As X Of Swords begins, and all the X-Books drive towards one epic story, we have decided to do things a little different. Sword Content will be your weekly one-stop shop for everything X Of Swords. This week Charlie Davis & Nola Pfau explain the magical ongoings of Tini Howard, Marcus To, Erik Arciniega, and Ariana Maher’s Excalibur #12. Then Chris Eddleman & Robert Secundus tell you a tale of Arakko while Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Sunny Gho, and Clayton Cowles march X-Men #12 down the road to X Of Swords.
Excalibur #12 (Prelude)
Nola Pfau: Well, Charlie. We have a year of Excalibur under our belts. We are older, we are wiser. We have seen things. Things we cannot forget.
Charlie Davis: Man it certainly has been a year, hasn’t it? Ups and downs…the world falling to ash, the resurrection of the X-Men books both literally and figuratively and of course the beacon of light that has been Excalibur and it’s sprawling mythology. I feel like we are finally on the precipice of something. Blue devils with terrible intentions, ghost ladies trapped in gems, LAVA BENDING and the void between gates….this one is pretty jam packed so let’s get started.
External Damnation
NP: This issue starts us off with a conclave of sorts between •┤Ȧ├• and the other Externals, aka High Lords. We get a big expository info dump about what it means to be an External, and I gotta say the first thing I noticed here was that the count is off. Counting •┤Ȧ├•, there are eight of them here, and the data page following the issue’s opening lists •┤Ȧ├•, Crule, Nicodemus, Candra, Selene, Gideon, Saul and Absalom. It does, notably, leave out Burke. Perhaps he’s still a baby? I think that’s what happened to him.
CD: It’s best not to sacrifice our young immortals on a pyre. Seems like it might be bad for business. I think that is what’s going on here as well and honestly, the less Externals I have to think about and remember, the better. I still think that using the Externals as a metaphor for the old ways that mutant’s have ultimately grown out of is inspired.
We get some more follow up here about how the bones of the High Lords are imbued with power and an ultimatum that •┤Ȧ├• gives them that they need to adapt to the new ways or perish. This meeting is spliced with panels of Ric being swallowed by the darkness of the void between gates–but wouldn’t you know it, it was all part of •┤Ȧ├•’s plan.
NP: It was! He bursts out of the magma and is…pretty heated.
I confess I’m not fully clear on how this transition was made; given that this issue specifically names him as a new High Lord, are we meant to understand that he was able to detect that shared energy signature they have and follow it? I think it’s that plus the nebulousness of connecting a gate to the Starlight Citadel; itself a floating castle in an alternate dimension. The physics of gate travel probably get a little wonky by that point.
CD: Physics and sticky comic stuff aside, this is really a tremendous level up for Ric. •┤Ȧ├• implies that all mutants are now High Lords; and also tells us that he gave Ric his powers after we saw him powerless at the start of the book. Sounds to me like more magical meddling. We saw him do something to Rogue in a similar fashion but I don’t think to the degree. This really makes me think…why were Ric’s powers gone at the beginning of the book in the first place? What happened to them?
Ric is canonically the only mutant that Wanda gave powers back to VIA magic. I have a very big suspicion, knowing exactly who Tini is and what she is referencing, that Wanda’s magic and •┤Ȧ├•’s are connected in one way or another. I am unconvinced that •┤Ȧ├• also wasn’t the main reason Ric lost his access to his powers in the first place. It’s all part of a bigger plan. Ric’s powers are in some sort of magical flux.
Magical gaslighting aside, I am having a bit of a hard time figuring out where Ric’s motivations are coming from. I know my boy is very depressed and confused, but he’s not really acting on that. He’s angry and ready to square up one second and then very demure and following •┤Ȧ├•’s lead the next. One thing I know Ric hates is being jerked around, so unfortunately I am not seeing what’s keeping him on this ride aside for some weird affinity for •┤Ȧ├•.
NP: I’ve been thinking about this since we spoke about it, and I think that, between the stabilization of his powers at the start of this series and the level up he’s just undergone, he’s just willing to trust what •┤Ȧ├• says a little bit? For all that he came out of the magma distressed and scared, he’s okay, physically, and stronger. •┤Ȧ├• told him that he could do it last issue, and •┤Ȧ├• was right. Add to that the fact that as a former member of the original X-Force, he has a history with the Externals, and I think…well, he’s just more likely to take •┤Ȧ├•’s side over theirs when the conflict crops up. I don’t necessarily think that means he’s willing to let •┤Ȧ├• off the hook, just that he’s able to shift the question-and-answer session down the list of priorities when angry Externals are staring him in the face. I also was really tickled by Selene taking •┤Ȧ├•’s side in this fight, especially her reasoning.
