The Surprising Wedding in X of Swords! | Excalibur #14 Review | Krakin’ Krakoa
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Excalibur #14 is Chapter 15 in Marvel’s X of Swords event, where the tournament is not what we were expecting, and Doug Ramsey aka Cypher is at the heart of Krakoa vs Arakko for the soul of the mutant nation. This issue cements a new, unpredictable direction for X of Swords, and I’m certain it’s going to anger a lot of readers - nonetheless, I find it very compelling, if sloppily executed.
Today I’ll answer:
What is the X of Swords tournament and how is it drastically different than what we expected?
What is Doug Ramsey’s crucial role in the event, including a huge surprise turn for the character here
Theories and predictions for what’s to come in X-Men!
Spoilers for discussed comics may follow!
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Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Phil Noto
Letters: Ariana Maher
After 14 chapters of world-building, sword searching, and unicorn feasts, Excalibur #15 kicks things off with an actual sword on sword duel between Captain Britain, Betsy Braddock, and Isca the Unbeaten, right in the heart of Avalon, hosted by King Jamie Braddock.
I really enjoyed this set-up, especially the vigor of the Krakoans cheering on their longtime teammate and fellow Earth mutant.
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My name's Dave, and Comic Book Herald is a labor of love designed to help new, lapsed, and curious comic book readers explore and enjoy the wonderful world of comics. I've been developing reading orders, chronology guides, and detailed comics recommendations since late 2011. Comics can be confusing and intimidating; I try to help.
This Event got really weird... But I like it !
It has been so long since I read some X-Men books and had no idea what to expect next !
Reminds me of the original Excalibur by Claremont and Davis, and Davis era, where every issue where full of surprises.
THIS! This is the first issue of Excalibur that felt like classic Excalibur and I am totally down for this
With this being said though, I feel like for the most part the first half of this event was just a plain waste of our time and money. If I'm getting invested with the stories of them needing these swords and their skills for fighting, that's what I want to see. They sold us on a completely different event and gave us something way different
@@jaredsullivan4386 I can understand that if the issues weren't good, but they were. There is going to be a lot of spill over to the new books and most of that will continue there
Jamie Braddock: Burger King Origins
Lmfaoooooo
Once Betsy started to shatter along with her sword, I immediately suspected Jamie was responsible and as he has previously resurrected Betsy I saw this as his way of preventing her death. His behavior during the rest of the issue went on to confirm his involvement.
When I saw the two of cups for Cipher I don't how but all I did think is "Cipher gonna get laaaaiiiid" now all I wonder is if he and Bei doing the horizontal mutant mash and he still wears Warlock and has him whisper in his ear "yeah get it friend Doug"
Sorry babe, the technarch stays on during sex
💀
I’m perfectly fine with a weird quirky event like this...but for a huge 22 issue event with 15 issues of decent buildup I can’t help but feel like the rug’s been pulled out from under me
Marvel editorial:
GOT EEEEeemmmm!!!
@@210SAi yeah like I would’ve been fine if this STARTED as a traditional tournament and devolved into chaos as it went on but we literally have yet to get a decent fight out of this mess
Saturnyne alludes to someone "shattering" in conversation with Brian, before Bets battle with Itsca.
I totally agree that the pacing felt too rushed. This led to some of the events feeling off and not working. They could work but they need more time to develop.
Since it doesn’t seem the swords are that important, it would be interesting to learn why Saturnyne sent them to find the swords. I also agree with you about Saturnyne trying to the bring Arakko and Krakoa together. I think the different events are trying to teach the Krakoans a lessons. It will be interesting to know her reasons and end game.
Keep up the great videos!
X of Swords has emerging to be less of a tournament of swords and more a tournament of parlor games (except for the marriage “duel.”)
X of Swords started off so great - the first issues were dynamite. Wolverine and Solem were amazing. And now it’s kind of devolving into something completely different and almost unrecognizable. It’s unpredictable, that’s for sure, but the trajectory of this whole event is not going where I thought it was going.
