History
Madripoor is a fictional location apparently modeled on Singapore. [1] [2] They are both wealthy maritime Asian island port nations at a strategic location with a single major city. However, Madripoor is not Singapore itself, as Singapore exists in the Marvel Universe as well, including the comics explicitly stating Madripoor as it being an island south of Singapore. Also distinct from Singapore is that Madripoor is divided between a Hightown and Lowtown, places which are wealthy and crime-stricken respectively. [1] X-23 and Gambit once chartered a boat from Singapore to Madripoor, showing that they are both distinct locations.
Its capital and single large city is also called Madripoor. 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. [4]
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. [5]
During World War II, Baron Strucker and The Hand attempted to obtain a young Natasha Romanova, and were opposed by Captain America and Logan. [6]
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. [7]
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. [8] 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. [9]
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 Tyger Tiger into hiding. Viper tried to make a return, with programmable murderous entities called Predator X. [10]
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. [11] Part of this chaos was the result of Malcolm Colcord, who wanted free rein in Madripoor 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. [12]
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. [13] The beast decides to attack Shanghai, China. [14] It is beaten and returned in the following issue by Shang-Chi. [15]
Mystique tried to make Madripoor a mutant utopia; this involved flooding the island with 'Mutant Growth Hormone', a drug which grants powers. [16]
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. [17] 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. [18]
Tyger Tiger 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. [19]
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. [20]
Wolverine learns, through an adventure with the Black Cat, that the pre-teen criminal conspiracy called "The Hellfire Club," has taken over the criminal underworld of Madripoor. [21] This group, sometimes referred to as Homines Verendi, has taken direct hostile action against the island nation Krakoa. [22]
During the "Iron Man 2020" event, Albert arrived on Madripoor looking for Elsie-Dee. After meeting Tyger Tiger, Albert was directed to Donald Pierce's company Reavers Universal Robotics where he confronted Donald Pierce. After Albert subdues the Reavers, Donald states that he sold Elsie-Dee's head to yakuza boss Kimura, the arms to the Jade Dragon Triad, and the legs to the Vladivostok Mafia. After he gets the parts from them, Albert puts Elsie-Dee back together. In light of Albert's actions towards them, the Reavers, Kimura, the Jade Dragon Triad, and the Vladivostok Mafia decide to take action against Albert vowing that he will never make it out of Madripoor alive. [23] In downtown Madripoor, Donald Pierce and the Reavers are traveling through the vacant streets as they state that Albert and Elsie-Dee will have to travel through the Vladivostok Mafia's turf before they can engage them. Albert and Elsie-Dee engage the Vladivostok Mafia where they kill some members. Albert and Elsie-Dee then enter the Jade Dragon Triad's turf and fight its members. On the J-Town stretch of High Street, Kimura's men prepare for Albert and Elsie-Dee's arrival as Kimura informs Sachinko that they cannot let Elsie-Dee walk around with the account books' information in her head. As Albert and Elsie-Dee approach, Kimura's men open fire as they ram through the roadblock. Kimura stops the attack and informs Albert and Elsie-Dee about what Donald Pierce has planned for him at Madripoor Airport. As Kimura's limousine fools the Reavers into thinking that Albert and Elsie-Dee hijacked it and fire the railgun on it, Kimura smuggles Albert and Elsie-Dee out of Madripoor in a box claiming that it is filled with slot machine parts bound for Macao. Elsie-Dee states to Albert that they will get him upgraded. [24]
