{"id":6960,"date":"2021-07-29T20:24:59","date_gmt":"2021-07-29T19:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6960"},"modified":"2021-07-29T20:24:59","modified_gmt":"2021-07-29T19:24:59","slug":"s-w-o-r-d-7-annotations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/?p=6960","title":{"rendered":"S.W.O.R.D. #7 annotations"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a>S.W.O.R.D. vol 2 #7
\n“Full Spectrum Diplomacy”
\nby Al Ewing, Stefano Caselli & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo<\/strong><\/p>\n

COVER \/ PAGE 1.<\/strong> Frenzy, Abigail Brand, Hulkling and Manifold ready themselves for action, while an image of Dr Doom at his diplomatic dinner with Storm looms over them.<\/p>\n

Last Annihilation.<\/i><\/b>\u00a0This is a tie-in to “Last Annihilation”, which is basically a\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> storyline that has some tie-in one-shots and also crosses over into this issue of\u00a0S.W.O.R.D.\u00a0<\/em>Of this book’s seven issues to date, five have been crossovers, which seems a bit much.<\/p>\n

PAGE 2.<\/strong> This is the Utopian Kree’s We-Plex Supreme Intelligence System recapping the plot of\u00a0Last Annihilation<\/em> in rather disjointed fashion – we saw one of these pages in issue #5. For present purposes, all you really need to know about\u00a0Last Annihilation<\/em> is that Dr Strange\u00a0<\/em>villain\u00a0Dormammu has possessed Ego the Living Planet and he’s invading our dimension again, this time by attacking in outer space, with his usual Mindless Ones army from the Dark Dimension.<\/p>\n

PAGE 3.<\/strong>\u00a0Captain Glory arrives to join the fight.<\/em><\/p>\n

Captain Glory<\/strong> was called up to help at the end of\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> #16. He debuted in\u00a0Avengers<\/em> #676 (part of the “No Surrender” storyline), where he was leading the Lethal Legion. He’s basically a Kree super-soldier. He was jailed in\u00a0Empyre<\/em> for attempting to sabotage the Kree\/Skrull alliance and prolong the war, but it’s perfectly reasonable to trust him in a situation like this.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hulkling<\/strong> has been the emperor of the Kree\/Skrull alliance since\u00a0Empyre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

PAGE 4.<\/strong>\u00a0Hulkling recaps the plot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Most of this was in\u00a0Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> #16, including Wiccan being despatched to Skrullos to fight the invasion there. As Hulkling points out, for political reasons he needs to be seen giving equal prominence to both the capitals of his empire.<\/p>\n

PAGE 5.<\/strong> Captain Glory recommends trying someone else on Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n

We’ll find out later in the issue that Abigail Brand blocked the message to Alpha Flight in the hope that they would turn to S.W.O.R.D., giving S.W.O.R.D. the opportunity to take diplomatic advantage of the situation.<\/p>\n

Lauri-Ell<\/strong> is Captain Marvel’s half-sister, introduced in\u00a0Captain Marvel<\/em> vol 10 #18 as part of the retcon that Carol Danvers is half-Kree.<\/p>\n

PAGE 6.\u00a0<\/b>Recap and credits.<\/p>\n

PAGES 7-9.<\/strong>\u00a0Doom and Storm’s dinner.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mars<\/strong> was terraformed in\u00a0Planet-Sized X-Men<\/em> #1.<\/p>\n

“That unfortunate business with Arcade…”<\/strong>\u00a0Uncanny X-Men<\/em> vol 1 #145-147.<\/p>\n

“I sent a robot in my place, as I remember.”<\/strong> Chris Claremont intended the story to feature the original Doom.\u00a0John Byrne retconned it into a Doombot in\u00a0Fantastic Four<\/em> vol 1 #258, I believe because he thought that messing about with Arcade in person was beneath Doom’s dignity. He had a point, but it was hardly worth undoing a story from two years previously, and by all accounts Claremont wasn’t impressed.<\/p>\n

“A king’s wife…”<\/strong> The king being T’Challa, but Doom is essentially voicing the argument that the practical effect was to reduce Storm from a star in the X-Men to a supporting character in Black Panther<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“Our respective marriages.”<\/strong>\u00a0That refers to this week’s\u00a0Fantastic Four<\/em>\u00a0vol 6 #34, in which Doom calls off his marriage to Victorious at the last moment after learning that she’s slept with the Human Torch.<\/p>\n

PAGES 10-13.<\/strong>\u00a0More of the attack on Hala.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Knights of the Infinite<\/strong> are a group of Skrull\/Kree hybrids introduced in Ewing’s New Avengers<\/em> run, who campaigned for Hulkling to become emperor.<\/p>\n

Hulkling’s sword<\/strong>, which gets destroyed by the Mindless Ones, is called Excelsior; it belonged to the first Kree\/Skrull hybrid, and it’s supposed to be a vastly powerful cosmic object.<\/p>\n