CD: Given the situation, I am not sure I wouldn’t do exactly the same thing, so I will lay it to rest for now. Friends close, enemies closer and all that. I am TOTALLY okay with seeing the Externals bite the dust, but this ritual concerns me. I am very wary of •┤Ȧ├• and what he truly wants. His ambition seems to be one of those things that will simply bring ruinous results, like usual. Color me not surprised when he hecks up big time.
Stone •┤Ȧ├• Complication
NP: His motivations are fascinating to me, actually. We see the culmination of basically all of his efforts since the start of the series in this issue, as the sacrifice of the Externals is done in service to the creation of a large permanent gate to the Starlight Citadel. This is what he started a war with Otherworld for, this is why he sent the team through to advance their foothold into the Citadel itself. This all ties back to Krakoa, and Arakko; to the children he left behind, as depicted back in Powers of X #4. X-Men #12 runs ahead with that particular thread, but here in Excalibur I’m intensely curious as to what the status quo will be post X of Swords. I will say that I love a long build up to an event, and seeing that in retrospect here, seeing the moves he’s making all so that Krakoa has a way to mass transport mutants to Arakko…or perhaps the other direction, to bring his children home? He is, after all, the Sapphire Sire.
CD: I am staring at you from across this word document and slowly narrowing my eyes. I hope everyone can feel it. I find it hard to believe that •┤Ȧ├• cares for anyone that is not himself, but true intentions remain to be seen. Slow burns kill me, but they are so, so good. That HUGE part of the issue aside, I feel like what’s going on in the Citadel gives us a really good picture of the other side of everything. Candra’s bones are hollow, no power resides in them. Now we know exactly why Gambit picking up the gem in Saturnyne’s chambers was the stinger in that last issue. Candra lives inside of it. I really like this visual of Candra haunting Gambit, it hits in just the right way and To draws her like the ghost she is.
NP: Oh, I have no doubt that he cares about other people! After all, his entire motivations originally were to prepare the planet for a Celestial cleansing. He wanted to make sure that Earth would survive the judgment of the Celestials, which obviously excuses the multiple attempted genoci—hang on, I’m hearing that you do not, in fact, gotta hand it to him.
I loved that detail with Candra too! It can be hard, sometimes to render that insubstantiality, and colorist Erick Arciniega deserves as much credit for that as To. At any rate, Gambit soon faces the same sort of conflict of prioritization as Ric did; that is, which is the more pressing problem, giving •┤Ȧ├• what he wants or snubbing his ex? Gambit opts for the latter here and tosses Candra’s gem through the gate, letting •┤Ȧ├• complete the structure on his end. I found the literalization of the diagram from the second data page interesting; again we’re presented with one of •┤Ȧ├•’s spells, and again it’s X-themed. This time, the lines being drawn are not simply power flows but the actual growths of crystal created by the transmutation of the Externals’ power. The diagram also holds a place in the center for a Transmuter, and given the nature of Ric’s powers and the direct reference to rock crystals, I thought that might be him, but then there’s like a big floating laser thing? I dunno. I kind of want an actual grimoire of •┤Ȧ├•’s magic, that’d be a fun thing to own.
CD: I am pretty sure things will become a lot more clear as we step further in. Part of me wonders why •┤Ȧ├• is so set on Otherworld other than the obvious and I think Candra gives us some info as far as that is concerned, but the details are still a bit hazy–just as •┤Ȧ├• wants them to be. I wonder if the Transmuter is a psychic or someone with a similar power…or the ability to harness others powers? It could be a few people on the team at this point. I am genuinely curious if we might get something like you mentioned, the complete ritual laid out once it is completed. I bet we will. Okay so the stuff with •┤Ȧ├• was SO MUCH INFO, but I actually wanna talk about my favorite part of the issue next. Let’s talk about Saturnyn and Betsy!
I’m The Captain Now
NP: Let’s! I have to say, while this entire dynamic was not what I’d call…friendly, it was also less overtly hostile than I was expecting. I do appreciate that all of Saturnyne’s ire appears to be over the fact that she can’t have her himbo boyfriend serving her like she’s used to. Lady Opal, if I may: consider a shimbo girlfriend?
