Marauders
TheMarauders featured on the cover ofUncanny X-Men #240 (Jan. 1989). Art byMarc Silvestri.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First appearance	Uncanny X-Men #210 (Oct. 1986)
Created by	Chris Claremont John Romita, Jr. Dan Green
In-story information
Base(s)	Various
Member(s)	Current Members: Arclight Blockbuster Chimera Harpoon Prism Vanisher Former Members: Gambit Piper Hans Lady Mastermind Malice Mister Sinister Mystique Omega Sentinel Riptide Sabretooth Scalphunter Scrambler Sunfire Vertigo

TheMarauders is a team offictionalsupervillain characters appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The Marauders aremutantassassins employed by theX-Men archfiendMister Sinister, with the purpose of assassination of other mutants, and act in unison as a commando strike-force to carry out acts of mass murder.

The Marauders first appeared inUncanny X-Men #210 (Oct. 1986) and were created by writerChris Claremont and artistJohn Romita, Jr..

The Marauders make their first appearance during the 1986crossover, the "Mutant Massacre", slaughtering a large percentage of the mutant community living beneath Manhattan known as theMorlocks. During their battles with the X-Men,X-Factor and the Norse GodThor, several Marauders are apparently killed;Riptide inUncanny X-Men #211;Prism inX-Factor #10; andBlockbuster inThe Mighty Thor #374. After the Mutant Massacre, Sabretooth attacked some kids in the tunnels inDaredevil #238.

InUncanny X-Men #213,Sabretooth attacksXavier's mansion whileMalice succeeds in possessingDazzler but is driven out.^[1] The Marauders attackPolaris, whom Malice takes possession of and becomes leader over the Marauders.^[2] The Marauders then try to assassinateMadelyne Pryor in issues #221-222. It also shows flashbacks of them inX-Factor #39, andUncanny X-Men #215.

During the 1989 crossover "Inferno", the dead Marauders mysteriously reappear alive inUncanny X-Men #240 and battle the X-Men during the demonic invasion of Manhattan. Most of them perish here. Blockbuster, Malice, and Sabretooth later attack the X-Men at Xavier's mansion in issue #243.

X-Men #34 (vol. 2, July 1994) reveals that Sinister is able toclone the Marauders back to life;Gambit #8 (vol. 3, Sept. 1999) further reveals that all the clones have gene imprints that would shut them down if they turn against Sinister. InGambit #9, the clone samples for Sabretooth were seemingly destroyed. However, in later issues ofX-Force,^[3] a clone of Sabretooth was shown.

The Marauders also chase after the mutantThrenody inX-Man issues #13-18-19 (March-Sept. 1996).

The 1996 miniseries,The Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, features a band of criminals known as the Marauders during the 19th century, hired by Mister Sinister to kidnap homeless and deformed people on which to experiment.

Uncanny X-Men #350 (December 1997) reveals that it wasGambit who had organized the modern day Marauders, although he was never actually a member. It also says that it was he who brought them down to the Morlock tunnels. He had no idea of their intentions, and when they started killing all of them, all he could do is save a little girl named Sarah (laterMarrow). This contradicts with previous versions of the story since inUncanny X-Men #210, it was shown that the Marauders followed a young Morlock girl, Tommy. This is one of several contradictions between the two versions of the story.^[4]

The Marauders also make an appearance inCable Annual '99, disguised as minions ofApocalypse and battleCable after he sees through the guise.

The Marauders return inX-Men #200 (vol. 2, August 2007), attacking the X-Men and Providence to obtain certain mutants on a list. This incarnation of the team consists of the original lineup as well asMalice, who possessedOmega Sentinel after disguising herself as an e-mail; the former X-MenLady Mastermind;Sunfire;Gambit; andMystique, who have all aligned themselves withAcolytesExodus,Random,Frenzy,Tempo, andUnuscione.^[5]

On the list is a group of people or places that have information of the future, or even alternate timelines. InCable and Deadpool #42 andX-Men #200, Sunfire and Gambit seemingly killed Cable, whileSenyaka attacked Deadpool. Also inX-Men #200, Riptide killedQuiet Bill, and Scalphunter and Vertigo killed theWitness. In issue #202, it is revealed that Arclight brought down the Wohnhaus Strucker, a building that has ties to the future. Also in issue #202, it is revealed that Harpoon impaledVargas with harpoons until his death. The Dark Mother was another victim taken out. They also thought they killedGateway, although he survived.Bishop was also sought after in these attacks. Later in issue #202, the Acolytes attack the X-Mansion looking forDestiny's diaries, but find fakes. They also go to take outBlindfold, but she saw them coming and prevented her death. In issue #203, Iceman and Cannonball go against the Marauders for the diaries, but the diaries are destroyed in the process.

