S.W.O.R.D., Vol. 2

S.W.O.R.D. (2020)

by Al Ewing, Stefano Caselli (Illustrator), Guiu Villanova (Illustrator)

The morning after the Hellfire Gala!

The party is over, but not all the guests have gone home. Victor Von Doom is staying for dinner. And he’s begun chatting to a very old friend in a very new setting. Chatting about thrones, empires, magic, Mysterium…and the cosmic chaos of the Last Annihilation! Meanwhile, now that the X-Men have gone interplanetary and the central seat of Arakko has been claimed, everyone knows who speaks for Sol. Storm rules! But when you have to prove to your people who you are, every single day without fail…what eventually becomes of who you once were?

COLLECTING: S.W.O.R.D. (2020) #7-11, Cable: Reloaded (2021) #1

Genres: Comics, X Men, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2022

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

The off-world mutant team continues to entertain, with an interaction with Doom, yes that Dr Doom, and multi-layered political and conflict shenanigans resulting from the emergence of Arakko. This book is a bit too non-linear, and not in an innovative way. The characterisation development continues to be limited although there are much better attempts at it in this volume. This is nether the less a great volume because the internal and external politics are just so compelling. As each team member has to consider, who can they trust? 8 out of 12, Four Stars.
This volume also includes Cable: Reloaded #1. Which seeks to wrap up the Young Cable story, and does a pretty good and surprising ending job of it :)

2024 read

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This got real interesting once we got past The Last Annihilation crossover. Once the focus shifted to Storm and Planet Arrako, I was hooked. Henry Gyrich makes his move. He's the ultimate villain bureaucrat. Loved the reveal at the end of the series. It has me pumped for X-Men: Red now.

[Scratch · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not a real comic book.

You may have picked up individual issues of this comic. You may have been able to admire some of the artwork, and read dialogue suggesting that mutant characters were using their powers to fight each other. But, there was never actually a coherent storyline to this title. Only a handful of characters appeared across the title in more than 3 or 4 issues, and none of them were given deeper characterization.

Were you thrilled to see the obscure mutants Risque and Random in the first issue of this series? Well, tough noogies. They never had a line of dialogue or appeared again. Weirdly, Storm seemed to become a permanent cast member halfway through this "series"' run. But, whatever.

Were there even any common themes throughout this? Abigail Brand liked to claim that she was speaking on behalf of the entire Sol solar system a lot. This never made any sense, because in the Marvel Universe there are Eternals living on both Titan and Uranus. There may be a few pockets of other aliens living in our galaxy too, like how the Watcher and Inhumans have often lived on the moon. Abigail Brand never addressed these groups, or explained why she felt she was speaking on behalf of them. But one time she did show up to an important diplomatic meeting inexplicably cosplaying as Captain Harlock, Space Pirate.

So... yay?

Everything was apparently supposed to build up to a surprise reveal in the final issue. When it came about, I was left apathetic, because I hadn't been invested in any of the characters or "plots" up until this point.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty good. Even with the need to tie into a mandatory crossover, the story never loses focus. And the Storm stuff on Mars (Arrako) is good as she fends off challengers to her position. And even the skullduggery around Henry Gyrich and Orchis is good, with a couple of double (triple) agents at work behind the scenes. The artwork is strong throughout. Looking forward to seeing the seeds planted here grow in future stories.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's only so many crossovers you can throw at one title and not have it collapse under its own weight. Al Ewing is a master at making crossovers work for him rather than losing his plot in the attempt to tie-in, but asking him to tie into the Hellfire Gala and the Last Annihilation (although he wrote most of that anyway) and then wrap up the series in five issues is a tall order indeed.

And yet, he pulls it off. He god damn pulls it off. And he does it while weaving his own story about betrayal and underestimation, using characters like Fabian Cortez and Gizmo of all people, that I'd never given a toss about before now. SWORD may not have the most forward momentum of the X books, but when it's this good at taking its sweet time, I'm not complaining. And of course, the past is prologue, because all of this is just building up to (the hopefully crossover free) X-Men Red which will take its place shortly.

