Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Art: Mahmud Asrar, Sunny Gho, VC’s Clayton Cowles, Tom Muller, and Leinil Francis Yu

Price: $3.99

Release Date: October 21st, 2020

X OF SWORDS PART 10

X-MEN #13 is certainly an interesting tale in which Jonathan Hickman creates a new mutant character that is even more powerful than him while also establishing what appears to be a love story in the process. Panel after panel, Hickman and Mahmud Asrar mold together this image of strength that matriculates off Apocalypse… yet we are led to believe there is a mutant even greater. Heck, her name leads this reviewer to speculate that she could very well be the first mutant ever. Let’s dive into X-MEN #13 by Jonathan Hickman to get a glimpse at this new villain, the old war, and what this new tournament might truly entail for our mutants.

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We open with a devastated Apocalypse, which just sounds preposterous to anyone that knows the character. But X-fans, he’s low and worse than a wounded animal. Polaris and Magneto can barely hold him down with their combined powers while an ancient virus ravages his body. The remarkable strength of Apocalypse should genuinely be revered after this issue while Hickman and Asrar put him on center stage! Readers, since HOXPOX and the DAWN OF X began, Apocalypse has been lurking in the shadows not doing much at all. Many new readers could wonder what this menacing mutant does. To be honest, it’s been so long since we’ve seen Apocalypse do much of anything.

Well, Hickman, with the help of Asrar, use this issue to show readers just how immensely powerful Apocalypse truly is while also sprinkling in a sense of warning. And that cautioning goes out to all mutants. If Apocalypse doesn’t stand a chance, was crippled at his reunion, and was left behind on Earth while his love went to fight a war with his Four Horsemen because he wasn’t strong enough, then what chance do the X-MEN have now? Remember, if the X-MEN die there, they probably can’t come back… or at least come back the same. So, Hickman went from installing resurrection protocols and providing mutantkind with an absurd amount of power to ripping those same protocols right out amid a war on the horizon. Readers, I don’t think everyone’s making it out of this one alive. Now, will it be a major player? Probably not… but it still might be a heavy hitter or fan-favorite before X OF SWORDS is said and done.

FINAL THOUGHTS

X-MEN #13 was informative, clever, unique, and shared some well-needed background information to the core of the event. This is more than a tourney… it’s a love story. It’s the re-emergence of the true power of Apocalypse. It’s the creation of a deeper narrative that’s cluttered with history and rooted in the foundation of mutantkind. It’s the story before the story. Hickman and Asrar use this opportunity to finally showcase the sheer power of Apocalypse while adding weight, purpose, and direction to this event. It’s the Genesis of everything related to mutantkind as well as the X-MEN. Another rock-solid issue of an event that continues to feel more and more like a Fantasy-Adventure story ripped right out of J.R.R. Tolkien or C.S. Lewis. Grab this issue and let me know what you think!

9.2/10