Can Krakoa Recover From Such A Devastating Start? X Of Swords Barrels Towards Its Conclusion In X-Force #14, Hellions #6 & Cable #6

Ten swords, ten champions, ten nearly forty battles for the fate of the world. The soul still burns as the tournament continues. Kenneth Laster & Ari Bard lead us through Saturnyne’s whims in X-Force #16 by Benjamin Percy, Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, Guru-eFX, and Cory Petit. Then Liz Large & Austin Gorton try something completely different as Hellions #6 reaches Arakko led by Zeb Wells, Carmen Carnero, David Curiel, and Ariana Maher. Then Ritesh Babu & Ian Gregory guide us through the brutal Cable #6 by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, and Joe Sabino.

X-Force #16

Kenneth Laster: Here we are again in the Mutant Wacky Races and boy, oh boy, are they indeed wacky. How’s it feel to check in again Ari?

Ari Bard: It feels great, Kenneth! Every classic superhero epic requires a tournament arc complete with a montages of various wacky events and one team running up the score, and that’s exactly what we have here!

Cuckoo Looney Tunes Banana Town

AB: No great tournament arc would be complete without a comprehensive montages of all of the cool things us readers would have liked to see but aren’t as important as the thing we need to see, eh Kenneth?

KL: First thing I have to say…I feel betrayed. Pogg Ur-Pogg, big silly crocodile man is simply a tiny slimy man inside a crocodile man. It’s going to take me a while to recover from that reveal but in time I will heal. [Ed. note: We have an Ultra Magnus/Minimus Ambus situation here and it only makes me love Pogg more]

Now the wacky montage. On it’s own I really like the montage and I really dig the Mojo/Major Domo correspondence fleshing out these silly panels. I also enjoy the zaniness of these events being in step with the Otherworld stuff from way back in Excalibur. I was worried there was going to be a disconnect between the two as we were ramping up to this event but oh how wrong could I be. However, I am feeling the weirdness in pacing that a lot of other folks have mentioned. The tension and build up leading up to this montage and pretty swift tonal shift feels off and I feel like we are losing the Arrakii sword-bearers in the mix a bit. I do really enjoy these competitions but it feels a little strange how close to the end of this event we are. What are your thoughts Ari?

AB: I’m right there with you, Kenneth, except when it comes to the most important thing, which is that Pogg Ur-Pogg being a giant crocodile biomech is glorious. Think of it this way, when our slimy little goblin is connected to the big suit, they absolutely are the big, silly crocodile man you know and love. I just have so many questions now. Does a biomech have its own digestive system? What happens when the big suite “eats” something? Did actual Pogg Ur-Pogg really think that they could eat Magik by themselves? I’m just so confused on what the thought process was there. Just like you, however, I enjoyed the moments we got to see but feel like too many of the Arrakii swordbearers are getting lost in the pacing. I still know so little about practically all of them, and its always nice to really know your villains so that it feels like you have a stake in the game. Speaking of games, this montage sure showed a lot of them. Which one was your favorite, Kenneth?

KL: By far my favorite moment was Illyana misspelling “magic” with her own name with the dance off as a close second. You?

AB: I have to go with Illyana chasing the boulder the wrong way down the hill or Gorgon getting horny for a different boulder. One things clear, Illyana and boulders were two of the stars in this X-Force issue. Another key character this issue was Brian Braddock, who found himself in quite the predicament. Care to elaborate, Kenneth?

That Awkward Moment When Your Ex Rigs The Extra-Dimensional Mutant Tournament….

KL: Don’t you just hate it when you are competing alongside your shattered sister’s friends in a tournament for the fate of mutantkind on Earth and your ex just won’t stop hassling you to reclaim the mantle of your aforementioned shattered sibling? I know I do. So does Brian Braddock. What were your thoughts on this #relatable moment Ari?

AB: I been there, Kenneth, and it absolutely sucks. I appreciated this moment from Brian, and I’m glad he proved to be able to resist temptation once again. This is where I started to get angry at just how rigged this tournament arc was getting. The issue sort of throws a lot in our face here and then leaves it until Excalibur before we see a real resolution. 

Overall, I’d say this scene accomplished two things. First, it made me extra excited to see Brian (and maybe Betsy) stick it to Saturnyne later, and second, it made me feel a bit sorry for Red Root who just gets thrown under the bus here. We barely got to know them as the voice of Arrako and now they’re shrunken and trapped for who knows how long. Another #relatable moment, eh Kenneth?

