"X of Swords" (pronounced "Ten of Swords") is a comic book crossover story arc set during the larger "Krakoan Age" storyline, which debuted in September 2020, published by Marvel Comics. It was part of Marvel's "Dawn of X" relaunch of its X-Men books, following the "House of X" and "Powers of X" storylines. "X of Swords" was followed by the 2021 "Hellfire Gala" storyline.
Publication history "X of Swords" (September – November 2020) was the first crossover of the Krakoan Age since the relaunch House of X and Powers of X event it concluded the Dawn of X publishing initiative and launched the Reign of X publishing initiative. As with Powers of X, "the 'X' in the title is meant to be read as 'Ten'". It was initially teased in Free Comic Book Day 2020: X-Men #1 before being announced at C2E2 in February 2020 as the upcoming 15-part X-Men summer crossover storyline. The title is a "reference to the Ten of Swords", a tarot card that "generally represents betrayal, rivalry and tragic endings".
Banshee, Glob Herman, and Trinary were set to have roles in X of Swords storyline as teased in Free Comic Book Day 2020: X-Men #1 but Banshee was replaced with his daughter Siryn, Glob Herman with Rockslide and Trinary was removed entirely. Regarding this, then-X-Men line's editor Jordan White revealed that Free Comic Book Day comics are done early and stories could change when revised, so they had meant to change the story and not the characters.
Entertainment Weekly highlighted that "as with so many 2020 comics, X of Swords was hit by big pandemic delays"; the crossover was "a collaboration between more than 28 creators" and "the fact that the creative team was stretched across the globe meant they were all affected by COVID-19 in different ways". On the impact of the pandemic, Excalibur and X-Corp writer Tini Howard commented,I don't know if it would have been the same book on the original schedule because tinkering with the schedule caused problems, but also enabled us to do certain things. Everything about that book is very much a product of the situation and people functioning under specific conditions probably more than any other comic I've been a part of. [...] We were all working together on it so much, partially because we didn't have anywhere else to go in lockdown. So we were kind of losing our minds together and making this book. In a way I think it saved my year.The groundwork for the storyline was established during Howard's Excalibur run. In June 2020, it was revealed that the crossover had increased to 24 issues – two prelude issues followed by a 22-part story. Screen Rant commented that in this style of crossover "creative teams work together, with normal stories suspended in favor of continuing the event". X of Swords: Creation #1, by writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard with art by Pepe Larraz and Marte Gracia, was released in September 2020. The final issue, X of Swords: Destruction #1 by the same creative team, was released in November 2020. A 56-page companion guidebook, X of Swords Handbook, in an encyclopedic style was released alongside the crossover; "each entry features multiple paragraphs detailing each character's known history up until this event".
Plot Main story The Invading Army It is revealed that the first incarnation of the Horsemen of Apocalypse are the children of Apocalypse and Genesis. In the present day, Apocalypse uses the portal to Otherworld to return to Arakko. However, what Apocalypse did not expect was that this was an elaborate plan created by the Horsemen to overthrow Krakoa. Apocalypse is attacked and critically injured by his daughter War, forcing him to retreat to Krakoa.X of Swords: Creation #1
Failure of the Resurrection Protocols Rockslide suffers a surprise attack by Summoner, who destroys his psychic essence. Hurrying back to Krakoa, the Five restore Rockslide's physical husk. Professor X tries to download Rockslide's memories, but the five Cerebro mainframes fry and short circuit. Apprehensive, the Five convene with the Quiet Council of Krakoa to inform them that Rockslide being killed in Otherworld has interfered with the resurrection process. When the Five attempt to resurrect Rockslide, they create an amalgam of Rockslide's alternate universe counterparts who is later dubbed Wrongslide.
