As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.

S.W.O.R.D. #6
“This is What Comes Next”
by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti & Marte Gracia

COVER / PAGE 1: Abigail Brand distributing mysterium to assorted aliens (who we can see reflected in its surface).

PAGES 2-6. Captain America and Dr Doom.

Although this is a “Hellfire Gala” tie-in issue, we open with the Gala itself already finished, and Captain America looking up at Mars, terraformed an hour or so earlier in Planet-Size X-Men #1. We previously saw some of Captain America’s reaction in the epilogue to Marauders #21: “Well, you solved one big problem, but I’m worried you might have made an even bigger mess. I just hope you all know what you’re doing.” The “one big problem”, we now know, was what to do with Arakko.

In sharp contrast to the triumphalist tone of Planet-Size X-Men, the tone here is almost mournful, laying all the stress on the fact that the non-mutants are being excluded from the sort of interplanetary expansion that he always saw as a hopeful vision of the future. Cap sees the main lesson here in terms of division and separation instead. And he’s right, of course – the mutants will be in full-on hubris mode for most of this issue too, so this is a very interesting way of starting the issue. It’s no accident that Captain America, the Marvel Universe saint, is being used for this role.

At the same time, the suggestion here is that the regular superheroes are going to wind up allied with Dr Doom against Krakoa. We previously had a quotation from Doom at the end of issue #1, after S.W.O.R.D. first retrieved mysterium: “You have stolen fire from Heaven to hold in your hands. How could I object? I have done the same myself – with one significant difference. I wore gloves. Be careful.” Clearly, Doom believes that the mutants are going to screw it up somewhere along the line.

Meanwhile, Guardian is completely overwhelmed by the whole thing, and Henry Peter Gyrich takes the opportunity to try and recruit him into Orchis. (Captain America overhears this and seems to have some idea what it’s referring to.)

That said – note Gyrich’s sales pitch. The X-Men aren’t humanity’s friends; Krakoa is a “rogue nation”; they want to “take our place as Earth’s dominant species”. Pretty much everything the mutants do in this issue – unilaterally declaring their planet the capital of the solar system and the sole representative of Earth to the interstellar community – backs him up. The mutants may not be trying to wipe out humanity, but they absolutely are trying to marginalise and sideline them.

PAGE 7. Recap and credits, with the Hellfire Gala tie-in design.

PAGE 8. Abigail Brand addresses the diplomats.

Abigail has come directly from the Gala, as has Frenzy next to her; they’re both still in their Gala outfits. That presents Brand as a pirate, of course.

The ambassadors are identifies on the upcoming data page.

PAGE 9. Data page listing the ambassadors. These are basically the same groups who appeared at the conference in Ewing’s Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #7-8, representing the Galactic Council.

• The Galactic Rim Collective debuted in those issues. On that occasion, they were represented by a guy called Zoralis Gupa, who was a kind of lizard man. He looked nothing like the spherical robot seen here, which is a new character. Evidently the Galactic Rim Collective is quite diverse.
• Great Kymellia. The horse-like aliens from Power Pack. Nymbis Sternhoof represented them in the Guardians story too. “Bhadsha” was the name of a former Zn’rx emperor, so the war that Sternhoof served in was presumably something to do with that.
• House of Rigel. Mentacle was part of the Lethal Legion who debuted in Avengers #676 (another story co-written by Ewing). He was already serving as Rigel’s ambassador in the Guardians story.
• Zn’rx Empire. Empress Kuga was installed through the intervention of S.W.O.R.D. last issue. They were invited to the Guardians conference, but didn’t attend, due to an incipient civil war. The fact that the Zn’rx are represented by their actual empress, rather than an ambassador, might reflect her dependency on mutant support.
• Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda. From Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther run, the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda is an imperialist version of Wakanda founded by Wakandan explorers who accidentally wound up thousands of years in the past on an alien world. I’m not quite sure when they made contact with the mainstream Marvel alien races – they weren’t in the Guardians issue. Their representative, Riitho, is a new character as far as I know.
• Kree/Skrull Alliance. Represented here by Paibok the Power-Skrull, a regular supporting character; at the previous conference, they sent the Super-Skrull.
• Shi’ar Empire. Represented this time by Smasher, presumably because she’s human. In the Guardians story, they sent Oracle.
• The Astrologers of Spartax. Represented by Star-Lord, who has ascended to that role in Guardians of the Galaxy since the previous conference (where Empress Victoria showed up).
• The Utopian Kree. Represented by their founder Marvel Boy, who served that role in Guardians too.
• Earth. Nova, whose standing to represent the planet has always been a bit wonky, but was doing the job in Guardians. He seems to serve as an Earth representative mainly by virtue of his position in the Nova Corps, and a few that Earth is problematic enough that it’s worth inviting a human along.