When Dawn of X was announced, I committed to following it all. All titles, all spin offs, all one-offs. I’m committed to the series and there have been lots of great moments. I have no doubt that there will be enormous implications with X of Swords, but this is not what I was expecting. The writing is inconsistent and the pacing is way, way off. (Two issues on the dinner, but only one issue for several duels. ... huh?)
Anyway, I’m curious to see how this wraps up, because I’m now feeling ready to move on.
Well said. I understand completely. They subverted your expectations. Is that a bad thing, though? I know it's random, you may not know where it's headed. Just know there's a plan. It's their first huge event, let's cut them some slack.
It’s still great
@@Neutral-Party the thing here is that it seems like if they were sacrificing good storytelling in favor of only subverting expectations
@@juanmiguel3301 it's too early to judge yet, friend. But I understand where you're coming from.
@@Neutral-Party I still feel we may get the big sword fight by the end. Just a gut feeling.
I'm starting to think that the real antagonist of this event is Saturnyne and not the Swordbearers of Arakko. I mean what's happening is so bizarre it doesn't make sense at all, the only explanation for me is that Saturnyne got nuts and now is just playing with both mutant nations to do her beading and beign basiclly her entertainment. I mean she alredy got rid of Besty like she wanted so long ago and now is playing to be a matchmaker?! If Saturnyne is the real threat her I'm pretty sure she just got nuts and I do have a theory for her possible craziness (I hope it's true because if it's not X of Swords just got 3 new bad issues to it's story plus 2 prior)... What if Saturnyne just took some of Mad Jim Jaspers reality warping mutant powers? That would explain why she got OP out of nowhere, why Jim Jaspers seems to be sane despite that he's crazy because of his mutant powers and why everything Saturnyne has been waving with her cards is getting weirder since Excalibur #9
I think this would make more sense if Jaspers was the one pulling the strings and deciding what the games are
@@dantecrottogini529 Now that you say it could be his doing and not Saturnyne, but I'm still very susptious about her. Maybe she convinced Jasper to help her with her crazy Tarot-Sword tournament?
She is absolutely the antagonist here. I also think this may be a ploy to set up the two sides to rejoin as Okarra united and taken down Annihilation as a unified force. The marriage, the fact redroot sympathizes with them, the fact it's literally just the helmet that's the problem and not a person... it all lines up nicely with a clean ending where nobody really has to die for real, and we get a bunch of new and interesting characters.
This was dope!! So as dire as this event was made out to be, I think I'm gonna treat these battles as more serious versions of My Hero Academia's Class 1A vs 1B. I can definitely the two teams coming together now.
I'm so with you, I like that they mixed it all up, I've heard a lot of people that almost seem disappointed that it went all crazy, I'm loving it, I'm always down for an unpredictable Marvel event. This one made me smile, laugh, and day wtf? but that Cable thumbs up as he's about to get married, ha!
I actually loved this issue.
Surprisingly.
I appreciate the subverting of my expectations.
lmao i thought the marraige was a hilarious and wacky twist, which breaks up the format .i think the tournament is following the tarot cards more than just sword fights which is cool, but i do wish that that had been cleared up earlier.
All I can say is WTF is going on. Bei goes from crazy killer to in love with Doug? This is disappointing. I don’t mind the unpredictability, but the tone of the whole story is all over the place.
Also going from Betsy just died and can never come back as she was to the whole wedding was so weird. How was that any kind of challenge? And what was up with Shogo crashing the wedding? felt so unnecesary to me
it may have been weird but that is what the Excalibur book should have been from the start, if you go back to the Claremont/Alan Davis books this is exactly what you would expect. Outside of that, you have to pay more attention to the tarot cards, they are an enactment of Saturnyne's will and they are very literal. This book took the type of X-Men turn I had wanted since the beginning, if you have cards (so to speak) of Jim Jaspers and The Fury on the table, you have to expect reality warping stuff to just go out of hand.
All that said GOOOO DOUG!!!!! Doug is just on a winning streak and I am here for it.
She was never a 'crazed killer'
@@dantecrottogini529 You mean, cant be ressurected with the X-mens protocals
Well thanks, I'm sparing myself from Tini's words, just looking at Noto's art yet I feel like I didn't missed anything at all.
I like how King Jamie looks like a dark version of the Burger King.