So it's sad to see SWORD go, because it does a lot and it does it well, but it's more of farewell for now rather than a true goodbye. If X-Men Red is anywhere near as good as this, we're in for a treat.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75
Read out of X-Men completionist obligation. Also, Ewing's work in general. But this title was all over the place. And the characterization was...off.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well ain’t Al Ewing a clever writer? That was both fun *and* chock full of clever writing that I didn’t expect out of this book(no spoilers). (Not that i can remember what the previous volume was about - god is it hard to swallow this Krakoa line of comics whole, when I can hardly remember from month to month what misadventures I just read. Like the recap pages aren’t even enough to keep me tuned in - can I get page-by-page recaps? Is this what AI will be able to do for me? Can I just offload all my reading tasks and bask in the glory of comics, like Neo learning kung-fu?)

But am I ready to dive into whatever Al Ewing cooked up after this? Fook yeah. Ewing for president of the Quiet Council. I’ll even put a campaign sign on my lawn.

[Rylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

i really wanted to enjoy this series but this last volume solidified my thoughts we don’t really get a plot until the last few issues and by then it’s too late because the series got cancelled and moved to x-men red (a much better book)

[Clint · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Another Reign of X series that ends abruptly, delivering on little of its initial promise and feeling editorially mishandled. This series seemed like a perfect modern on-ramp to cosmic Marvel stuff, but instead it’s functioned more like a dumping ground for other cosmic series to tie up their own loose ends or setup new ones. This final volume contains more crossover tie-ins, and then the remaining issues barely involve the issue 1 cast aside from Abigail Brand. Instead there’s a lot of plot resolution for the Cable series and even more setup for Storm’s leading role in the apparent follow-up X-men: Red. Red seems as intriguing as S.W.O.R.D. did at the beginning, but I hope it’s not as disappointing as this was.

[Alex Sarll]

Well, it looks like Immortal Hulk was an anomaly, and Al is otherwise back to doing books that weave around crossovers for two or three volumes before going to live on a farm. Doing excellent work along the way, it must be noted, but all the same, it's frustrating. To be fair, SWORD is at least one of the ones which is transitioning to a new phase (and thus a new #1, to which Marvel's high-ups have an addiction which makes crack look take it or leave it); it's built to the point where it will become X-Men Red, doubtless a title with higher sales potential, and one which will better reflect SWORD's shift in focus from mutants defending the Earth to mutants colonising Mars. And yes, maybe all the other plot strands here, the espionage and the galactic economics and the cosmic weirdness, will find a home in that book, or other Ewing comics, or even other series within the increasingly close-knit X-office. Certainly, that twist upon twist upon hugely impressive feat of superpowers final issue doesn't seem like the sort of thing that's going to be forgotten about in a hurry. All the same, one day I'd like to see another Al Ewing volume 4, 5 and beyond on my shelves.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The biggest problem with SWORD is its lack of focus, or rather its bipartite focus: Ororo and Mars and Brand and SWORD. The Mars story is the most intriguing one, particularly after the events of the Hellfire Gala, whereas the SWORD story only gains weight at the end, so that's an uncomfortable balance for the volume.

Still, an enjoyable read, particularly as you wonder where it's going from here (hopefully in X-Men Red, as I believe this is the end of SWORD).

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish this was more coherent. I absolutely loved the first 6 issues of the run, but for it to continue that strong is asking too much. Caught between The Last Annihilation and speedrunning setup for X-Men Red, this volume is more about Storm flexing her power and Brand going on and on how she's the only smart one in the room, the traitorous snake. There's little to no depth, and the art isn't even that consistent. A real shame considering how strong the series started