CD: Lady Opal, indeed. I really, really love her. Like no joke. And it’s not just because she’s insanely my type. She gives us a pretty straightforward explanation on why she’s been so hostile. IT’S REALLY JUST BECAUSE SHE’S MAD SHE DOESN’T HAVE MULTIPLE BRIAN’S AT HER DISPOSAL. I do think it’s rooted in more than that, but she and Besty have a pretty cold conversation that’s, as you said, not hostile, but certainly something else. She has an incredible line about how all the Captain Britain’s almost always ended up being alternate versions of Brian and it’s a brilliant play to undercut Betsy’s confidence yet again.
NP: Yeah but like…Saturnyne. Among those you had an actual Nazi working for you. He had the swastika and everything. Maybe don’t like…be proud of that? Anyway, I understand her bias but I don’t think she’s giving Betsy enough credit; it’s been a longtime since she was Captain Britain the first time around, and she’s developed a lot of skills since then. I’ve talked about this on Twitter but she was kind of like…Mutant Batman for a while? She went from being bright and happy and dressing in poofy pink silks to hiding herself in a hooded cloak and armored bodysuit. She learned how to fight, she learned how to scare people, how to use shadows and cover to her advantage. She’s much more in the light thematically now, with her patriotic duds, but those skills haven’t left her, and she’s intensely capable. I’m actually excited to see her prove Saturnyne wrong.
CD: Big same. She’s being petty, extremely so. It’s in her nature, but she of course thinks that she’s justified. She also tells us that the system she has put together on the Citadel doesn’t really work for her and I am very much waiting for the moment that she decides she wants to break the rules to take things back to the way they used to be. She has our alternate dimension clone copies of the team as Captain Britain’s encased in gems so it’s really just a matter of time. We end the issue with Saturnyne giving Betsy the opportunity to defend the Citadel…it’s just unfortunately against •┤Ȧ├• and Ric. Betsy is trapped between being a mutant and her duty, but of course the right course of action is never as simple as choosing one side or the other.
NP: Speaking of those copies, I think that’s gonna be the next major arc after X of Swords winds down. Without •┤Ȧ├•’s questing to get to Arakko to drive the book, I suspect it’s gonna focus even more on Saturnyne, the Omniverse, and the re-establishment of a Captain Britain Corps. We’ve also got those Jamie-related incursions to think about….
X-Men #12 (Prelude)
Chris Eddleman: Rob I have heard the not actually realistic but cinematically characteristic sound of a sword clearing it’s scabbard, that tell-tale SHING, and I think we’re only on the path to hearing nine more (and then ten more I guess?) being drawn. That’s right folks, we’ve diving into the Prologue issue of X-Men for today’s installment and I could not be more excited if I tried. Hickman and Howard are bringing the heat today, and we have the pleasure of delving into it.
Robert Secundus: Hey, Ed., can you just– for my intro can you just put like a word bubble near my name and what I’m saying in it is just that picture of Carly Rae Jepsen with a sword?
RS:
Cool, yeah, thanks. [Ed. note: I got chu bb]
The Mythologies of Another Timeline
CE: So while I was incredibly excited about this issue, it’s structured fairly similarly to the last one, in that we have yet another fun campfire story. This one is more of a long history though rather than an epic tale of heroic mutant violence, but it reads very much like some annals of a time long past. We start after the fun little game (which kind of to me read like exchanging Pokédex entries) between Summoner and the X-Kids, interrupted of course by Grandpa A. Grandpa rather than father, which I found interesting. Well, old Gramps has some catching up to do, of course, and we hear the tale. Rob, this game of weaknesses seems important but, in the short term it seems purely thematic. Thoughts?
RS: I agree that it’s thematic, in that I think we’re going to find the Summoner’s account of •┤Ȧ├• quite accurate, that is, we’re going to discover that he’s engaged in some great game of his own in X of Swords. But I think it might be more relevant to the plot than we’d expect. It showcases the abilities of the Summoner and, by extension, the abilities of the mutants of Arakko. In this children’s game, they wield sorcerous power that allows them to see deeply into the true nature of themselves and their opponents. They discover something here that Rockslide wasn’t aware of. That power (and that perception) may be important when the story kicks off.
CE: So as our esteemed comrades above have outlined, Apocalypse made a delicious External Gate soup, made with real Externals, and he is preparing to pull all of Krakoa through Otherworld to join with Arakko in the dimension known as Amenth. This portion of the issue reminded me of old times, Rob, enough so that I did a little bit of googling to figure out if Amenth meant anything. And I found out that Amenth is likely a shift from Ament, which is a way to say Imentet. Imentet is a minor goddess in Ancient Egypt, who welcomes the deceased to the Underworld. This definitely serves to remind us of the hell dimension nature of Amenth, where Arakko has been pulled located against its collective will for millennia (epochs?). I appreciate this little touch, as it seemed kind of like something to annotate, like a real HoXPoXToX detail. I’m addicted to this comic, and I know that it’s ToX-y.