Interesting! The story took an interesting turn here. While this is pretty unexpected regarding the straight battles we anticipated, I think this issue and Marauders issue brings personality/character to the Arakkii/Okkara.
Great video btw...
Yeah this went from awesome to odd fairly quickly we'll see how this turns out.
Doug is now Edward Cullen who could hear everyone's thoughts but what's her name - gosh what was it? I forget but now, though he doth not sparkle, he's fated and Bei will be his addition if they keep going down the Twilight path. Proof of this is that Doug showed no concern at all with Betsy's death and he used to adore her when he first met her. Of course, crushes die but hey, they've been teammates for years!
The reason the bets were different was because the first was for the crooked market while the bets they show in this chapter are from avalon specificly
I think that Saturnyne’s scheme is long-term, where she has a foothold in Krakoa thru Doug, the Voice of Krakoa.
Betsy was the favorite in that Captain Britain has a connection to Avalon. Home team.
I'm just glad Cypher didn't die. I so thought he was gonna go down dramatically.
Jubilee being the 10th sword bearer disappointing? I would love that!
I don't think it's that Betsy suddenly became the favourite against Isca, it's that the fight took place in Avalon, and the people of Avalon were on Betsy's side and hoped for her victory despite the odds
Seriously, WTFF? How do we go from sword fight to wedding? This makes absolutely no sense!
WTF Jubilee? You take your baby/dragon to attack the citadel? Smart. It went very well the last time.
Runner up for the Marvel’s Mother of the year award.
The games alternate between arrako and krakoa style challenges. The krakoa challenges are human complications. Withstanding drunken truth, marriage, even a playful armwrestling while the arakkan challenges are reflect the violence that they were created in. I am intrigued to see what metaphorical challenges are next that favor the x-forces. an interesting commentary on human nature under all this.
The Doom Note seems more like a crossover of Death Note and Black Bolt's powers, Black Bolt doesn't have to be translated it is only his voice, but with Death Note it is language based which is why Cyphers powers are protecting him.
I’m loving the madness. I totally agreed.
This issue was slightly silly but i think its a good thing. Sometimes you need a small break from all the seriousness. Im sure we're gonna get the major fight scene that we want to see.
Ahhh I didn't realize Jaimie was wearing sinisters cloak until now, that's great
Huh, really like your Captain Betsy Corp theory. Makes a lot of sense since the last time we saw that shattering is when Jamie created the X Britain Corp (and those sweet sunglasses).
Seems like we should read all the cards pretty literally. Brian is going to be in a duel of gaining money? Cable is going to have to do a stand-up act? And maybe it'll be all over before Gorgon gets to even draw his swords?
Poor Jubilee and Shogo, I feel like Jubilee is going to come back for Shogo with a vengeance.
I don't mind the twists, craziness, and weirdness but what gets me is how quick the fighting is -- and I'm a big fan of the more society-based, less action based Krakoa world building. If they replaced 2 pages of Doug getting a makeover with 2 pages of fighting between Betsy and Isca I would have been happy.
As soon as Avalon was mentioned as the dueling grounds, it was clear King Jaime was going to mess with his sister. The data page about the bet cemented it for me. Marauders and Excalibur, herky jerky as they were, were fun. Wolverine however was too much, as Logan would put it, bull****.
Personally I hated this issue, what a way to set the tone for the tournament in the worst possible manner. The idea we shouldn't expect just predictable sword fights is good, it keeps the event interesting, but, and it's a big but, why go to the trouble of collecting the swords if they're not gonna use them.
Also I agree, the execution is sloppy this issue was all over the place it feels almost haphazard and disorganized. And for the love of KRAKOA, how is a wedding a challenge to decide the fate of mutant kind?
I feel like they are moving to the reveal that Mad Jim Jaspers is actually the one pulling the strings here and not Saturnyne
This issue was weird!
I like Doug and Ilyanna's interactions.
Yeah it’d take a man wearing Sinister’s cloak to pull off the ol’ switcheroo with Betsy. Bet against her, take suspicion off of him, and fake her death.....
Im not mad, just... Confused? I liked the idea, but how is a Wedding a duel?