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This book was all over the place! I know there is much to cover on the galactic front of mutantdom, but this seemed either too connected to the rest of the Marvel Universe, or is just setting up too much to be revealed soon...
Highlights:
- Brand and the rest of the team show up to help Emperor Hulkling with his battlefront during "The Last Annihilation" event. (But I'm not sure why that event started or what happens after this issue...)
- Cable is back! BUT... he's adult (or older) Cable. (Why? How did he get old again? Where has he been since X of Swords?) Cable is now in charge of SWORD Station A, and leads a team called the (All New) X-Terminators (Cable, Boom-Boom, Cannonball, WizKid, Lila Cheney, and Khora of the Burning Heart) But then another element of oddness... they are building a giant "space gun" and "bullets" out of the newly discovered element Mysterium. Why? Who are they pointing it at?
- In addition to sitting on the Quiet Council of Krakoa, Storm also sits on the Great Ring of Arakko as the Regent and head of the Council. This causes her, in such a violent society like Arakko, to have to face down challenges for her seat A LOT. This causes her to be late to the visiting delegation from the Shi'ar.
- The Shi'Ar come to Sol (the name of our solar system as known by all other Galactic Civilizations) to form diplomatic relations. But they are attacked by the Lethal Legion, a group of cloned powerful mutants who have been sent by Henry Gyrich, who is one of the heads in ORCHIS. At the same time, a mole (later revealed to be a double agent), Wizkid, seems to take out both Cable and SWORD Station A, only for it to be Brand's plan all along.
- Ends with Gyrich tossed out an airlock..... but I'm sure he will be back at some point.

Overall, the Volume was good and kept my attention... but too many questions and open plotlines.
Recommend.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series really suffers from The Last Annihilation crossover that got shoehorned into it at the beginning of this volume. Without having followed (or been remotely interested in) the rest of the crossover, I found the first issue centered on an attack from Breakworld on various worlds in the Marvel cosmos to be an unpleasant interruption on the rest of this story. Issue #7 of SWORD is spent on this, and then a Cable one-shot continues that story, but doesn't conclude it--no, you have to read the rest of Last Annihilation for that.

Once that is out of the way, and the focus shifts more to Arakko (previously known as Mars), things get a bit more interesting. I particularly enjoyed the scenes where Storm is trying to cement herself into her position among Arrakkan leadership. But then we shift back to SWORD, and Henry Peter Gyrich and his plan to crash the space station into Australia, and things just seem a bit rushed and disjointed. Al Ewing is an accomplished writer, but this series just never quite jelled together very cohesively.

I AM however looking forward to the X-Men: Red book that follows this, as that will likely be more focused on what's actually happening on the red planet rather than the space station that isn't nearly as interesting as I might have hoped. The art in this volume is done by various illustrators, all of whom were pretty good at drawing the weird aliens and technological stuff a book like this required. Also, I don't know if any of the illustrators of this book actually designed it, but I absolutely loved Storm's costume in this volume. It's a shame that it appears to get retired very early on in X-Men: Red, because it's such an incredibly snazzy look for her.

2.5 STARS

[Matthew Ward · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Honestly, I didn’t care about most of this book. The team is just ehh and Arakko as a whole is just ehh. I did enjoy the Cable one-shot, the Rogue combat situations on Arakko, and the Wiz-Kid storyline though.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

After an interesting but disjointed start, the story finds its groove as it heads into the Inferno event. The twists and reveals here are fantastic. Top tier storytelling. And the art? Fantastic and boldly coloured. 4.5 stars.

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

First time rereading this trade. I’m unsure how long this series was ever planned to be, but I see why it would have ended early if it did. It’s all over the place. It needs to do too much.

[Joey Nardinelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already don’t remember a ton about the plot of the first SWORD volume, but this one felt fairly coherent and seemed to be laying groundwork for a more galactic confrontation between the Krakoan mutants, the Arakki, Orchis, and Brand as the turncoat. Honestly, the Brand thing will probably run for a while yet and I can’t see the ending of that arc being super compelling. Time will tell. I guess setting this stuff against a galactic backdrop also brings the downside of unnecessary complexity, but I feel like I can follow the basic politics of the Shi’ar and Sol Mutants and blah blah blah at this point.

[Michael Church · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first, I really didn’t enjoy this volume. The first issue was, yet again, another tie-in to a Marvel Cosmic event (The Last Annihilation or something). It was an action packed and enjoyable enough issue, but then there was no resolution to the story. It mainly focused on Hulkling and then Brand coming to rescue him, so that the Kree/Skrull alliance would owe her one.

