S.W.O.R.D. #3

I find that I'm still not quite sure how I feel about S.W.O.R.D.

The comic revolves around the Sentient World Observation and Response Department, a government organization designed to protect the Earth from alien threats. It's run by Commander Abigail Brand (who first appeared in the Astonishing X-Men comic), and she's a fun character - tough, decisive and a natural leader.

Her partner is Hank McCoy, the Beast (from the X-Men, natch), and he's also a good addition to the book if you can get past the odd, long-snouted, cartoonish look artist Steven Sanders has given him.

The first storyline in the book has long-time lout Henry Gyrich taking command of the satellite headquarters of S.W.O.R.D. and setting out to capture and deport all the aliens on Earth.

Thanks to the help of an extremely intelligent alien, he may just succeed - but Brand and the Beast are doing their best to gum up the works.

Helping them is Kitty Pryde's "pet" dragon, Lockheed, and this is one of the story elements I'm struggling with. When the creature first appeared in a long-ago issue of X-Men, Lockheed was depicted as an alien pet that "adopted" Kitty. It demonstrated some basic intelligence, but no more than the average dog. It was the perfect pet for a team of mutants.

But in this comic, Lockheed is presented as a full-blown alien, talking an (untranslated) language that only two can understand. In this issue he helps sabotage Gyrich's efforts and outwits an army of hapless guards. It strikes me as a radical reinvention of a beloved character just for shock value (but maybe I missed an earlier reinvention somewhere along the line).

It reminds me of the attempt to make the Inhuman's pet Lockjaw into an intelligent creature - it was just silly.

At any rate, writer Kieron Gillen has assembled a decent story here with a few good twists and a large cast of characters, but it remains to be seen if the whole thing will come together or keel over under its own weight. It has the potential to go either way.

Here's hoping for the former.

Grade: B