Continuing the story from SWORD (2020), Al Ewing's masterpiece might just be my favourite book of all time. As such, it's going to be difficult to narrow down highlights - because every panel is a banger. I'm going to indulge myself here.
Flashback to Ororo fighting for her seat on the Great Ring - Arakko's Quiet Council equivalent. Thematically it sets up that Ororo's greatest enemy is herself - taking on too much responsibility and spreading herself thin. She's incredibly powerful but she can't be everywhere at once.
Meanwhile, Magneto has quit the Quiet Council and retired to Arakko to die. He makes a new friend - the Fisher King, and shares his pain and failures. He monologues while building a fucking *castle* mind you, so the dramatic bitch is in there somewhere.
A third Omega Mutant - Vulcan - is also a bit lost. Tbh the poor guy could seriously use some therapy but instead he's wandering around starting fights. Thunderbird is ... unsympathetic. In the guise of helping, Agent Brand (also working with ORCHIS) gives him a job in X-Men Red - after Storm rejects the same offer.
You can't keep a secret from Sunspot. As he strolls into Mags' house he slips back into headmaster mode. 'How many names do you have? 'Too many.'
Unable to get a moment's peace, Ororo wanders into his (secluded) house as well. She knows how what words to use though - the Brotherhood rides again!
Vulcan hates Chuck. His reaction to non-consensual telepathy is to blow up the Summers House on the moon, with all inside.
Brand fills out the rest of her X-Men Red squad with her direct employees. Manifold objects to the paternalistic premise and quits on the spot. As an Indigenous Australian, he knows first hand where this kind of colonial bullshit leads and he's not having it.
On that note, Brand wants a man on the Great Ring. To take a seat you have to challenge the current holder. Vulcan vs Tarn the Uncaring!
This concerns pretty much everyone. Magneto is really feeling the gravity of consequence pulling him away from retirement.
He resists for now, wallowing in grief, but how long will he be able to stand against his nature and comic book inertia? (Spoiler - not long. Find out in part 2! It's Magneto.)
Synch challenging Prodigy to a duel to the death was revealed in solicits months ago. Fans wondered why he would do such a thing and looked for evidence that Prodigy was up to something (based on words that didn't appear in the issue.) Spoilers for NYX #8.
Bafflingly, Synch seems to have made up his mind on arrival that the community centre-ish place in NYX is the most dangerous thing for mutants ever. He has some points (kinda?) but definitely doesn't have all the facts. He doesn't even know how David's powers work and carries some grudge that I've never seen before.
He specifically challenges him to the Circle Perilous, an Arakki thing that's mostly what it sounds like. However it does have laws attached to it, and I'm skeptical that Everett has spent any time on Arakko if he invokes it without a challenge by insult or to subvert a democratic leadership structure. It works on Arakko because that's how their government is run - a tiny building in New York doesn't have a 'kill the leader to become the leader' system. Also, they're not always to the death. Anyone can yield and they lose the challenge.
I'm glad to see Arakko in the minds of writers, but this was plain silly. Synch is easily convinced he's mistaken and is forgiven for his foolishness. He never went to Arakko during The First Krakoan Age, so has he been there recently? I'm sure he could synch with various people to get there, but that story sounds more interesting than this one. Is the implication he stepped into the Circle Perilous? Good on him for being alive if so, maybe he can hang with Sobunar in the sewers and have an awkward conversation.
Weird shit. It'll be cool if he joins the cast but hopefully he's gotten all the dickwaving out of his system.
As Scott Summers could tell you, Storm does not need her limitless control of weather to wreck your shit. I love Scott, but he got wrecked so hard in a duel for leadership of the X-Men that he moved to Alaska.
Callisto of the Morlocks learned the same lesson when challenging her to a customary knife fight to the death for Morlock leadership (Warren and Kitty were both hostage. She was confident at first until Ororo showed her Bruce Lee moves.
Kurt was wrong. She stabbed her in the heart. It was pretty sapphic, NGL. But I digress, my point is do not fuck with Storm.
Many Arakki learnt this lesson, such as my dude Calderak, the lava person.
There he is showboating, with colour commentary by Frenzy and Khora of the Burning Heart, two certified bad bitches.
Fire vs Ice. A classic.
Storm has better things to do, lol. Nobody told Tarn the Uncaring though, and honestly he wouldn't have listened. He's the biggest piece of shit on Arakko and he keeps goading Ororo during Great Ring meetings. He promised not to go to Krakoa (like Sinister, he's really big on stealing people's DNA.) He went to Krakoa.
This smug jerkoff. He is the Genomic Mage, Warden of the Abyssal Prisons. Up until quite recently, he oversaw the torture, murder, and imprisonment of much of the population. Most Arakki *hate* him. He's not even interested in governance, he holds his seat out of spite and cruelty. To hurt an already traumatized people.
Without missing a beat, Storm challenges him. Look at his petty motivation, he just doesn't like her. Because he can kill with a thought (or rewrite your DNA however he pleases) he has never been defeated. Storm talks a real good game here, conceding nothing.
Whoops, there goes her powers. A big dose of Cronenberg to rub it in too. Ugh, this guy sucks so much. He's so sure he's got this in the bag. What does she have left?
A knife, nay many knives. Storm always has double digit knives on her person. The ol' blade to the heart is a classic. You'll note Storm has been showing mercy to her foes, even Callisto lived. But that was a fluke, you mess with Ororo and you get the Storm.
Ovaries. Of. Steel. Do not fuck with Storm. Sadly, Tarn lived. Not for long though. His death is one of the most glorious moments of the First Krakoan Age. A whole other post.
