With the X-Men in the midst of X of Swords, Wolverine has seen what happens if he tries to derail the contest, and the results are truly apocalyptic.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Marauders #15 by Gerry Duggan, Benjamin Percy, Stefano Caselli, Edgar Delgado, & VC’s Cory Petit, on sale now.
As X Of Swords moves closer to its conclusion, and the end of its inter-dimensional tournament, attention is beginning to shift to the story’s aftermath. The peace and optimism that Krakoa ushered in for mutants are at stake in this conflict. Now Wolverine has seen what will happen if his forces lose, a dark future that even Earth’s Mightiest Heroes cannot contend with.
Marauders #15 then spins right out of the immediate aftermath of the last issue’s cliffhanger ending, which saw Wolverine attempt to bring about an early end to the contest by slaying its organizer. His attack was not committed unilaterally, as Storm herself had given her approval for the attempt earlier in the evening. With the death of Saturnyne, the Omniversal Majestrix and contest overseer, fighting between three factions breaks out: the Krakoans, Arakki, and their Otherworld hosts. Magik just manages to teleport her team back to Krakoa before the Starlight Citadel falls.
Yet, while the Krakoan Council argues about Otherworld and the state of the contest, the Arakki army invades. Flooding in from the External Gate, they stage their invasion of Earth from Krakoa itself, and while the Krakoan mutants fight valiantly, they cannot contend with their seemingly endless enemies.
A weapon described as a telepathic mind bomb is launched from the External Gate. Its detonation renders hundreds of mutants effectively comatose, unable to access their brain’s higher cerebral functions. Even Moira X, potentially the single most important mutant on Krakoa, suffers from its effects. Capable of living her life over in the event of her death, Moira X was the mastermind behind the mutants’ Krakoan rejuvenation as depicted in Powers Of X. However, the mind bomb did not kill her, and she could not travel back in time to rectify her mistakes. A loss here could very well be permanent.
With the mind bomb deployed and enemy forces still unrelenting, Krakoa sends out a call for help to the rest of the world’s heroes. They’d come into conflict with many of these champions recently, most notably the Fantastic Four. Nevertheless, these heroes answer their call. The allied forces of Earth lose ground worldwide, notably losing Dr. Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum to War and Solem. It’s possible that the arcane artifacts housed within are part of the Arakki endgame.
Crucified on an X, Wolverine lives only to watch the world unravel and bear witness to the great defeat. Of course, X-Men fans are no strangers to apocalyptic futures where Wolverine is the last hero standing. But this future is in fact a vision, one granted to Wolverine by Saturnyne herself. It’s part-threat, to her would-be killer, and part gift, to the soldier looking to protect his family. Emerging from the vision, Wolverine realizes that no time has passed. He is still at the pre-contest feast and Saturnyne is decidedly not dead.