As X of Swords begins to dawn, the new era of the X-Men enters its newest, tensest stage yet, and a lesser-known antagonist has started to dominate the stage. After acting as the foe for the titular heroes of Excalibur, and fighting the original Excalibur team back in the '80s, Opal Luna Saturnyne has moved into the fore. This the Omniversal Majestrix and Queen of Otherworld, who was created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis in 1981, has an intricate -- and confusing-- backstory, even by the standards of Marvel's mutants.
Saturnyne first appeared in Marvel Super-Heroes #380, a Marvel UK publication that, among other things, featured a story starring Captain Britain. Saturnyne led the Dimensional Development Court, an organization that crossed the multiverse raising the evolutionary level of the universes that she encountered. With the aid of her elite personal soldiers, the Avant Guard, Saturnyne was an agent of the mighty Merlyn, the creator of the Captain Britain Corps.
However, Saturnyne soon faced a new foe who was even mightier than even her. The Fury, a creation of Earth-238’s reality warper Mad Jim Jaspers, ran rampant throughout that dimension. Saturnyne was forced to flee, with her guards and Captain Britain dying at the Fury’s hands to buy time for the Omniversal Majestrix. She was replaced by another agent of Merlyn, and, with the aid of a resurrected Captain Britain and the mercenaries known as the Technet, escaped to the main Marvel Universe.
However, the Fury followed. It was only through sheer luck that the forces of good were victorious against the superhero-killing machine. Saturnyne had to essentially blackmail her way into returning to her former post.
In the years that followed, Saturnyne remained as the leader of the Captain Britain Corps. In fact, she was responsible for the creation of the first Excalibur team, when she hired the mercenaries of Technet to hunt down and capture the "Starchilde," Rachel Summers. Rachel joined with Kitty Pryde, Nightcrawler, Meggan, and Captain Britain to form Excalibur, and the team remained on the run from Saturnyne until well into the series’ run.
Saturnyne, Merlyn, and Merlyn’s daughter Roma were forced to reconnect with the Excalibur team when the sorcerer Necrom, and his malevolent “anti-Phoenix” attempted to destroy the multiverse. It was only by the combined power of the whole Excalibur team that the anti-Phoenix was defeated, and Saturyne returned to reign from Otherworld’s Starlight Citadel.
Shortly before House of M, she returned to the X-Men's world. As Wanda Maximoff’s hex reworked all of reality, Saturnyne sought to cut off the failing reality from the rest of the multiverse, an act that made her vulnerable from usurpation by the villainous Mastermind.
Now, in this new era of X-Men, Saturnyne has once again returned to the fore. Krakoa’s rise has also led to the creation of a new form of mutant magic, magic for the new world. Apocalypse’s machinations have led to the imposition of Jaime Braddock as the new ruler of Otherworld, competing with Saturnyne in her Starlight Citadel. Apocalypse’s new Excalibur team, as well, has come into competition with both sects of Saturnyne’s magical priesthood.
For all her multiversal significance, Saturnyne appears to be on the brink of war with the X-Men and the other residents of Krakoa, along with the new mysterious super-people from the island of Arakko. While the super-denizens of Arakko, their relationship to Apocalypse, and their relationship to the X-Men, are still largely unknown, Saturnyne’s role in X of Swords seems almost certain to be significant.
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