KL: If I had a nickel for everytime I’ve been shrunken and trapped in another dimension… But yes! I am jealous of our Excalibuddies team who get to dig into the aftermath of Saturnyne and Brian’s squabble here [Ed. note: next week]. I thought that this scene really did a good job of keeping the animosity between these two fresh and in our faces in a way that I am certain will come to fruition, if not later on in this event, than in Excalibur. It definitely doesn’t shift the dynamic we’ve been aware of but reminds of it, that being Krakoa’s losses are a direct result of Saturnyne’s pettiness over Brian. Which is rude! And you know what else is rude? Death!

Dance With Death

AB: The issue ends on a more serious note, with Storm’s dance with Death as she has to fight him without her powers due to the gratuitous drinking she partook in with Wolverine earlier. While I loved the moment and what it proves and means for Storm, I feel someone conflicted about the execution. What did you think, Kenneth?

KL: I definitely agree with feeling conflicted about this scene. I enjoy seeing this moment followed up on from Marauders however many issues ago, and Cassara and Guru-eFX make this scene so absolutely gorgeous to look at. Sevalith looks absolutely stunning and the action feels so impactful and in terms of story this very much feels like the absolute badass Storm we came to love once she stabbed Callisto and walked away. However–this is also at the end of an issue where one of Storm’s only other appearances before this scene is on a fashion catwalk. Not to harp on tone but I feel like the stacking of events in this issue really throws off the balance of this moment which works extremely well on it’s own. What were your thought’s Ari?

AB: I can’t help but agree. The stacking of events really does this moment a disservice because I think it cuts short the interplay between Storm and Death. I read their earlier interaction as this very formal, slightly flirtatious show of mutual respect, and that tone simply doesn’t fit with the rest of the issue. It also feels a bit cut short and more harshly wrapped up toward the end. I think the fight is actually supposed to look and feel like a dance, and while Cassara and Guru-eFX certainly make the scene look like one, it feels like the tempo is spinning out of control as the issue wraps up. That being said, I was floored by Cassara’s line work in this issue and Guru-eFX’s deep purples and reds were stunning. Any final thoughts to wrap things up, Kenneth?

KL: Good call on the fight mimicking a dance! I don’t have much to add other than I have missed getting to gush about Cassara’s artwork! Other than that, take it away Hellions!

Hellions #6

Liz Large: We’re finally back with our team of misfits, after several issues of tournament-focused content have rendered their attempt at cheating superfluous. Are you as worried as I am about their seemingly doomed mission?  

Austin Gorton: The “Dawn of X” era generally and this book specifically have always had a…unique relationship with death, this issue is exhibit A in the notion that just because the X-Men have seemingly vanquished death, character deaths can still shock the heck out of us! Some of which we can be reasonably certain will be reversed given the established rules, but others…not so much. Not the least of which is a certain horse that has captured all our hearts.  Shall we step through a gate and explore how all this slaughter came to be? 

This Dullard’s Errand

LL: We open on the team’s arrival in Arakko, and quite frankly, they look TERRIBLE. Everyone looks beat up and exhausted, including Princess Silvermane, and Nanny’s got a dent in her head. Oh, and did I mention that Alex is missing an eye? He apparently lost it in one of the offstage battles we didn’t see, and he’s furious. I love that we’re dropped in like this— we see how the team is getting more and more frustrated with Mister Sinister, and we get some fun references to what happened, but it’s a good way to move the story along, especially in a crossover where the idea of stealing the swords seems a little silly now that the tournament’s begun. 

AG: There are tons of great artistic flourishes in this issue, and Nanny’s dent is first amongst equals. In terms of where this story fits in the crossover, I was, admittedly, a little taken aback at first when I realized just how much time had passed for the characters since we last saw our merry band of misfits, and how much story we’d seemingly missed out on. But the more I thought about it, the more I came to appreciate how Zeb Wells leaned into the structure of the crossover: there’s been a bunch of chapters and big happenings in the crossover since the last issue of this series, so Wells just acknowledges that by having the passage of time for the characters mimic the passage of time for readers. We’ve all been away for a while, and the story has moved on; let’s just deal with it. 

LL: The story really moves right along— no sooner do they realize where they are before they’re greeted by “Tarn the Uncaring,” a mutant from Arakko who takes the opportunity to gloat over the fact that not only are the swords no longer in Arakko, they’re now largely irrelevant, as the tournament has begun. It really is great to just let the characters in on this from the beginning, since now they have time to devote to what matters: going off on Sinister for getting them into this. 

