{"id":5804,"date":"2020-10-28T22:24:15","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T22:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=5804"},"modified":"2020-10-28T22:25:33","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T22:25:33","slug":"x-of-swords-stasis-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=5804","title":{"rendered":"X of Swords: Stasis annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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X OF SWORDS: STASIS<\/strong>
“X of Swords, Chapter 11”<\/strong>
by Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Pepe Larraz, Mahmud Asrar & Marte Gracia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

COVER \/ PAGE 1:<\/strong> The ten champions of Arakko, some of them actually carrying their swords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 2:<\/strong> Epigraph from Saturnyne. One of the big unanswered questions in this storyline is what exactly Saturnyne is trying to achieve by all this. In Chapter 1, the implication seemed to be that Saturnyne was faced with the prospect of a full scale war between the forces of Arakko and Krakoa, and offered a more symbolic mystical contest as a less destructive alternative. But it’s become increasingly clear that she has her own agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For some reason, the small print on this page reads “Amenth sings.”<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 3:<\/strong> Credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

PAGE 4: <\/strong>Recap page. Despite what it says here, the Krakoans had not<\/em> gathered all of their swords when we last saw them, at least not on panel. The last two swords are Grasscutter and Godkiller, which simply show up in this story in the possession of Gorgon. That’s not where they were left off when they were last seen, so there seems to be an untold bit of plot here – though of course there’s plenty of time to come back to it. Gorgon’s role is particularly odd as he seems to be wielding both swords on his own. We have <\/em>seen Gorgon carrying two swords as his standard weapons before in the Krakoa era – see X-Men<\/em> #4, for example – so it’s possible that he obtained the two swords independently long before “X of Swords”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 5:<\/strong> Saturnyne’s emissary delivers her invitation to the Crooked Market.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Crooked Market.<\/strong> This page begins a tour of some of the various realms of Otherworld which have been mentioned repeatedly throughout “X of Swords” but, in most cases, haven’t been seen on panel. The Crooked Market’s data page is in Wolverine<\/em> #6. Basically, it’s a world of dodgy profiteers. As mentioned in earlier chapters, the ruler – seen in the throne here – is Jim Jaspers<\/strong>, originally a 1980s Captain Britain<\/em> villain. He’s wearing his signature checked suit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 6:<\/strong> Saturnyne’s emissary visits Sevalith and Infuri.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sevalith.<\/strong> According to Marauders<\/em> #13, this is basically a vampire world – however, it was listed as one of the “fair” realms, rather than the “foul”. The aesthetic is surprisingly modernist and sci-fi, though the lighting is about what you’d expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Infuri.<\/strong> The data page is in X-Force<\/em> #13. As anticipated, this is a world run by Furies<\/strong>, the hero-killers from the same Captain Britain<\/em> period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 7: <\/strong>Saturnyne’s emissary visits the Floating Kingdom and the Holy Republic.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

All basically as foreshadowed in Excalibur<\/em> #9 and X-Factor<\/em> #4 – the Floating Kingdom is a drifty anarchist utopia (presented upside down), while the Holy Republic of Fae is a grinding religious dictatorship. The rulers here are Roma<\/strong> and Merlyn<\/strong>, who used to be involved in the appointment of Captain Britains, and we still haven’t really found out how they wound up in this subordinate role to Saturnyne. Perhaps it’s tied up with the circumstances of their split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The five kingdoms which we don’t get to see are Avalon<\/strong> (which has appeared repeatedly in Excalibur<\/em>), Hothive<\/strong> (which has never appeared on panel, though we see its queen shortly), Mercator<\/strong> (presented as a mystery location that won’t let people in), Dryador<\/strong> (conquered by the Horsemen in chapter 1) and Blightspoke<\/strong> (said to be dangerously unstable).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 8: <\/strong>Saturnyne chairs the Avalon parliament meeting.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we’ll see shortly, they’re voting on a proposal to restore free movement between the realms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Your votes – which of course, are in opposition to one another…”<\/strong> “X of Swords” has consistently presented Roma and Merlyn as opposed on virtually anything, which isn’t how they’ve been written in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vesperidae.<\/strong> We’ve heard her name before, but this is the first time we’ve actually seen her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ryl.<\/strong> We’ve seen Saturnyne’s aide before, in X of Swords: Creation<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamie Braddock<\/strong> is still wearing Mr Sinister’s cape, which he acquired in Hellions<\/em> #5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercator.<\/strong> Marauders <\/em>#13 explained that Mercator had undergone some sort of coup, and that the mysterious new regime were not allowing people in. This is the first we’ve seen of the new regime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 9:<\/strong> The motion fails, and an argument breaks out.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The nays have it.”<\/strong> We know that Blightspoke, Avalon and the Floating Kingdom voted yes, Mercator abstained, and Hothive and the Holy Republic voted no. That leaves Infuri, Sevalith, Dryador and the Crooked Market. Assuming no further abstentions, at least three of them must have voted no. (You’d have thought the Crooked Market, as traders, would vote yes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gia Whitechapel.<\/strong> This is her first appearance, but she was previously mentioned in Cable<\/em> #5. Blightspoke is meant to be a dumping ground for things from failed realities, and two of her rather strange group are wearing plague doctor masks. The bear guy is just strange. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re told that Gia is new here, which implies that either Blightspoke has only just graduated to recognition in this realm, or that she’s only just become its representative. In Cable<\/em> #5, the regent of Blightspoke was said to be “unknown”, with Gia identified simply as its “Sheriff”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The brazen assumption of Dryador’s seat…”<\/strong> The Horsemen Pestilence and Famine are present as the acting regents of Dryador, having conquered the place in X of Swords: Creation<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 10:<\/strong> The Horsemen explain their status.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Basically, the Horsemen claim that they have simply annexed Dryador into Arakko, and appear on behalf of Arakko “which in turn belongs to Amenth”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note that Saturnyne describes it as a contest between Arakko and Avalon<\/em>. That’s not what she said in Creation<\/em>. (“In three days’ time, I will summon your champions of Arakko here to duel the champions of Otherworld.”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 11:<\/strong> The champions of Avalon gather for their ritual.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clockwise, that’s Gorgon, Apocalypse, Cable, Magik, Cypher, Captain Avalon (Brian Braddock, as of Excalibur<\/em> #13), Captain Britain (Betsy Braddock), Wolverine and Storm. Note that’s nine champions, despite the ten circles on the ground; Gorgon represents two of the swords. The final panel seems to be deliberately framed to obscure this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PAGE 12:<\/strong> The champions of Arakko see their opponents in reflection.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More of these characters later. Most of them are standing one-for-one with a Krakoan character, though Gordon is spread between two. There’s no very obvious significance to the pairings, but in case it matters later…<\/p>\n\n\n\n