PAGES 14-15.<\/strong>\u00a0Doom and Storm discuss Mysterium.<\/em><\/p>\n

I am fairly sure this is the first time that Dr Doom has been shown enjoying a profiterole.<\/p>\n

“Naming as magic.”<\/strong> Doom is basically making an argument here that “mutant technology” is a term which the mutants are using to suggest that what they’re doing is uniquely advanced and specifically mutant. In fact, he argues, what they’re actually doing is reinventing magic, and bringing themselves into conflict with people who are much, much more experienced in cosmic and magical matters. In other words, they’re a bunch of amateurs using branding to give the false impression of being in control when they’re actually out of their depth, and don’t necessarily even realise it themselves.<\/p>\n

Kirbons.<\/strong> Obviously a reference to Jack Kirby, and Ewing has used the word in some of his other books. However, it originates from\u00a0Powers of X<\/em> #5, when Nimrod theorised that the Phalanx’s masters were made of “electrons, protons, leptons, possibly even primordial kirbons”.<\/p>\n

The Above-Place.<\/strong> Presumably the opposite of the Below-Place, a hell dimension from Ewing’s\u00a0Immortal Hulk.<\/em><\/p>\n

The White Hot Room.<\/strong> A realm connected with the Phoenix – named by Grant Morrison, but intended to be the same realm that Phoenix visits after dying in the back-up strip in\u00a0Classic X-Men<\/em> #43.<\/p>\n

“I wore gloves.”<\/strong> This speech was used as the source for a Doom quote in issue #1.<\/p>\n

“Perhaps it’s already here.”<\/strong> Doom seems to be suggesting that by accessing mysterium, the mutants accidentally provided the opportunity for Dormammu to invade.<\/p>\n

PAGE 16.<\/strong>\u00a0Abigail Brand briefs Storm.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Great Ring<\/strong> is the ruling council of Arakko.<\/p>\n

PAGES 17-18.\u00a0<\/strong>Storm rejects Doom’s offer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Obviously she’s right that allying with Doom would be a very bad move. Whether she’s right to reject Doom’s analysis of them as dabblers is maybe another matter – though she could hardly do otherwise, presentationally speaking.<\/p>\n

PAGE 19.<\/b>\u00a0S.W.O.R.D. arrive on Hala.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Grandmother was right.”<\/strong> That would be R’Klll, who tried to persuade Hulkling to destroy Earth during\u00a0Empyre<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“I warned you all the way back at your wedding party…”<\/strong> In\u00a0Empyre: Aftermath Avengers<\/em> #1. Specifically, Abigail complained that nobody had kept Alpha Flight informed and that they’d been unable to do her job. Of course, that’s now precisely what she’s trying to do herself, to cement her influence through S.W.O.R.D.<\/p>\n

PAGE 20.<\/strong>\u00a0Abigail dodges questions about Wanda.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Wanda thing. Calling her pretender…”<\/strong> Wanda is a hate figure on Krakoa because of\u00a0House of M<\/em>, when she depowered almost all the world’s mutants. Billy (Wiccan) is Wanda’s son, and unsurprisingly doesn’t like this.<\/p>\n

Hulkling assumes that he can’t contact Wanda on Earth because Dormammu is blocking her. In fact, Wanda was murdered at the end of the Hellfire Gala, as seen in X-Factor<\/em> vol 4 #10. The memo on the next page confirms that Abigail knows this.<\/p>\n

PAGE 21.<\/strong> Hulkling wonders why the Avengers didn’t come.<\/em><\/p>\n

Hulkling sent his message to the Avengers via Alpha Flight. Manifold immediately assumes that Gyrich must have chosen to ignore it, which of course is why Abigail can get away with this sort of thing.<\/p>\n

PAGE 22.<\/strong> Data page. Abigail’s note to herself confirming that she deliberately prevented Hulkling from contacting the Avengers or Alpha Flight, so that S.W.O.R.D. could get all the diplomatic benefits of helping. Abigail has an agenda of her own here, and she made clear in earlier issues that she sees herself as servinv the interests of Earth rather than just mutants. However, it’s not clear whether the Quiet Council are aware of\u00a0this specific<\/em> manoeuvring; the memo could be read as suggesting that it’s only her (redacted) ultimate goal that she’s keeping secret from them.<\/p>\n

PAGE 23.<\/strong>\u00a0Abigail in action.<\/em><\/p>\n

Self-explanatory, of course.<\/p>\n

PAGE 24.<\/strong> Trailers. The list of comics isn’t the regular X-books, but the books participating in\u00a0Last Annihilation<\/em>. The Krakoan reads NEXT: GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As always, this post contains spoilers, and page numbers go by the digital edition. S.W.O.R.D. vol 2 #7 “Full Spectrum Diplomacy” by Al Ewing, Stefano Caselli & Fer Sifuentes-Sujo COVER \/ PAGE 1. Frenzy, Abigail Brand, Hulkling and Manifold ready themselves for action, while an image of Dr Doom at his diplomatic dinner with Storm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-annotations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6960"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6967,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6960\/revisions\/6967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housetoastonish.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}