BIshop’s Back in Action: Bishop War College #5: And the Exam Results Are in? Did This Comic Pass?

The teacher is back, and the class is in session. Let’s see if these youngsters will pass, or are they going to fail and take Krakoa with it?

I have no idea what to make of this comic overall so far. It’s weak in many ways and charming in others but delivers unique conversations about the nature of the multiverse. I think a lot was left on the idea table by only staying in one part of the multiverse and not utilizing this to its full potential.

This issue felt a bit rushed and did not give much time to reflect on the overall situation and its greater implication for the characters. But perhaps that was the point. Or perhaps with the Krakoan era coming to a close, this story had to end. OR, or, perhaps, this was always meant to be filler mini, to establish new teams for the ultimate fight for Krakoa.

All I can say is I’m not sure most of Bishop’s troops are ready for battle. That being said, they accomplish their goals and ultimately pass the War College. Where will that take them, though? What was the point of all this? To know that Krakoa is still vulnerable? In that case, mission accomplished; the younger recruits especially now understand the gravity of what they need to do.

The other earth Bishop learned that being an academic is all well and good up to a point and that sometimes it’s time to drop the books and pick up a sword.

It seems that there were a lot of lessons to learn; Bishop learned to trust his students. I guess. The students learned the importance and seriousness of the work that they do. But not all of them are X-men material yet. That being said, I want to see more of Surge and Armor being friends.

One of the challenges of this book from the start was the fact that there was no time to really get to know any of these newer characters. So unless you already know them, you won’t get much more information about them. That being said, the true casualty of character in this comic, I think, is Tempo, who’s relegated to nothing more than a plot device with feelings. Aside from Surge and Armor, the other recruits feel a little hollow and a little one-dimensional. But given the small number of issues and the number of characters that were involved in this comic between the two worlds, this is an understandable problem.

It is also hard to quantify what Bishop: War College is really about. It isn’t really about the college. And I think calling it a college when it’s the equivalent of pre-war boot camp is a misnomer. Perhaps it is about shifting perspectives and understanding why Krakoa needs a defense team. But I think there was more that needed to be said about this.

At the end of the day, the world requires multiple approaches to solve its problems. It needs Warrior Bishop just as it needs an academic Bishop, a less reserved Bishop. To the comic’s credit, it does wrap up the story while letting the threads from here likely carry over into the future.