C2E2 2020: Next big 'X-Men' crossover 'X of Swords' for July 2020, announces Marvel
The first big 'X-Men' crossover since the 'Dawn of X' relaunch has been announced and it's coming with an abundance of sharp objects. Marvel announced the 'X of Swords' (pronounced "Ten of Swords") event at the Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2) convention on February 28.
The event is scheduled to begin in July 2020, celebrating the one-year anniversary of the relaunch. The crossover will reportedly run for fifteen issues and include every author currently working in the 'X-Men' franchise.
Marvel first teased the major reveal on Twitter with an image that looks like a sword with an X for a crossguard and the word "July" in the alphabet of the Krakoan language spoken by mutants since the founding of their new island nation. Near the end of Friday's 'X-Men' panel, the publisher unveiled the new event and described it as a massive story in the tradition of line-wide sagas like 'Mutant Massacre' and 'Age of Apocalypse', Screenrant reports.
The event will reportedly see ten mutants receiving legendary swords that they will use in a battle for the future of Krakoa, mutantkind's newly-established homeland. The swords will include both items that are familiar to readers and new blades designed specifically for the event.
Promo art for 'X of Swords' from artist Mark Brooks was also released by Marvel and it features a host of X-Men wielding swords including Wolverine with the Muramasa blade and Cyclops wielding what looks like a sword made from the same energies as his optic blasts. Xavier himself can be seen using the Cerebro sword, made by Magneto in the pages of 'X-Force' from the ruins of Xavier's destroyed Cerebro helmet after the mutant leader was assassinated post-Krakoa's sovereignty being declared.
While the art is quite stunning, it does feature more than ten mutants so perhaps some of these swords may not actually be part of the actual story. Marvel's announcement reportedly described mutantkind as meeting "its mystical destiny", suggesting that the storyline could heavily involve magic.
'Excalibur' writer Tini Howard, who has been heavily exploring the concept of mutant magic in his book, was mentioned in the C2E2 panel as writing much of the overall storyline. The title itself has occult connotations. In a general context, the Ten of Swords is not a good omen as it can represent backstabbing, betrayal, badmouthing, bitterness, and enmity. It is a Minor Arcana card of failure, ruin, collapse, severing ties, goodbyes and the final nail in the coffin of a relationship or situation so perhaps this event might not end well for our beloved heroes.
'X of Swords' is scheduled to release in July 2020.