WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Cable #6 by Gerry Duggan, Phil Noto, VC’s Joe Sabino, and Tom Muller, on sale now.
The X of Swords tournament has more than a little bit in common with the Mortal Kombat video game franchise. The premise of the X-Men’s tournament has 10 of Krakoa’s heroes competing in an interdimensional tournament with 10 of Arakko’s. If Arakko’s champions win, they’ll be allowed to invade Earth with impunity.
Mortal Kombat’s premise is almost identical: Earth’s greatest warriors compete in a tournament against Outworld’s greatest warriors. If Outworld wins, the Elder Gods will allow them to invade Earth with impunity. One fight, in particular, between Gorgon and White Sword feels a lot like a final boss battle with Shang Tsung.
There are differences of course. Saturnyne takes the place of Mortal Kombat’s Elder Gods in X of Swords, and unlike them, she’s a bit more creative with her contests. The Elder Gods focused on fights to the death. While Saturnyne does have a few fights to the death, many of her contests take a different turn. "X of Swords" has had arm wrestling, weddings, fashion shows, dance-offs, and drinking. Krakoa is down 18-6 as the round starts. Instead of fighting Gorgon himself, the White Sword summons his 100 soldier army to soften Gorgon. White Swords sends them first one at a time, then two, then three. Once that third wave has poked out Gorgon’s eyes, taking away his ability to turn enemies into stone, the White Sword has the next 94 soldiers attack at once. It’s not until Saturnyne announces the updated score: Krakoa’s champions leading 19-18 that White Sword steps in and finishes Gorgon off.
White Sword has much in common with Shang Tsung from the Mortal Kombat series. Tsung is a kind of spiritual vampire, needing to absorb the souls of others to survive. Once he has taken a soul, he can transform into that person and use their abilities, which made him a formidable boss in many of the Mortal Kombat games as well as the main villain of the 1995 film Mortal Kombat.
The White Sword’s ability works differently but has a similar effect. Rather than absorbing the souls of those he defeats and transforming into them, his healing ability allows him to bring them back to life. The newly resurrected warriors become part of White Sword’s army. He keeps the strongest 100 and has waged war with them continuously for so long that he’s forgotten who he is or what he’s fighting for. He wants to add Gorgon to his forces, but the mutant refuses, choosing a permanent death over a life of servitude to his enemy. It’s a heroic moment, prompting the stoic Apocalypse to say, “That is how a mutant dies, children.”
The moment also captures Gorgon’s growth. In Wolverine #26, by Mark Millar and John Romita Jr., the mutant dies by stabbing himself through the stomach to prove his loyalty to the murderous Hand. They resurrect him, having full control of him. By rejecting the White Sword, he’s repudiating his previous decision as well. With a little help from Mortal Kombat, X of Swords has given Gorgon a true hero’s death.