Bishop #5: Where Are the Consequences?

Bishop wakes up in a cell and is told that he will be executed because he abandoned his mission, which sounds on-point and fair to me (if a little harsh). But the twist of the comic comes when we see a past version of Bishop, one that is not as evolved as our present-day Bishop comes on page, and it is made clear to us that Bishop will have to execute Bishop. (Got all that? – Ed.) Which is wild if we are being honest. Shard was unaware of this information because, of course, she is. She would be the only one able to get close enough to bring Bishop back.

While all of the details are being worked out, present-day Bishop escapes, and now the chase is on. But the chase does not last long. Past Bishop catches up and blasts present Bishop. But this was present Bishop’s plan as he drains most of the energy from past Bishop. Leaving him knocked out. Afterwards is the heart of the issue, which is the relationship between Shard and Bishop. They meet up in a sewer they used to hang out at when they were kids, and the streets were not safe.

After some back and forth about what to do next, Shard hands Bishop a one-way trip home, which he takes. Before he goes, he tells her information that is exactly what he shouldn’t be doing and why they want to kill him in the first place. Either way, the issue ends with Bishop back in his time and at peace until the next adventure.

So, I have a couple of gripes with this issue. One I understand. Once they introduced Past Bishop as the one who would do the execution, I thought we were in for a battle of the ages, and we got one more page with them, and then it was dropped. I think that was a missed opportunity for a really good action set piece.  That was my problem with the last issue as well; the fight scene was not really a fight scene, and the last thing is. Bishop breaking the rules before he left. He already put Shard in danger by not accepting his fate once; now he is changing the future again. Like, I cannot have a connection with someone who knows the rules as well as he does and continues to break them every chance he gets.