‘X of Swords’ remains an important moment in Hickman’s era

While not without its stumbles, X of Swords feels consequential and remains an important moment in Hickman’s X-era.

February 1, 2022

“Lives will be lost, alliances will be shattered, and fortunes will be gained,” declares the Omniversal Majestrix Saturnyne. So begins X of Swords, the first major crossover of Hickman’s X-era. As the first line-wide crossover, there was a lot riding on this event. We’d had a year of seeding plot lines across the titles all building to this tournament arc for the X-Men. While largely a payoff to Excalibur and X-Men plots, each title is woven into this event. With Hickman rounding out his X-Men run this past month in Inferno, it becomes interesting to revisit what has become the second act of his run.

X of Swords is cynically summed up best by Wolverine as a “multidimensional feud over land rights.” Definitely not the best way to sell readers on this event, but that is essentially what it boils down to. The demonic forces of Amenth have taken over Krakoa’s other half Arrako and seek to claim the rest of their prize. In order to achieve this, they must traverse across Otherworld, the domain of Saturnyne. The opposing forces then strike a fickle deal with the witch to have a tournament to determine the fate of both lands.

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Saturnyne’s forboding declaration at the start of this event drives the bulk of the tension here. Death suddenly becomes a reality for the mutants as a death in Otherworld results in a “roll of the dice” for resurrection. New alliances are forged and old ones are broken in efforts to do what seems right, and fortune does indeed favor the bold. There are a lot of moving pieces across this 22 part event and it’s impressive to see how the various creators juggle it all and pay the good majority of it off.

Perhaps one of the strongest parts of X of Swords is its world. There are tons of new characters and concepts introduced across these 22 issues and each has their own role to play. A majority of these center around Apocalypse and his history with Arrako. For concurrent X-readers, the mysteries of the Summoners, what happened to Arrako, and Apocalypse’s secrets all culminate here. It becomes a very rewarding read for those keeping up with the line as the twists keep revealing deeper and deeper layers to this world.

Interspersed in each issue are the infographics we’ve come to expect from this X-era. They provide Otherworld context and quotes as well as commentary from the forces back on Krakoa we don’t have time to cut back to. These build out the world well, but are also entirely skippable. Credit where it’s due though, these pages do fill in the blanks for those unfamiliar with Otherworld and aid in the dense amount of worldbuilding that occurs across the event.

Unfortunately, the worldbuilding does at times get in the way of the larger story. For all the lore and history established/re-established here, it can bog down the narrative propulsion — so much so that we spend the first 14 issues of the event doing little but setup. There are some cool moments interspersed across these issues, such as Wolverine’s quest to Hell and the Summers family stopping an alien incursion, but the surrounding content can be so drastically dull.

Talking heads galore.
Marvel Comics

It’s too far into this X-era to start criticizing it for relying on characters sitting in a circle talking about things for entire issues, but it reaches a peak here. Large portions of the event focus on characters just talking through things with little action taking place, and the degree of effectiveness varies by writer. The broader discussions near the beginning can be engaging as our heroes come to terms with the contest before them, but as the event goes on the conversations become so bloated with exposition it kills the forward momentum.

However, once the event passes the 14 issue mark, we finally get into the meat of the tournament, where the event really kicks into high gear. The stakes have never been higher and our heroes may not return the same. What follows are challenges that range from the expected duels to arm wrestling and drinking competitions. This keeps the tournament from feeling like something we’ve seen before and keeps in line with Saturnyne’s selfish machinations.

Marvel Comics

The grand finale to the event rounds out with an all-out battle between the forces of Amenth and Otherworld with the X-Men caught in the middle. It’s epic in scale and all the plotlines come to a natural head. The fallout of the event also results in some key shifts in the X-line with characters not returning and others forging new paths. It wraps up in a way that leaves many doors open for the future while paying off the immediate story in a satisfying manner.

One of the many challenges in events of this scale face is balancing a number of different writers and artists. The art generally changes from issue to issue, save for Wolverine and X-Force as the two go hand in hand, and each issue brings a unique flair. There is practically nothing to complain about here as each artist brings their A-game, though I must say the art does reach a crescendo in the events key issues: X of Swords: Creation, Stasis, and Destruction all are crafted by Pepe Larraz and Marte Garcia in epic fashion. Their style elevates the event and gives the key moments the grandeur they deserve.

Marvel Comics

When it comes to the paperback itself, it’s a fine collection. It’s a more cost effective alternative to the hardcover collection and still makes for a solid deal of 23 comics for $75 (or just $51 on Amazon), especially when some of the single issues pushed a $5 cover price. The collection does also utilize a neat design layout to structure the books with graphics denoting each issue, which also blends really well with the infographic pages. The only disappointing aspect from a collection point of view is the omission of the Excalibur #12 prelude issue. Even weirder, the collection does reprint the X-Men #12 prelude. X-Men and Excalibur form the backbone of the whole event so it becomes disappointing to not have a key lead-in issue collected here.

All told, X of Swords is a fine event. It works well at paying off several through-lines for the era, while also ushering in new status quo changes. Though the expansive worldbuilding does eventually get in the way of the story, it’s still impressive, especially with how it all culminates in the final issues. The writing quality varies across the titles, but the art is consistently great. While not without its stumbles, X of Swords feels consequential and remains an important moment in Hickman’s X-era.