The next issue started with Cable on a mission (which it turns out is related to the previous story, but you don’t find that out for a bit). Then I realized I needed to be comparing this to Hickman’s X-Men run. It’s not about the individual stories coming to a conclusion within each issue, it’s about the seeds being planted for something to come (that “something,” it turns out, being X-Men Red following Inferno). That’s when I started really having fun.

The Cable: Reloaded issue was a lot cooler than I would’ve given it credit for. It brought together some classic characters from his early days with X-Force, and even had a little reunion of Cannonball and Lila Cheney which was pretty cute. I’ve loved seeing Wiz Kid get the spotlight in SWORD, and that includes this one shot.

Then we have a couple of issues that, I think, are some of the best Storm spotlights I’ve ever read. Her defending her seat on the great ring of Arakko is fantastic, totally makes sense, and takes her back to some of her classic character-defining moments, especially her fight with Tarn. And it goes beyond the action. The way she is trying to be there for these people and understand their society, compared to what happened with the Morlocks. I also wonder how it compares to her role with T’Challa in Wakanda when she was married to him. Unfortunately, some of the art by Guiu Vilanova lacks a lot of detail or refinement and ends up looking splotchy almost, and distorted compared to typical character models. But the story was that good that I still enjoyed the issue.

Storm’s dinner with Doom during the first issue, alternating with the Last Annihilation story, is also superlative. I’ve heard of their relationship from years past, and Ewing expertly illustrates it here with their combination of flirtation, aggression, and politics.

Then the volume wraps up with its only proper arc about a Shi’ar diplomatic visit that leads to an assassination attempt and the destruction of a SWORD station. There are twists and turns, some great feats by the characters, some shocking moments, and it all wraps up very excitingly. While this short lived title wasn’t the most impressive of the one that even had the space to win me over in general, it had some great moments, and I’m very excited for what comes next.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid offering from the Krakoa era. The Shi'ar come to Earth to parlay with the X-men, who have effectively announced themselves the rulers of our solar system following the events of the Hellfire Gala. This high-level diplomacy intersects with some space-station scheming from the likes of Henry Gyrich and Abigail Brand.

The twists are entertaining, but the tone isn't consistent. Storm is a fine character, but she's elevated to near-god level here, which feels fawning and excessive. She’s stuck dealing with the war-forged chuckleheads of Arakko, whom she manages to rule through force of personality in what felt like a tired echo of old Morlock plots.

We also get a new, Fatal Five-inspired group of villains, artfully designed by Valerio Schiti. They manage to humble the Shi'ar Imperial Guard before, you guessed it, getting laid low by Storm.

S.W.O.R.D. has the same problem I have with a lot of the Krakoa era, where it feels it needs to impress upon me just how cool and revolutionary it is at the expense of the story it's trying to tell. The X-men have evolved, which raises plenty of intriguing avenues to explore, but the characters' human element is suffering for it.

[Emilie]

Explains what was going on in the Marvel universe at the time from another point of view than that of the Guardians of the Galaxy, but I liked several members of that year's roster of Guardians of the Galaxy better than I like most of the members of S.W.O.R.D.

I'd read a lot more X-Men and related X-titles in the 1980s and 1990s than I had of those Marvel characters who were regular spacefarers, but most of these mutants are extremely obscure. I vaguely remember Fabian Cortez, but what I remember is that he was awful. And here he is making a case for murdering humans, which seems consistent for him. Abigail Brand seems like a pretty horrible person also.

This ties in with crossover events, and I appreciated seeing Hulkling and getting more of the Last Annihilation storyline. There were nice looks at some of the more sympathetic mutant characters, both lesser-known and famous. But I wasn't loving the main characters.

[Scott Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Al Ewing is doing some of the best work to be found at Marvel in recent years, and this book is a great example of why.

