Bishop (comics) - Powers and Abilities

Powers and Abilities

Bishop's mutant ability enables him to absorb all forms of radiant or conductive energy that are directed towards him and to release that energy from his hands. This power is passive, allowing Bishop to absorb energy at all times.

When he releases the energy, he can release it in many different forms, usually as concussive blasts of biokinetic energy, even amplified compared to the absorbed amount. Bishop can also store absorbed energy within his personal reserves, whereupon the energy increases his strength and recuperative abilities, as well as affording him a measure of invulnerability. He is also able to absorb magic energy (as seen when fighting "growing men" in Limbo) and the psychic energies of psionics as easily as all the other kinds. However, this does not prevent him from being read or manipulated by a telepath but only sustains him and helps him to slow them down. It has been clearly stated that Bishop is also able to absorb and process kinetic energy similarly to Sebastian Shaw, but in a much less effective way.

His powers make it difficult to harm him with energy-based attacks; however, he can become overloaded from absorbing too much energy, though his upper limits are unknown, even to himself. He is, however, partially vulnerable to non-energy weapon attacks. If he were to be shot by a projectile weapon or hit with a crowbar, it could harm him. He carries guns that fire laser beams and plasma charges, and through which he can channel his personal energies.

He can "let his spirit go" as seen in X-Treme X-Men Annual #1. It's unknown if this is a mutant talent, or an ability taught to Bishop sometime in his life.

He has also demonstrated the ability of instinctively knowing where he is and the present hour and date even if asleep, first mentioned in X-Treme X-Men #1. Although being the great-grandson of Gateway, a mutant possessing extensive dealings with time travel, this aspect is not one of Bishop's mutant powers. Bishop's explanation is that due to training, he knows where he is at all times.

Bishop is a highly athletic man, an excellent hand-to-hand combatant with many years of armed and unarmed combat training, and a superb marksman with firearms. When he first came to the modern era, Bishop carried XSE guns from his time that fired laser beams and plasma charges. He also wore his XSE uniform, modeled after X-Men uniforms, which contained body armor.

His current right arm is a prosthetic, stolen from Forge. A nuclear powered battle ready arm, incorporates in its design a time-travel device, the ability to channel his energy blasts through, and enhanced strength and resilience. It has since been destroyed after Bishop tried to use it to time travel from 6700 A.D. to 2010 to kill Cable and Hope Summers due to Cable tampering with the time travelling device within it.