Tarn reveals Sinister’s secret plan of harvesting new and exciting genetic material to the team, and I’m sure none of them are truly shocked, but they are angry. Sinister is having the time of his life, though, and he’s got literal heart eyes over the new mutants Tarn introduces us to. Carnero and Curiel are killing it on the expressions this week, but this is the most delightful of them. 

AG: Absolutely agree: the facial expressions throughout this issue, from glee to panic to horror, are once again top-notch. The objects of Sinister’s affection are the Locus Vile, whom Tarn introduces via his own version of “to me, my X-Men” before a data page fills in some details on this group. It’s not long before Sinister, being Sinister, ignores all warnings and all matters beyond his immediate desires, and then…the slaughter begins. The first casualty? None other than our favorite egg Nanny, who gets her top half just…obliterated. From there, things escalate quickly. 

Eat Poop, Mean Lady!

LL: I gotta say, I did not go into this week expecting to be emotionally devastated by a panel of Orphan-Maker sobbing and blasting simultaneously while Nanny’s headless corpse gets bucked off the most beautiful horse ever in the background, but that’s where I’m at. 

Aside from that, this battle is OVERWHELMING. Psylocke is doing her best to organize a defense, but the Vile are very powerful and our team wasn’t in great shape to start with. Havok’s hands are sliced off, and while it is yet another moment of bad things happening to Alex, I almost found this heartwarming. Compared to their first mission, where the team for the most part disregarded each other’s safety, Greycrow grabs him and tries to reassure and protect him. With the exception of Empath, who flees immediately, everyone is working together and it’s nice to see— even briefly. 

AG: Again, it’s an effective use of the off-screen passage of time: this group has been through some stuff, and it’s brought at least a few of them closer together. But good feelings are few and far between: we barely have time to mourn Nanny and cheer on Orphan Maker before he, too, suffers a grotesque death and Psylocke is forced to send Wild Child to his death in order to cover the escape of the last few standing team members. This book is no stranger to body horror, but it’s a testament to just how extreme things are that even after seeing Empath being shot point blank or Havok cutting open his flesh-mouth in earlier issues of the series, the savagery of the Locus Vile is still so shocking. Even Sinister can’t make it back through the gate unscathed – and for a brief moment, I forgot this Sinister was, technically, a clone. [Ed. note: to be fair, we don’t know which Sinister lost the nobel contest]

LL: Yes! This battle was a lot less in the main characters’ favor than a lot of the fights we’ve seen lately, and it was really effective. The scenes with Psylocke and Wild Child were really great. Early in the issue, we see her making sure that he’s eating, even though they’re low on rations, and later she honors his request to watch as he dies. I still don’t think that’s how dogs work, but his devotion and her protectiveness is an interesting dynamic. 

I need to know more about the Locus Vile, especially after they destroyed the team. I’m very focused on Amino Fetus, who according to the data page “must not eat” and was making an attempt to eat Orphan-Maker that scared even his own teammates. WHAT WILL HAPPEN, I MUST KNOW. 

AG: One of the things that is true of both this issue and the “X of Swords” crossover on the whole is that it is absolutely PACKED with intriguing world-building details, from all the various realms of Otherworld to the history of the Arakko mutants to characters like Amino Fetus and the rest of Locus Vile. Obviously, this sort of “seeding intriguing ideas for later harvest” approach is a staple of Jonathan Hickman’s writing style, but I’m very curious to see what fruits may come from all the ideas just casually tossed off like Amino Fetus’ appetite (and the consequences thereof). 

RIP Princess Silvermane

AG: The near wipeout of the team leads into the second data page, which, much as the majority of their Otherworld adventure unfolded between issues, chronicles the journey of the four (!) surviving members’ back to Avalon and the Krakoa gate. But just as we’re about to breathe a sigh of relief that, at least, Psylocke, Greycrow, and (the now-handless, one-eyed) Havok make it back to Krakoa, it turns out Wells still has a few more shocks up his sleeve. 

LL: Before the chaos starts, I do appreciate that Greycrow gets his little revenge on Empath for mind controlling him. John’s not a monster! He doesn’t kill his teammate in Otherworld (which as we know, messes up the resurrection)! He simply guts Empath and tells him he’s on his own to make it the last couple of yards to the gate so he can die on Krakoa. Good for you! 

