Writer Simon Spurrier
Penciler Tan Eng Huat
Inker Craig Yeung
Color Villarruba
Letterer VC’s Cory Petit
Issue starts with a time cut from the previous issue. It is explained quickly.
Ruth knows David is in trouble.
I will not lie, I was a huge fan of the SWORD mini. Not only because of Lockheed’s involvement, but also for the chemistry between Agent Brand and Sydren. Sydren is this alien who can sense emotions. The way it is portrayed in most appearances, he reveals the emotion that any one could obviously tell the person is experiencing.
At the Peak Station, there are two floating orbs that state simple comments. Those things are fun, as well.
This issue has Aarkus the Aetheric, who is a space cop. I got the impression that he and David have tangled before.
Apparently, while David has been at the Peak Station, the Dark Xavier personality has been running around the planet, causing all types of hazards and thousands of deaths.
While Aarkus is explaining all of this, David is trying to figure out what the weapon is that Aarkus plans on using to stop this menace.
Then there are these two duo splash pages. Left page, in blue, is Aarkus’ thoughts, which has Magik depicted feeling pain along with her team.
Right page, in red, you see what is happening inside David’s mind.
At one point, David can’t concentrate on seeking answers, s what is being told to him is so horrible. Aarkus explains what the entity is not. It is not a Cassandra Nova type, or an Onslaught type, or a Tulpa – which I am not familiar with this third one.
When David can’t take the suspense any longer and asks what the weapon is, Aarkus finally explains. It is such a nicely set up and paced reveal. As a reader, you have gone along on the ride with David, he was getting closer with each page. Then Aarkus starts talking about birds and nest philosophies, and you wonder where he is going with this.
The weapon is, the Phoenix’s egg sibling, its own shadow. We got ourselves a Dark Phoenix, all by itself.
Shadow and Flame with Magik 