Who makes a runner first loses?
Doug can't hear her so they have to duel in emotional ways. She is the only person he can't understand, and he is the only one uneffected by her powers, it's interesting
@@chad8767 I know its interesting, but it doesnt feel like a duel!
@@brunfranc it's a duel of the tongues....ok that's mostly a joke but it is also about how his mutant power rebuffs her power of instant kill of him. And because she grew up on Arakko she may feel some power from that because it is someone able to withstand her.
I also think this is all a big plot to heal the two islands and make them one eventually, so marriage is in the.."cards"
They're "fighting" to the death... I think it's a play on words here, similar to the Wolverine vs Summoner situation. I think the wedding was alluding to the "till death do us part" oath! Who accepts the wedding and accepts the commitment to be together until their death wins the point. That's what i got from it, at least! Also this is pretty much Saturnyne showing off and doing whatever she wants... i hope we'll know her real intentions at some point
Okay, I just started Dave's Jonathan Hickman Marvel Universe Reading Order (completed Secret War yesterday) so is the goofiness of the tournament typical of Hickman's writing?
I'm thinking the tournament is a MAJOR distraction and we're getting a classic Mission Impossible operation working behind the scene. I'm sure after the Krakoans lose on a points basis, we're going to find out there's been a bunch of "secret" activity leading to a victory for Saturnyne and Krakoa.
No, this goofiness is not typical of Hickman's writing.
X of Swords is not Hickman’s story. Tini Howard came up with it backed by Hickman
That was such a weird twist but I don't dislike it.
I know that some people just want their expectations met, and some people want their action figures to clash together. I have been reading too long to want those things. The sudden wedding was jarring, but I just went along for the ride. I am loving this unexpected direction. The swords were just the keys. I was already buying every title except for Wolverine and Cable, so this doesn't impact my wallet. I imagine some people that bought into the event to see swords and actions may be a little more disappointed. I can only assume that the writers understood what they were doing with this swerve, and they did not care that they may piss some people off. It makes me respect it even more.
While I definitely agree with you, I'm not going to lie if we don't see Storm wielding Skybreaker I'll be exceedingly pissed, that sword was pretty much built up for her to use it.
T'Challa: thankyou for returinging Skybreaker to us, I trust it served you well.
Storm: Funny story you'll laugh at this, I didn't actually have to use it, it was more like a key.
T'Challas eye starts twitching
At the dinner table when Doug was brought back did they say he's immortal now
Whoever wrote those odds, knows nothing about how betting actually works.
30:1 means 30/31 chance...and 2:1 means 2/3 chance...betsy was a favourite 30/31>2/3...right?
I read the 100-1 odds thing as purposeful. Essentially, everyone knows that Isca is going to win, but King Jamie is so powerful that he can just make his own odds and force people to pay out. (That said, I might be being too charitable here, since the execution of this issue was ~ extremely ~ disappointing.)
That said, this issue disproved my wild misreading of the tarot card that made me think Doug and Gorgon were going to be a couple for a hot second.
How the hell does Cypher and Bai's marriage make any kind of sense?
Betsy ain't dead. Just Saturnyne trolling. Like with the rest of this event.
It could possibly allow for the remerging of Krakoa & Arrako
I was wondering about that whole odds difference. Maybe Avalon has their own oddsmaker? But I thought Jaspers was reporting from the Crooked Market? Very odd (no pun intended) indeed🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️🤷🏾♀️
illyanna is talking too much , shes out of character
@@mattm7378 nah you are wildin.... when she was running with danger and magneto she was in character . Definitely was in character for avx
but she's like deadpool, funny as hell. i like her now!
@@SainteDenali she’s not there for your comedy, infact her original characterization would drop you in limbo on a platform for a hour and a half then come back and drop you at your moms house for the rest of the day for saying that... she’s originally was a complete bitch
@@mattm7378 she’s one of my favorites , i have only seen her as a cold hearted bitch who finishes off larger than life enemies out of no where for the xmen
@@relly793 Change happens, and it's okay. New comic book readers don't know all that old shit, so calm down.
