S.W.O.R.D. #6 - "This Is What Comes Next"

[laughing_tree]

It’s not just X-readers and space explorers who get what they want -- fans of my more cosmic Marvel work will have plenty to digest as well, as mutantkind thinks even bigger and takes it even further, into realms I’m almost surprised they let me get away with. After conquering death, what’s next -- and will we survive the experience? -- Al Ewing

Comments

[shakalooloo]

Brand's space pirate costume is great, but why? Her whole life has been being on the other side of the law to them nasty pirate types, so is this just her getting to let her hair down one time?

[alliterator]

She's literally cosplaying as Space Pirate Captain Harlock.

[coldfury]

I'm not sure how I feel about the whole Trial of Magneto storyline, but I do like someone addressing the elephant in the room that they thought they were blood for years if not decades (timelines, am I right?), and that's not something most people would throw away at the behest of a guy called the High Evolutionary.

[donnblake]

Yeah, Marvel's long had this sort of uncomfortable unspoken assumption that at the end of the day, blood relations are the only family that *really* matters. And between the numerous retcons to her parentage and the unique situation with Billy and Tommy, Wanda seems to wind up at the center of that more than most.

[donnblake]

You know, it occurs to me that Brand's been taking responsibility for Earth's diplomatic stance towards alien worlds without really bothering to inform or check with anyone on Earth if it didn't suit her pretty much since we've met her, so on that level, par for the course.

[tinygaylaura]

That's because Earth doesn't get a say in the matter. Because the empires that rule the universe all regard Earth on the whole as a back-water run by idiots.

Quill says it straight out in this weeks Guardians of the Galaxy, that Krakoa and "Planet Arakko" an the invention of this new miracle metal that's saved the universal financial system are the first time in ever that any of the other species of the universe have viewed Earth with anything other than pity or contempt

I can't really say I blame them either

Where other species have mastered time travel, faster than light travel, artificial intelligence, teleportation, cybernetics and science so advanced it looks like magic, the people of earth are still arguing about whether evolution is real and can't go five seconds without finding some difference to do a hate crime against someone over

and our greatest "achievement" was putting a flag on the moon

Put it this way: Brand doesn't check with Earth when she makes these decisions for the same reason a pet owner doesn't ask their dog for advice when making a life changing decision

[silverhammerman]

Brand's role in SWORD is great because it's the clearest indication so far that Krakoa is little different from the human imperial powers it claims to be outgrowing, they've just got a thin veneer of inclusivity and progressivism.

She's an old US-affiliated spymaster who thinks nothing of, at best, skirting the laws of Krakoa with extra-judicial assassinations and the installation of favourable governments, is more loyal to her own sense of order than any Krakoan ideals (didn't she explicitly say somewhere in the first couple of issues that she sees her role as being bigger than Krakoa?) and is happy to jettison ideas of equality when push comes to shove (as seen in her KiB contingency plan of sending the Five off with a limited selection of hand-picked DNA to rebuild mutant society). She's awful in all of the ways that people like that are always awful, but because she's a young mutant woman with cool green hair it's possible to be fooled by the nominal representation.

Because Ewing is writing this series and I consider him a thoughtful writer, this seems deliberate, unlike some of the other Krakoa books, so I think it's really fascinating to see how this is all being built up.

[tinygaylaura]

I loved this issue!

I love this book in general but this was one of my favorite issues so far.

Seeing Magneto reconcile with Wanda was lovely and I really hope the Trial of Magneto story isn't going to undo this or ruin it in any way. My hope is that it's going to be revealed one of the mutants who Exodous has been brainwashing to think Wanda is evil killed her

Or perhaps that Exodous himself is responsible

And that this leads to Wanda being brought back with the reveal that she is in fact a mutant and also leads to the Council addressing the fact that one of their members starting a hate cult is not something they should be allowing

[iamrman]

Yes, I too hope that this will lead to the revelation that Wanda was a mutant all along.

[zachbeacon]

Exodous has been pretty quiet compared the the other clearly evil Council members. Seems like he's due.

It'd be an interesting motivation if the actual Magneto failed to live up to the one that's been living in his head since the Acolyte days.

[donnblake]

Given Arrako's whole vibe, I wonder whether/how often Storm will need to defend that title in single combat.

I mean, she's qualified for it, and resurrection kind of lowers the stakes, but it seems like it could be a time drain.

Maybe they can hold some kind of tournament once in a while and Storm can just beat down/electrocute the champion of that instead of dealing with everyone who thinks they're hard enough individually.

[tinygaylaura]

The people of Q'onoS approve of this plan

[zachbeacon]

I don't think she's qualified to be Queen at all since she usually either bails and/or gets a bunch of people killed when she's made anything more than a field leader but you raise a good point in that resurrection lowers the stakes.

If the job is to negotiate with galactic leadership (Brand seems to be saying Mars is a trade hub) then I do think she's qualified* but she makes more sense as an ambassador than a queen.

*Tyrants like Doom, Arkon, and Dracula LOVE her and space is FULL of dudes like them.

[iamrman]

Does this mean Storm will start cosplaying as Dejah Thoris? Not that I'm complaining...

[tinygaylaura]

God I hope so....

[blueprintstyles]

Is Quicksilver still dead? I'm not sure how his last mini ended

[tinygaylaura]

I haven't seen Quicksilver in ANYTHING in so long...

[donnblake]

I think the last thing I actually read with Quicksilver he was time-jumping and had a bunch of Terrigen crystal embedded in him which let him repower mutants (often with adverse side-effects).

But Wikipedia tells me he was alive and fighting alongside Mockinbird and Wonder Man as recently as Empyre.

[lordultimus]

Not an economist, but isn't a metal standard economy sort of backwards for space empires?

[shakalooloo]

Also, the sample that each empire has been given is essentially useless, as the material needs to be shaped early on and then sets its shape. Fancy paperweights is all they are.

[alliterator]

It's a special metal called Mysterium. It's flexible, but also nearly indestructible. (The SWORD team retrieved it in the first issue, if you want to know how they got it.) Which means that it's pretty much the perfect metal for ship-building, which is what probably drives the economy these days.

The previous Galactic Economy crashed due to the back-to-back invasions of the Cotati and Knull. Having something new and stable to base the economy on is probably a good thing. :)

[cyberghostface]

Definitely seems like they're setting up Scarlet Witch being Magneto's daughter again in light of the Fox merger. They'll probably even have her be resurrected in Krakoa to confirm she was still a mutant all along as well.

[scorntx]

Reckon you might be on to something there.

(either that or they kill her and then declare that she is totally utterly deadity dead forever. That also seems like something Marvel might do.)

[lordultimus]

I'd love to see the aneurysm from her haters for that.

[zachbeacon]

Queen of Mars, you say?

https://youtu.be/3eDtTOfMbRc

Honestly I find myself agreeing with Doom again. Sure his objection is that Earth (and him specifically) doesn't represent Sol but there are also civilizations on the moon, Titan, Uranus (heh), and possibly some places I'm forgetting that are being shut out here.

[bruinsfan]

Who's left on the moon in the wake of the Inhumans' departure years ago? A few X-men?

I mean, Uatu and Nick Fury, I guess.