A black market mutant medicine scandal emerges in Marauders #23 preview

Emma Frost has a long and complicated history with Banshee (both good and bad), but Sean has been there for her twice when she's tried to become a better person - during her teens living on the streets, and when she first became a bit of a hero with Generation X. So when Banshee asks for a favor, not even the White Queen can say no.

In August 18's Marauders #23, Banshee asks for Emma's aid on his home turf of Ireland - and to bring back-up in the form of the Marauders. Take a look at a preview of this issue, by writer Gerry Duggan, artist Ivan Fiorelli, and colorist Rain Beredo:

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Marauders #23 preview

During the events of the Hellfire Gala, there were two major calamities for mutantkind - the murder of the Scarlet Witch is the big one, but also the irreparable damage to the Marauders' namesake vessel which they used to ship Krakoan-made medicine out to the world.

Krakoan medicine comes from the indigenous Flowers of Krakoa, several species of plants created by Professor X, Cypher, and the island of Krakoa itself. It's used to help mutants, but is also useful for humans - with properties included extended life spans, a universal antibiotic, and a cure for some mental illnesses.

These are distributed by the mutants to those in need (and those countries on good terms with the mutant nation of Krakoa), but without the good ship Marauder the supply has been stymied - leading to a black market emerging with criminals inflating the prices during this scarcity - which Banshee is trying to remedy.

Russell Dauterman has drawn the primary cover to Marauders #23, with a variant cover by Marc Aspinall. Take a look:

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Marauders #23 covers

Marauders #23 goes on sale on August 18. A collection of this arc, titled Marauders by Gerry Duggan Vol. 4, is scheduled for February 22, 2022.

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Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)