I think Jamie Braddock retconned the odds so that he would win more. That article sounded overdramatic like the way he speaks
I still want to know more about Bei!! Also I thought Cypher was going to connect with Redroot.
Hey Cypher is Krakoan their not exactly shy about non conventional relationships. Cyphers Arrakii angels
@@bradonbriffa9690 I know but up to this point we haven't seen them interact while Cypher is fascinated by Bei.
@@cjtrules1 yeah I think the writers are clamoring at the point. I agree with what your saying mate I was having a little joke.
This issue ruined the entire event for me.
Can’t decide if Jamie Braddock is quoting Jay-Z or Hamilton or both
I bet when they doubled the x of swords issues, it messed a lot with the pacing of the issues themselves
Hmm weird, UA-cam isn't letting me watch this video for some reason.. ☹️
"An error occurred. Please try again later. (Playback ID: Fgy7svvbSNxY9m1I)
Learn More"
I tried on my laptop and my phone, both signed in & not signed in and on multiple browsers 🤔
Well, it seems to be fixed now 🤷♂️
Cool it wasn't just me
Yeah that was happening to me and another person for every video we tried earlier. UA-cam must have had a technical issue for a short time.
Did I miss something? I seen Jubilee die in a previous issue in otherworld. How is she alive in this book??? Anybody??
The jubilee that was killed was made by Jamie in an alternate reality the one in this issue is the real one
Thanks
There is something else going on here and I see in other comments people noticing. Illyana acting out of character. Storms reaction. I thought it was strange that Krakoa was cheering. The comedy in general is out of place. Then there is the changing of the odds.
This is my rant on the latest chapter:
With fiction comes the suspension of disbelief, of course. However, I found the suprise marriage of Douglass to Bel completely wrong.
First of all Doug can fight, he can understand body language in combat! So why did everyone in krakoa forget that? Second NOBODY
asked Doug what he wanted in the
realization that he was going to get married! Third, the fact that you can't understand somebody you are MARRYING shouldn't be a damn selling point to someone. There is literally no way to communicate yourself to one another. Fourth, Doug doesn't know anything about her and just because he considers her beautiful doesn't mean anything.
Finally since Doug can't understand know( and quite frankly so doesn't anyone else in his team) her how does he know that she isn't just lying? When it was annouce that they would begin their contest Bel was seen fighting the guards dragging her to get changed. What happened on her end to make her so complacent to the idea of MARRYING the enemy?
That's all for my rant otherwise Mauraders and Wolverine were great chapters, and I'm still wrestling with how I feel regarding this chapter. otherwise. Thank you
She did say he had a sweet face
I’m no expert but I never thought it would be hickmans style to plot something as simple as a mortal combat rip off...
I think we will get those Swords fights, but only in the final chapter. In between are just Cash grabs !!!it does look indeed like Krakoa’s side cannot win, I think they will loose, but of course something will happen and reset everything to one final battle, has to, otherwise this story is absolutely ridiculous !!! What is still not clear to me is why she send Cable to activate SWORD, telling him it’s will be their only chance to win, and it did nothing but potentially kill them …………
Hype
Honestly, this “event” has become idiotic at this point. I can’t wait for it to be over. If the writing continues to be this awful when the event is done, I’ll likely be leaving all future X-titles on the shelf.
I am in the same boat. It is really disappointing.
While my basic bitch self would have loved a standard "one sword fight after another" arc, I know comic fans have different expectations, especially after they complained about the build up and pacing so far. Sat has to be playing everyone here, I want to see her get her comeuppance so bad
I was looking forward to this event since it was announced. Unfortunately I have been very disappointed. Lots of filler content and some of the worst books Ive read in a while. (Marauders 14-15 and Excalibur 13-14) hoping Hickman pulls it together and regain the HOX/POX magic.
He will this event isn’t Hickman’s idea it was Tini Howard’s backed by Hickman
@@210SAi he is head of x and picked the creators so it’s on him also
@@maxgainz724 of course but I think he’ll get back into his groove once this event is done
Sorry but I just can't stand the way tini howard writes... I don't know why, she can be awesome in person but I've tried again and again but nope, the thing she writes are unreadable
Same here. And I'm not sure the reason why. I think she tends to make gigantic leaps from scene to scene in terms of context and familiarity between the characters, resulting in very confusing dialogue.
