Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Marvel Comics | Tagged: cable, hellions, marvel, new mutants, X Of Swords, x-men, X-ual Healing - The Weekly X-Men Recap Column

In This Crossover, a Cypher Will Die? New Mutants #13 [XH]

Three X-books were published by Marvel Comics last week, all part of the X of Swords crossover event that's swallowed the X-line whole: Hellions #5, New Mutants #13, and Cable #5. As an "essential" crossover, this could be costing you a lot of money. Or maybe it just costs me a lot of money, and you're reading these recaps. Call it a public service. Now I've gotta go recap Raw (and while that's free, believe me, the emotional toll is way worse), so let's get right down to the recaps so I can click publish already!

Sworn to sell comics for Marvel executives who feared and hated the fact that Fox owned their movie rights, The Uncanny X-Men suffered great indignities. Still, thanks to a corporate merger, a line-wide relaunch, and Jonathan Hickman's giant ego, the X-Men can finally get back to doing what they do best: being objectively the best franchise in all of comics for lovers of soap opera drama.

NEW MUTANTS #13 XOS
AUG200618
(W) Ed Brisson (A) Rod Reis (CA) Michael Del Mundo
X OF SWORDS, PART 7
Diligence. Discipline. A sword of the self.
Rated T+
In Shops: Oct 14, 2020
SRP: $3.99

New Mutants #13 Recap

The issue begins with Magik calling Cable to tell him to come home with his sword so he can be part of a crossover (we see this from Cable's perspective in Cable #5 this week). After Magik explains the crossover premise, she and Cyclops appear to speak in code.

Then we find Doug talking to Warlock while Krakoa watches. Doug is experiencing doubt about his role in the tournament, in which he will wield Warlock as a sword. Warlock says they'll get through it together. Doug heads to the circle where Magik kicks his ass under the guise of training.

After a wiki page about Magik's Soul Sword, Cypher and Krakoa argue during a Quiet Council meeting. Apparently, Krakoa doesn't want Doug to go into battle and wants someone else to go in his place. But Doug and Xavier agree that Doug has to go since he was chosen, though Xavier hopes the Hellions are successful in their mission of preventing the contest before it takes place (see the recap of Hellions from this week for more on that). This scene is followed by another goddamn wiki page about a region in Otherworld, this time about Hothive. Basically…

Anyway, Cypher and Magik train some more, and Cypher is somehow not completely terrible with the sword. Magik is still kicking his ass, and Krakoa gets defensive and jumps in to defend him. Doug makes Krakoa let her go, and Magik tries to convey the seriousness of the situation and how tough Apocalypse's kids are. She says she'll do her best to protect Doug and leaves.

Exodus appears after Magik leaves, and he has a great plan to make it, so Doug doesn't have to go. He can kill Doug right now, and Doug can be safely resurrected later, but since the protocols are suspended, not before the tournament. Then Exodus could go in his place. Doug isn't into it, and Exodus can't beat Doug, Warlock, and Krakoa together. We get a wiki page about Warlock as a sword.

Later that night, Doug is trying to sleep when Mondo enters his room. Krakoa has been bugging Mondo because Doug won't listen to him about not going to the tournament. Krakoa speaks through Mondo. Krakoa says it can hide Doug another way, without killing him, so that he doesn't have to fight. But Doug says he was chosen and he has to do this.

Later, Doug and Illyana spar some more. He's getting better, using his power to read her fighting style like a language. But she's holding back, and he can tell. Magik says she's proud of him for getting better. Doug asks if she thinks he has a chance. Magik says if he tries to fight on Otherworld, he will definitely die.

Of the three issues out this week, this one was my favorite. A mixture of Magik and Cypher building on their bond from back in the day and the generally tragic feeling of foreboding over Doug's entry in the tournament makes for one of those issues that tugs at the heartstrings. I do hope this doesn't end in Cypher dying again, though, though all foreshadowing seems to point to that. And I don't usually talk about the art (because firstly, this is a recap column, not a review, and secondly, because f**k that art cred guy and all his whining), but the art in this issue was really good. The fact that Rod Reis is coloring his own art means it's not just the usual shiny modern coloring technique applied to seemingly every book, which makes it stand out.

Read more X-ual Healing here:

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