History Comicbook / Bishop

* ''X.S.E.''

Bishop's powers allow him to absorb and redirect energy, but much of the time he FightLikeANormal, relying on [[SuperheroPackingHeat big guns]], fists and boots rather than powers. Unlike many mutant heroes, he has no code against killing his foes.

* ''ComicBook/{{XSE}}''

* SpinOff: Bishop was introduced in the ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' series (#282), in November 1991. He almost immediately became a member of that team, eventually leading to his [[ComicBook/Bishop1994 spin-off limited series]] in 1994. The character retained his links to the wider ''ComicBook/XMen'' franchise, and his subsequent solo comics have generally emphasized their connection to other X-Men characters or plotlines.

Unusually, Marvel has avoided {{Recycled Title}}s for their Bishop series - the first was simply ''Bishop'', but subsequent series tend to add a subtitle as well.

[[redirect:Characters/XMen90sMembers]]

[[redirect:Characters/MarvelComicsBishop]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bcaae35115c9c81b7c651219875110d2.jpg]]

Bishop is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Creator/MarvelComics. The character first appeared in ''"Uncanny X-Men"'' #282 (November 1991), and was created by writer Creator/JohnByrne and artist Whilce Portacio.

Bishop, full name Lucas Bishop, is a time-traveling cop from the future who found himself stuck in the past after chasing there a mutant criminal rebellion started by Trevor Fitzroy. He took on the task of [[VigilanteExecution terminating with extreme prejudice]] the remants of the rebellion, but the task proved too difficult and he ended up being captured by the X-Men, who were interested in stopping his violent ways. It's then revealed that he comes from a post-dystopic future in which humans and mutants joined forces to stop a Sentinel takeover, after which a special force named Xavier's Security Enforcers was created to police mutant population. Now without a way to return, but with possibly a way to avoid such a BadFuture, Bishop became a X-Man and lent his big guns and military training to their cause.

Post-''Decimation'' he underwent a rather drastic FaceHeelTurn and turned into an EvilCounterpart to Comicbook/{{Cable}}, losing an arm along the way, dividing his time between time travel, scheming, and attempting to shoot Cable with very large guns. And global scale genocide. After ''Avengers Vs. X-Men'', he returned to the modern day, where his allegiances have been messy.

He got four limited series including the self-titled ''Bishop'' series, where he tracked and fought Mountjoy; ''XSE'', which showcased his past (future); and its sequel — ''Bishop: Xavier's Security Enforcers''. He also teamed up with Comicbook/{{Gambit}} to oppose Stryfe in ''Gambit and Bishop: Sons of the Atom'', where he ended up being possessed by a [[ComicBook/JeanGrey Phoenix]]-like cosmic entity named Bete Noir. He also starred in the series ''Bishop: The Last X-Man'' from 1999 to 2001, in which he was trapped in another alternate timeline. He appeared regularly in ''District X'' from 2004 to 2005, a police procedural set in a mutant ghetto in New York City. Finally, He also starred in the ComicBook/HouseOfM tie-in, ''Mutopia''.

He is portrayed by Creator/OmarSy in ''Film/XMenDaysOfFuturePast''.

----
!! Bishop provides examples of the following tropes:

* NinetiesAntiHero: A solid one on the trail of Cable: a big, rugged vigilante with large weapons and hailing from a dark future. Unlike Cable, however, Bishop is actually more of an early {{Deconstruction}} of the trope, as his violent methods only caused him trouble both in and out of the X-Men after he came to present time. Also, he is a downplayed example, as while Cable was a professional warzone survivor, Bishop was just a hardcore police officer and never quite went into outright SociopathicHero territory.
* TheAce: Was this during his X.S.E (Xavier Security Enforcers — the mutant policing force created after the Summers’ Rebellion) days as he was the youngest cadet ever (until his sister Shard broke his record the following year) admitted on the force. He was also in charge of a three man unit that was considered the best on the force.
* AndShowItToYou: He kills the future version of Cannonball by ''ripping his heart out'' with his cyber-arm's tentacles.
* AngryBlackMan: Australian aborigine and with some anger management issues.
* AntiHero: Started out more as UnscrupulousHero, and softened to PragmaticHero over the years before his FaceHeelTurn. Now he's back to being an AntiHero.
* AntiClimax: For years he was convinced ComicBook/{{Gambit}} would betray and destroy the X-Men. As it turns out, the culprit in Bishop's future was ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}. The two patched things up with a simple apology from Bishop, and actually became FireForgedFriends after the fact.
* TheApprentice: Was put under ComicBook/{{Storm}}'s tutelage. Although it was more of a formality, as Bishop was quite trained already, he appreciated it much.
* ArchEnemy: Trevor Fitzroy and Cable.
* ArtificialLimbs: Gained (or more accurately, stole) a mechanical arm after losing his left arm to the mutant-eating monster Predator X.
* AwesomeAussie: His parents were Austalian (his mom was an [[UsefulNotes/AustralianAborigines Aboriginal Australian]]) and he was conceived there. (By the time he was born, the entire continent was a radioactive wasteland. We did mention he was from a CrapsackFuture, yes?) He is also very badass (when he's not trying to [[FaceHeelTurn kill]] [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong children]]).
* AxCrazy: After his FaceHeelTurn, he more or less [[spoiler: dropped any pretense of heroism and became a really, really nasty piece of work.]]
* BadFuture: Actually a post-bad future, as Bishop's native timeline was a society that had successfully rebuilt itself after a war against the Sentinels. However, it wasn't exactly an utopia either, as the need for an elite mutant police with big guns can attest.
* BaldOfAwesome: In the 2000s he shaved his dreads. It became a BaldOfEvil after his FaceHeelTurn.
* BashBrothers: With Gambit after their reconciliation.
* {{BFG}}: Bishop's powers aren't obvious at first glance, so like Cable, readers might think that his gigantic weapons are his power.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He is (or, more accurately, ''was'') very protective of his little sister, Shard.
* TheBigGuy: He developed into this role after joining X-Men. It helps that he's one of the physically biggest members (one of his earliest appearances has him at least a head taller than the already pretty tall Cyclops and Gambit, and Colossus is notably ''not'' an entire head taller than him).
* CharlesAtlasSuperpower: He's so huge and muscled that ''Colossus'' of all people in his armored form has trouble restraining him — though that might have something to do with how he can translate absorbed energy to SuperStrength.
* ChessMotifs: Not overtly, but the issue that introduced Bishop had Professor X playing chess with Forge and winning by checkmate with a ''bishop''...
* TheChewToy: He has the particularly nasty RunningGag of being often possessed by bad guys: first by Mountjoy, later by Bete Noir, then by the Demon Bear, and finally by Cassandra Nova (and that without counting a psychic virus created by the Shadow King).
* CombatTentacles: His artificial arm could deploy several tiny tentacles.
* ComicBookFantasyCasting: His appearance and manner were based on Filipino snooker player Efren "Bata" Reyes, as Portacio originally designed him to be Filipino. (Editorial requested he be African-American and later still he was retconned to be Indigenous Australian.)
* ContinuitySnarl: His FaceHeelTurn was the result of this as ''Messiah Complex'' stating that Hope was responsible for his state of his BadFuture--which flew right in the face of what was established, which was one of the X-Men themselves (ComicBook/ProfessorX [[SplitPersonality by way of]] ComicBook/{{Onslaught}}) losing their shit, killing most of the X-Men[[note]]ComicBook/{{Gambit}} was implied to have been the SoleSurvivor as a character in Bishop's time named the Witness, looked like an older [=LeBeau=] and talked like him, which led Bishop to believe Gambit betrayed the team[[/note]], and attacking the world.
* CowboyCop: As he comes from the dystopian future, he started off as a brash mutant cop who had difficulty with adjusting the X-Men before finally settling down until his FaceHeelTurn. Also [[DeconstructedTrope deconstructed]], as in his own time, he was a ByTheBookCop — it's just that the book was so different, that in this time, he came off as an AxCrazy VigilanteMan. As he's adjusted to the present day, he's edged ever closer to what we would consider a ByTheBookCop (another way that he serves as a foil to Cable, whose Cowboy-ness waxes and wanes, but never disappears).