I mean, just finished reading kieron Gillen's Sword and even though everything (and a lot) happens at a very fast pace, it always make sense. Tini's writing always leaves me scratching my head.
Truth.
Love ur stuff brother I've been digging your reviews and covering of marvel comics and stuff.. I've been transferring my time over here now.. lmk if there any way to join patreon fo get early views and reads
X of swords jumps the shark with this issue. In general this is backstory telling as we go from bad plot twist to bad plot twist with no setup or explanation.it would've been nice if we spent ar least a panel being told why Betsy shattered instead of just moving on to the next shock moment. The twist of the wedding is the low point of x of swords as if feels like a twist for twist sake (more on 5his in wolverine where the silliness of the tournament gets cranked up to 11). I'm left wonderingnwhat was the point of finding themselves if you're just not going to use them? I hope this is just a tangent and a fake out before the real tournament bc if this is what x of swords will be I'll be very disappointed. I was expecting a sword fight and this subversion of expectations just didn't work and feels like filler. Unfortunately I expect this bs tournament to continue until destruction where the swords will finally come into play. At least hellions should be fun next week as we get away from this now pointless tournament. I would love to see some characters die and brought back through the resurrection protocols and given a nice redesign but that hope has faded. End of rant
👍🏽
If you thought Dawn of X was the biggest bait-and-switch in comic history... just wait 'til you get to X of Swords!! Never again Marvel, no money for you!
Dawn of X is brilliant
Well firstly, Ilyanna is very much in character, that other comment is just indicative of people not understanding that characters change over time, and the early New Mutants Magik, is not going to be modern Magik, but that’s an aside.
What I’m trying to figure out is why the swords even matter, if half of these contests are just going to be random things Saturnyne comes up with on a whim.
I agree on the pacing, some of these fights are suffering because of it, Betsy gets shortchanged so hard, just so Isca can look like a badass, though I think your theory is correct and that some shenanigans are afoot regarding her loss. Maybe something cool will come out of It, but she got the short end of the stick big time.
I hope the later issues of this event put this back on track, cause the build up was nice, but these “contests” are of a varying quality, and not at all what I was expecting or wanting. I really feel like a lot of the early fights will lack depth (The Wolverine issue had me scratching my head as well), but I’m guessing the final few will actually devote some time to the conclusion.
I liked it
A wedding WTF are they doing? It's getting worse & worse!
disappointing
This week's three Sword of X comics are the worst X-Men comics I have ever read in my 40 year history of reading X-Men. I have been with the X-Men in all of its iterations through thick and thin, but this is absolutely rock bottom. So sad! Tini Howard must be screwing someone in the X-Office (Hickman?). Please get these rookies off these X-Books!
Not enough stabbing for you? I swear. A lot of these Veteran readers act so entitled. They dont want change. At all. Or new lore and world building. There's no way we can developed characters in other ways than punching each other. /sarcasm
Don't cast baseless insulting allegations on the creators because you didn't like a comic. It's a lower standard than I want to see associated with my work in any capacity.
meh, I've read worse ...
I remember (barely) Rob Liefeld's runs. Some of the stories after the time X-Men died in dallas and went to Autralia were... flat. The Twelve storyline was weird AF. Xavier as teacher to Skrull mutants o.O
So many worse X-men issues out there.....
@@Neutral-Party Please, not all 'Veteran readers' are like that. In fact, those of us that have been reading since early 80s remember times when comics didn't have stabbing so much. In fact I remember they often had moments of non-combat for an entire issue. I miss the moments we used to see of focusing on aspects of a character's personality.
It seems around the 2000s do seem to have a change of pace in writing and readers attention span and the whining of "so boring, no action!" X__X
As a veteran reader I wail about lack of character focus. I miss seeing moments like Kitty's creating things, showing off her genius, or dancing skills. Or the kids having an overnight party. Been too long since we've seen the X-Men have a fun baseball game.
sorry, buy this event is getting more stupid each time
Omg this art is disgusting