S.W.O.R.D. #2 Review/Spoiler Thread - King in Black Tie-In

[nx01a]

I think one of the best things about this series so far is how Z-list mutants are getting so much fun dialogue and time to shine while being beautifully rendered.

[Kingdom X]

Comic felt short, too many things moving. Sunfire is loyal to Japan and now he is simply on Krakoa.
How the hell Sword didn't saw the Knull coming?

Liked Frenzy looking at Cortez and Magneto and already thinking about betrayal.

Now a Cable that laughs

I really appreciated the Frenzy. I think it was a realistic way of showing that she's moved forward with her life but hasn't forgotten the past.

[danielsan52]

The Nowlan’s got mentioned. Color me impressed.

As much as I would like that redacted power augmenter to be Chance, I don’t think it’s her. Does she have a history with Snarks?

Is Spider-Woman still an Agent of SWORD? If so, I’d love to see her come on board and demolish Mentallo for what he did to her.

[Glio]

Ah, thanks for the info. I haven't followed anything Venom in decades.

It has something to do with Thor beating Knull a long time ago and leaving symbiotes traumatized or something.

They also speculated that magic could be effective.

[loke13]

I think one of the best things about this series so far is how Z-list mutants are getting so much fun dialogue and time to shine while being beautifully rendered.

Yeah the art and the story are the highlights for me. Al Ewing is managing to juggle a large cast while still able to balance it with action. That's pretty impressive.

[magenta]

What about Zach/Amp from the recent Iceman series? He could boost/depower anything, so his powerset was even more useful than Fabian Cortez's powers. But I guess no one read that series...

[loke13]

Idk my mind is gonna bet on Hope but I'm not sure what connections she has to the Snarkwar.

Also I love how Brand has no delusions when it comes to the people who work for her and is already looking into replacements for when Fabian Cortez eventually betrays them.

I love to see some dossiers on the rest of STORM and Brands opinions on them.

[teapartyofthedead]

Frenzy continues to look gorgeous in this book, as well as being sensible. Pointing out that Paibok fighting alongside them only strengthens their alliance, and seeing history repeats itself with Cortez. Magneto, out of all of them, should remember that Cortez can never be trusted. Unless this is just a pretext for Max to humiliate him in front of the Council, no good can come from Cortez getting anywhere near power. That way he smirked at ‘being the power behind the throne’ really makes me hope his eventual comeuppance is both through as it is humiliating.

[Glio]

I want to think that Magneto is smart enough to give Fabian the bare minimum to cooperate even though he knows that he cannot be trusted.

[nx01a]

Frenzy continues to look gorgeous in this book, as well as being sensible. Pointing out that Paibok fighting alongside them only strengthens their alliance, and seeing history repeats itself with Cortez. Magneto, out of all of them, should remember that Cortez can never be trusted. Unless this is just a pretext for Max to humiliate him in front of the Council, no good can come from Cortez getting anywhere near power. That way he smirked at ‘being the power behind the throne’ really makes me hope his eventual comeuppance is both through as it is humiliating.

Unless Cortez gets treated like Quire or Empath: never really having anything permanently bad happen despite their continued and unrepentant bad behaviour. Now, if Cortez gets treated like Sebastian Shaw, that would be pleasant.

[Journey]

What about Zach/Amp from the recent Iceman series? He could boost/depower anything, so his powerset was even more useful than Fabian Cortez's powers. But I guess no one read that series...

That kid was a huge liability but the most likely reason he won't get used is because his creator has repeatedly and publicly bashed Marvel a bunch of times they don't want to give him clout.

[Glio]

Unless Cortez gets treated like Quire or Empath: never really having anything permanently bad happen despite their continued and unrepentant bad behaviour. Now, if Cortez gets treated like Sebastian Shaw, that would be pleasant.

At least we can admit that seeing Empath and Quentin dying all the time is fun.

[Jackraow21]

Absolutely enjoyed it. THIS is how you turn a crossover to your advantage.
>This art is gorgeous! The writing is great!
>I've loved Mentallo for years. He's scum but he's fun scum, and his visual and powers are just cool.
>I knew his Think Tank would appear! From reading Tank Magazine to his desire stated in Brand's data page to actually getting one, I feel like I went through a complete journey this issue with him and his tank fetish amplified by midlife crisis.
>It was nice to see more of Brand's thought processes in the data pages. The others who might take Cortez's place were all candidates we brought up on this forum.
>Banshee! He just looked nice but didn't do much. At least the symbiotes' weakness to sonic attacks was remembered.
>Sunfire! What's with writers doing bad things to his legs?!
>Cortez remains scum... horrible scum. I must admit, he uses every situation to his advantage, and I'm sure Magneto realizes his game. Frenzy sure remembers and realizes.
>I'm still not a Frenzy fan but her having Paibok as her tag-along is wonderful. Paibok the Power Skrull has always been a favourite of mine. Yeah, yeah. I like Paibok and Mentallo but dislike Cortez and Frenzy. Deal with it. :P
>I wondered if the 'V' in 'Protocol V' was for the letter or the numeral. Now we know. Saving the Five as a means to saving the human race? Or just to saving the mutant race?
>Kid Cable got possessed? I'm not really interested. He could die for all I care. Just bring back Old Cable already.

Agreed. Great issue, and I didn’t mind this series being hijacked in its second issue by the King in Black event because Ewing did such a strong job with it and continuing to tell his story while making the tie-in work. Very interested in what happens with Cable here, and whether it’s this or something else that causes it, I firmly believe that OG Cable is coming back soon. There have been rumors of his return, plus a cryptic hint dropped by Duggan in the last X-men Monday... so I think he’s coming back soon. Fingers crossed.

[teapartyofthedead]

I want to think that Magneto is smart enough to give Fabian the bare minimum to cooperate even though he knows that he cannot be trusted.

I would like to think so but as Brand pointed out, Cortez knows how to stroke egos and he knows what topics are nearest and dearest to Magneto. Like security policy regarding their human neighbors.

Unless Cortez gets treated like Quire or Empath: never really having anything permanently bad happen despite their continued and unrepentant bad behaviour. Now, if Cortez gets treated like Sebastian Shaw, that would be pleasant.

That would be incredibly annoying, if he gets Kenny’s now and again with no end in sight. I hope Magneto has a plan to put a collar on Cortez, if Brand can’t find anyone to replace him.

[Jackraow21]

I thought her too but she was in the next page which would have been way too obvious. I think she's a red herring for someone else

What we do know:

1. Its a female
2. She can control her power amplification
3. Can amplify more than one mutant at a time
4. She's snarky.
5. She has a loyalty to someone or something that might prevent her from being with SWORD

Hope definitely fits all this by why redact her entry only to have her in the next page?

Her loyalty might be to her father, the real grown up Cable. It’s possible since he knew about his death ahead of time that he faked it (e.g., sent a clone to die at Kid Cable’s hand in Extermination perhaps?) and has been in hiding for some reason, and somehow Brand knows this. Just a thought, perhaps peppered with some wishful thinking on my part.