X-Force just saw enemies of Krakoa gain access to the X-Men’s secret weapon, and they’re getting ready to unleash its immense power against Krakoa.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Force #12 by Benjamin Percy, Bazaldua, Guru-eFX, Tom Muller, & VC’s Joe Caramagna, on sale now.
The next major X-Men crossover is coming with X of Swords, and it looks like things are about to get rough for the mutants in Krakoa. But before that starts, X-Force is about to learn how powerful the Cerebro Sword is. In the most recent issues of the series, Mikhail Rasputin, the brother of X-Men member Colossus, was able to steal the sword thanks to invaders allowed into Krakoa. One of them ran loose in Krakoa, stole the sword, and then stabbed Kid Omega, pushing him through a portal.
Mikhail was on the other side, and it was a sneaky way to get the Cerebro Sword out of Krakoa and into enemy hands. While Beast made the controversial decision to humiliate Colossus in case he was working with his brother, even though Hank’s sloppiness was what endangered the sword in the first place. And as X-Force #12 established, the Cerebro Sword isn’t just symbolically important; it also still contains all of the invaluable, sensitive information that was in Cerebro’s circuits.
This sword is a brand-new invention for the mutants in Krakoa. In the pages of X-Force #1, XENO caught Domino infiltrating a meeting, and they used her skin grafts to clone a team to attack Krako, assassinate Xavier and destroy Cerebro.
Magneto was furious at the murder of Xavier but knew that Professor X could return through the Ressurection Protocol. However, what couldn’t return was the Cerebro helmet that Professor X wore on his head. In X-Force #2, tellingly entitled “Sword of Damocles,” Magneto and Jean Grey turns that helmet into a sword.
After Beast and Jean Grey figured out how to resurrect Professor X using a backup of Cerebro, Magneto presented Xavier with the Cerebro Sword, which he asked him to keep close to him. Xavier placed the sword on his bedroom’s wall as a representation of his dream, once broken but now forged anew. Xavier promised to hold it close, but he left it behind when the next attack occurred in X-Force #11. Black Tom took Xavier to safety during the attack, and one of the attackers found the sword. Now, Mikhail Rasputin and XENO have possession of it.