A member of S.W.O.R.D. just discovered that one nation with a specific history connected to the X-Men is still fans of the mutant heroes.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for S.W.O.R.D. #3 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, Ray-Anthony Height, Bernard Chang, Nico Leon, Marte Gracia & VC’s Ariana Maher, on sale now
The X-Men are some of the Marvel Universe’s most controversial figures. The team of mutant heroes has often faced just as much persecution from the people they save as they do from the villains they fight. This has transformed to outright distrust of the mutant nation of Krakoa in the present-day, with many countries becoming wary of the mutant government.
But if the comments of Manifold’s family are to be believed in S.W.O.R.D. #2, then the X-Men still have at least one ally in a place deeply connected to one of the most unexpected chapters in the team’s existence: Australia.
During the “Fall of the Mutants” storyline, the X-Men were seemingly killed while saving the world from the threat of the Adversary. But the team was revived by the goddess Roma, allowing them to return to the world. Hoping to stay out of the spotlight for a period, the X-Men (at the time consisting of Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Havok, Colossus, Psylocke, Longshot, Dazzler and Madelyne Pryor) ended up relocating to the Australian Outback and taking a Reaver base for their own. Australia became a place for the team to adjust to an increasingly wild world, and where many members of the team tried to come to terms with their hard lot in life. The team also befriended the local teleporter Gateway, who would grow to become a reoccurring ally to the X-Men over the years.
Eventually, the team was forced to abandon Austalia due to increased Reaver attacks. Most of the team escaped through the Siege Perious while Wolverine remaining behind, encountering Jubilee for the first time. But it appears Australia never truly forgot the time they had the X-Men as their resident superhero team.
As the events of King in Black ravage New York City and Knull’s influence begins to spread around the world, current S.W.O.R.D. member Manifold is tasked with approaching potential allies in the conflict. Before he does though, Manifold makes a brief appearance in the Outback. There, Manifold gets the chance to speak with his Uncle Baz and Sammy, who he finds sitting around a campfire trying to stay warm now that the sun has been blocked off by Knull.
Sammy reveals that while he believes it was a superhero who ended up messing up and getting the world surrounded by Knull, he reckons it was one of the Avengers. Sammy reminds Manifold that “Australia loves the X-Men.” Manifold even points out that Krakoa is a pretty good place, pointing out that “Respect this Sacred Land” is considered one of the three fundamental laws of Krakoa — suggesting that Manifold sees aspects like that as a sign that Krakoa is on the right track.
Considering that much of the rest of the world is either distrustful of Krakoa (the United States and the United Kingdom), currently angered by the mutant nation (Wakanda) or fully hostile to them (Russia), it’s good to know that at least one nation sees Krakoa with the kind of hope and optimism that the X-Men were hoping to inspire. This should hopefully lead Krakoa to extend an invitation to Australia for the upcoming Hellfire Gala, where they may even be able to impress other nations as well.
