If only I had been here, I could have stopped the bullet. If only you were made of metal, I might put you back together. If only... old friend. This was your plan, your island, your future. And so it will remain... as long as you return to us. 
Appearing in "The Sword of Damocles"
Featured Characters:
- Beast (Hank McCoy)
- Wolverine (Logan)
- Black Tom Cassidy
- Marvel Girl (Jean Grey)
- Sage
- Kid Omega (Quentin Quire)
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
Other Characters:
- Krakoa
- Gentle (Nezhno Abidemi)
- Archangel (Warren Worthington III)
- Magma (Amara Aquilla)
- Gideon
- Changeling (Returns)
- Mammomax (Maximus Jensen) (Returns)
- Strong Guy (Guido Carosella)
- Gambit (Remy LeBeau)
- Selene Gallio
- Warpath (James Proudstar)
- Callisto
- Shark Girl (Iara Dos Santos)
- Cable (Nathan Summers) (Past)
- Daken (Akihiro)
- Blob (Fred Dukes)
- Banshee (Sean Cassidy)
- Stepford Cuckoos
- Jubilee (Jubes Lee)
- Forge
- Havok (Alex Summers)
- Professor X (Charles Xavier) (Corpse, skeleton or other remains)
- Graymalkin (Jonas Graymalkin)
- Feral (Maria Callasantos)
- • --|A|-- • (En Sabah Nur)
- Zorn (Shen Xorn)
- Xorn (Kuan-Yin Xorn)
- Firestar (Angelica Jones)
- Cyclops (Scott Summers)
- Wither (Kevin Ford)
- Rockslide (Santo Vaccarro)
- Shatterstar (Ben Gaveedra)
- Psylocke (Kwannon)
- X-23 (Laura Kinney)
- Pixie (Megan Gwynn)
- Bishop (Lucas Bishop)
- Anole (Vic Borkowski)
- Northstar (Jean-Paul Beaubier)
- Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner)
- Doctor Nemesis (James Bradley)
- The Five (Mentioned)
- Damocles (Mentioned)
- Quiet Council of Krakoa (Mentioned)
- MOCT (Mentioned)
- "Phineas Hook" (Name only)
- Domino (Neena Thurman) (Stasis)
Races and Species:
- Krakoas
- Mutants
- Mutant-Fairy Hybrids
- Cyborgs
- Olympians (Mentioned)
- Humans
- Gods (Mentioned)
- Devils (Mentioned)
Locations:
- Earth
- Pacific Ocean
- Krakoa
- The Pointe (Behind the scenes)
- Healing Gardens
- Krakoa
- Sokovia (Name only)
- Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii, United States of America (Name only)
- Cayman Islands, Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean (Name only)
- South Korea
- Seoul (Name only)
- Incheon
- Incheon International Airport
- Dublin, Leinster, Ireland (Name only)
- Pacific Ocean
- Hell (Invoked)
Items:
- Cerebro (Destroyed)
- X-Uniforms
- Magneto's Helmet
- Techno-Organic Virus
- Banshee's Wings
- Wolverine's Suit
- Xorn's Helmet
- Shatterstar's Swords
- Cyclops' Visor
- Cerebro Sword (First appearance)
- Flowers of Krakoa
- Amazon (Mentioned) (Topical Reference)
- Inhibitor Collar
Synopsis for "The Sword of Damocles"
A crowd gathers around Charles Xavier’s dead body lying in the grass. Magneto uses his powers to collect the pieces of Cerebro. Marvel Girl telekinetically grabs the helmet from him and reassures him that, with the backup Cerebro systems in place on the island, she can bring the professor back. Magneto forms the shattered helmet into a sword and reminds Jean of the stakes if Xavier can’t be resurrected.
Jean and Beast go to the underground location of Cradle One, the primary backup Cerebro system. Jean tells Hank to get to work to bring the cradle online.
A Krakoan intelligence report outlines the aftermath of the attack. Thirty-three mutants, including Xavier, were murdered. A tracking device was found in Xavier’s stomach and the caterers from the ceremony Xavier attended in Sokovia were located tied up in their truck. Examination of the mercenaries’ gear shows some connection to tech used once by the Reavers. The report also identifies the Seoul-to-Honolulu flight the mercenaries hijacked, and outlines a plan to use an EMP to disable electronics on Krakoa each day moving forward.
Sage joins Dr. Cecilia Reyes as she performs autopsies on the assassins in the Healing Gardens. Reyes discovers that each of them has been given various bio-enhancements, including an extra bone in their forearms to use as a weapon. They also confirm that each has pieces of Domino’s skin grafted onto their bodies, which allowed them to get past Krakoa’s defense system. Wolverine enters and tells them to have Jean psychically probe the lone survivor to find out everything he knows, including if Domino is still alive. He then tells them he’s “going hunting”.
Sometime later, Wolverine is trying to hack into the security system at the Seoul airport. A guard suddenly enters the control room but is telekinetically frozen by Kid Omega, who tells Wolverine he has already gone through the surveillance footage and found the license plate of the rental car the mercs used. He tells Wolverine to follow him if he wants to stab someone.
Wolverine and Kid Omega track the car to a printing press outside Seoul. They get past the two guards stationed out front and enter the building. Inside, they find machinery for manufacturing soldiers, including jars of organs and an artificial central nervous system lying on a metal table.
Back in the Healing Gardens, Sage marvels at the weaponized body parts; ears containing a spool of garrote wire and teeth made of explosives. Marvel Girl probes the surviving mercenary’s mind and sees a swimming vision of masks and peacock feathers.
Krakoan intelligence indicates that Domino’s mission was to investigate shell companies with ties to anti-mutant individuals and organizations. She began surveillance on an Irishman named Phineas Hook who exhibited anti-mutant behavior. His movements eventually led Domino to Seoul, at which point she stopped reporting back to Krakoa. Further investigation suggests that Phineas Hook was a persona created by someone in order to lure Domino into a trap.
Wolverine and Quentin continue to investigate the lab. Quentin finds a skinless body suspended on a platform. The body’s eyes suddenly open and the “man” grabs Quentin from behind. Wolverine leaps in and slices at its arm off; Kid Omega tries to help fight, but finds his psychic powers aren’t working. As more skinless soldiers bare down on them, Wolverine says that any place that has a psychic dampener is trying to hide someone. He tells Quentin to go find Domino. Quentin opens a door nearby and does exactly that: Domino is suspended in a chamber filled with orange liquid, a power dampening collar around her neck. Her entire right side has been flayed.
Solicit Synopsis
THE HIGH PRICE OF A NEW DAWN!
X-Force is the CIA of the mutant world—one half intelligence branch, one half special ops. Beast, Jean Grey and Sage on one side, Wolverine, Kid Omega and Domino on the other. In a perfect world, there would be no need for an X-Force. We’re not there…yet.
