Marvel’s Marauders Reveals Identity of the Red King

One of the bigger mysteries coming out of House of X and Powers of X has to do with the Hellfire Club, which features two familiar faces at the top of the hierarchy. As we learned in House of X, Emma Frost (aka the White Queen) is the face of the Hellfire Club, while Sebastian Shaw (the Black King) handles the black market and shadier side of things. There’s also a third person that sits atop the organization, but the identity of that person has been kept secret…until this week’s Marauders that is.

Spoilers incoming for Marauders #2, so if you haven’t read the issue yet you’ve been warned. We good? Good. So, the majority of the issue has Frost making an example of Shaw, and Kitty (excuse me, Kate) Pryde and her Marauders are the weapons Frost uses to make her point.

It appears Shaw tried to work a deal that would be quite profitable for him, but it was selling to contacts and customers that were on Frosts’ side of the board, and that’s why Kate Pryde and her team shuts Shaw’s planned shipment down, despite it being their own shipment of drugs.

This doesn’t sit well with Shaw, but he gives in to Frost’s point. He is even more upset to learn though that he won’t have a say in who the Red King in the organization will be, as Frost reveals she asked someone to fill that chair before she even approached Shaw.

We also see Pryde communicating with someone telepathically after she’s gotten a tattoo with her team and taken a red cape on her way out.

Going back to Shaw, he’s beyond angry, and charges at Frost, who hardens into her diamond form. Shaw says there will be no Red King, but he’s cut off by Pryde, who says “Actually…I am the Red Queen B****”.

So, Kate Pryde is the new Red Queen, and we cannot wait to see what happens next. You can check out the spoiler images above.

Marauders #2 is written by Gerry Duggan and is drawn by Matteo Lolli, and you can check out the official description below.

“The Hellfire Trading Company has control of Mutant trade on the seas… but that doesn’t mean its Inner Circle is done stabbing one another in the back. As Captain Pryde and her Marauders sail on, the real cutthroats are back home…”

Marauders #2 is in comic stores now, and you can check out our full review of the issue right here. Let us know what you thought of the issue in the comments, or feel free to hit me up on Twitter @MattAguilarCB for all things comics!