But it’s not all fun, as almost as soon as they step foot on Krakoa, the team is surrounded by a dense black smoke, and Psylocke’s powers stop working properly. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t Sinister showing up to murder the final few members of the team! He kills all of them, then messes up his own outfit to make it seem as though he and the others barely escaped the same attack. Who do you think this is— the Sinister who journeyed to Arakko, brought back by Tarn? Or one of the Sinisters left behind on Krakoa?

AG: I am operating under the assumption this is Sinister Prime, acting to protect the secret of his self-cloning operation, eager to get his hands on the genetic data Psylocke was careful to get back to Krakoa. And just like that, the entire cast of the book is dead. Is that it, Liz, are we done? Is the series over? 

LL: It better not be, I have so many questions! I want to know what happens to the members of the team who died on Arakko when they get resurrected, for starters. We know Otherworld makes people who get brought back different. Will other worlds do something else? But most importantly: what’s going on with Psylocke and Sinister? When he realized that not everyone would make it back, he gave her his genetic samples, and pressured her to do so by referencing he’s taking care of something for her. I need to know!

AG: Phew! I wasn’t sure if I was missing something when Sinister made his cryptic comment to Psylocke, but needless to say, I am intrigued. And while there are legitimate questions surrounding who will be resurrected, and how, and in what condition they’ll be in (are we going to get some kind of mishmash of alternate reality Nannys and Orphan Makers?!?), it seems pretty certain that at least some of them will be back, some way, which makes this question of what Sinister Is Up To And How Is He Keeping Psylocke On The Line the thing which intrigues me the most. 

Cable #6

Ritesh Babu: And so it continues! We’re back, once again, Ian! How’s the ride been for you thus far? Because it’s certainly been a heck of a ride for Kid Cable.

Ian Gregory: I’m pretty grateful we get to cover this issue. Last week’s set left me a little dry but this week is really excellent, and this issue in particular really goes full bore. Not only does this substantially advance the X of Swords plot, but we get some really important character work for Cable. Knowing that Cable is going to be in Ewing’s SWORD, I feel like the developments in this issue are going to really inform his role in the future.

RB: Absolutely. It’s been really interesting to see how they weave and use this book in particular, both in the context of the current event, and setting up for Ewing’s team-title, amidst its own boiling narrative. There’s certainly some telling choices here.

Death Of The Spirit

IG: The fight between Bei Ramsay (née The Blood Moon) and Kid Cable is really quite brief – three pages, all told. What’s important is that Cable doesn’t really lose the fight in terms of ability; he quickly overpowers Bei and sets up a killing blow, but he hesitates, not wanting to kill Doug’s large new wife. Bei defeats him, but is stopped from killing him by Doug, and Cable is awarded a loss due to “loss of spirit.” Because that’s really what happens here: Cable realizes he can’t be what he thinks he wants to be, and he worries that he’s disappointing Cyclops.

RB: That’s the most devastating moment in here, and weirdly, while X of Swords is massively distant from where and what this book was prior, it’s kind of the moment the entire book has oddly been building up to? Throughout this run, we’ve had the contrast of The Old Man and The Kid, the beloved super-warrior who could do the improbable and the child who lacks such a skillset but tries anyway.

That clash of what he could or must be, the very IDEA of Cable that he’s in the shadow of, that becomes crushing. And turns out, for all his cocky grins and happy-go-lucky moments, he is a boy imprisoned by that inability to live up to the ideas and assumptions of himself AND more vitally those around him. He’s supposed to be Scott Summers and Jean Grey’s son. He’s meant to be the great Cable. He’s meant to be an X-Man. He should be the warrior of Krakoa, and a mighty swordbearer. And yet…

IG: Kid Cable is completely right when he says that the Old Man could have done it, but where he sees that as a personal weakness, I see it as a strength. Believe me, Nathan, you don’t want to live through what Cable went through (and, Cable wouldn’t wish that on anyone else, either). This is a crucial moment for the character, I think. Cable realizes that he isn’t as cool or as powerful or as ruthless as his older counterpart, but also that he doesn’t have to be. He has parents that love him, and will do anything for him, and he can choose to be something else. By sparing Bei, even if he loses a round for Krakoa, he’s committed to a more compassionate path.

Jean and Scott’s relationship with Cable is a major component of what makes this character so interesting. Casting Jean as the calm, encouraging mother and Scott as the wildly overprotective father is a stroke of genius, and I loved seeing their interactions this issue. That their love for Cable might lead to a Krakoan invasion of Otherworld not only fits into the plot well but is a great character beat: Scott won’t lose his kid again.

