Marvel Announces New X-Men Crossover

For the past year, Marvel Comics has been completely changing what people thought they knew about the X-Men franchise, thanks to the “Dawn of X” relaunch. The creative reset was set in motion by Jonathan Hickman‘s House of X and Powers of X miniseries last summer and has since grown into a rogues’ gallery of additional titles. Thanks to a new update from Marvel, we now know where that brave new world is going to go next. During an X-Men panel at the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo, Marvel officially announced “X of Swords”, an upcoming crossover storyline that is set to affect the entire X-Men line of books. The 15-part crossover is expected to see the new mutant nation of Krakoa facing its biggest challenge yet.

Threatened by powerful forces from the unknown, ten mutants will rise up to defend their home. Arming themselves with legendary blades, both new and familiar ones from Marvel history, mutantkind will finally meet its mystical destiny. Impacting the entire X-Men franchise and setting the stage for the future of mutantkind, X OF SWORDS will be a modern X-Men epic that both longtime and new X-Men fans dare not miss.

Marvel began to tease “X of Swords” on Thursday night, with a data page-like tweet featuring an illustration of a sword, along with “July” written in the Krakoan language.

It is unclear at this point exactly what “X of Swords” will entail, other than that it has been dubbed the “next phase” of Hickman’s vision for mutant-kind. The event, which is set to kick off in June, will surely have interesting ramifications among the rest of the X-Men titles.

Just on the surface, the name “X of Swords” seems to be a reference to the Tarot card of the same name, which often features a faceless man being stabbed by ten swords. According to TheTarotGuide, the Ten of Swords card signifies anything from backstabbing and betrayal to hitting rock bottom to being overly dramatic. When reversed, the Ten of Swords can symbolize bouncing back from a traumatic event.

That certainly could hint at ominous things for “X of Swords” as an event, especially given the twists and turns that the relaunch has brought to fruition thus far.

“I have some general philosophies on what kind of work you should do at Marvel, that I try and adhere to. I think the stories should be big,” Hickman said in a previous interview. “Any time you can mine your continuity and the existing continuity of the company in a way that evokes a response from audience and not confusion, that’s powerful, and you’re crazy not to utilize it when you’re writing these books. The cardinal rule beyond that is at the end of the day, after you’ve torn up the playroom and scattered all the toys, you put everything all back on the shelf. Don’t be an a—hole and leave a mess.”

“You want to tell stories that matter, but the way you write things that matter in Marvel is that you’re not destructive, you’re additive,” Hickman continued. “Yes, I may do things where I destroy the entire Marvel Universe, but I always put it back together, and in putting it together you add to it in a way that puts the characters in an interesting place and you haven’t ruined anybody else’s job.”

Are you excited to see the “X of Swords” kick off in Marvel Comics? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

As mentioned above, the “X of Swords” event will begin in June.