The Gathering of Swords Polaris acts as a medium and delivers the list of swords and cryptic hints about the chosen champions of Krakoa.X-Factor (Vol. 5) #4 Wolverine and Arakkii mutant Solem are sent to a Hell-like dimension to reach legendary bladesmith Muramasa, and ask him to forge new blades for the tournament. Solem gets both of the new Muramasa swords, but yields one to Logan in exchange for a favor.X-Force (Vol. 6) #13 Storm travels to Wakanda to request permission to borrow an ancient relic from the Royal Family: a mystical sword named Skybreaker, made of vibranium and previously wielded by a legendary Wakandan king. Due to the Royal Family's refusal, Ororo is forced to steal it only to face her ex-sister in-law Shuri, before leaving the country.Marauders #13
Cypher shares his worries with Warlock and Krakoa while training under Magik for the upcoming tournament. Meanwhile, the Quiet Council decides to take a different approach instead of sending a mutant with little battle experience:New Mutants (Vol. 4) #13 they secretly agree to send Mister Sinister and his Hellions to sabotage the contest.Hellions #5 Cable, Jean Grey, and Cyclops travel to the S.W.O.R.D. space station and Cable activates it with his sword, the Light of Galador. The trio soon discovers that an extradimensional army known as the Vescora massacred the station's occupants. After dealing with this threat, Cable joins the other swordbearers.Cable (Vol. 4) #5 In Otherworld, Betsy Braddock (Captain Britain) and Brian Braddock trick Saturnyne into forging the Starlight Sword, while also acquiring the Sword of Might.Excalibur (Vol. 4) #13
Still reeling from the betrayal of his children, Apocalyse reminisces about the time he lost his wife Genesis and children, the First Horsemen, when Okkara was split into two islands. Soon after, he asks Gorgon to accompany him to Egypt to retrieve his own sword (a khopesh) for the tournament.X-Men (Vol. 5) #13 In Arakko, the First Horsemen assemble their forces for the upcoming tournament, all the while revealing underlying tensions among themselves and between a few of the major players of Krakoa's side.Wolverine (Vol. 7) #6X of Swords: Stasis #1
Accommodation in Otherworld After the chosen Swordbearers of Arakko and Krakoa travel to Otherworld, they are welcomed by Saturnyne. Both parties intermingle and try to discover each other's secrets and weaknesses. Apocalypse encounters his former wife Genesis, who reveals the story of her banishment while Storm shares a dance with the Horseman of Death.X-Men (Vol. 5) #14Marauders #14Marauders #15
The Tournament Begins After the feast, Saturnyne announces the challenges. Aside from one-on-one battles, she forces the Swordbearers to compete in a series of extravagant contests.X-Force (Vol. 6) #14
Notable contests include: the apparent death of Captain Britain against Isca the Unbeaten, shattering into glass-like fragments; the marriage of Cypher and Bei the Blood Moon; and Gorgon being killed after a fierce battle against White Sword and his champions. Finally, with the score tied, Saturnyne announces the last match: Apocalyse versus Genesis possessed by Annihilation.Excalibur (Vol. 4) #14Cable (Vol. 4) #6
In the meantime, Sinister and the Hellions arrive in Amenth to sabotage the Arakkii team, but their mission goes awry when they encounter Tarn the Uncaring and the Locus Vile. Theirs is a bloody battle, and four of their number (including Sinister, secretly a clone) are killed. The other Hellions barely escape through a portal to Krakoa, but as soon as they return, the real Sinister kills the survivors to keep his true purpose during the mission a secret: stealing gene samples from Arakkii mutants.Hellions #6
All-Out War Before his duel with Bei, Cable telepathically communicates with Jean Grey and Cyclops on Krakoa. Saturnyne notices the interference and cuts their contact. Fearing for Cable's life, the heroes present their case to the Quiet Council: they intend to take as many mutants to the Otherworld and rescue Krakoa's champions. They also feel the need to reinstate the X-Men as a permanent team to defend their interests.X of Swords: Destruction #1
When Apocalypse wins the duel against Genesis, Annihilation seizes full control of its host and summons Daemons to invade Krakoa. Cable uses S.W.O.R.D.'s space station to transport everyone they can gather to Otherworld's battlefield (including a reborn Captain Britain Corps), in the middle of an all-out war between Krakoa's and Amenth's armies. During the battle, Apocalypse manages to take the Annihilation Helm from Genesis and, overcoming its corrupting influence, makes Amenth's forces surrender. Saturnyne, satisfied with this conclusion, asks both Krakoa and Arakko to trade prisoners as a token of good will. Apocalypse accompanies his wife and children back to Amenth in exchange for Arakko returning to Earth, so Krakoa can reunite with its "twin" at last.
Saturnyne is crowned Queen in Otherworld and gets what she needed, but not what she wanted: Brian Braddock's heart.
Aftermath The conclusion of X of Swords saw the X-Men comics line transition from the Dawn of X era to the Reign of X era, which involved the launch of new titles and Vita Ayala taking over writing duties on New Mutants.
With Apocalypse leaving Krakoa to be with his wife and children in Amenth, and Jean Grey stepping down from her leadership position to form the X-Men, the Quiet Council has two empty seats. The remaining members now try to pick names to fill the void.Marauders #16X-Men (Vol. 5) #16
In X-Men, with Cyclops and Jean Grey having decided to work outside the Quiet Council and take a strike team to rescue the Champions in Otherworld, the pair begin work on forming Krakoa's first official X-Men team.
In S.W.O.R.D. by Al Ewing, the Krakoans take hold of the S.W.O.R.D space station and reposition it as their satellite base, under the command of Agent Abigail Brand.Empyre: Aftermath #1S.W.O.R.D (Vol. 2) #1
In Excalibur, Saturnyne rebuilds the Captain Britain Corps with alternate reality counterparts of Elizabeth Braddock. The original Betsy, however, remains missing after her battle with Isca the Unbeaten, leaving the Excalibur team on a desperate search to find her.Excalibur (Vol. 4) #15-16
Characters involved
Krakoa Arakko Otherworld Other
Issues involved Prelude issues Issue Release date Writer Artist Colorist Comic Book Roundup ratingProfessional reviews by series: For Cable: For Excalibur: For Hellions: For Marauders: For New Mutants: For Wolverine: For X-Factor: For X-Force: For X-Men: For X of Swords one-shots: Estimated sales to North American retailers (first month) Excalibur (vol. 4) #12 September 16, 2020 Tini Howard Marcus To Erick Arciniega 8.1 from 7 professional critics 29,500–35,000 X-Men (vol. 5) #12 September 16, 2020 Jonathan Hickman Leinil Francis Yu Sunny Gho 8.2 from 10 professional critics 75,000–90,000
Main issues