RB: It’s the defining Kid Cable moment for me. And it’s the one where I oddly went ‘Oh, right, he’s still just a kid’, which, yeah, of course he is. But until now he’s been written as very much a certain type of kid, the seemingly cocky, tough teen. But it’s only when he’s beaten down, it’s only when he’s had his dreams devastated, that all that vanishes, and you’re left with a boy with a broken arm who needs and wants to be with his mum and dad.

And I adore Jean and Scott here, yeah. The caring parents, wherein Jean is very collected and put-together, and Scott is on his knees, feeling all the pain of his child, wondering how much he’s failed his son. There’s a genuinely touching humanity to it all, amidst all the Saturnyne shenanigans, that hits and resonates. Kid Cable is a child, of course he experiences failure, of course he cries out for his parents, and of course they worry and bear the burden. Emotionally, this is a rich issue that clicks.

IG: A lot of people have criticized X of Swords for seeming divorced from what’s happening in the other X-books, and I think that’s somewhat fair (as all the plots in those books are basically suspended). The last Cable felt even more like filler for both the main series and for X of Swords. This issue, though, shows how even crossovers can hook into the main series, and bring about meaningful character development. I hope that, as we leave X of Swords, it will feel a bit like a breakpoint; that the character change will be meaningful enough that there’s a clear difference in Cable pre and post-event.

Gorgon’s Last Stand

RB: Beyond the Cable and The Parents stuff, which is terrific, Gorgon is clearly the star of the story here. A single man against a horde of impossible numbers, that just keep coming, as his odds of victory keep going down further and further. And yet he stands. And yet he fights.

He picks up his sword, and he readies himself once more.

IG: I really didn’t expect Gorgon to be the one to pull Krakoa out of its score deficit, but I think it makes perfect sense. Gorgon isn’t exactly a character a lot of people are deeply attached to, so giving him a Skurge at Gjallerbru moment to send off the character will probably endear him to a lot more people than just keeping him around. Gorgon is the epitome of a proud warrior, so his rejection of The White Sword (poor guy keeps getting rejected by Krakoans) shows his resolve to protect mutants. Gorgon may have had a brief run in DoX, but he’s been well-utilized all around. 

RB: He gets a very shounen warrior finale here, going beyond just the iconic Simonson touch. And I love Apocalypse’s one big line here, as Gorgon’s dying. 

“That is how a mutant dies, children.”

It’s horrific, and quite bleak, especially as there’s blood everywhere, and he’s saying this to kids, who are clearly traumatized by this turn of events, and yet it’s fittingly Apocalypse. He sees only beauty in Gorgon’s actions, and instructs the next generation on what he believes is a code to live and die by.

IG: Apocalypse’s reaction reminds me a lot of the Crucible issue. Giving your life for mutantkind (a permanent life, too, not like the Hellions who die as a matter of course) is the highest honor to Apocalypse. As this issue ends, he steps up to the plate to willingly do the same, and say what you will about the guy, but he does walk the walk. 

I also like that Gorgon’s massive success here is just as much a technicality as the other matches. The fight was to the death, therefore Saturnyne awarded him a point for each death, regardless of whether it was between the two named combatants. Saturnyne has played fast and loose with defining the rules of the competition and handing out points, and I wondered if she had always arranged for Gorgon and The White Sword to go last, knowing she could hand out enough points to even it up enough for the final conflict. In some ways, this cheapens Gorgon’s final conquest; he won, but in the grand scheme of things, Saturnyne is in control.

RB: Saturnyne is clearly dicking around, and no better display of that than this point-shift. I was actually surprised when the score went up so high, and that she was actually awarding points for each kill.

Beyond that though, I do so adore how much Phil Noto’s art has shifted on this series? When Cable first started out, it had this light, almost dream-like look and sensibility, like an airy fantasy of youth, something intangible, the likes of which if you tried to hold in your hand, would slip away.

But now, his art and coloring is no longer that. That quality is gone, vanished. It’s now much ‘solid’. It’s much more painfully ‘real’ and the seeming traumatic undercurrent of things that was buried in that aloof veneer of fantasy breaks loose. There’s blood and guts everywhere. A man loses his eye and dies before children. A child has his arm broken, his face put in the mud, as he cries for his father.

