WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Wolverine #6 and X-Force #13 by Benjamin Percy, Viktor Bogdanovic, Matthew Wilson, and VC's Joe Caramagna & Marauders #13 by Vita Ayala, Matteo Lolli, Edgar Delgado, & VC's Cory Petit, on sale now
The X-Men are currently engaged in a global hunt for a number of select weapons, each of which will be necessary if they want any chance of saving the world from the Swordbreakers of Arakko. But along the way, they may have just enraged two very powerful corners of the world.
Two major locations from the Marvel Universe -- Wakanda and Hell itself -- may have just turned on Krakoa, putting the island nation at risk even if they do succeed in the coming battles of "X of Swords."
To claim the blades necessary to combat the Swordbreakers of Arakko, Wolverine and Storm both make their way to different corners of the Marvel Universe. For Storm, that means visiting her former in-laws in the Wakandan capital city. Although she is welcomed with open arms, things take a turn when she reveals she's there to claim the Skybreaker, an ancient and powerful ancestral Wakandan weapon. The Royal Family refuses, and Storm is forced to take the blade by force. Finding the Skybreaker, Storm is forced to fight through her former sister-in-law Shuri (as well as confronting her ex-husband Black Panther) to escape. Although Black Panther lets her pass with the sword in her possession, he orders the Krakoa Gate to Wakanda destroyed and implies relations with Krakoa will now be strained.
But at least that's more diplomatic than what Wolverine ended up going through. After ending up in hell while searching for the ancient and skilled weapon-forger Muramasa, Wolverine was forced to venture into hell itself to try and find the man. There, he ran into Solem, his rival champion from Arakko, also seeking out Maramusa and his blades for the coming battle. The two agreed to briefly work together to claim the two last swords Muramasa forged before his soul crumbled away, presented as a wedding tribute to the Daughter of the Beast and her husband. In the battle, the groom was murdered. Solem and Wolverine were able to escape, but the Beast made it clear to Logan that hell does not forget such transgressions -- setting up the X-Men to face off with a demonic lord in the future.
While it was imperative that both Wolverine and Storm collect their respective blades for the coming battle, it's also important to note that in doing so they may have caused some serious problems for themselves and their allies down the line. Wakanda has been a steadfast and dependable ally for some time to the X-Men, so seeing the nation close their friendly borders to the mutant nation is troubling. Although Black Panther doesn't outright ban them, he makes it clear that any diplomat from Krakoa will have to go through official channels -- meaning Black Panther could merely refuse their request to come to the African Nation. Hopefully, things will mend between the two heroic nations, but that will take some serious work to regain the trust of Wakanda.
Meanwhile, Hell is typically far less forgiving. The X-Men have had their share of demonic threats over the years, with the Goblyn Queen using her connections to hell as part of her plan to carry out a massive slaughter of Krakoa. But this is a much more brazen afront to the demonic forces of hell than before, with Wolverine and Solem outright killing someone meant to be in line for demonic royalty. This could foster a genuine conflict between the Beast and the X-Men, setting up a more mystical and deadly conflict. The X-Men need to be careful about what enemies they acquire, as even if they defeat the Swordbreakers of Arakko, they can't expect to fight the entire world just on their own.