RS: I’m excited to learn more about Ament, the Anubis-ish garb we’ve seen in X of Swords art, and just this general society we’re glimpsing here. X-Men is no stranger to hell dimensions, but I love that we’re getting one that isn’t based on Dante-stuff, one that pulls from a non-Christian cosmology. I love that character design for X of Swords seems to be pulling from a variety of African rather than European traditions of aesthetics. Giant-Size X-Men #1 [Ed. note: The 1975 one] promised an X-Men that was global in scope, but we’ve rarely seen artists try to evoke that scope in anything beyond the nationalities and ethnicities of main characters. And Apocalypse stories often try to evoke Egyption mythology in some way, but, like, by bringing in a floating pyramid and leaving it at that.
CE: Yeah the armor itself of many of the characters, as well as their weaponry seems super unique in that way. So while this issue was very interesting to me, it was somewhat of an info-dump. We learn that Apocalypse had to, or perhaps selfishly demanded, to stay on the Krakoa side of the Twilight Sword breach, to close the gate. I like that unreliable tale-telling, and it makes me wonder if Summoner is telling half-truths throughout the entire story.
We see the First Horsemen again, but they don’t factor into the tale overmuch. Oh, but we do see Apocalypse’s WIFE Genesis? Rob, my Bible snobbery was like “Well, actually there are many apocalypses in the Bible so this Genesis/Revelation thing is not as bookended as it might appear.” This one blindsided me. Apocalypse having a wife, and thus a mother to his people, makes more sense as to why he stayed on this side I suppose.
RS: Hell, there’s an apocalypse based on Genesis.
I don’t trust any of the narratives we’ve had so far– not Krakoa’s limited perspective, not Apocalypse’s version of the tale, and not Summoner’s folklore passed down over the ages. My question is: where does Moira fit into this? We know she had a romantic relationship with Apocalypse before. We don’t know if she’s contacted him in this life, or if he has any memory of previous lifetimes.
CE: All we see of Genesis is in small snippets throughout the issue, only to eventually learn of her death at the hands of what seems to be our Amenthan villain, Annihilation, also known as CLASSIFIED in all of the X-Men solicits. The fact that Annihilation is the leader of the Swordsman of Arakko doesn’t bode well for our Krakoan pals, I think. A trap seems to be ready to be sprung.
Parallel Evolution
CE: I mentioned earlier that this is yet another campfire story, about the history of Arakko in the dread land of Amenth. There are however, a lot of parallels with this legend/history with aspects of Krakoa, and even the alternate lives of Moira X depicted in Powers of X. I think that this reinforces the theme of Arrako as an equivalent but darker mirror of Krakoa, a place where a tiki bar is the prime spot.
RS: The data pages note that the powers of the Externals are similar to those of the Krakoan society, that the High Lords foreshadowed Krakoa in some way– so I believe the issue is letting us know that we should be looking for those sorts of parallels. There are two major ones here, I think. The one that really stuck out to me was White Sword. White Sword has conquered death and mastered resurrection. His enemies cannot destroy his army– every day they rise again. This is the Resurrection Protocols as Horror Story, tinged with a bit of Valkyrie-esque myth. It shows us how things can go very, very wrong with resurrection.
CE: The White Sword raising his army every day and simply packing it in once they’re all dead is incredibly mythical. And I agree that they were supposed to feel like our Krakoan resurrection. We also see that Isca the Unbeaten is VERY LITERALLY unbeaten, and as such had to turn against the mutants of Arakko because otherwise she would have been beaten. This reminds me a ton of Cylobel from Powers of X, a programmed Natural Judas who inevitably betrayed her programmers. The mutant powers in Arakko seem almost larger than life, in ways that a lot of our Krakoan mutants don’t seem to approach. I wonder if you think Genesis has parallels with Moira X, at least in her sixth life. We haven’t seen Moira since Powers of X #6.
RS: Well, Moira’s revelation is that mutants always lose. Isca seems to be an inversion of that conclusion, or a direct challenge to it. This is another reason I’m really interested in learning more of Moira’s current and past relationship with Apocalypse. Presumably, in a previous life, she learned of the original horsemen, of Arakko, of his people there. Presumably she could have discovered a mutant with the power to never lose. Why not exploit that power? Why not incorporate it into chimeras? Did something go wrong? Or is this totally new to her, and will this lead to her attempting chimeras again?
