X-Men Monday #75 – X of Swords

AiPT!: Anticipation for the first major event of the Dawn of X era is at an all-time high, so we at AIPT are proud to bring you this eXtra-large (and ridiculously fun) X of Swords-focused interview.

AIPT: There are a few cases where new writers are jumping onto series or co-writing chapters. How did this idea to mix it up come about and how did those who step into new roles for X of Swords find it?

Jordan D. White: This whole thing has grown out of the story we wanted to tell–it started when the track Jonathan had laid down early on dovetailed with where Tini was going in Excalibur, and when that fusion was brought to the whole group, everyone had ideas to pitch in as to where it was going. There are ideas from all sorts of folks that ended up in other people’s issues, everyone is giving notes and pitches for one another–it’s a very generous collaboration and I think everyone is into it.

AIPT: In the Dawn of X, you had to decide which mutants would sit on the Quiet Council. With X of Swords, you had to decide who the 10 sword-wielding mutants would be. What was the process behind selecting these characters like?

Jordan D. White: I am trying to think if there were a lot of people suggested that DIDN’T end up as Krakoan swordbearers, and I can’t think of many. It was at our C2E2 summit that we made the final list, taking all the ideas and locking it into the 10 swords we ended up with. I can think of one or two that I thought were going to be on there that were not… but there were good reasons, either for the people we ended up with or to NOT include some of the ones we did so we could use them otherwise.

AIPT: X-Fans love a good soap opera. Can we expect some romance in-between all the sword fighting?

Ben Percy: There’s plenty of emotional drama mixed into the mayhem. I can’t share anything too detailed, but there’s a lot of angles on… marriage in this thing.

AIPT: I’m not sure if you all know this, but Betsy Braddock has some very passionate fans who especially care about her relationships with her fellow mutants. Can we expect interactions between Captain Britain and both Storm and Cypher?

Jordan D. White: Well, they are all in this together. All three of them have big things happen to them in this series as a result of the battle they take on together, but we’re not spending that much time on their history compared to moving them forward.

Tini Howard: Betsy is on a weird personal journey right now, and those can be lonely. If it feels like Betsy spends a lot of time alone, hurting, and on missions, and precious little time allowing herself to be comforted and soothed by the people closest to her, well–that’s the Betsy we’ve always known.

AIPT: X-Fans are concerned that X of Swords cover art suggests only a small group of characters play key roles in this event. Is it safe to assume they shouldn’t judge an event by its covers?

Jordan D. White: Only X-Men fans see 20 characters fighting with swords and ask why so many characters were left out. 😛 There are a LOT of characters in this crossover, and more than just the swordbearers are important to it.