As part of the build-up to Marvel Comics' upcoming X-Men crossover event X of Swords, a new teaser image for August's Excalibur #11 heralds the return of the Externals. These days, however, they're going by a different name.
The Excalibur #11 promo sees the immortal Mutants making their presence felt. When an off-screen character says, "These are the Externals," the group replies, "We prefer High Lords."
Created by Rob Liefeld, Fabian Nicieza and Mark Pacella, the Externals are a rare subspecies of immortal Mutants whose respective origins are scattered throughout history. They made their debut in 1992's X-Force #10. And while they haven't had much of a presence in the 21st century, they did factor into the story of the 2017-2018 "Newer Mutants" arc from Marvel's Cable series.
Following two September prelude issues in the form of Excalibur #12 and X-Men #12, X of Swords begins proper with Sept. 23's X of Swords: Creation #1. Per the crossover event's official synopsis, "Spinning directly out of Jonathan Hickman’s X-Men and Tini Howard’s Excalibur, X of Swords will be a massive mutant milestone that each X-Book will take part in. Every current X-Men writer -- Jonathan Hickman, Tini Howard, Gerry Duggan, Benjamin Percy, Ed Brisson, Zeb Wells, Leah Williams and Vita Ayala -- has come together to craft a modern epic that will go down in X-Men history! Joined by incredible artists like Carmen Carnero, Pepe Larraz, R.B. Silva, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matteo Lolli, Mahmud Asrar, Phil Noto and Rod Reis, the dramatic battles in store for the X-Men will be unforgettable."
Written by Tini Howard and illustrated by Marcus To with colors by Erick Arciniega and letters by VC's Ariana Maher, Excalibur #11 goes on sale Aug. 19 from Marvel Comics.