Amazing Spider-Man #49 (October 7): OMFG, I just can't. For the big 850th issue, I thought that Spencer would reveal who Kindred was. Instead we just take a fucked-up trip down fucked-up memory lane with fucked-up Norman.
One of my main complaints about this issue is that Spencer amps up Peter's sense of responsibility so high that it's hard to believe, even for Peter. For example, Norman tells Peter that he blames Peter for his nervous breakdown and subsequent amnesia. Norman feels like Peter should've supported him (an adult) when he revealed his identity to him (a child). To be fair, Peter points out the fact that he was, indeed, a teenager at the time. That said, he fails to mention that Norman had, you know, stalked and drugged him to set up the aforementioned little tête-à-tête. Of course, Norman blames his behavior on the drugs' side effects. In Norman's mind, I guess that Peter should've been able to look past the fact that Norman was holding him hostage.
You'd think that Peter would dismiss this entire argument. But, no. Instead, he winds up telling Sin-Eater that his conversation with Norman made him realize that Stan's death is his fault, too, because Stan tried to connect with him and Spidey refused the overture. I mean, seriously. I get that Peter has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility, but Spencer is laying it on really thick here, Are we supposed to believe that Peter is so megalomaniacal that he feels that he, and he alone, is responsible for the decisions that both Green Goblin and Sin-Eater made?
To make matters worse, Pete goes through all this trouble to protect Norman from Sin-Eater only to realize what everyone else already knew: the only way to stop Norman without killing him is to have Sin-Eater cleanse him. This epiphany comes after Norman realizes that Ghost-Spider is Gwen Stacy and refers to the God forsaken events of "Sins Past" as he leers at her. OK, I get it. It's upsetting. But, you would've thought that Peter would've realized that Norman was beyond saving when Norman tried to kill him after they successfully subdued Sin-Eater. But, no, it has to be saving someone else where Peter draws the line.
(As I sidebar here, I don't understand why the Order of the Web just sat there waiting to see what Peter would do. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the Web of Life and Destiny told Madame Web that it wasn't the right moment to intervene, but, ugh, I hate that.)
I wish I could say that the back-up stories helped, but they were all but incomprehensible. This issue is a waste of time from start to finish. The only good thing about it is that I'm reading it so late that it was free on Comixology.
Marauders #13 (October 7): This issue makes it clear that the swords named at the end of "X of Swords - Creation" #1 are the swords that each champion - ten on each side - need to bring to fight for the future of Krakoa and thus Earth. For Storm, it is Skybreaker, the Wakandan king's vibranium sword. Unfortunately, only the Wakandan king can wield said sword, and it can never leave Wakanda. Despite Storm's urgent pleas, T'Challa fails to reply, forcing her to fight Shuri to steal Skybreaker. T'Challa arrives as Storm is leaving and allows her to leave with it, and she joins Magik and Wolverine on Krakoa, ready for battle. The best part of this issue is Storm's exasperation with the Wakandans, who believe that she should wait for T'Challa's return. She steals the sword because, as she tells Shuri, Wakanda doesn't get to dictate every situation. It's yet another reminder that everyone still doesn't accept that the world has changed.
Amazing Spider-Man #50 (October 14): OMFG, thank God. Honestly, I just couldn't take it anymore. It's been pretty clear for a while that Kindred was probably Harry Osborn, and I'm glad that we finally establish that here. It makes me much more excited about where we go from here. After all, I feel like we're in a good place now.
Spencer reveals that Kindred was just using Sin-Eater to get to Norman. I'm not sure how he chose Overdrive, the Lethal Legion, and Juggernaut as the villains whose powers he stole, but it certainly worked to his advantage to get to Norman where he was hiding deep inside Ravencroft.
Kindred takes all the sins that Sin-Eater has collected and...dismisses Sin-Eater? I'm not sure if it's the right word, because it seems like he actually goes to Heaven instead of Hell after Kindred made him admit to himself that he killed his partner all those years ago. More importantly, though, Kindred then takes the sins that he took from Sin-Eater and infects the Order of the Web with them.
At this point, Madame Web reveals why, at the end of last issue, she said that Peter's decision to sacrifice Norman came too late. When Peter goes to Dr. Strange for help, Dr. Strange berates him for making a deal with a demonic figure. We all kind of glossed over that part, didn't we? We were all, "La la la, Norman will be cured! What's the downside?" Oh, right, demonic figure. While the Order of the Web seems like it's coming after Peter, Norman is now panicked as he knows that Kindred is Harry and wants to save his son. Probably a little too late, buddy.
