Entering Contest of Champions: Bishop

Following close on the rocket-fueled heels of the Sentinels, Bishop, X-Man and energy manipulator extraordinaire, enters Battlerealm ready to do some hunting of his own. We talked to Kabam Art Director Gabriel Frizzera and Game Designer Shane O’Connor about Bishop’s new look, his abilities, and why you need him on your “Marvel Contest of Champions” roster.

Marvel.com: We just saw some nasty Sentinels crash land on Battlerealm, is Bishop here to turn them to slag?

Gabriel Frizzera: Or die trying. He came from the alternate future where a corrupt mutant elite dominated The Contest of Champions, and used the Sentinels to enslave not only mutants that disagreed with them, but all Champions. He thinks Sabertooth is the key to stop that from happening, so he’s traveling to our present timeline to eliminate him.

Marvel.com: And he looks so dope! I’m getting a serious 90s X-Men cartoon vibe here, minus the mullet.

Gabriel Frizzera: Yeah, there’s lots to love in the 90s versions of the X-Men, but some stuff didn’t… age so well. We updated the hair to a dreadlock ponytail, filled the beard a bit more, and changed the scarf to a more current version. But we kept the rest like the classic from the 90s.

Marvel.com: Bishop’s mutant gift is all about absorbing kinetic energy and redirecting it. How does that play out in the game?

Shane O’Connor: Bishop is a master of absorbing energy, and he can do so from a variety of sources. Kinetic Energy is absorbed by performing a well-timed block. Other forms of energy, such as abilities like Shock or Coldsnap and attacks like beams or lightning, are passively absorbed at all times. All this stored energy fuels Bishop’s Power Meter and magnifies his Special Damage to record-breaking levels.

Marvel.com: Ok let’s talk about all of Bishop’s abilities. What kind of powers does he get from Foresight and how does that factor into the rest of his kit?

Shane O’Connor: Bishop has the unique ability to maintain his Power Meter from fight to fight. With a bit of Foresight, Bishop starts the fight with a unique bonus to help him deal with specific scenarios, or to simply arrive on the scene ready to explode. The most niche bonus powers up his block to help against specific opponents, while the most threatening bonus is a force multiplier on his Special Damage.

Marvel.com: What do his team-up bonuses look like? Who does he fight best beside?

Shane O’Connor: Bishop is best paired with Psylocke for some extra control over the enemies’ Power Meter. Allies that deal large amounts of energy damage, such as Storm or Doctor Strange, are also able to use that energy to charge up Bishop in advance so he starts the fight with Power and bonus Special Damage – some for each teammate that triggers the stackable Energy Conduit Synergy.

Marvel.com: When do we get to play with the energy absorbing mutant for ourselves?

Shane O’Connor: Bishop time-travels into The Contest by way of the Era of Strife, Product of Oppression, and Agony of Memory Arenas today, March 15.

Stay tuned to Marvel.com and @MarvelGames on Twitter for more “Marvel Contest of Champions” news and interviews!