* DemonicPossession: Has been possessed many times, but Bete Noir and the [[ComicBook/NewMutants Demon Bear]] are the only examples that qualify as demonic.
* {{Determinator}}: One thing that is frequently noted about him, including by Cable (a starring example of this in his own right), is that he just. Does. Not. Give. Up. ''Ever.''
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Inverted with his thematical relationship to the other 90's X-Man antihero, Cable. Although Bishop started as a mild deconstruction of everything Cable represented, he ended up taking a lot of traits from him when he became bent on chasing Cable and Hope. This includes an artificial arm (which was actually reverse engineered by Forge after Cable's), a shiny eye (both of his eyes are, but artists of this period liked to draw him with a single eye glowing red a la ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'') and a much darker personality (to the extent he did much worse things than Cable would have even considered).
* EnemyMine: Bishop and Gambit are forced to ally with Stryfe to try to stop the Bete Noir, which is finally accomplished by [[spoiler:Stryfe's HeroicSacrifice]]. This continues after he's revealed to have survived, as Bishop needed some help in his task of killing Hope, but he ends up betraying [[spoiler:Stryfe]] when their goals divert.
* EnergyAbsorption: His power allows him to absorb several kinds of energy, including psychic energy, as well as redirecting it in the form of laser blasts.
* EvilCounterpart: Of Cable during his villain run. Before that, he was somewhat like Cable's civilized counterpart.
* FacialMarkings: As he comes from the BadFuture, he has an 'M' (for Mutant) branded on his right eye (it's apparently a genetically engineered disease "branded to his DNA", and can't be removed by anything).
* FaceHeelTurn: For a time. His attempt to kill Hope turned him against the rest of the X-Men.
* FightsLikeANormal: Subverted. He does use his powers when fighting, but he doesn't bother to if he can solve it with his gun.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Being from a BadFuture, he had [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer serious problems]] with the whole "don't kill people" thing for a time.
* FutureBadass: Subverted in that he has not born yet in this era, but he's a badass from the future nonetheless.
* GeniusBruiser: Bishop is an AngryBlackMan who is TheBigGuy with an unending array of {{BFG}}s...but he also [[SmartPeoplePlayChess plays chess]] in his head with Charles Xavier, is a homicide detective who frequently [[GuileHero investigates cases]] involving mutants, and is in general a well–read, [[RealMenWearPink sensitive]] gentleman [[HiddenDepths and a surprisingly good cook]]. ...when he isn't angry and shooting you.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: When using his powers, his eyes glow red.
* GracefulLoser: After getting stranded in an apocalyptic future by Cable, thus losing all his chances to kill Hope (and being, you know, in an apocalyptic future, presumably forever), Lucas just sits down and muses "well played, Nathan" with a melancholic smile.
* GuileHero: Deceived one of the Morlocks into blasting him with an energetic ray, which only added to Bishop's energy reserves, by making the mook believe he would be screwed if hit.
* HeelRealization: After failing in his mission to kill Hope and getting stranded in a lost future, Bishop ponders his own role in shaping her and for the first time wonders whether he was really doing the best thing. We don't get to see what comes out of those thoughts, as the next time we see Bishop he's possessed by the Demon Bear, and the very next he is left in a coma after getting his mind scrambled.
* HeroicBuild: His puts most X-Men's to shame.
* HotBlooded: His powers are not the only energetic thing on him.
* InspectorJavert:
** To Gambit, who he suspected of being the X-Men's traitor (it turned out to be Onslaught), which he apologised for.
** Briefly to [[ComicBook/XMan Nate Grey]], because Nate was an unknown factor as someone who ''wasn't'' from his past, having hopped over from the ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' timeline. The fact that Nate was also a PersonOfMassDestruction with an attitude problem and an unfortunate habit of PowerIncontinence, while Bishop was a former cop precisely specialized in delinquent mutants who abused their powers, didn't help at all. This was stopped in its tracks by Rogue, who cussed them both out for being macho idiots, and had the advantage of being someone who Nate was at least grudgingly willing to listen to.
* {{Irony}}:
** Part of the reason he stayed in the "[[ComicBookTime present]]" was to prevent a member of the X-Men betraying them, only to later turn traitor himself.
** During Decimation, when the X-Mansion was placed under armed guard by the Sentinels, Bishop not only didn't have any objections, he was about the only X-Man who supported the idea. It admittedly fits his mutant-cop mindset, but considering his future was troubled by Sentinels of all things...[[spoiler:Then again, considering that M-Day was the beginning of his FaceHeelTurn thanks to realizing that his future was going to happen InSpiteOfANail, it's possible that this was a symptom of his having secretly crossed the DespairEventHorizon.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Given how much pain and suffering he caused (even wiping out entire alternate ''worlds'' just to get to Hope!) it is quite jarring how easy the X-Men have forgiven him. On the other hand, when he had his mind essentially reset, he was distinctly displeased, as while he'd made a HeelFaceTurn while stranded in a desolate future, he felt a) it was still his mind and his problem to deal with, b) he didn't deserve that kind of forgiveness.
* KnightOfCerebus: Not that the X-Men weren't dark before him, but according to Archangel, Bishop's presence and future made Xavier rethink many of his ideas and realize they ''had'' to take the initiative if they wanted to survive.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Has forgotten his attempts to kill Hope Summers and Cable, courtesy of Storm — which he wasn't exactly pleased about, on the grounds that awful as they were, they were ''his'' memories. Unfortunately, AmnesiaMissedASpot.
* LastNameBasis: Over the years, Bishop didn't have a first name until in one ''X-Treme X-Men'' issue revealed it to be Lucas. Until then, there was even ambiguity about whether "Bishop" was meant to be a surname or a codename (in one issue, where Storm asked him to call her Ororo, Bishop expressed confusion at the concept and said that she could call him...Bishop). It didn't help that his sister Shard Bishop had the opposite case and was referred in a FirstNameBasis.
* MyGreatestFailure: The situation that led to the death of his sister Shard in the future, as well as the one that ended up with his partners Randall and Malcolm dead in the present.
* NoSocialSkills: He acknowledges himself he’s not good with people and laments that the XSE didn’t include a course on it.
* PhlebotinumOverload: Bishop can be overloaded given enough time and fuel... this usually results in a fairly splashy explosion, though he himself is rarely injured from it (except maybe his uniform).
* PrinciplesZealot: a) Mutants must be officially policed (if possible, by mutants too) and b) ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer and toning it down is just a matter of PR.
* ProphetEyes: When using his powers, his eyes would turn either this or RedEyesTakeWarning:
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:When Cable and Hope had enough of him chasing them through different timelines, Cable managed to scramble Bishop's time-travelling teleportation device which stranded him in a very deserted distant future.]]
** TheBusCameBack: [[spoiler:He returned after ''Avengers Vs. X-Men''.]]
* ReformedButRejected: Since he's returned from the future. However, as of 2017 he has returned to working with the X-men with no evidence of mistrust or resentment. It is possible his [[{{Retcon}} actions regarding Hope most likely have been erased]] thanks to a certain [[{{ComicBook/SecretWars2015}} cosmic rest.]]
* ScaryBlackMan: After he turned into a baby-hunting villain in the 2000s ''Cable'' series. His artificial left arm doesn't seem to help either.
* SealedEvilInACan: The Bete Noir when it possessed Bishop.
* ShipTease:
** With Storm. Jubilee even asked him if they were dating, and Bishop¡s answer was he wasn't very sure about it.
** With Sage. He clearly began to develop feelings for her, but whether she returned them was never made clear, and neither ever acted on it in any case.
** Briefly, during Decimation, it was hinted he and Val Cooper were developing a relationship, though Bishop bristled when the others asked him about it. [[spoiler:This was CutShort by his FaceHeelTurn.]]
* SuperCop: Was it, and hasn't shaken it out of him.
* SuperheroPackingHeat: A defender of this idea, the biggest in X-Men only behind Cable.
* TakingTheBullet: He saved the entire team from Onslaught by taking his psychic blast.
* TangledFamilyTree: Throughout his history, he's been shown and implied to be related in one way or another to Gateway, Storm, M, and Neal Shaara. (Who are Australian, Kenyan-American, Algerian-Monacan and Indian, respectively.)
* TookALevelInJerkass: Went from being one of the more level-headed X-Men to a brutal hunter willing to maim or kill anyone who stood in the way of his mission of killing Hope Summers.
* TroublingUnchildlikeBehaviour: A time-travelling Madrox and Layla Miller once met Bishop as a pre-teen. He was scornful of any Mutant who claimed to be the next evolutionary step, and outright told them he wished he had a chance at killing Hope Summers. Several years later, when he was somewhere in his early teens, he told Hecat'e he'd kill her if she messed with Shard.
* UndyingLoyalty: To Storm.
* VirtualSidekick: For a time, Bishop was accompanied on his adventures by a holographic version of his deceased sister, Shard.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: In his timeline, Hope grew up to kill thousands of humans in seconds, which was what led to mutants being placed into concentration camps. He wanted to kill Hope to ensure history wouldn't repeat itself.
* WouldHurtAChild: Zig-zagged. The impetus of his FaceHeelTurn was trying to kill Hope Summers before she became a threat, even when she was no more than a few weeks old, but the few times he had her in his sights, he never actually managed to pull the trigger.