This article contains spoilers for Excalibur #12 and X-Men #12.
Marvel's X-Men comics have introduced Genesis, the long-lost wife of Apocalypse. Jonathan Hickman's X-Men relaunch has been a tremendous success, and the X-Men comics are about to launch the first major event of the Hickman era - "X of Swords." This will see ten champions of Krakoa wield ten legendary swords in defense of their island nation, but they will be fiercely opposed by the ten Swordbearers of Arakko.
Marvel has been trying to keep the plot of "X of Swords" under wraps, but it's not been too difficult to put the clues together. Millennia ago, Apocalypse sacrificed his First Horsemen to drive back a demonic invasion. This appears to be an act he's always regretted, and the First Horsemen are actually Apocalypse's children. That would also explain why, like Apocalypse, they seem to be immortal.
These theories were finally confirmed in this week's Excalibur #12 and X-Men #12. These two issues are preludes to "X of Swords," and the first sees Apocalypse begin opening the portal to a distant realm. X-Men #12 then serves as a primer, giving readers all the basic information they need to know in order to make sense of "X of Swords." It confirms that Apocalypse did indeed send his children through the portal to wage eternal war against the forces of Amenth - and that he also sacrificed his wife, Genesis.
This is the first time Apocalypse's wife has been referenced in the X-Men comics, and she appears to be every bit as formidable as the so-called first mutant himself. Apparently she and the First Horsemen established a mutant community on Amenth, and they became legendary for their battle against the demonic armies. Genesis came to believe she and her mutant armies were unbeatable, but War's son - a mutant precog named Idyll - foretold defeat. Genesis refused to accept this, and for 20 years she led a successful preemptive campaign, but ultimately even she was beaten. Seeing no other recourse, Genesis challenged the god of Amenth, Annihilation, personally - and was believed killed.
Of course, it's reasonable to assume there's a twist in the tale. There is surely a reason the god of Amenth, Annihilation, wears a mask; it may well be the creature is a Chthonic entity that possesses others, and has now possessed the body of Apocalypse's wife. If so, Apocalypse's quest in "X of Swords" is going to prove a whole lot more personal than the first mutant expected.
