Welcome back to Mutantversity, a class offered at the Krakoan Akademos Habitat. This isn’t a place to find big reviews of X-books, (that’s what our Review section is for!) but it’s a great way to keep up with one of the most complicated superhero series around. We’ll learn, we’ll laugh, and get rid of extraneous characters by turning them into magical pink crystals. But most of all, we’re going to dive into the deep end as we try to parse all the secrets of this new era of “X-Men” comics. As your designated X-Pert, I will do my best to help you work through everything Marvel’s Merry Mutants have to offer!
Here’s how it’s going to go. First we’re going to recap the last month of the ongoing superhero soap opera that is “X-Men,” focusing on the titles that are really driving the story. Think of it as your monthly headlines into all things “X-Men.” Next, I’ll tell you which X-books I looked at this month, and whether I thought they were worth reading. Finally, we’re going to award our very special Monthly Mutantversity Medals of Merit to close out these issues of “X-Men.” Stick with me true believers, and maybe we’ll survive this experience!
Top Ten (10) (X) Swords
At long last, “X of Swords” has begun! In one sense this story is utterly dense and complex. It introduces more than a dozen new characters, and a complex mythology that repositions Otherworld and Arrako as major parts of Marvel’s cosmology. But on the other hand, the story is simple. The residents of Arrako will face the mutants of Krakoa on the field of battle, in a 10-on-10 contest. Every one of the 20 warriors will be armed with a legendary blade. The event is going to be the quest for the blades and culminate in the final battle. Pretty straightforward. As these things go.
I don’t know how much D&D Jonathan Hickman plays (I’d venture more than none) or how much D&D Tini Howard plays (I’d venture a fair bit), but the updated explanation of Otherworld and the Starlight Citadel seems at least in part inspired by Planescape. In that setting, the various realms are represented by a wheel, which is organized by moral alignment. At the center (the spoke of the wheel) is the city of Sigil which is presided over by a mysterious being called the Lady of Pain, who functioned with a similar purpose to Opal Luna Saturnyne, as the reclusive ruler of the place between places.
Though it brings a smile to my face to see comic writers perhaps pulling ideas from their D&D campaign, that’s not the real headliner here. The main event is the swords themselves, and they were all named! Ten good swords and ten bad swords. The bad ones are connected to Arrako and so far seem to be new creations. But most of the good guy swords are familiar to us. Ready? We got:
- Muramasa- I’ve also seen this one called The Tachyon Blade. This sword can cut Wolverine and give him a wound from which he cannot heal. It’s an ancient Japanese katana, but the X-Men have had it for a while. Wolverine entrusted it to Cyclops when he was worried he might lose control and need to be killed. It will probably be wielded by Wolverine.
- The Sword of Might- The traditional sword of Captain Britain, it corresponds to the Amulet of Right. Don’t be confused, this is NOT the same sword as Excalibur. Historically, a Captain Britain is asked to choose the sword or the amulet. The more aggro captains choose the sword and the more cerebral ones choose the amulet. Brian Braddock chose the amulet but since the fall of the Captain Britain corps, he’s had the sword and the amulet has been entrusted to his sister Betsy. It will probably be wielded by one of them.
- The Starlight Sword- The sword of Otherworld? Of the Starlight Citadel itself? This is one of the most mysterious swords in the group. Still, we may already have an idea of who might use it. Monet St. Croix, aka Penance has already shown an affinity to Otherworld and a connection to its mistress Opal Luna Saturnyne. Perhaps she will be the one to wield it. Continued below
- Grasscutter- The sword of the Japanese chaos god Amatsu-Mikabushi who gave it to Phobos, the god of fear in the hopes that he would kill his father Ares, the god of war. Phobos kept the sword and later used it to duel the mutant Gorgon in an awesome sword fight penned by Jonathan Hickman in “Secret Warriors.” The sword was thought destroyed. As of yet, there is no hint as to who might wield it.
- Godkiller- There are two swords called Godkiller in the Marvel Universe. One is All-Black the Necrosword, wielded by Knull the Symbiote God. The other was the sword of Zeus, which was wielded by Gorgon in his aforementioned fight against Phobos. I am pretty sure this is gonna be the one. Gorgon has already indicated that he is ready to participate in the battle to come.