New Mutants #13 (October 14): Brisson starts the issue informing us that Cable and his Light of Galador is one of the X-Men's swords. Of concern to everyone, though, Doug is also one of the combatants, with Warlock as his sword. Krakoa does everything in his power to convince him not to go, and Magik tries to train him despite knowing that he's no match for an Arakkii combatants. But, it's Doug who insists that he go, committed to fulfilling the obligation that he feels to his fellow mutants. Brisson does a good job here not only giving us insight into Doug's thoughts but also providing updates on other plots, such as Sinister's attempt to steal the Arakkii combatants' swords and the Five's temporary inability to resurrect anyone. I'll admit that I'm not sure that we really needed this story, but I'm still enjoying it nonetheless.
Amazing Spider-Man #50.LR (October 21): This issue isn't essential to the main plot, but it certainly fleshes it out a bit as Peter confronts the demonic Order of the Web before he makes his way to Dr. Strange's in issue #50. We also see Dr. Kafka skeptically deal with Norman Osborn as he tries to convince her that he's reformed. She suggests that Norman can't simply reconcile with Harry; in case of such family trauma, it helps to have a trusted intermediary. Enter Mary Jane Watson!
Guardians of the Galaxy #7 (October 21): This issue is fun. I particularly enjoyed the screwball moments, like Noh-Var somehow looking guilty of murder on not one, but two, occasions. It's basically intergalactic "Clue." I'm also glad that Ewing has Rich mention his therapist, since it's clear that it's working as we get a more stable Rich now. In previous "Guardians of the Galaxy" series, just as Rich's story started to get interesting, he'd disappear to stop yet another galactic invasion. That said, Ewing's delivery and packing does still seem a bit odd; I constantly feel like I missed an issue. I'm hoping that Ewing intentionally implanted this awkwardness (like the bizarre post-credits page) because he's building to something. Otherwise, it's just strange.
X-Men #13 (October 21): As Healer and Hope heal him, a dying Apocalypse recalls the moments after the Arakkii mutants realized that they were going to lose. After the White Sword and his One Hundred Champions left Krakoa to cross into Amenth, Apocalypse recalls that the mutants remaining on Krakoa were initially stronger. They beat back the hordes that cleaved Okkara into two parts, and Genesis' conversation with the Golden Helm of Amenth and its god Annihilation left her stronger. But, once Genesis' sister, Isca the Unbeatable, defected to the other side (since she can't lose), Genesis' fire dimmed as they all now that they faced no clear victory. Leading the mutants into Arakko, Genesis left Apocayplse on Krakoa to ensure only the fittest survive. I have to say, it is a brilliant rewriting of Apocalypse's origin, giving his obsession with exactly that goal - only the fittest surviving - the type of urgency that I always felt was missing. Although we now have a better understanding of how the mutants survived the initial fight with the Twilight Blade's hordes, I'm eager to learn how eventually they come close to falling in battle, I think, with the White Sword. In the meantime, Apocalypse reassembles his sword, Scarab, and prepares to join the champions.
X of Swords: Stasis (October 28): This issue is more Hickmanesque than I'd like. But, if you focus on the events that unfold and put aside the misdirection, it's a pretty straight-forward issue.
Betsey Braddock, Captain Avalon, and Gorgon join Apocalypse, Cable, Doug Ramsey, Magik, Storm, and Wolverine as Krakoa's sword bearers. (Notably, they are only nine, not ten.) On Arakko, a resurrected Genesis, wearing the Golden Helm of Amenth, orders Summoner and the Four Horsemen to seek out the other sword bearers: Redroot, the Forest (Doug's counterpart as Arakko's voice); Pogg Ur-Pogg (a mercenary who joins Arakko's forces on the promise of getting to plunder a new world - i.e., Earth); Bei the Blood Moon (who really just wants to kill people); the White Sword of the Ivory Spire (who agrees to join Arakkii's force because they agree to grant him whatever he wants if they win, and he clearly has something in mind); and Isca the Unbeaten. From the chart, it looks like Death, Genesis (as Annihilation), and War are sword bearers along with someone named Solem, though I don't think that we've encountered her/him yet
The X-Men travel to Otherworld and are surprised that they're not immediately faced with combat, Apocalypse notes that the swords may just be the key to entry, which means that we might not exactly see a sword-based brawl. Saturnyne arrives and refuses to clarify, sending the X-Men to their quarters before a banquet that night. In their rooms, they each discover a tarot card linked presumably to the role that they'll play in the contest. Apocalypse is furious that he got the Lovers and confronts Saturnyne, only to discover why he got it, as he faces Genesis and realizes that she is now Annihilation, his greatest enemy.
Also Read: Captain America #24 (October 14); Falcon & Winter Solider #4 (October 21); Amazing Spider-Man #51 (October 28)
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