Apocalypse, a broken and beaten man, must reassemble his ancient sword of sorrow to fight the ones he loves.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for X-Men #13 by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho & VC’s Clayton Cowles, on sale now.
As the X of Swords event heats up, the designated champions of Krakoa are busy gathering their weapons before the impending fight. The story has taken the heroes all over the universe, including outer space and the fires of Hell. X-Men #13 by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar and Sunny Gho finds Apocalypse journeying to Egypt. The villain turned champion seeks the blade called Scarab.
The sword Scarab is based on a real-life type of sword from Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt called a khopesh. The khopesh’s blade has a large sickle-like curve to it, creating an iconic weapon appearance. As opposed to other ancient weapons, such as a spear or ax that had everyday uses, the khopesh’s only purpose was for war.
The curved blade made the khopesh useful for slashing at opponents. It could hook onto weapons or shields of an enemy, pulling it from their grasp. The sharp sturdiness of the weapon was ideal for fighting hand to hand, especially in a time where body armor was not yet used. A thrust of the khopesh would cause extensive damage to a human body. It is not hard to see why the Ancient Egyptians had such military success when they utilized such an intimidating weapon.
A sword made in the khopesh style fits the image of a warrior such as Apocalypse. The Scarab blade is said to have been forged by Apocalypse’s sister-in-law, Isca the Unbeaten, as a present to celebrate the birth of his children. Melting down blades from the conquered Uhari vanguard, Isca recast the pieces. She created four parts, each piece representing a child of Apocalypse and Genesis, then assembled them to create Scarab.
An attribute of the blade is that it is “Imbued with External Sadness.” Scarab is a weapon created from the remnants of a broken army, the loss and sadness of a kingdom flowing through its metal. The sadness associated with Scarab doesn’t stop with its creation. After the loss of his family, Apocalypse broke Scarab and encased the pieces into the empty tombs of his children in The Temple of the Horsemen. He then left that part of himself behind to begin judgment on the mutants of Earth, as ordained by his beloved Genesis.
Now, Apocalypse must reassemble this blade of sadness to fight for his home. It is a fitting weapon for Apocalypse right now. Since the X of Swords story arc began, Apocalypse has been dealt several devastating emotional and physical blows. Upon reuniting with his lost children, they tell him that his wife had been slain. Still, he is happy to have most of his family again until they reveal that the only thing that has kept them fighting was their hatred of him.