- Warlock- The Self/Friend of Cypher! Warlock is a mutant member of the technarch race and he has been known to merge with his pal Doug (aka Cypher) as a suit of robotic battle armor. I feel like he’s probably manifested as a sword before but “X-Factor” #4 assures me he has not. So get ready for something new: Swordlock to be wielded by Cypher!
- The Soul Sword- Magik’s shattered soul reforged into her weapon. We’ve talked a lot about this one in this column. It can be wielded by Kate Pryde which I have long maintained is going to be important. In the end though, the most likely wielder is Magik.
- The Scarab- There was a mutant named Scarab who served Apocalypse long ago. She was the one who helped reveal Exodus’ mutant powers. She also appeared in one issue of a “Black Knight” miniseries in 1996. Not exactly a household name Could she have been turned into that cool curved Khopesh-looking sword we’ve seen Big A wielding? Weirder things have happened (like all of the Externals turning into a pink crystal portal).
- The Light of Galador- The Sword of the Spaceknights. This one is a gimme. It is wielded by Cable.
- Skybreaker- This was Storm’s title on Earth-20329 when she fully became a goddess in the underrated 2012 “X-Treme X-Men” series. This seems like it’s going to be a powerful Vibranium blade and that Storm will be the one to wield it. That rules.
And One Sword More
Of course, then there was the twist we all should have seen coming. You can’t gather a bunch of swords without paying a visit to S.W.O.R.D., the Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Department. Formally a parallel organization to S.H.I.E.L.D., it was responsible for protecting Earth from alien threats and led by Abigail Brand. The organization and its leader actually debuted in the pages of “Astonishing X-Men,” and Brand has been romantically involved with Beast off and on over the years.
Of course, S.W.O.R.D. has kind of diminished in recent comics. Carol Danvers unilaterally took over the task of protecting Earth from aliens and did so with a reformed Alpha Flight (Carol and Alpha Flight are also significantly tied to “X-Men”). Brand stuck around, but served as Carol’s second in command. Superheroes being what they are though, personal drama kind of sabotaged Carol’s position. Brand ended up going to bat for Earth during the recent “Empyre” story, and once that conflict was over, attended the wedding of Wiccan and Hulkling. She warned Hulkling that something bad was coming down the way, and the coda of that story showed Brand blowing a new hole in Emperor Hulkling’s face.
The first issue of “X of Swords” ended with the original S.W.O.R.D. headquarters, the Peak, emerging from space. It is apparently long abandoned, the crew all dead.
Who Got to Vote on Madelyne Pryor’s Personhood?
OK so for the uninitiated: Madelyne Pryor is one of those “X-Men” characters made complicated by a lot of behind the scenes changes. The ultimate result is that she was revealed to be a clone of Jean Grey, made by Mister Sinister, in order to breed with Cyclops in a creepy eugenics way. Sinister believed that Jean’s genes mixed with Scott’s would produce the ultimate mutant- Cable. Which is exactly what happened. When Madelyne learned about all of this, she teamed up with some demons to get some revenge in a story called “Inferno.” She died, and her memories were given to Jean, which was supposed to tie a neat little bow on that whole continuity mess.
Continued belowBut it did not, and Madelyne came back loads of times, most recently in “Hellions.” Her return has spooky and violent, but it lead to a great ethical sci-fi question: does Madelyne count as her own unique person who is entitled to resurrection on Krakoa? The answer to that question is an emphatic yes. But the Quiet Council voted no.
Why yes? Besides the obvious apparent fact that Madelyne feels like and acts like (a righteously pissed off) person, there is precedent! We recently looked at Fantomex for example, who is an artificially created being and one of a set of identical people. Same goes for his successor, the Stepford Cuckoos who have become a prominent part of Krakoa. They are all clones of Emma Frost, who they now regard as their mother. Hell, Laura Kinney is a beloved member of the mutant community and her code name X-23, refers to the fact that she was the 23rd attempt to clone Wolverine. I don’t see anyone calling for Laura’s execution, and if she was to die, she would be moved right up to the front of the resurrection queue. Being a clone does not seem to disqualify one’s personhood on Krakoa.
