Excalibur #12

This prelude to the "X of Swords" crossover event sets a striking tone right from Mahmud Asrar's cover, where a regal, white-robed Morgan le Fay-like figure presides over a chessboard whose pieces take the form of Excalibur's own team members — including recognizable miniatures of Jubilee, Psylocke, and others — while an enormous blue hand looms from above, poised to make its move. The imagery makes the power dynamics unmistakably clear: someone is playing a very dangerous game with these mutants as the pieces. With Tini Howard's script, Marcus To's art, and Erick Arciniega's colors, issue #12 promises to be a compelling turning point as Excalibur steps toward one of Marvel's most ambitious 2020 X-Men storylines.