The X-Men’s newest venture, S.W.O.R.D., will benefit the mutants greatly but it might send them headfirst into a war they don’t want any part of.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for S.W.O.R.D. #1 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, Marte Gracia & VC’s Ariana Maher, on sale now
Within the Marvel Universe, the X-Men have recently made many controversial moves. The mutant nation of Krakoa, while advancing mutant society, has clashed with the rest of the planet. With the recent re-establishment of S.W.O.R.D., the X-Men could potentially enter into a conflict beyond human affairs.
S.W.O.R.D.’s powerful position is established very clearly in S.W.O.R.D. #1. Abigail Brand is placed in charge of an orbital mutant space station. This station, the Peak, is also merged with Krakoan plant technology, marking itself as a distinctly mutant project. Not only does the Peak have its own security force, but it also holds the Six, a group of powerful mutants. The Six combine their powers to travel across the multiverse, an ability which they use to retrieve Mysterium, a strange yet valuable substance.
Procuring cosmic items such as Mysterium is progress for mutantkind, but this advancement could also hold dangerous consequences. At the end of the issue, an ominous warning comes from Doctor Doom, saying he has “done the same myself– with one significant difference. I wore gloves.” If Doom, one of the most dangerous people in the Marvel Universe, is warning S.W.O.R.D. about their ambitions, trouble clearly lies ahead. The dangerous potential of S.W.O.R.D.’s power was foreshadowed in Empyre Aftermath: Avengers #1, by Ewing and Schiti. In it, Hulkling has a vision where he’s surrounded by dead bodies of the Kree/Skrull alliance. Standing over the emperor is Brand, claiming that she’s built something better than Alpha Flight, the space program for which she worked previously.
Brand left Alpha Flight out of frustration, as they were always kept out of the loop by heroes like the Avengers and they lacked proper funding or resources. S.W.O.R.D., however, has the resources to deal proactively with cosmic threats. Currently, Henry Peter Gyrich is in charge of Alpha Flight, at which Brand made her dissatisfaction quite clear. In fact, Brand said that Alpha Flight is “an active problem” with Gyrich in control.
Considering the mutual disdain between Brand and Gyrich, the conflict between Alpha Flight and S.W.O.R.D. is becoming more and more likely. S.W.O.R.D.’s more proactive mindset could be seen as a threat, provoking action from Alpha Flight. Moreover, since S.W.O.R.D. is a mutant space program, which could warrant further scrutiny from the governments of the world. Krakoa’s very existence has been viewed with much concern by humanity, so a space program as ambitious as S.W.O.R.D. would likely warrant action from Alpha Flight. Multiversal travel and cosmic problem-solving by a group of powerful mutants is not something Gyrich would leave unchecked.