Ten swords. Ten champions. The X-Men are now on a JRPG fetch quest to start their anime fighting tournament and they all need swords. Some of these we know, some we don’t, but unless you have studied the blade you might be a bit confused. Well don’t worry, while you were having pre-marital sex, I learned this arcane knowledge. Now, dear friends, I’ll share it with you.
Muramasa
Pulling first from history and folklore, the first sword we have is Muramasa. Historically named for swordsmith Sengo Muramasa from the 15th century, the Muramasa has a unique place in both legend and Marvel continuity. Much like the prophecy suggests, there are actually two. The first appeared in Wolverine’s first ongoing series. It was called “The Black Blade” and was forged by Muramasa with a piece of his own soul. He poured his own madness into the blade and that would be passed onto the wielder. It was last seen in the possession of the Silver Samurai after he stopped Wolverine from rampaging due to the effects of the steel.
The second Muramasa is the more famous one. After his wife was fridged, Wolverine asked Muramasa for a blade that could kill anything. He gave up a piece of his own soul but the smithing took many years, long enough that Logan got amnesia and just straight-up forgot about it. Decades past and Wolverine finally got his memory back, remembered to pick up the sword, and promptly gave it to Cyclops for safe keeping.
The sword was eventually destroyed to make other weapons, Daken had claws made of it for a time and the Orphans of X melted it down to make Muramasa bullets. The prophecy from X-Factor #4 promises someone “returns to a forge left ablaze” so it seem like the Muramasa will be made once again.
The Sword Of Might & The Starlight Sword
If one, likely a Brian Braddock, is a potential multiversal protector, they must make a choice. The Amulet of Right or The Sword of Might. There is a wrong answer, and to be a Captain Britain you must choose reason over violence. However, swords are neat so even non-Captain’s Britan can have fun with them. For such a key item, The Sword Of Might has been sparsely used in Marvel continuity. Kelsey Leigh, the Avenger known as Lionheart, used the blade for a time, but like all Chuck Austen creations, she deservedly fell to the wayside. In Excalibur #6, Brian Braddock possessed the blade, to his great shame, and asked his sister to bury it. But we know the past cannot remain buried.
Where The Sword Of Might is old, The Starlight Sword one is new! While the Starlight Citadel has been an ongoing concern in Excalibur, we know not of a blade of starlight. Considering how involved Saturnyne is with these ongoing events, you shouldn’t be shocked if they are related.
Grasscutter & Godkiller
While some comics fans may know it best from the Usagi Yojimbo classic, Grasscutter has a long history in Japanese myth, as well as Marvel comics. Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, the grass-cutting sword, straddles the line between history and legend. In the 616 it was created as the perfect blade for a war between Zeus and Amatsu-Mikaboshi. While it passed through many hands, both mortal and radiant, Amatsu-Mikaboshi eventually regained the sword, giving it to Phobos, son of Ares, who he promptly used it to kill Amatsu-Mikaboshi. In Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Warriors, the blade was used in an epic battle where Phobos was killed. It shattered against its’ flawed twin, a blade that could kill a god.
While Grasscutter was perfect, Godkiller was flawed. This, however, did not stop the mutant Gorgon, leader of Hydra, from using it to break Grasscutter and let his own blade live up to its name. Like Grasscutter it is presumed broken and lost, but Hickman loves to return to his own work.
Warlock
Warlock is a sweet, beautiful, alien, robot, child who lives on the arm of Cypher, his self-soul-friend. You know him and love him. He is part of a race that seems to be tied to the otherworldly space gods Hickman set up in Powers of X but surely that won’t be relevant…
The Soul Sword
There once was a child who lost her soul. Magik’s soul was taken from her by the demon Belasco, and what remained, she channeled into a blade. The Soul Sword is an iconic weapon in X-Men history. It’s fitting that Illyana was the first person to understand the prophecy and take her place on Sanctus Sacrum. Her soul still burns.
The Scarab
Sounds Egyptian, probably Apocalypse’s, betcha X-Men goes into details.
The Light Of Galador
Held now by the young Cable, The Light Of Galador is an ancient SpaceKnight weapon powerful enough to transform planets and rewrite reality. Cable uses it to cut things. While Galador has a lot of lore, what’s more interesting is what Cable used the sword for in X Of Swords: Creation #1. Based on a message from Saturnyne, Cable and his parents traveled to The Peak, the abandoned base of the Sentient World Observation and Response Department; also known as S.W.O.R.D. The prophecy from X-Factor #4 has the phrases“stationed in space” and “pilots a place”, so there is a very good chance Cable’s sword is a space station, which is wild in this high-fantasy anime story.
Skybreaker
We know very little about Skybreaker. Just that it is an old Wakandan relic that Storm claims as her own. We will find out more this week in Marauders #13, so just hold tight. Storm has a long history of winning knife fights, and what is a sword except jumbo knife?
That’s all we know so far and that’s only half the swords! The Swordbreakers of Arakko all have their own, but the details are a bit murkier on those. Maybe Summoner’s Twlight is the same as Sutur’s from that good Thor run. Perhaps Solem’s is the Black Blade version of the Muramasa. And what is the deal with the sword Pogg Ur-Pogg, held by Pogg Ur-Pogg, whose powers are Pogg Ur-Pogg? We’ll find that out and more as X Of Swords continues.
Zachary Jenkins co-hosts the podcast Battle of the Atom and is the former editor-in-chief of ComicsXF. Shocking everyone, he has a full and vibrant life outside all this.