The Marauders also play a major role inX-Men: Messiah Complex storyline. InMessiah Complex: Chapter One, they arrive in Alaska and kill somePurifiers with the loss of Blockbuster and Prism, without finding the special mutant child.^[6] InX-Men #205, the Marauders battles the X-Men at Sinister's Antarctic base. InUncanny X-Men #494, the Marauders track Cable and the baby to Forge's Aerie in Dallas, where they defeatBishop and seize the mutant child. The Marauders fight in the final battle on Muir Island and Scrambler and Vertigo seemingly all die.^[7]

The Marauders appeared once again in the ongoing series ofX-Force, where a contingent of Marauders clones had recently awakened after the death of Mister Sinister. X-Force returns to the facility where Vanisher lost the virus and battle and killed all the cloned assassins.^[3]

The Marauders returned in the pages ofAstonishing X-Men, with a yet undetermined motive. The new lineup consists of: Arclight, Blockbuster, Harpoon, Prism, and Vanisher, with Chimera as the apparent new leader.^[8] It was eventually revealed that they were actually assembled by Susan Hatchi, actually Da'o Coy Manh, the half-sister of the mutant known as Karma, so she could get her revenge on their father. They were eventually defeated.^[9]

The clones of the Marauders except for Sabretooth where later hunted down by Magneto (who was determined to make them pay once and for all for the massacre of the Morlocks). However, as Magneto killed each of the Marauder clones, new clones were activated. He eventually hunted all the clones down and killed them all with the exception of Scapulhunter, whose arms and legs were cut. After tracking the remained clones in a port and killing them all, Magneto prevented the new clones from being activated and instead modifies their personalities to deploy in the future at his command.^[10]

FollowingWorld War Hate, Magneto lead various mutants from the Red Skull's concentration camp in Genosha and began reconstructing the island. However, S.H.I.E.L.D. appeared to take Magneto into custody. Powered by MGH, Magneto over powered S.H.I.E.L.D. but, surrounded.^[11]

Magneto had the intention of destroying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s mutant files along their Cerebro. Magneto unleashed the Marauders as a distraction while he completed his objective. Not wanting to wage war against S.H.I.E.L.D. yet, Magneto and the Marauders retired, however, noting that the Sabretooth clone's healing factor and killing tendencies were resisting his programming, he killed him before leaving. After various mutants were killed, the Marauders accompanied Magneto's investigation.^[12]

As part of theAll-New, All-Different Marvel event, Mister Sinister later formed another incarnation of the Marauders consisting ofAries, Azimuth,Chimera, and Coda. They pursued Nightcrawler through the sewers in order to capture Nightcrawler and bring him back to Mister Sinister to be one of his specimens. Azimuth was the one who knocked out Nightcrawler.^[13]

• Mister Sinister (Nathaniel Essex): Leader of the Marauders.

• Arclight (Philippa Sontag): A super-strong mutant, her mutation allows her to release shockwaves (likeAvalanche andRictor) and cause disorientation to her enemies, cause objects to shatter, and to generate earth tremors in limited areas. She served with the American ground forces in theVietnam War, and is still haunted by memories of that place. She has a romantic interest in Scalphunter.

• Blockbuster (Michael Baer): A superhumanly strong mutant who has stood up to punches fromThor, though a single hammer blow from an enraged Thor killed him. He did some work with German terrorists before hooking up with Sinister.

• Harpoon (Kodiak Noatak): A youngInuit who can charge objects (usually hisSlayspears - 20 pound (9 kg) barbed harpoons) with bio-energy for various effects.

• Malice: One of Sinister's top lieutenants whose sadistic orders are followed without hesitation or question. She exists as an incorporeal psychic being that possesses others, though she often 'hides' in the person's subconscious and reveals herself in amirror or as the dark side of the target’s consciousness. For much of her public activity with the other Marauders, she used the X-ManPolaris as a host. Malice was apparently killed by Sinister for disobeying orders,^[14] but has returned as a digital entity, rather than a psionic one, and possessedOmega Sentinel.^[15] Not be confused with theFantastic Four villain namedMalice.

• Prism: An overconfident and cold-blooded killer who often underestimates the fragility of hiscrystalline body, which can deflect/reflect most forms of energy attacks, but not physical impact.

• Riptide (Janos Questad): A brutally evil man who can spin his body at superhuman speeds and fling outshurikens (made from a resin his skin secretes) for amazing amounts of damage. He was the first of the Marauders to "die", when his neck was broken byColossus.

• Sabretooth (Victor Creed): The longtime enemy ofWolverine.

• Scalphunter (John Greycrow): A ruthless ex-G.I., and the group’s tactician. His orders are overruled only by Malice or Sinister. Scalphunter is the most cold-blooded of the group. He is capable of "technomorphing" (altering the configuration of any technological device), a power he uses to create a number of weapons from his battle armor. He also has incredible regenerative powers as he survived being executed by his fellow American soldiers in 1944 after having murdered and scalped eight fellow officers.

• Scrambler (Kim Il Sung): The youngest Marauder, is a Korean mutant who can manipulate powers and systems, whether they be biogenetic, electromagnetic, or even technomechanical, such asmutant abilities, upon physical contact. He has been shown to be a psychopath more concerned with looking stylish than with the suffering he inflicts on others.