CE: We know the First Horsemen at least were present in the sixth life, and ultimately defeated. However, Arakko is not mentioned, making me wonder if the folks in that timeline were still stuck on the other side. So Rob, another parallel, not between Krakoa and Arakko, is the Summoners of Arenth Data Page we saw in this issue. It was very similar to the Summoners of Krakoa Data Page, but with some caveats. These have a traditional number, followed by a current number. The current numbers of the Arenthan and Arakkoan summoners add up to the traditional number. This makes me think they’re actually in cahoots but, we shall see. I like seeing these plays on old datapages, but with illuminating details.
•┤Ȧ├• Man With •┤Ȧ├• Plan
CE: We’ve been getting hints of the plans of Apocalypse for quite a bit in Excalibur, as well as way back in X-Men #2. It’s interesting, because Apocalypse is often set up as a villain, and specifically doing many villainous or morally dubious actions but, as far as this issue treats it, this is the work of a desperate man doing foul deeds in order to save his people. Apocalypse is trying to unite his two separated families, you know, without telling anyone I guess, but it’s still ultimately for their salvation, it seems.
RS: I can’t get away from the start of the issue– Apocalypse, the player of games. I think you’re right that he’s a utilitarian here. He’s willing to take morally dubious actions for a good end. But he does so not as a loving grandfather, or at least, not only as a loving grandfather, but also a controlling one. If he really does believe that his children have accomplished what he always hoped, if he really does believe that they have come into their own, why not trust them? Why not speak to them as allies, as equals? Apocalypse isn’t one of many checkers on the board; he sees himself as King, and mutants as bishops, rooks, pawns. It’s a kind of narcissism that I worry will cause pain and suffering in the end, as narcissism often does. I’ve known narcissists that did deeply love people– and through their arrogance, lost them forever (when they could have just gone to a therapist).
CE: Well put Rob, I think Apocalypse ultimately thinks that truth and information is a form of power, and if he can control it and hide it, then he can use what he knows to leverage his power. Even at his most altruistic, he’s very pragmatic and sinister. I mean, he’s still doing lobotomies in Excalibur and ultimately trying to use Otherworld as a nice easement to pull Krakoa through. It’ll be interesting to see him actually clash with Saturnyne, as they both play these sorts of intrigue games. I also like that we’re seeing Apocalypse play the absolute long game. He knew that he would possibly have to deal with Arakko for millennia, and makes me think that this is part of the reason why he decided to come to Krakoa and be held sway (at least in oath) by their societal rules. Plus, he’s clearly been working on this all through Excalibur, and since the appearance of our pale Summoner back from issue #2. Do you think that even he is getting the full story here? We know he lies, but is Summoner lying to him?
RS: It’s very possible. We don’t have much to go on at the moment– but weirdly pale characters from other worlds have tended not to be trustworthy in the works of Mr. Jonathan Hickman.
CE: Indeed, buddy. Regardless, Apocalypse seems very willing to punch above his weight class in this case. He’s decided to try to control a reality warper (Jaime) to pester the Omniversal Majestrix, simply to use her pad at a jumping ground to fight an even more impossible war. I think it’s of note that Apocalypse in the solicits is NOT one of the Swordbreakers of Arakko, so evidently something is going to go awry.
CE: I rather enjoyed this issue. I think the nature of the fable lent pretty well to Yu and Gho’s talents, even if the colors seemed a bit muddy. It showed the very different nature of Arrakko with it’s reds and browns versus the greens and blues of verdant Krakoa. It’s an excellent mirroring and a nice introduction to our gigantic event just around the corner.
RS: It was 20 some pages of infodump about Jonathan Hickman’s DND campaign and I am here for it. X of Swords is going to be wild.
X-Traneous Thoughts
- None. So much lore. Head empty.
- Betsy and Saturnyne should…kiss.
- I love that Rockslide has the powers of the Civil War starting supervillain called Nitro, except he’s also a rock boy. Delightful.
- In X-Men #2, Cable’s grenade didn’t even touch Summoner, and in this issue we learn it’s because his mutant power is invincibility.
- Love Arrako’s Purple Eyeballs and sweet ‘stache
- Tarot Watch 2020 (Images from the Rider-Waite Deck of Tarot cards and divinatory meanings from The New Tarot Handbook by Rachel Pollack.)
Charlie Davis is the world’s premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Match Club.
Nola Pfau is Editor-in-Chief of WWAC and generally a bad influence.
Chris Eddleman is a biologist and co-host of Chrises On Infinite Earths.
Robert Secundus is an amateur-angelologist-for-hire.
