SWORD #1

[lordultimus]

Comments

[beyondthefringe]

I love Ewing's use of such random mutants to produce power combinations here. I wonder if everyone is here out of Krakoan unity or if there are side benefits to the gig. (Looking at Vanisher, never a role model of altruism...)

How is Frenzy any example of Diplomacy though? o.0

[scorntx]

Judging by the standards of fictional ambassadors (and most real ones), she's aces.

[cainofdreaming]

They put Fabian Cortez on the lead of the medical team? Fabian Cortez whose power is to enhance mutant powers until they kill the recipient? Who is basically a walking Legacy virus? Him?

[lordultimus]

Note how that chart shows that Fabian isn't actually in charge of anybody.

[beyondthefringe]

For a real twist, they should recruit Lionel "Scramble the Mixed-Up Man" Jeffries for their medical team. Mutant power to manipulate organic matter and alter bodies? Check. History of going completely insane? Check. Ticking time-bomb of body horror just waiting to happen? Check. Space station where absolutely nothing bad can or will or has ever happened, honest? Oh check check check.

Al Ewing would be the perfect writer to utilize such a potentially catastrophic character.

[erikred]

So basically Immortal Hulk... in space?

[mindsweeper]

They acknowledge it ... Brand admits "Slim pickings, short notice. We're working on it."

And the medical line goes around Cortez.

[scorntx]

Minor characters? Interesting use of powers in new ways? Cosmic stuff? Frenzy?
I'm in.

Getting a strong Ultimates vibe off this series. Only X-Men-ier.

(The only minor issue is that it immediately goes right to a tie-in to friggen King in Black...)

[iamrman]

Hmm, Fabian Cortez working with Magneto. What could possibly go wrong?

[beyondthefringe]

Magneto utterly dissed Fabian... in favor of greeting Peeper (who was one of his much earlier operatives in an incarnation of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants...

Also, he got a brief moment with another ex-Acolyte, Frenzy... but nothing with Amelia, who was likewise an Acolyte. But that makes no less than four of Magneto's former followers involved in this project; I wonder what Ewing will do to exploit this reunion. (Random was a post-Magneto Acolyte who's worked with some of the others, which might affect his loyalties if there's a power struggle...

[iamrman]

Magneto completely nope-ing past Fabian did make me smile.

[zachbeacon]

Fabian really ought to be on the "do not resurrect" list.

They're so terrified of Destiny ruining the master plan but no one ruins a plan like Cortez.

[themajesticmoose]

Nooooooo oooooooooooone's

Sly like Cortez!

Tells a lie like Cortez

No one betrays you and leaves you to die like Cortez!

Cortez: I'm esssspeeeeeciaaaalllyyyyy foooooonnnnddddd of manipulaaaaaaaaaaating

My what a jerk that Cortez!

[zachbeacon]

Gaston gets a bad rap*. He just wanted to protect the town from monster in the big scary castle.

Great song though, Kudos.

*Except for the live action one who left an old man to be eaten by wolves. F that guy.

[themajesticmoose]

I mean he did want to force a woman to marry him and put a harmless and terrified elderly man in a mental institution to blackmail her into doing so...he was a pretty terrible person...

[zachbeacon]

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt with Belle's dad. The weird girl goes missing. Her father - a known crackpot inventor - starts ranting about some sort of monster. It doesn't look great for him.

The whole thing where Belle is the only woman in town not interested in him and therefor he must have her ... isn't great though.

Honestly, aside from Belle's dad and some of the castle staff (who are literally treated like property), everyone in the story is pretty awful.

[donnblake]

He doesn't leave a lot of doubt to benefit from. He makes it fairly clear that his only interest in Maurice is as leverage to achieve his marriage to Belle. I mean, there's a chorus of "No one plots like Gaston/takes cheap shots like Gaston/plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Gaston."

His response to "Distressed old man ranting about a monster," is to laugh as he's thrown out into the dark winter's night.

[dynamiterave]

WIZ KID! YAY!

I am so happy to see him pop back up again. That is so cool.

Also, does anyone know what happened to Brand and Beast? In the comics Beast was this happy in love snuggle puppy and now he's ... you know.. doing .. stuff.. on Krakoa that isn't super ethical.

When did they break the characters up? I've tried to find some issues that speaks to the end of their relationship but I came up empty.

[spider_man6]

From what I recall, they were still a thing in the later issues in Wolverine and the X-Men after Hank had gone through his current mutation, but not much since. There could be a comic out there where there's animosity or a reason for it, but nothing comes to mind.

Though honestly, given how much of a...questionable and problematic character Beast has become in the last couple of years, and Brand's more determined space goals, not like it's bad they aren't together.

[themajesticmoose]

I think Brand can do better than a character whose characterisation has varied from being either a Cowardly Centrist or a Literal Fascist depending on the writer in recent years

And I say that with a heavy heart because I really truly did like Beast once upon a time...and I hate how much his character sucks now :(

[mindsweeper]

This was a really great book - art and copy. Ewing nailed it. Nice to see so many references to the past and random Mutants. My favorite spinoff X-book so far.

