Madripoor

Madripoor first appeared in New Mutants #32 (October 1985). It was created by Chris Claremont and Steve Leialoha.

Madripoor was featured heavily in the Wolverine solo series (starting 1988). Penned by Chris Claremont and artwork by John Buscema.

Madripoor received an entry in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #4.

It appeared in the fourth issue of Hawkeye Vol. 4 by Matt Fraction, as well as The Punisher War Zone #22 (December 1993) by Larry Hama.

Madripoor appears once again in the twenty-fourth issue of Uncanny X-Force by Rick Remender

Madripoor appears in 2017 as a primary location in X-Men Blue by Cullen Bunn.

Madripoor is a fictional island apparently modeled on Singapore.[2] They are both Southeast Asian island port nations with a single major city. Its capital and single large city is Madripoor, which is divided between Hightown and Lowtown. This serves to represent the extreme social inequality in Madripoor, described as "a place for the very rich and the very poor".

Madripoor was once a haven for pirates,[3] and that tradition is somewhat continued today with its lawless quality. The principality does not allow other nations to extradite criminals. However, it is one of the business capitals of the Pacific Rim, with its own Trade Center.

Other locations of note in the Central Business District are the Bank of Hong Kong and the Bank of Malaysia, luxurious Sovereign Hotel, and the Prince's Palace, said to rival Versailles.[4]

An attempt was made to conquer the nation by China. General Lo Chien attempts an invasion using modern and mystical weaponry but is stopped by the ad-hoc 'Heroes for Hire' group.[5]

The nation was taken over by HYDRA with Madame Hydra as de facto ruler, using the nation to finance terrorist plots against the world. Side-effects of this are seen in Spider-Woman: Agent Of S.W.O.R.D.[6] With HYDRA's terrorist operations causing deaths in the thousands, Iron Man and S.H.I.E.L.D. took it upon themselves to overthrow the HYDRA regime and place the nation in the hands of Tyger Tiger, as she was the only person—apart from the long-absent Patch—who the natives would follow in the event of a revolt. Stark wanted someone who would run Madripoor the right way without needing someone else to monitor them and ensure that the situation did not repeat itself.[7]

Despite this, the real power fell to Seraph, the owner and operator of the Princess Bar. Her death followed the death of Police Chief Tai. Criminal elements began fighting over Madripoor, forcing Tiger Tyger into hiding. Viper tried to make a return, with programmable murderous entities called 'Predator X'. [8]

Madripoor is later controlled by Wolverine's son Daken after he managed to wrestle and manipulate power away from Tyger Tiger by acquiring control of various financial resources and key people. This results in several days of intense violence throughout the entire nation.[9] Part of this chaos was the result of Malcolm Colcord, who wanted free rein in Madripoor to for his super-soldier experiments. Colcord was stopped by Daken, Tyger, X-23 and Gambit. After Daken's death, Tyger Tiger was once again the figurehead of Madripoor.

A prominent Madripoor hotel was later used to hold an auction for a videotape of Hawkeye committing an illegal assassination. Barton was captured while trying to retrieve the tape, but was rescued by Kate Bishop, who had infiltrated the hotel by tying up and gagging Madame Masque and stealing her identity.[10]

In the pages of Avengers World, it is revealed that Madripoor rests on the head of a giant dragon that is as large as an island continent. The giant dragon was awakened by a ritual performed by Gorgon and the Hand.[11] The beast decides to attack Shanghai, China.[12] It is beaten and returned in the following issue by Shang-Chi.

Mystique tried to make Madripoor a mutant utopia; this involved flooding the island with 'Mutant Growth Hormone', a drug which grants powers.[13]

Magneto and the time displaced X-Men use Madripoor's Hightown as the location for their headquarters in X-Men Blue where Magneto is secretly trying to find a way to send the time-displaced X-Men back to their original timeline under the guise of working alongside them.[14] At the same time, the time-displaced X-Men secretly train themselves in case Magneto returns to his villainous roots and tries to kill them.[15]

Tiger Tyger re-establishes herself as the pre-eminent power on the island. She is opposed by the criminal Kimura, who has gained control over most of the criminal elements. A failed assassination attempt on Tyger is stopped by the X-Men, Gambit and the young hero Gabby.[16]

During the "Hunt for Wolverine" storyline, Kitty Pryde led Domino, Jubilee, Psylocke, Rogue, and Storm to Madripoor to confront Magneto when he was suspected of stealing Wolverine's body. He agreed to tell them everything he knows at the King's Impresario Restaurant in Hightown. When it came to the meeting, it was revealed that Magneto is actually Mindblast in disguise as Kitty Pryde's group are attacked by Viper, Knockout, Sapphire Styx, and Snake Whip. This trip also included investigating Madripoor's space launching facilities, which are available for anyone to rent.[17]

Wolverine learns, through an adventure with the Black Cat, that the pre-teen criminal conspiracy, 'The Hellfire Club', has taken over the criminal underworld of Madripoor.[18] This group, sometimes referred to as Homines Verendi, has taken direct hostile action against the island nation Krakoa. [19]

Madripoor is estimated to be 100 miles (160 km) in diameter. Its coastline is pockmarked with deep water bays and inlets. The center of the island is a large plateau with steep cliffs. As mentioned above, Madripoor rests on the head of a giant dragon that is as large as an island continent.[11]

Notable current and former residents of Madripoor include:

• Angel (past) - Currently living in Madripoor with Magneto
• Archie Corrigan (deceased) - Owner of South Seas Skyways.
• Beast (past) - Currently living in Madripoor with Magneto
• Cyclops (past) - Currently living in Madripoor with Magneto
• Dragoness - Former MLF member and current resident of Utopia.
• Harriers - A team of mercenaries.[29]
• Iceman (past) - Currently living in Madripoor with Magneto
• Karma - Member of the New Mutants
• Lindsay McCabe - Actress.
• Magneto - Currently living in Madripoor with the time-displaced X-Men
• Marvel Girl (past) - Currently living in Madripoor with Magneto
• Mr. X - Champion of Madripoor.
• O'Donnell (deceased) - The co-owner of the Princess Bar.
• Patch (alias of Wolverine) - Co-owner of the Princess Bar.
• Prince Baran - Former ruler. Murdered by General Coy.[30]
• Roche (deceased) - A crime lord.
• Rose Wu (deceased) - A friend of Patch.
• Roughouse - Enforcer to General Coy and Viper.
• Sabretooth - He once lived in Madripoor in 1959.[31]
• Scorpion - She was born in Madripoor.
• Sapphire Styx - A psychic vampire.
• Seraph (deceased) - Former lover and trainer of Wolverine.
• Jessica Drew - Private investigator.
• Tai - Chief of the Madripoor Police Force and ally of Logan.
• Tyger Tiger (alias of Jessan Hoan) - Former revolutionary and current head of state.
• Viper - Terrorist and recently deposed ruler of Madripoor.

A future version of Madripoor was the site of a battle between the Guardians of the Galaxy and the criminal gang headed by 'Rancor'.[32]

• Madripoor at Marvel.com
• Madripoor at Marvel Wiki
• Madripoor at Comic Vine