There are Marvel stories--at least stories set in the Marvel Universe--that aren't Superhero story. Or where, the superheroics are secondary to the characters, relationships, and other storytelling genres being employed. These are stories of any number of a million and one genres and genre combinations that happen to be set in a superhero world, the MU. I love when that happens. And with this science-fiction thriller Ewing absolutely delivers. Spying and espionage, double and triple agents, plotting and politics, and duels--all meaningful, not a frame wasted and the dialogue and visuals both sparkle. This is a really, strong book, and oh...that ending.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

A marginal improvement from the first volume due to no longer being tied heavily into the "King in Black" event, but now we get tie-ins to "The Last Annihilation". Atleast in this case Ewing seems to have more autonomy over the story, but it's still pretty uninteresting. Storm deals with the challenges of incorporating Arakko in the galactic community, and old man Cable deals with a mole aboard the S.W.O.R.D. station. Abigail Brand is hardly given much to do other than be mysterious. There are interesting ideas in Ewing's S.W.O.R.D. limited series, but ultimately this was too deeply entrenched in disparate ideas to ever really get to tell its own story.

Hoping I enjoy X-Men: Red more, since I do think these kinds of stories are playing to Ewing's strengths.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

S.W.O.R.D.'s place in this new Krakoan era makes sense and Al Ewing has fun with this book but once again, editorial misfires make this less than it could be. The book starts with parts of crossover with the Guardians Of The Galaxy and its not all collected here nor mentioned. Bad decision. The stuff with Arakko is underwhelming as these new characters don't resonate or really matter. Storm is amazing though and she shines here. Orchis is up to no good here and there are some wild developments. The art is hit and miss for me here as well. Overall, an entertaining read that could have done with less Arakko and the entire Dormammu tale.

[Alfredo Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid as anything by Ewing. I'm always so chuffed that he is a writer around my age who seems to have similar tastes, as well as a penchant for continuity winks and folds. The SWORD book in general fell prey a bit to both The Larger X Story and to events, and ended with shocking speed (but was replaced by the even better X-Men Red!) but it was all pretty good. Gave me big time Secret Warriors vibes in the best way, with Brand's wheels within wheels and of course the all-time coolest Stefano Caselli on the art!

[Rahul Nadella · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, on the series as a whole: I think SWORD was less about telling one story than it was about making the mutant-related status quo changes Al Ewing needs for his big cosmic plans. I get a strong impression that this title was at the bottom of the writer's priority list all through its run. A quality twist ending, which is to say that it both comes out of nowhere and makes perfect sense for the character and story. S.W.O.R.D goes out on a high note. I was disappointed from time to time reading this series, but definitely not here at the end.

[JCRD]

Buenísima etapa se ha marcado Ewing aquí. Ojalá fuese más larga para poder desarrollar todo más y explorar todos los rincones del espacio Marvel desde el punto de vista mutante, pero me lo he pasado pipa estos once números. Abigail Brand es mi pastora, nada me falta (y creíamos que la gente chunga de verdad estaba en el Consejo Silencioso, je).

A ver cómo va la cosa en X-Men Red, que los planes de Ewing parecen seguir adelante.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like watching Storm be a badass weather witch, this will be the volume for you. (I didn't find her Arrakan machinations super compelling) There's also plenty of intriguing betrayals and the dispatching of an Orchis villain. What there isn't? Much S.W.O.R.D.-specific work. The team is fairly scattered here, so the galaxy-spanning adventures of the previous volume fade into the rearview mirror.

[Russell Wilcox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a fan

I'm not sure why this collection even exists. Parts of other stories being told elsewhere make up 3 of the issues collected. And the 4th and 5th issues were kind of just mediocre. I haven't kept up with the X-Men universe, and this was a horrible book to try and jump back in on. Only read if you have followed everything going on in Marvel nowadays. Because otherwise this collection makes absolutely no sense.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first collection was slammed around by too many crossovers, but the involvement in the Annihilation crossover this time was mild and mostly confined to the book's main story. What really shines this time, though, is Storm setting up X-Men Red as the biggest badass on two planets, and that's well worth price of admission even before the entertaining (if largely indecipherable) double-triple crosses on the space station.