The story and its very nature has changed, and I like the shift that Noto’s art has had over the course of all this to indicate and fit with that as well. There’s a tangible ‘weight’ now, with how it’s colored, and that means you feel it, much like Kid Cable does in the issue.

IG: I think Noto’s lines have gotten a lot heavier, and he’s using darker, more solid colors. Early on, Cable had a lot of pastels, sketchy lines, and bright colors. Now that we’re in the tournament, things are lot darker, bloodier, and real. I keep looking at that last splash page of Apocalypse and Genesis, though I don’t know why. It’s hypnotizing in a way, especially the way the blue, gold, and gray all play off each other.

One other thing Noto does frequently in this issue is fill the backgrounds with watercolors (like when The White Sword is walking away from Gorgon’s body). It gives these moments extra focus on his figure art, and uses the coloring to set the mood without overwhelming the scene with backgrounds. It’s a nice touch.

Sinister and Saturnyne

RB: Checking back in with Krakoa, the Quiet Council is doing a whole lot of waiting.I do so love Sinister’s pedantic penchant for good looks. He cannot dress poorly. Afterall, what manner of uncultured animal shows up to a meeting without a glorious, extravagant cape?! 

The moment where Emma reluctantly agrees with Sinister’s assessment, because it’s to do with fashion, is a small but key beat that I do love.

But while Sinister’s clearly up to a lot of stuff on the mutant end, Saturnyne’s got her own set of plans, as she’s willingly been tolerating the telepathic ties up until now, and cuts off Nathan from his parents here. And it’s her doing that which sparks the key parental moment between Jean and Scott this issue. 

One wonders what the clash of all the designs will produce, in the end.

IG: Lots of good little details in that Council scene, but I particularly love that Kate has taken to just… waving a knife around while she talks. Real pirate energy. Sinister has essentially gotten what he wanted (Arakii genes), and he’s perfectly willing to shut off the External Gate and call the whole thing a wash. Saturnyne’s game seems to have something to do with Brian, but I can’t tell what her wider goal is with Arako. I do suspect that Jean and Scott are about to bring the Vescora menace from last Cable into play, though.

Setting up this final fight between Apocalypse and Genesis implies that there will be a winner decided next issue, but based on how Saturnyne awards points, she could easily declare it a tie. Also, if Apocalypse dies here, sacrificing his life to attempt to save mutantkind, it would be an interesting cap on how hard he schemed and plotted to open the gate in the first place. I’m pleased that this story is still wide open, even this close to the end.

X-Traneous Thoughts

• SFX shout outs to, CHOOM, BLARGGG, and DOOSH. 
• Love that one of Gorgon’s final acts was #%&@-ing a boulder. A true hero of Krakoa.
• One of the best recurring bits throughout “X of Swords” has been Jamie Braddock *always* appearing wearing the cape he acquired from Mister Sinister in the last issue; here, the Sinister in the field with the Hellions has fashioned a makeshift version of his signature accessory, another little artistic touch that is much appreciated.
• Sinister trying and failing to quote Lord of the Rings to explain how getting the team lost was fine, actually, was DELIGHTFUL. 
• Cyclops is sometimes called “One-Eye”. Havok now has one eye. Discuss. 
• The look of the Locus Vile is reminiscent of the Leper Queen and her Sapien League (a third or fourth-tier group of anti-mutant zealots), who wore similar “mime” masks, a visual callback that is almost certainly a coincidence. 
• Sinister may have heart eyes over them, but as far as I’m concerned it’s a firm “no thank you!” to all of them. 
• The act which prompts Locus Vile into action comes when Mister Sinister unleashes a swarm of robotic “genetic collection drones” or GCDs (which get a delightfully old-fashioned footnote to explain the acronym); memory (and a quick Google search) suggests this is the first appearance of the devices. 
• The second Hellions data page is written in the form of a report from Priestess Joshanna of the Rangers, and it states there is no evidence that Princess Silvermane survived the journey to Arakko. Hopefully, with all due respect to the investigative abilities of Priestess Joshanna, this turns out to be false, as we’ve all been through enough already. 
• Empath’s weasley little blond goatee that crops up during the journey back to the Krakoa gate manages to simultaneously be the best and the worst. 
• Jean’s face when Cable says he lost to “Doug’s large wife” was priceless
• ‘Doug’s large wife’ is such a solid gag-line amidst a very real and painful scene
• Krakoan reads: Asunder
• Don’t let this distract you from the fact that Arakko blew an 18-6 lead!