SWORD Finale (Review and Spoilers)

[Habis]

Doesnt his confidence issues make him more relatable as a character? Many of us have confidence issues daily and how the world sees us changes how much power we have to react, much like Gladiator confidence. And yes he puts on a big show but often a big show ion the outside means very little confidence on the inside, false bravado. I see him very much as this, long term confidence issues but spurts of false bravado giving him some confidence, but underneath its a long term issue I think. It also like I said makes Gladiator more relatable because he not perfect no one is.

I don't think Gladiator is supposed to be relatable. His role in X-Men stories is usually as an outsider/stranger/foreigner, a literal alien from a strange culture.

[Reigna]

Doesnt his confidence issues make him more relatable as a character? Many of us have confidence issues daily and how the world sees us changes how much power we have to react, much like Gladiator confidence. And yes he puts on a big show but often a big show ion the outside means very little confidence on the inside, false bravado. I see him very much as this, long term confidence issues but spurts of false bravado giving him some confidence, but underneath its a long term issue I think. It also like I said makes Gladiator more relatable because he not perfect no one is.

It does, marvel writers are known for their human like heroes. DC not so much. Infact the heroes of marvel are loved due to their humanity and relatability to the human condition whilst juggling immense power. Gladiator isn't a human but as a marvel hero he is bound to have a human elements meant to make him more relatable as a charachter to others. He is this superman charachter whose one Kryptonite is self confidence. That is something everyone can relate to at one point or another in their life. I think the shiar are going to play an important role in the coming story and Ewing is setting the foundation by which his charachters are fleshed out even a tank like gladiator

[Sutekh]

Lol, even grade-A lummox Sabretooth gets to have plot-induced psychic defences sometimes when they want him to last more than five seconds against the X-Men.

It's necessary for cheap drama for every new arrival to the mansion to be resistant to Professor X vetting them psychically. So Ilyanna, Gambit, Psylocke, Rogue, etc. all had arbitrary resistances to his telepathy, so that they could play the 'can they be trusted?' fiddle just a little longer. So, so boring.

And now they work with Sinister, Apocalypse, Shaw, Selene, etc. so I doubt Professor X even bothers to check people at the door.

[Stormrocks]

Wouldn't her given name be "Abigail?"

I took that to mean that Brand isn't her last name. It's Abigail something, but not Brand.

[Sutekh]

I took that to mean that Brand isn't her last name. It's Abigail something, but not Brand.

Now I want it to be 'Normal.' So her full name can be Abby Normal.

[Grunty]

(...)The Superman of the Marvel universe, Gladiator is totally useless in defending Xandra so Storm has to save the day with an impressive display of power. (I hate when writes tear down one character to prop another. I would’ve preferred Storm and Gladiator teaming up). (...)

It starts to feel like every appearance of Xandra seems to involve her having to be saved by mutants doesn't it? While the guard get's increasingly "worfed".

In barely a few in universe days she will need to be saved again by a bunch of b- and c-list mutants all over again it seems.

[cable guy]

I dug this issue. Sets up some great future plot threads for X-men Red involving Brand, ORCHIS, the Shiar, Orbis Stellaris and the Lethal Legion, etc. It’s gonna be a fun series, and, yeah, this issue makes it obvious that Cable will be a part of that book too.

I’m highly interested in the new status quo they’ve established for him… or old status quo really, with his “techno-organic viral load barely under his control now”… perhaps he should’ve had Hope bring him back without the T-O virus after all? Regardless, it sounds like most of his power will be consumed by keeping that under control, so it’s back to being very low-level in terms of his TP/TK… if he can even afford to use them at all. Much like in his early days, which is cool with me.

The suddenly referring to himself as “self” akin to how Warlock speaks was new, though. Don’t think I’ve ever seen that from him, even in the past when the T-O virus was running rampant in his system. I thought it was kind of cool though. Perhaps with his internal AI system now the virus overwhelmed it and took it over, hence him referring to himself in that way. Not sure. Hopefully it’s followed up on. Oh, and I wonder if his T-O arm will stay looking like this or he’ll put the metal plating back over the techno-organics…

Attachment 116460

It’s kind of a cool look IMO. And definitely differentiates it from the Winter Solider’s more run-of-the-mill bionic arm.

I didn't even think this could be Cable's new look. Or for a while at least? I'd be good with it as well.

Good to see how well it was portrayed, in what a toll it takes on him when he uses his power to that extent. He has his powers still, but it comes at a cost. And boy did he use them. And I'm almost positive he never referred to himself, as "Self" either.