So we have to look at who was part of that discussion, the members of the Council. And here is where it all makes a great deal of sense. Because Mister Sinister is on the Council. He created Madelyne as part of an aforementioned unethical eugenics project. I have no doubt that he campaigned against reviving her. She knows his secrets, and desires his destruction. He would do his utmost to keep her buried. And who would be sympathetic to his arguments? Apocalypse would for one. I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine that he’d view Madelyne as some sort of renegade abomination (especially since when Apocalypse uses cloning, it’s to make new bodies for himself).
Professor X also seems fond of erasing people from existence when it suits him. That’s been his go-to move for the last 20 years of comics. Exodus is easily swayed by bad ideas. Shaw has a knack for picking the worst of all possible choices. Magneto and Mystique are a little bit harder to pin down. They are deeply moral, but also see themselves as pragmatists. Emma falls into that category too. I can see them being persuaded to leave Maddy dead for the safety of the realm. (Though Mystique has ulterior plans as far as all of that is concerned).
But then we’ve got Jean. And that’s the biggest question mark of all. Because Jean functionally is Madelyne. She’s the original genetic template and has all of her memories (up until a certain point). She knows what it feels like to be Maddy, And I’d like to think that she would be able to hold infinite compassion in her heart for her but I also have to acknowledge that the situation is deeply uncomfortable. I don’t know what Jean wanted to do in that secret meeting, but I bet she was the deciding vote. Because if she decided that Madelyne was not a unique individual, her allies Nightcrawler, Storm, and Kate would probably vote along with her.
Man, get me a book that’s just Quiet Council meetings!
Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: The Juggernaut
When we last left our hero, THE UNSTOPPABLE JUGGERNAUT, Magik had just banished him to Limbo. And yeah, that’s right, I said hero. I love the Juggernaut. The dude is a professional. Sure, he’ll work for the bad guys, but only until close of business. Then he’ll go to a bar, kick his feet up, and maybe even buy a beer for the dude he’s been beating on. I mean sure, his power comes from the chaos god Cyttorak which can sometimes cross a couple of ‘ol Cain Marko’s wires, and sure, he’s got a real hate-on for his skeevy stepbrother Professor X, but really that just shows good judgement. He’s a fundamentally good guy.
Well Cain isn’t a brainy guy, but he is a survivor, so when he found himself in Limbo he walked and walked until he bumped into the lord of the crossroads. He traded the only valuable thing he had left, his helmet, and he got out. And what does he want when he returns to the real world? To get paid. So while all this Krakoa stuff has been going down, he’s been working for Damage Control and knocking over buildings.
Continued belowAt least until he ran into some teenage squatters, including a super powered girl who goes by D-Cel. (She can decelerate kinetic force you see, and is the antithesis of THE UNSTOPPABLE JUGGERNAUT). Much like the big galumphus, D-Cel has simple wants and needs. She wants to get a lot of views on her YouTube channel. And it seems like she is inspiring Cain to go charging unstoppably in a new direction in life. What’s better than being rich? Being rich and famous!
This Month’s Books:
“X-Men” #12 – A trippy fairy tale that serves as a weirdo prelude to the prologue of ‘X of Swords’
“Excalibur” #12 – Man, the Externals suck. But Apocalypse has come so far in this series that maybe Tini Howard can get me to care about them as well?
“X of Swords: Creation” #1 – High fantasy meets gonzo mutant action. This event is gonna be great.
“X-Factor” #3 – Wow, so this series can do good sci-fi and good interpersonal drama?
“X-Factor” #4 – I’ve never seen Leah William try to write fantasy like this before. She absolutely crushes it.
“Marauders” #12 – Another phenomenal Kate issue furthers her wonderful character growth.
“X-Force” #12 – I’m a Beast fan and I love drama. I support stories that push characters into making uncomfortable decisions. Still, the politics of this one left me feeling uncomfortable.
“Hellions” #4 – A solid end to the first arc in the darkest X-book.
“Giant Size X-Men: Storm” #1 – Dauterman on art is just the best but I was overall hoping for more out of this issue.