I love how they cover certain elements out in these charts. Gets the mind going. I wonder who the blanked out Psionic Analyst is? They name drop Mentallo/Marvin Flumm so there'd be no reason to hide him.

[zachbeacon]

Wait, is Manifold officially a mutant? I remember he and his fellow "caterpillars" where from an era when Marvel was actively discouraging the creation of new mutants so everyone was either an Inhuman or magic.

[scorntx]

He's the token non-Mutant.

[alliterator]

No, he's a mutant. They confirmed that long ago.

[scorntx]

They did?
Huh.
Though Eden was just a mutate, not a mutant.

[shadowpsykie]

did they reference the wedding?

[spider_man6]

if you're referring to Billy and Teddy's, then yeah. There's a scene not shown here where Paiobk is the Kree/Skrull liaison to this new version of S.W.O.R.D and explains they haven't formally joined forces because of Krakoa's outspoken dislike for Scarlet Witch - Billy's mom. He specifically calls Magneto (who's more or less the representation of Krakoa's bigotry against her) out.

[gnarll]

Interesting. In Strange Academy he is trying to mend fences with Wanda and Pietro and trying to set up get togethers.

[mindsweeper]

Yeah, the scene has two interpretations amongst fans that I have seen.

Mine is that Magneto is not on board with the situation and ruefully admitting the party line. In the panel, it’s dark and he’s looking down and away, with “The Pretender” in a smaller font.

While I think the Strange Academy thing is a joke, I don’t think Ewing portrayed Magneto as pro-justice for the de-powered.

[gnarll]

I kind of figured Magneto inn Strange Academy was trying to mend fences because he is an old hand at this, and knows when a retcon is past its use-by date.

[bruinsfan]

In Children's Crusade wasn't Magneto pretty determined to protect Wanda from the X-Men and other assorted mutants that wanted to kill her for consigning most mutants to a fate worse than death (she—gasp!—made them regular people!)? I don't see his feelings about that changing, even if he has to keep quit about them to keep the peace with all the people who buy into mutant nationalism a bit overzealously.

[themajesticmoose]

I'm glad that Magneto is trying to patch things up with his kids in Strange Academy, I hope it sticks this time around

[gnarll]

So... Magneto as council representative. I can see the reasoning. He has many years of experience running a near-earth station, Asteroid M. Very appropriate power set would let him move the station, shield it from radiation, plug breeches, and retrieve objects. Also very high tech skills.

Wiz Kid for engineering, that works.

Teleporters for logistics, very good. Krakoas give some A-grade resources there.

Fabian Cortez on medical? Does he even have any medical skills? He has a power that directly damages people but makes them feel fine while they deteriorate. He is kind of a mutant steroid.

Frenzy for a diplomat? Do they know her name is not just there because it sounds cool?

Scotts gun-nut teenage kid for security leadership?

Honestly, I realize they can't have all of Krakoas greatest resources, and there may be some people there Krakoa is actively looking to get rid of (looking at you Cortez) but they seem to have gone out of their way to put some people into jobs they are very unsuited for.

Smooth talking Cortez might actually work on the diplomatic team. Ex-military Frenzy would be a good security fit. I think Cable spent so much time in future health care that he might even work on medical.

[mindsweeper]

The medical line goes around Cortez. He is on the energy resources side of things. They absolutely needed him to amplify the team’s powers to accomplish the mission and Ewing did a good job showing his impact on everyone.

As I noted above, Brand specifically says he was picked because of short notice and slim pickings. I don’t know who else could have functioned in his role but it’s good to have tension. He does get actively humiliated in the issue.

[bruinsfan]

Xavier has supercharged other mutants' powers and enhanced their control of same with his mental powers before. I suppose it's theoretically possible that other mutants with versatile telepathy could do the same, though Mantis is the only psychic I recall actually having done something like that (and she's so mixed up with cosmic stuff I'm not sure it was garden variety telepathy at work...)

[onsokumaru]

Frenzy for a diplomat? Do they know her name is not just there because it sounds cool?

In an universe where the most powerfull space empires have a strong warrior culture, that makes sense.
And Paibok actually praised the SWORD's ceremonial combat arena.

[nyadnar17]

You ever just read something so beautiful and comiciy it makes you wanna cry?

X-men comics were so bad, for so long I'd almost forgotten how great this part of the Marvel universe is. This is wonderful.

[gnarll]

So... read it now. Magneto is clearly not in with the party line on Wanda. Even the alien remarks on him doing something he does not agree with there. Still, even Magneto don't have enough influence to erase some things.

But... I am glad things in the MU have consequences again, not just forgotten in the next story.

Magneto sure has some weird faces here. And he looks really old for someone who is physically in his thirties.

Loved the snub of Cortez. And Peeper made good from it.

Are they stealing Phoenix-fire?

And there is 616 Blink! There is a character thats been overshadowed by her Exiles counterpart.

[bruinsfan]

I found myself wondering if they were making a Multiverse 8.0 version of a Cosmic Cube.

[tcampbell1000]

I think this is the most chill Magneto not played by Ian McKellen since the Eighties.