Present in the Guardians story, but absent here, were the Badoon and the Chitauri. The Badoon ambassador in that story turned out to be a disguised Profiteer; the Chitauri tried to kill everyone and have presumably been excluded from diplomatic communications.

Out of ten attendees, no fewer than four are humans. In fairness, two of them represent human societies.

PAGES 10-14. S.W.O.R.D. tell the diplomats about mysterium.

“We’re all wrestling with an economic crisis on a galactic scale.” This storyline has been going on in the cosmic titles since Empyre.

“Off saving seven billion other people.” In Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #10, their King in Black tie-in issue.

“And stopping some homicidal gods.” Guardians of the Galaxy vol 6 #11.

Mysterium. This is the material that S.W.O.R.D. retrieved from Who Knows Where in issue #1, and had assembled in vast quantities by the end of the previous issue. Basically it’s a wonder metal.

Secondary adamantium is basically a slightly cheaper version of adamantium – not quite as indestructible as true adamantium, but close enough unless you’re going to do something silly like fight the Hulk.

There are very obvious parallels between this offer and the pharmaceutical offer made to humans on Earth. Not only is it an incredible wonder material, but the mutants themselves don’t use it (“We have our own technology”) and the Wakandans are instantly sceptical and politely turn down the offer. Where Krakoan drugs were used to buy recognition for the mutant state, mysterium is being used to buy recognition of mutants as the dominant race of the solar system.

Note also that the mutants go out of their way to sideline Nova.

PAGES 15-17. Doctor Doom interrupts.

Not unreasonably, Doom would like to know who’s actually speaking on behalf of humanity. Somewhat oddly, it turns out to be Storm. This will doubtless be unpacked further in due course, but bear in mind that Mars is populated almost entirely by the people of Arakko, who already have a ruling council, and who view the Krakoans as a bunch of well-intentioned wimps. Have they really just agreed to accept Storm as a ruler? You suspect there has to be more to it than that.

“She who swam with Acanti.” In Uncanny X-Men vol 1 #165-166.

“Hadari Yao.” A Wakandan storm goddess who some Wakandans identified Storm with. See Black Panther vol 6 #17.

PAGE 18. Another data page. Paibok reports back to the Kree-Skrull Emperor (Hulkling) about the response of the interstellar community to the Krakoan deal. Again, there are very obvious parallels here with the Krakoan drug offer, and in particular the data page in House of X #5, where Wakanda was listed as rejecting the deal because “They do not need mutant drugs.”

“…suffered disproportionately at the hands of the symbiote god Knull.” In King in Black.

“The Sol has already become an informal term for a proposed ‘new credit’.” In less than three hours?!?

“[T]he Wanda Maximoff situation … which many consider an intolerable insult to the dignity of the throne.” The Krakoans regard the Scarlet Witch as a hate figure because of M-Day, when she removed the powers of most mutants. Since her reincarnated son is married to Hulkling, this is a diplomatic issue.

PAGES 19-22. The Scarlet Witch arrives to see Magneto.

Apparently Magneto invited her to the Gala proper, in an attempt at mending the relationship. Quite how the other mutants would have reacted if she’d shown up is anyone’s guess.

Anya. Magneto’s daughter. Her death is shown in Classic X-Men #12.

“You know I’m not really your [daughter].” This seems to be an attempt to smooth out a convoluted piece of back story without retconning it further. Wanda learned that Magneto was her father in Vision & The Scarlet Witch #4 (1983). That state of affairs lasted until 2015 when it was retconned in Uncanny Avengers vol 2 #4. The only discernible point of that retcon was to try to detach Wanda (and her brother Pietro) from the X-Men mythology for licensing reasons, making it easier to use the characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The approach here is not to reverse any of that but simply to acknowledge that Magneto and Wanda haven’t simply forgotten the relationship they had established over 30+ years of continuity.

Wanda’s admission into the mutant community is certainly a turning point for her. The only other time we’ve seen her active in the Krakoan era (in the X-books) was in Empyre: X-Men, where she made a very ill-advised attempt to revive the population of Genosha and wound up raising a zombie horde.

Way of X #3 reveals that Nightcrawler is still in the room for this scene, but he’s completely insensate and presumably remains unaware of Wanda’s return.

PAGE 23. Trailers. The Krakoan reads NEXT: REGENT.