In Marauders, two opposite X-Men have formed a tag team that brings a pivotal Marvel movie friendship into the comic book Marvel Universe.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #19 by Gerry Duggan, Stefano Caselli, Edgar Delgado & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now
The Marvel Universe has never been afraid of incorporating elements from other media into the core comic book universe, especially ideas from major Marvel movies. Now, it looks like the X-Men are recreating an element that was introduced in the first X-Men movies and making it part of the heart of Marauders.
In Marauders #19, Iceman and Pyro just solidified how strong their teamwork has become, with the mutants recreating a friendship that only ever really flourished on the big screen in the X-Men film series in the Marvel Universe.
In the past, Iceman and Pyro were positioned against one another — the former a founding member of the X-Men, while the latter operated as a dangerous member of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. However, Iceman and Pyro have been increasingly working together in the modern-era of mutant heroes, with both serving as members of Kate Pryde’s Marauders crew. The two have also developed something of a friendship during this time, with the two even revealing they’ve dubbed themselves “The Two” in Marauders #19, with the pair combining their powers and working in synch to create a massive pyrotechnic ice sculpture that effectively distracts the human crews keeping an eye on the Marauders and allows Kate Pryde to sneak into a nearby island via swimming through the sewers.
Although the original Iceman and Pyro didn’t have a very close relationship in the comics, the two have had a surprisingly deep connection across other media. In the Fox X-Men films, Iceman, as played by Sean Ashmore, was depicted as being best friends with his fellow student, Pyro. This became a major element of X2: X-Men United, with their friendship being tested by their desperate attempts to stay ahead of the soldiers working under the orders of William Stryker. While Iceman remained a heroic member of the team, Pyro was seduced by Magneto’s talks of mutant superiority, ultimately leaving with him and becoming a prominent member of the Brotherhood in X-Men: The Last Stand. During the final battle of the film, the pair even came to blows in an intense duel.
Meanwhile, the Earth-616 Iceman had a more romantic connection with a Pyro, albeit not the one who currently works with him in the Marauders. In X-Men: Gold, Iceman worked with Simon Lasker, a new mutant who took up the mantle of Pyro during the time before the original would be resurrected by the Five. The two even ended up having a romantic liaison during Rogue and Gambit’s wedding, spending the night together. Since then, Simon has become a defender of Krakoa while Iceman has begun a relationship with Emma Frost’s brother, Christian. But it’s exciting to see Iceman and the original Pyro working together, as they bring out good sides out of each other.
As they prepare to distract the entire Madripoor bay with their spectacle, Iceman notes that he used to have to work to rein in his powers and control them, unless he risk hurting someone. But since embracing his role as an Omega-Level mutant and working with Krakoa, Iceman has become increasingly confident in his potential. Meanwhile, Pyro looks back at his more wild youth with some regret and notes that working with Iceman and the Marauders is a way to make up for the mistakes he made in the past. The former enemies have settled into the kind of easy friendship that other incarnations of the characters have had, and they can combine their powers to form a genuinely powerful distraction to prove it.
