This week’s chapters of Marvel’s X of Swords event brings with it a whole lot of confused head scratches. It’s always exciting to have your expectations subverted, but this isn’t what any reader had in mind when they picked up their copy of Marauders #15, written by Gerry Duggan & Benjamin Percy, and illustrated by Stefano Caselli.
To say that the unfolding events are about as coherent as an acid trip isn’t overstating things. Last month’s Marauders #14 ended on a pretty daring cliffhanger: Wolverine shirking the rules of the contest and stabbing Saturnyne in the chest in her own seat of power. Sound like a big mistake? Well, it’s fair to say readers were aware this wasn’t going to conclude with a summary ending of the contest and the safe return of all Krakoan champions, but what did happen certainly heightens the stakes of a game that already should be to the death.
The story opens on a vision of the future given to Wolverine by a clearly not dead Saturnyne. In the vision, we see Earth laid to waste by war. All that remains is fire and blood, and the victorious invaders. With no contest of swords, and no defense from the armies of Arakkii, Otherworld and the Starlight Citadel were destroyed. Earth quickly followed because, apparently, the combined might of the planet’s heroes wasn’t enough to stop the children of Apocalypse. Unlike his counterparts, death does not await Wolverine in this new world, but a life trapped in a continuous cycle of torture and witness to the new world order his actions helped shape. Saturnyne isn’t exactly subtle in her messaging, but then again murdering the Omniversal Majestrix in the middle of a banquet isn’t exactly a low-key move either.
Let’s be clear here, for all intents and purposes what happened at the end of the last issue was just a dream. By some mysterious and frighteningly powerful means, Saturnyne managed to restore herself from the savage death. Wolverine inflicted on her. Moreover, she did so in such a way that no one else in the room was even aware that something happened in the first place. It should be pretty clear now, if it wasn’t already, that everyone in the Citadel, other than Saturnyne, are in way over their heads. Arguments can be made, however, that Wolverine’s impulsive actions - even though they effectively never took place - may still have a negative impact on the outcome of the contest in Otherworld.
There’s a more complex game or contest unfolding here than any of us are capable of understanding just yet. The prime mover behind it all is an impossibly powerful character whose motives remain unclear. At this point, all those assembled in the Starlight Citadel are pawns and the rules are made by the one person in control: Saturnyne. Let’s just hope Wolverine has learned his lesson, whatever that may be.
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