• Vertigo: A mutate who can psionically induce a sensation of vertigo in others.

• Hans: A creation of Mister Sinister while he was infiltrated at theWeapon X Program, at a time in which only Scalphunter remained loyal to Sinister. Even though he possessed a wide array of powers, he was nonetheless killed by Sabretooth. Hans was the first of Mister Sinister's creations dubbed The Children. He has no relation to theChildren of the Vault.

During theMessiah Complex storyline, four former X-Men joined the original roster of the Marauders, and Sabretooth was not among the group.^{[volume & issue needed]}

• Gambit (Remy LeBeau): Before joining the X-Men, Gambit was hired by Sinister to assemble the Marauders. Feeling responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Morlocks, Gambit kept this a secret from the X-Men untilRogue absorbed his memories and found out Gambit's secret. His brainwashing by Apocalypse and manipulation by Sinister led him to abandon the X-Men, though he has since returned to the team.

• Lady Mastermind (Regan Wyngarde): An illusion-creating mutant and one ofJason Wyngarde's (the original Mastermind) daughters.

• Mystique: Ashapeshifter, mother ofNightcrawler and the unofficial foster mother of Rogue. She infiltrated the X-Men in order to betray them from within.

• Sunfire (Shiro Yoshida): A Japanese mutant and former X-Man with fire generation and manipulation abilities.

After theSchism storyline, two enemies of the X-Men joined the Marauders.^{[volume & issue needed]}

• Chimera: A former interdimensional pirate from an unknown Earth, who can generate dragon-shaped flares of greenish-transparent ectoplasmic energy to strike her enemies on various planes of being (i.e. physical, astral, etc.).

• Vanisher (Telford Porter): Longtime criminal and former member of the X-Force, he possesses the ability to teleport himself, his clothes, and an as yet undetermined amount of additional mass.

Magneto eventually tracked the original Marauders remaining clones, except for Sabretooth and Scalphunter, and killed them all, which activated new clones of them. He prevented the activation of the clones and programmed them to deploy at his command in the future.

As part of theAll-New, All-Different Marvel event, Mister Sinister has formed another incarnation of the Marauders. Besides Chimera, this membership consisted of:

• Aries: A mutant with the horns and hindquarters of a ram. Aries has no connections with theZodiac.

• Azimuth: A female mutant who can unhinge her jaws to perform the oral singularity where the black hole form can disrupt even Nightcrawler's teleportation.

• Coda: A mummified mutant with a forked tongue.

In theAge of Apocalypse storyline, the Marauders are a band of human terrorists equipped with wrist-armories and air-steppers, serving Apocalypse and consisting ofArcade,Dirigible, theOwl andRed. The group was sent by Apocalypse to destroy the land of Wakanda where Arcade was able to murder Black Panther and together destroy much of the land, the Marauders' life was cut short by Clint Barton and Gwen Stacy.^[16]

In theHouse of M reality, the Marauders are a covert ops group led byCallisto and consisting ofBanshee,Black Tom Cassidy,Blob,Caliban,Mammomax,Sunder, andT-Rex.

In theMutant X dimension, a group of thieves calling themselves the Marauders are made up of mostlyX-Force andGeneration X associates, such as an overweightCannonball,Jubilee,Husk,Sunspot andWolfsbane.^[17]

In theUltimate Marvel universe, the Marauders appear in theUltimate X-Men series and are awhite supremacist group led byArnim Zola.^[18]

The Marauders are featured inWhat If? vol. 2, #101.

• The Marauders as a group are not featured inX-Men. Sabretooth is a major recurring villain, but is usually seen working alone. Additionally, Mister Sinister's primary underlings are instead theNasty Boys and theSavage Land Mutates. Vertigo belongs to the latter group and is later seen with the Nasty Boys in the "Beyond Good and Evil" storyline.

• The Marauders first appear in theWolverine and the X-Men episode "eXcessive Force". It consists ofArclight,Blockbuster,Harpoon,Mister Sinister,Multiple Man, andVertigo. Like the comics, they tend to collect Mutant DNA by force for Mister Sinister's plans to create the "Ultimate Mutant." Cyclops ended up disrupting their missions at the time when Cyclops thought Mister Sinister hadJean Grey. In the episode "Guardian Angel", Mister Sinister transforms Angel into Archangel as a way to restore his wings. Archangel becomes a full Marauder in the episode "Shades of Grey" in which he and the other Marauders (namely Arclight, Blockbuster, and Vertigo) are captured but escape. The final scene showed that Mister Sinister and the Marauders are in league withApocalypse.

• The Marauders appear in theDeadpool video game. The group is led by Mister Sinister and consists of Vertigo, Riptide, Blockbuster, and Arclight.^[19]

• Marauders atMarvel.com
• Uncannyxmen.net feature on the Marauders

• Characters created by Chris Claremont
• Characters created by John Romita, Jr.
• Comics characters introduced in 1986
• Fictional assassins
• Fictional mass murderers
• Fictional mercenaries
• Marvel Comics supervillain teams

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• Moved from supergroup
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