S.W.O.R.D. vol. 1

The first time we got a series about the Sentient Worlds Observation and Response Division, it didn’t last all that long.  In fact, it was cut down from an ongoing title to a miniseries in the middle of its first arc.  Which was a shame as that first arc was really great and I’d have liked to have seen more of it.  Eleven years later ([INSERT JOKE ABOUT ME FEELING/BEING OLD HERE]) and that has finally happened.  Spinning out of the wake of two events, “Empyre” and “X of Swords,” Abigail Brand is back doing what she does best:  Running a space program on her own terms and woe be to anyone who gets in her way.

Which could actually include the Master of Magnetism himself.  Magneto is our point-of-view character for the first issue as he travels to S.W.O.R.D. Station One, The Peak, under his own power.  He’s given a tour of the station where he gets the rundown from Brand on how it works, meets an old friend, meets an old annoyance, and is reminded how it’s not a good look for Krakoa to have declared the mother-in-law of the current ruler of the Kree/Skrull Empire an enemy of the state.  Oh, and Brand also gets to show off how S.W.O.R.D.’s power-matching plan has created a teleportation process that has allowed mutants to steal a mystery metal from the center of the universe.

I’m sure nothing bad will come of that.  At least,  not before the series gets dragged into a crossover as we find out that the “King in Black’s” reach extends even to Krakoa.  Which means that not only is mutant civilization in danger, but their resurrection protocols are as well.  The good thing is that Brand has a plan for that.  The bad thing is that it rests in the hands of unscrupulous telepath Mentallo.  Then, if anyone manages to survive (*wink*), they’ll have to endure the singular “pleasure” of hearing mutant noble Fabian Cortez explain why he thinks the Second Law of Krakoa — Murder No Man — needs some rethinking.

This first volume of “S.W.O.R.D.” comes to us from writer Al Ewing and artist Valerio Schiti and it’s every bit as good as their track record implies it would be.  Ewing is essentially giving us the “Cosmic Mutant” book and as his work on “Empyre” and “Guardians of the Galaxy” showed, he’s got some ideas about how these kinds of stories should work.  We see that in the first issue as the grab for this mystery metal is made, and then throughout the rest of the volume as the Snwarkwar subplot from “Guardians” is imported and dealt with here, Henry Peter Gyrich’s true allegiances are made known, and we see just how useful the mutants of Arakko can be.  This is a volume that’s bursting with ideas about what can be done with mutants in space and it’s all the better for it.

It also helps that this volume has a pretty great cast to help advance its big ideas.  Brand is first among equals here and it’s always fun to see her no-nonsense demeanor in action.  Tempering it is her scheming side which produces results both beneficial and detrimental for mutanity as a whole.  Also getting some quality page-time is Eden “Manifold” Fesi as Ewing shows that he’s quite aware of what the character was up to in the pages of “Black Panther” and isn’t afraid to have that play into his actions here.  Making fun impressions are Mentallo as a schemer who just can’t catch a break, and Peeper, an old friend of Magneto’s who the council member is just overjoyed to see.  Mainly because it helps to put Fabian Cortez in his place as a craven, power-hungry scumbag whose suffering is so delicious that I hope we’ll see more of him in subsequent volumes.

Making this all look good is Schiti who has shown time and again that he can deliver epic-scale visuals of great variety in addition to visually interesting character-driven moments.  This is a roundabout way of saying that the space stuff looks as good as the conversations, with the artist showing the full extent of his range in this volume as well.  That’s because he’s asked to draw things as varied as a power grab into the White-Hot Room at the heart of space, Manifold casually walking through multiple parts of the galaxy on his way from the Peak to the Australian Outback, and Fabian Cortez naked, yolk-smeared, but unbowed before the Quiet Council.

In short, vol. 1 of “S.W.O.R.D.” is as great to look at as it is fun to read.  I realize that I’m gushing about this volume as much as I did with Ewing’s second “Guardians of the Galaxy” volume, but what’s here is really that good.  Well, maybe you’ll have some issues if you’re deathly allergic to “King in Black” tie-ins.  Even so, I still think that there were plenty of quality moments that advanced the overall plot within those three issues.  This is fantastic stuff, and I urge everyone to get onboard with this title so it can enjoy a nice long run.