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Brimstone Love appears to be seeding the start of his Theater of Pain by distorting Xavier’s original vision
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Marauders Annual #1, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
Note: Brimstone Love’s spelling of “Theater” changes depending on the era. In the 2099 series, he spelled it in the British fashion as “Theatre” while his modern-day spelling is the American “Theater.” Alternations between the spelling in this article reflect the time period being referenced.
First appearing in X-Men 2099, Brimstone Love has now landed in modern-day continuity in Marauders Annual #1 by Steve Orlando, Crees Lee, Rain Beredo, VC’s Cory Petit, and Tom Muller. His time in 2099 was marked by cruel violence. Not missing a beat, Brimstone Love appears to be seeding the start of his Theater of Pain by distorting Xavier’s original vision.
Brimstone Love first appeared in X-Men 2099 #3 (by John Francis Moore, Ron Lim, Adam Kubert, Chris Ivy, Jim Sanders III, Cam Smith, Gary Martin, Ken Lopez, Jon Babcock, and Tom Smith) as a member of the Theatre of Pain. The Theatre provided experiences of fear and pain to those of its audience—a group of sadists to which Brimstone Love belonged to. The Theatre captured people and animals from the street and tortured them to elicit the pain it sold. The Theatre is remarkably cruel and requires suffering from its members alone—to join, individuals must be buried alive. In 2099, Brimstone Love is assisted by La Lunatica, a mutant woman that elicits painful memories to funnel those emotions to the Theatre members, and later by a corrupted X’ian who once led the 2099 X-Men.
Brimstone’s abilities and appearance reinforce his name: he has two massive red horns and generates heat, light, and fire. He claims to have the power of the Earth’s core at his disposal—a claim supported by Psylocke’s quick scan reporting him as a primal geomancer. He boasted: “You could no easier contain a volcano!”
Many elements from the 2099 slate have begun popping up in modern-day Marvel continuity including the Alchemax Corporation and the confirmation that 2099 was and still might be the true present future of the Marvel 616 Universe. Brimstone’s reappearance falls in line with Marvel’s emphasis on 2099 elements.
Brimstone Love announces that he is a mutant that was once in support of Xavier’s vision of peace between mutants and humans. He now believes that the founding of Krakoa violates Xavier’s vision. Yet, his true origin is unknown. If this is his entry into continuity and not time-travel, Brimstone Love possesses a long lifespan. Is he in fact a demon as his name, appearance, and abilities allude? Later in 2099, Brimstone Love remarks: “I founded the theatre many, many years ago for the select and privileged few . . .” His appearance in 2022 would reinforce that claim.
The damage to Akihiro (aka, Daken, Wolverine’s son) in the issue hints that Brimstone Love may be up to his modus operandi of capturing mutants for torture. Brimstone’s return in Marauders begins with his announcement of his Theater of Pain as he tortures Akihiro in front of a mob.
Brimstone Love escapes the Marauders by opening up a chasm into the Earth. Later, he reports out to his supporters on the state of the Theater, ending with a foreboding missive: “There will be blood — the true cost of Xavier’s love. And all that I ask in return is your continued patronage of the arts.” One of the most frightening elements of Brimstone Love’s appearance is his manipulation of Xavier’s name and philosophy to his own ends—there is a true risk to Xavier that Brimstone Love could distort his original message. Xavier’s legacy is no longer in his own hands and Brimstone Love is demonstrating that
Brimstone Love’s behavior and verbiage seem to communicate that this is his first appearance in modern-day continuity and not a time-traveling version of the 2099 version. This is Brimstone Love in his earliest form. His supporter letter demonstrates his efforts to establish the Theater of Pain and position it as a way for mutant and human to unite, although in a truly horrific manner.
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