“Marvel Snapshots: X-Men” #1 – One of the most important “X-Men” critics debuts as an “X-Men” writer with a wonderful lost chapter in the life of Scott Summers
“Juggernaut” #1 – A solo series about an underloved villain written by a 90s mainstay has no business being this good
The Mutantversity Monthly Medals of Merit:
The Cable’s Pouch of X-Treme Grittiness Award
Given to a mutant for demonstrating badassitude and commitment to the 90s aesthetic
D-Cel
I don’t know if D-Cel is keeping the dream of the 90s alive. She’s a teenager introduced in a 2020 comic- that means she was born after the 90s. Woah. But despite never interacting with the defining decade of this award, I think she carries the torch for the attitude (erm, baditude, uhm, raditude). She’s a punk teen who lives on the streets, does what she wants, and is trying to get famous. She acts like she just don’t care, but she’s got a big heart. Get me a book where Boom Boom mentors D-Cel, stat!
Merriest Mutant Award
Given to a mutant who found a rare moment of happiness
Monet
I wouldn’t go so far to call Monet happy. This is one of those. She doesn’t really do happy. But Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard excel at this caustic tone of someone pushed way beyond their limits who has decided not to give a shit. Monet in Otherworld is the peak of that. She can see that the forces of destiny are converging on her, and all she can do is muster up a grim smile and take joy from all the ass she’s about to kick. Get me a Monet and Magik team up, please!
“Professor Xavier is a Jerk” Award
Given to a mutant who acted like a real jerk
Magneto
Talk about trying to have it both ways. On one page of “X of Swords” Magneto denounces the entire venture. He doesn’t think mutants need to be messing around in Otherworld. Then on the next page- the next page!- Polaris shows up and is all like, “My dad says that if we are gonna do this thing, than I need to be there to represent the House of M.” So after saying he doesn’t believe in the mission, he recruits his daughter to protect his interests, and decides that they are part of a noble lineage. Hypocritical? A little. Baller move? Indisputably. Is it something a jerk would do? You bet it is!
Continued below
Fastball Special Award
Given to a duo who exhibited great friendship, collaboration, and teamwork
The Five
So the Five- that’s Hope, Egg (FKA Goldballs), Proteus, Tempus, and Elixir- are a group who through mutant mysticism have started down the road to becoming a gestalt being. But in “X-Factor” #4 we saw them get pulled out of their heightened group mind for a second. We saw problems between members of the group. And we saw how they would handle a new challenge. These guys absolutely crushed it. They never attacked each other, they never lost their cool. This was The Five working as five individuals who care about each other and their mission. Even when not heightened by a supernatural spiritual connection, they are an inspiring example of fellowship and teamwork.
Let’s Talk About X Baby Award
Given to the sweetest, sexiest, bestest romantic couple
Rictor and Apocalypse
I’m not exactly clear on the Big A’s preferences and though I know there’s a substantial corner of the internet who loves to talk about the issue, I don’t normally roll like that. All that said, the growing connection between Rictor and Apocalypse has certainly felt more and more… intimate to me. Am I crazy? Rictor seems like someone who finds himself drawn towards unknowable alien beings. It’s like the heightened comic book version of your friend who always dates awful guys because they think they can fix them. (Not to say Shatterstar is awful, he’s just a whole lot.) Apocalypse rarely ever shows any sort of affection or attachment to anyone, but we’ve now seen that he’ll take things pretty far to be with Rictor. Sometimes the impossible relationships are the ones that are the most enticing.
MVX: Most Valuable X-Man
Given to an X-Man who embodied the values of the team and showed all around X-cellence
Rockslide
My boy! THEY KILLED MY BOY! There’s a special place in my heart for “New X-Men” and “Academy X” and the young mutants who starred in those series. And Rockslide was one of the good ones. He was always kind of a moron. And he could easily fall into the roll of a bully. But Santo was a good kid who needed guidance, which he eventually got from Jubilee. He was a loyal friend and a powerful mutant who understood the struggle better than most.
And… he died. A real death. It turns out if you die in Otherworld, the version of “you” who gets resurrected is an amalgam of infinite universes. The you who lived on Earth-616 and had friends and memories, is annihilated. So Rockslide died as he lived. Charging heedlessly into battle, ready to kick ass to protect his friends. Ready to die to protect anyone who even passively expressed some moderate camaraderie. He was a beautiful idiot, and that’s the X-Men way!
