Last week’s Marauders #14 from Marvel Comics put the entire X of Swords event in jeopardy as Wolverine took matters into his own hands and seemingly killed Saturnyne with his claws. This week’s crop of books for the crossover delivers three more issues with Marauders #15 picking up after these events and leaping a little ahead into the future. Spoilers ahead! According to an opening description in the issue Wolverine’s decision put the entire tournament out the window as a three way fight between the forces of Saturnyne, Krakoa and Arakko, sending the Starlight Citadel falling out of the sky. Though Magik teleported the mutants back home, the External Gate on Krakoa opened up and the Arakkii warriors to begin their campaign to conquer the Earth, taking on its mightiest heroes.
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The warriors of Arakko and the X-Men fought for three days and were forced to call for help, sending out a distress signal to the Avengers, the Fantastic Four and the hosts of Asgard. Things didn’t go well and the opening text simply reveals “they lost.” Even the mighty Apocalypse was beheaded and for his folly of starting it all, Wolverine was forced to watch it. That’s how the issue starts, and then in its first page we see none other than Doctor Strange meet a firey fate and seemingly perish as he’s flung out of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
Though the opening two pages paint a grim picture of the Earth, it’s also quickly revealed that…..none of this happened. Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m trying to delete it. So no, Doctor Strange isn’t dead right now; HOWEVER, the issue reveals that all of this was a vision sent to Wolverine by Saturnyne that showed him what would happen if he went through with killing her. Though Logan is momentarily talked out of it because of what he’s seen, that doesn’t mean he won’t try it again, especially after what happens in his issue of this week’s books.
It’s worth noting that even though Wolverine doesn’t kill Saturnyne, it still serves as a major disservice to the X-Men. After Logan snaps out of his vision trance he realizes that someone has tried to poison him with the toxic dose going to Cypher instead of he. Following this, Captain Avalon makes a plea to Saturnyne to force the Arakko warriors to forfeit the games following their attempt at sabotage. Though she agrees that she should, Wolverine considering killing her prevents that from happening, forcing the tournament to continue.
The X of Swords crossover continues on from now through the end of the month with just six issues remaining after this week’s offering of titles. November 18th sees the release of X-Force #14, Hellions #6, and Cable #6 and it all wraps up on November 25 with X-Men #15, Excalibur #15, and the final chapter, X of Swords: Destruction #1. You can find the full checklist for the 22 part event below.
