It’s Wednesday so we have new X of Swords chapters! Unlike previous weeks we are only getting two installments this time around; Excalibur and X-Men issues #13 respetively.

Excalibur: Ok, so no secret this is not my favorite book in the lineup; something about mutants and magic that have never mixed with me. I’m aware of the irony as this whole event seems to use magic as its base. However, Hickman and company have done a decent job at laying out their characters and plot so I’ve stuck around!

The art in this book was superb! I really took my time going through the pages taking in the beautiful panels as well as the new reveals.

Starlight Sword: I was correct! In a previous article breaking down the swords for the Krakoa champions I assumed that the Starlight Sword would go to Betsy Braddock. Out of all the blades this one is a close second next to Skybreaker for me. The design is badass and next to the new Captain Britain uniform it’s just- chef’s kiss.

The sword is specifcially forged by Saturnyne and was made so thay she could bypass the sword of might and amulet of right to create a champion to defend her and her Citadel (If I’m not mistaken).

Along with this we see Brian Braddock take on the Sword of Might and assume his new identity as Captain Avalon! Ok! This means Betsy will be keeping the title of Captain Britain for the forseeble future.

This is all I wanted or needed from this issue; collect the two swords and get them to the circle. Great. Got it.

Of course double-crossing the thirsty Saturnyne and stealing her sword will likely not bode well for Betsy and her brother (especially since Saturnyne is hosting the damn contest). She is destined to lose more than she planned! What can it be? I would assume she or her brother are about to die in this thing so my money will stay on Brian dying in the tournament to come.

X-Men: I was expecting bigger bombs from this issue! Yet, I suppose anything juicy is being reserved for next week’s X of Swords: Stasis #1. What did we get? Certainly some color…

Isca: We already know that Isca betrays the team and joined the apposing forces. What we learned this time around is that she was the one who forged the blade of Apocalypse, Scarab (called that too). The sword is made of four parts in order to represent his four children/ original horsemen.

Annihilation: So, not a big identity reveal but the plot certainly thickens. Essentially Annihilation is some kind of dark God from this evil world. She lives contained in the mesmerizing golden mask we’ve seen through the story so far.

Apparently, the one who wears the mask has access to enormous power but if they are not worthy/ powerful enough the mask will literally burn them into nothing. So, whoever is currently wearing the mask is someone very powerful and a force to be reckoned with. Other than that info it looks like we have some more time to wait before we find out who’s under it. At this point? I think it’s Gensis.

Genesis: This is the biggest reveal so far. First, Genesis, the long lost wife of Apocalypse, has the mutant power to control plantlife. In the stories we’ve been told thus far it seemed Apocalypse made the decision on his own to close off the bridge to Arrako with his family locked away on the other side. This is false.

It was a family discussion!

Genesis and their four children decided that they would stay on Arrako and fight againt the threatening forces while Apocalypse stayed behind to “judge” humanity.

This is the biggest retcon; Apocalypse didn’t want survival of the fittest for the hell of it, he wanted survival of the fittest to ensure a powerful army to fight against these dark world creatures and to help his family!

I don’t know how I feel about this… It essentially completely redefines the character as a soul just desperate to get back to his family and his people! Is he really all that evil? WAS he ever all that evil?

It begs the question, what is he fighting for now if his wife is dead and his children just betrayed him?

Perhaps we will know more next week for the singular issue releasing.

Until nex time!