[Jackraow21]

Yeah, this review seems to think that it might be a permanent change, as it refers to his cybernetic arm as having “evolved”…

https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/the-r...-up-x-men-red/

Though The Peak is successfully diverted and Australia is saved, Cable pays a great price as the techno-organic virus usually kept in check by his telekinesis has run rampant in his body, causing his cybernetic arm to evolve in a strange way - SWORD #11's first toll on a mutant.

I’ll be interested to see the X-men Red cover and whether his arm still looks like that — all black and techno-organicky with glowing blue lines (akin to Warlock’s glowing yellow lines). I also hope Cable gets a new costume. His current one from Cable: Reloaded is pretty basic. It’s not bad. Just generic and unmemorable.

[Wind Rider]

Yeah, this review seems to think that it might be a permanent change, as it refers to his cybernetic arm as having “evolved”…

https://www.gamesradar.com/amp/the-r...-up-x-men-red/



I’ll be interested to see the X-men Red cover and whether his arm still looks like that — all black and techno-organicky with glowing blue lines (akin to Warlock’s glowing yellow lines). I also hope Cable gets a new costume. His current one from Cable: Reloaded is pretty basic. It’s not bad. Just generic and unmemorable.

Yeah Im curious what’ll happen w/ Cable. I get the impression it’ll be a big part of X-Men Red. Also I want him to get a new look too. I always like his black ops look from the early 2000s.

[Jackraow21]

Same. I also really loved his short-lived look from Second Coming when he joined up with Wolverine’s X-Force and went into the future…



But I’m kind of a sucker for X-teams sporting color-coded uniforms, and certainly wouldn’t mind everyone rocking black and red in X-men Red.

[Rev9]

At least with the Brand reveal, I can understand how the monster of X-Men 1, annihilation wave and HE got past SWORD station and came straight to our blue planet , with Krakoa getting no heads up.I was beginning to think the whole SWORD crew were playing poker while all of these incursions were going on...

[Jackraow21]

Yeah Im curious what’ll happen w/ Cable. I get the impression it’ll be a big part of X-Men Red. Also I want him to get a new look too. I always like his black ops look from the early 2000s.

Interestingly enough, I did find at least one other example of when Nathan’s T-O virus looked like it did in this issue, more techno-organicky (black with blue accents)…



This was right after he “died” in Second Coming, and was actually just thrown into an alternate future wasteland caused by the Avengers preventing Hope from fulfilling her destiny with the Phoenix and restarting mutantkind. It’s why he went to war with them in the X-Sanction mini. But here his cybernetic arm has been severed by the time portal that collapsed on him, and he’s clearly in the process of growing a new one.

[mugen]

I fail to see how this was a twist ending at all, she did as is expected of her established character, what was the twist? I mean if she had been caught but secretly succeeds in her plans then i could see a twist, if she was working under someone more dangerous i could see a twist, but all i saw here is her acting pretty much the way i have known of her since she was first introduced into 616.

I remember When Brand was revealed as a mutant years ago, in avenger vs xmen she talked about the importance of helping mutants and making sure they protected.
But now she doesn't and allies with orchis organization racist follower of mutant genocide to destroy krakoa (australia too) without too much explanation except having the sol.
I find it extreme even for brand and not very consistent with the character who secretly admits to always protecting the mutant cause in secret.
that it's still a mine game.

[loke13]

I remember When Brand was revealed as a mutant years ago, in avenger vs xmen she talked about the importance of helping mutants and making sure they protected.
But now she doesn't and allies with orchis organization racist follower of mutant genocide to destroy krakoa (australia too) without too much explanation except having the sol.
I find it extreme even for brand and not very consistent with the character who secretly admits to always protecting the mutant cause in secret.
that it's still a mine game.

I mean the first issue pretty much had her say "Yeah I'm technically a mutant but don't let that fool you, my loyalty is to the solar system." Which I don't think that contradicts her past characterization more so it just contradicts people's perception of her past characterization.

[BroHomo]

I mean the first issue pretty much had her say "Yeah I'm technically a mutant but don't let that fool you, my loyalty is to the solar system." Which I don't think that contradicts her past characterization more so it just contradicts people's perception of her past characterization.

just seems a lotta reaching to make her loyalty to the solar system at odds with her being a Mutant. I mean as residents of her Sol System wouldn't the Mutants automatically be on her said if the solar system was ever in danger?