X Of Swords: Stasis #1
The Champions of Krakoa and Arrako gather in the Starlight Citadel in X Of Swords: Stasis #1, by writers Jonathan Hickman and Tini Howard, artists Pepe Larraz and Mahmud Asrar, colorist Marte Gracia, and letterer Clayton Cowles. Part eleven of X Of Swords, this chapter is yet more set-up for this endless(ly disappointing) X-Men crossover.
It begins with Saturnyne calling a parliament of Otherworld. The delegates vote, Famine and Pestilence, representing the vanquished kingdom of Dryador, sass everyone with how they killed everyone, and from there, it flashbacks three days before, as the Horsemen gather Arrako’s Champions and their swords. The X-Men arrive at the Starlight Citadel, Saturnyne shows up, everyone sasses each other. She leaves them all tarot cards in their rooms, which confuse some and infuriate some. Apocalypse’s especially angers him and goes to talk to her as she leaves to meet her next guest- Genesis, Apocalypse’s long lost wife, and the leader of the enemy.
This issue is a cash grab, simply put. Well, X Of Swords in general is a cash grab, but this issue is certainly one as well. Literally, nothing happens in this issue but more set-up, a set-up which could have been done in the later chapters of the story. Now, introducing the Champions of Arrako is important but this issue does that mostly in a few panels or a page and there didn’t need to be a whole book devoted to it. The way they’re introduced is the height of brevity, so why even do a book just for it? Readers don’t get any backstory for them or their blades, just that they exist and look cool. Also, as far as it goes, this issue renders the mission of the Hellion in their book completely useless and lets everyone know they failed at it.
Other than that, the issue mostly seems just to exist so everyone can sass Saturnyne, she can sass them back, and confuse everyone with more prophecies that don’t matter and tarot card readings, all of which certainly point to future events but beg the question- is any of this needed? Is this book’s content so important it has to exist? The answer to that question is no. Nothing in this book screams for its existence. Everything in this book could have been done elsewhere. In fact, X-Men is double shipping in November, that means an extra part of the story so this could have easily been spread out among the other books. The book’s big moment- the reveal of Genesis and her allegiance to the bad guys was telegraphed so hard in the last issue of X-Men it isn't funny. This book is a microcosm for this entire storyline- it’s superfluous. Are readers supposed to care that Apocalypse’s wife is evil when they were just introduced to her last week? Are we supposed to care about Apocalypse and how he feels about her after years of him being the most evil villain imaginable? Hickman set this story up back in HoX/PoX, but the execution of it so far has been lackluster at best and this issue is no exception.
The good news about the book is that the art by Pepe Larraz and Mahmud Asrar is very good, but from these two, that’s to be expected. That said, nothing about the art stands out very much because nothing of note really happens in the comic, the art just looks good.
Straight up, X Of Swords: Stasis #1 is a cash grab in every sense of the word, a way for Marvel to bilk five more dollars out of readers. Nothing happens in it all and while from a technical standpoint, it’s a well written, nice looking comic, it is completely superfluous. It does nothing to make an argument that its existence is needed. In that way, it’s completely emblematic of X Of Swords. Apparently, some readers and critics are somehow enjoying this story but how they are doing so is mystifying. Dawn Of X has been excellent up to this point, so maybe they’re looking at this story through rose-colored glasses, but otherwise, this whole thing is a bloated mess and hopefully, it will get better when the actual action starts.
Grade: D-
