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S.W.O.R.D. #11 reveals the identity of the latest traitorous ally of the X-Men, and their trusted position among the mutants could be deadly.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for S.W.O.R.D. #11, on sale now from Marvel Comics.
The current era of X-Men stories have revealed how noble some classic villains can become, and proven that redemption still exists for some of the mutant nation’s most dangerous figures. But it has also quietly revealed just how ruthless some longstanding heroic figures can be, setting up one notable mutant as Marvel’s next big threat.
S.W.O.R.D. #11 (by Al Ewing, Jacopo Camagni, Fernando Sifuentes, and VC’s Ariana Maher) reveals that Abigail Brand is a far more insidious player on a grander scale than anyone could have expected, and may quietly be Marvel’s most dangerous villain.
Abigail Brand has been quietly setting herself up as a powerful and skilled spymaster, working behind the scenes in the mutant community and shoring up Krakoa’s space program, with mutants taking a major step forward as the dominant beings in the Sol System. She has even been able to work with Wiz-Kid to spy on Henry Peter Gyrich and ensure the mutant nation had an undercover agent within the anti-mutant organization, Orchis. But when Brand is able to lure Gyrich into the airlock of the Alpha Flight Space Station, she reveals that her actions are not for the benefit of Krakoa. In fact, she agrees with him — and Orchis — that Krakoa is a threat to the future stability of the Marvel Universe.
Brand reveals that she considers herself an alien first beyond her status as a mutant, and is exhausted with the drama and schemes of Krakoa getting in the way of the bigger picture. For this reason, she has secretly aligned herself with forces like Orchis and the intergalactic arms dealer Stellaris, pulling the strings from within S.W.O.R.D. to ensure the mutant nation only goes as far as she’s willing to allow. She openly reveals that she’s planning on removing Xavier, Magneto, Beast, and even Storm from their positions of power, leaving her to define the future of the Sol System. To ensure this remains a secret, Brand arranges the death of Gyrich by sending him flying out of the space station’s airlock, keeping her true plans a secret from the rest of the mutants, and making the death look like a suicide.
In all, it’s a huge success for Brand, and quietly cements her as one of Marvel’s most dangerous villains. Not even major powerhouses like Doctor Doom have been able to exert power and influence over the mutants in a way like Brand has. The newly revealed villain has also quietly made S.W.O.R.D. crucial heroes in the future of the Sol System and the mutant nation while actively planning on bringing them down from the inside and placing those loyal to her into positions of power. She’s found ways to deplete the power and potential of figures like Cable, and keep them from challenging her actions.
Brand has found a way to position herself as the silent queen of the universe, with reach spanning across the cosmos and overcoming rivals who could present threats to her power. In effect, Abigail Brand has become the single most dangerous villain in the history of the Marvel Universe, which comes as a shock considering her previous work with heroes like the X-Men and Captain Marvel. Brand has remade herself into Marvel’s most dangerous figure, and she’s done it so well that almost no one is even aware of the true danger she poses, and why she should be feared and respected.
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