfire Club, it now would appear she is the leader of her own team for the very first time.
This coming so soon after losing the vote for a role on the first official X-Men roster in over a year is a huge win for Marrow, and one that she is clearly enjoying more than anyone could have expected. Not only are the Dark Riders an opportunity for her to flex the skills she so rarely gets to use, but it also affords her a chance to get back into the bloody action which she has grown so fond of over the years. With Man-Thing now among their ranks, the Dark Riders aren't going to find themselves fading away into obscurity any time soon, especially with the Curse of the Man-Thing promising to continue on in the near future. If nothing else, that just means that Marrow will have plenty more chances to do what she loves most in the world - stabbing bad guys.
0 Comments