If you're hoping to follow along with X of Swords but don't know where to start or what's been happening in the X-Men's corner of the Marvel Universe lately, we're here to help. Read on for a primer for X of Swords and a breakdown of what books you need to buy over the next few months.
What Is Dawn of X?
There's no point in jumping into X of Swords before at least familiarizing yourself with the current status quo of the X-Men franchise, which is dubbed "Dawn of X." Suffice it to say, a lot of things have changed in the year since Hickman took the reins. You can check out IGN's full Dawn of X breakdown if you want all the juicy details, but we'll try to recap recent events as succinctly as possible here.Basically, everything Hickman is doing with the X-Men line builds out of one major plot twist. Moira MacTaggert, previously depicted as a human scientist aligned with Charles Xavier, was revealed in House of X #2 to be a mutant. And not just any mutant, but one with the power to die and reawaken in the womb with the memories of her previous lives intact. Moira is currently on her tenth life cycle, with most of her past lives spent in a seemingly futile quest to prevent mutantkind from being annihilated by Sentinels. Sooner or later, each timeline culminates with the creation of the unstoppable Sentinel Nimrod and the annihilation of the X-Men.
Sooner or later, each timeline culminates with the creation of the unstoppable Sentinel Nimrod and the annihilation of the X-Men.
“
Sidebar - if this ambitious revamp of X-Men lore has you confused and wondering whether all previous stories have been relegated to older timelines, you're not alone. We still have many burning questions about Dawn of X and the far-reaching implications of this reveal.
Krakoa has already weathered its first great test with the assassination of Charles Xavier in X-Force #1 (he got better). Now it faces its second test, with Apocalypse rallying the X-Men to defeat an ancient enemy from his own past.
The History of Apocalypse and Krakoa
Beginning in House of X and Powers of X and continuing in ongoing books like X-Men and Excalibur, Hickman and his collaborators have begun fleshing out the shared history between Apocalypse and Krakoa. While we already knew Krakoa itself is a mutant - a literal living island that can grow, change its shape and even communicate with others - it turns out there's far more to the story.Krakoa actually has a sister island named Arakko. Both islands used to exist as a single entity named Okkara, which was home to Apocalypse, his wife Genesis and other early mutants. Okkara was invaded by demonic hordes and split in two by a weapon called the Twilight Sword. Apocalypse and his First Horsem*n (who are actually his children) waged a long and bloody battle against Annihilation, a god from a realm called Amenth. While Apocalypse managed to banish Annihilation and his hordes, Genesis, the First Horsem*n and the land of Arakko were sealed away in another dimension.Genesis has been continuing that war ever since, though it's turned out to be an impossible challenge. It doesn't help that Arakko's greatest warrior, White Sword, betrayed his own people and joined with the armies of Amenth. That's because White Sword's mutant power makes him literally unable to lose a battle, forcing him to switch to the winning side. Genesis' only hope now is to send her grandson Summoner to Earth to find his grandfather and bring reinforcements.
As you might expect, X of Swords is shaping up to be one of the most important Apocalypse stories in quite a while. Readers will continue to learn more about his history, his family and his true motivations for throwing his lot in with Xavier and Magneto. While Apocalypse ended his feud with the X-Men after recognizing they've become as strong and fit as he always hoped, it's now clear he also has very personal reasons for returning to Krakoa.
X of Swords or Ten of Swords?
So why is the crossover called X of Swords? While Marvel is still keeping a great deal about this crossover under wraps, we do know swords play a key role in the conflict. The X-Men will need to arm themselves with various powerful swords before they can begin their newest mission. These enchanted weapons all have a connection to Otherworld, the realm from which every member of the Captain Britain Corps receives their magical powers and a key part of the Marvel multiverse. It appears that much of the crossover will actually take place within Otherworld, as the X-Men are drawn into a war between the invading armies of Amenth and Otherworld's Queen Saturnyne.Several X-Men already have a longstanding connection to various blades of power. Magik wields the Soulsword, a supernatural blade powered by her own soul. Wolverine, meanwhile, looks to be reclaiming the Muramasa blade, a katana tainted by his berserker rage and capable of killing even those with a healing factor. Rachel Grey is again carrying the Phoenix Blade, a Shi'ar weapon that used to contain a fragment of the Phoenix Force. Gorgon's sword Godkiller may come in especially handy, as it's drawn divine blood in the past. Godkiller also has a twin sword named Grasscutter.
Other X-Men have been acquiring swords in the lead-up to the main crossover. For example, Cable now wields the Light of Galador, a weapon treasured by the Spaceknights. As this teaser art shows, plenty of other X-Men will be picking up blades for the occasion, even Professor X himself:We should point out the "X" in the title should be read as Ten, not the letter X. This story revolves around ten swords and ten pivotal X-Men, though there are more than ten of each in the image above. It may be that only ten of these swords have the magical power Apocalypse needs to save Arakko, and the rest are just fun little bonus swords for extra hacking and stabbing.
However, the title is also referencing the tarot card Ten of Swords, which traditionally represents betrayal, loss and heartache in its upright position and resistance and recovery in its inverted position. It's not hard to see how those themes tie into the events of X of Swords. Plus, tarot card imagery previously played a key role in Powers of X, all of it connected to the futuristic X-Men from Moira's ninth life.The tarot cards seen above feature Rasputin and Cardinal, two genetically engineered "chimera" mutants from Moira's ninth life. While both characters are now just relics of a dead timeline, X of Swords could somehow integrate them into this new timeline. There have already been signs Moira's tenth life will take the same tragic turn as her ninth, with Mister Sinister paving the way for the mutant breeding pits and these futuristic chimera creations. We probably haven't seen the last of Rasputin and Cardinal.
X of Swords: What Should You Read?
X of Swords isn't structured like most of Marvel's crossovers events. In the case of something like Civil War, Marvel published a core miniseries featuring the main story beats and further fleshed out that story with a number of ancillary tie-in books. But X of Swords is more in the vein of classic '90s X-Men crossovers like X-Tinction Agenda and Apocalypse: The Twelve. There's just one story to follow, and it plays out across all the ongoing X-Men comics in September, October and November 2020.X of Swords spans no fewer than 22 comics. The story begins in the one-shot special X of Swords: Creation #1 (due out on September 23), before transitioning into ongoing titles like X-Men, Excalibur, Marauders, Wolverine and others. The event will finally conclude in late November with another one-shot special called X of Swords: Destruction #1. The recently released Excalibur #12 and X-Men #12 also serve as direct prologues to the crossover, as does Free Comic Book Day 2020: X-Men #1. You can see the full checklist and reading order below:
At 22 comics and assorted prologue tales, there's definitely a steep price of entry into this X-Men crossover. If you're wary of diving in or simply want to wait for reviews before making a commitment, you might be better off waiting for the X of Swords hardcover collection. That hardcover will be released immediately after the conclusion of the crossover on November 24 and will offer a somewhat cheaper alternative to buying the individual issues. Barring that, you can always wait six months for these comics to arrive on the Marvel Unlimited digital service.
But however you choose to read X of Swords, it's clear this crossover will have a profound impact on the entire line and help shape the future of the X-Men in 2021. The X-Men won a huge victory when they established their mutant nation, and it's probably all downhill for the mutant race from here.
For more on the world of the X-Men, see how the first WandaVision trailer references another seminal Marvel crossover:
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.