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Welcome back to the latest edition of The All-New Uncanny X-Piles! Where it’s all about the Children of the Atom all the time. If you’ve been keeping up with their exploits lately then you know some huge revelations have hit the X-Men courtesy of Jonathan Hickman’s House of X and Powers of X. And now we enter the mutant’s first big event of the year with X of Swords! Here we take a look at Chapters 2 & 3 and see how the event holds up so far.

X-Factor #4
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Leah Williams
Art: Carlos Gomez
Colors: Israel Silva
Letters: Joe Caramagna
Cover: Ivan Shavrin

After the ambush and betrayal in last issue the team from Otherworld has returned to Krakoa with a severely injured Rictor and Apocalypse. And Rockslide? Well this is where we discover that stakes are high and death now has a place in the lives in the X-Men once again. See, if you die in Otherworld then it’s game over because you can’t be brought back via the resurrection protocols.

Leah Williams drops plenty of information in this issue and adds the emotional element here that makes the tournament more than one big fight. The X-Men are overwhelmed here and you get a strong sense of that thanks to her writing and smooth pacing. She has Apocalypse willing to break Krakoan law by killing another mutant because he want’s Rictor saved immediately. Lorna’s guilt over losing Santo is another fine moment that will have repercussions down the line. But she also has Xavier and Magneto do what they do best and that’s just be two sides of the same @$$hole coin. The moment they kick Apocalypse when he’s literally down is one that hopefully comes back to kick them both in the face. Willams has several twists and turns in this issue that make it a necessary read and certainly sticks the cliffhanger here with Illyana. She wants ALL the Arakko smoke and I, for one, can’t wait to see what she does come tournament time.

Visually we’re treated to another strong showing from Gomez and Silva. The layouts and panels breaks really enhance the hectic mood of the narrative. Things get crowded because of it but there’s still an easy flow from panel to panel that moves the story just fine. This might be a small thing but It’s good to see the visual display of Siryn’s powers isn’t a copy of her dad’s. It helps add something new to see in the panels when she’s using them.

Part two of X of Swords is one hell of an issue and the only thing that stands out as a problem (to me) would be how were Siryn and the others able to carry Apocalypse and Rictor without becoming sick themselves when we saw that happen to those who touched someone shot by Pestilence in X of Swords: Creation? 3.5/5

Wolverine #6
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Benjamin Percy
Art: Viktor Bogdanovic
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letters: Cory Petit
Cover: Adam Kubert & Frank Martin

Benjamin Percy’s Logan centric story here is just as rich as the action packed issues that came before. It’s also a bit refreshing to see things slowed down and the focus narrowed to just a handful of characters. One in particular is Solem who is Wolverine’s counterpart in the tournament and also destined to locate and wield the Muramasa blade. When you read about his connection to Apocalypse’s daughter, War and why he’s been imprisoned for a millennia you’ll see why he’s just one messy character. Percy’s script makes you want to know more about this new character and gives this tie-in some weight. It’s a tightly woven narrative that also delves into some of Wolverine’s personal moments as he’s hunting the Muramasa blade which reveal yet another evil to be dealt with here on Earth. Though, the strongest moment might be in Percy’s opening where Logan has a heart to heart with Krokoa. It’s a powerful sequence that is 100% Wolverine. My only problem with the issue (and it’s purely a personal one) is that something happens to Logan here that I took issue with back when it happened during the superhero civil war.

Bogdanovic and Wilson do an excellent job with the visual storytelling here. That Logan and Krakoa moment I mentioned earlier is great because they service the narrative with some tense close-ups and stare downs. There’s a brief sequence with Silver Samurai that is a mix of action, blood, and jealousy and even though I didn’t like that one particular moment this art duo makes it look good. Wilson’s colors enhance everything about it from the lava dripping down the skull to the eye sockets that just hold a spark of life in each.

Overall, another solid tie-in worth grabbing if you want to get some more information of the bad guys and see where this is going. 3/5

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