WARNING: The following contains spoilers for S.W.O.R.D. #3 by Al Ewing, Valerio Schiti, Ray-Anthony Height, Bernard Chang, Nico Leon, Marte Gracia & VC's Ariana Maher, on sale now.
Like the rest of the Marvel Universe, the X-Men and their allies have been doing their best to contend with the coming of Knull in King in Black. But that doesn't mean other threats are just sitting idly by. One mutant discovered some important truths about the conspiracy against Krakoa, but doesn't learn just how active of a threat it really is.
As S.W.O.R.D. #3 reveals that Henry Peter Gyrich is working with Orchis, has a spy with S.W.O.R.D., the young mutant Manifold learns that the space-faring team has a traitor in its midst.
During the chaos of King in Black, Manifold has been making his way across the Earth and through space to find a way to help. His attempts are largely fruitless, however, with his only success coming from an unexpected discovery. While trying to locate Henry Peter Gryich on the Alpha Flight Space Station, Manifold overhears Gyrich talking on the phone, speaking with someone about the threat they perceive Krakoa to be. Manifold was able to find proof that Gyrich is working with Orchis, the anti-mutant initiative that the X-Men faced in House of X. Manifold escapes with this information, and alerts Abigail Brand. Unfortunately, Manifold teleports away before he can hear the most important part of the conversation, namely that Gyrich has a mole operating in S.W.O.R.D.
This is a worrisome prospect for multiple reasons. S.W.O.R.D.'s potential thanks to the Six -- who could theoretically recover any resources in the multiverse -- makes them one of the most powerful aspects of mutant culture going forward. But now, a mole may be able to warn Gyrich -- and by extension Orchis -- about what the Six are doing and what they're looking for. It could be a key element of planning against Krakoa and their allies, and enable Orchis to accurately predict whatever they're in search of and plan around it. With S.W.O.R.D. also being a key part of the mutant nation's galactic outreach, this mole could work to help anti-mutant forces stay ahead of any calls for allies or assistance.
It's a good thing this is the sort of threat that Abigail Brand saw coming, even if Manifold doesn't get the chance to inform her of a mole already being in the organization. It's been established that Brand is planning on creating a small group of allies she can fully trust, and who answer directly to her above anyone else. This could be the perfect means for her to stumble upon any spy in the process of her vetting potential allies to keep in her confidence. The sheer number of telepaths on Krakoa -- including Cable, the station's head of security -- should make it difficult for any mole to fully remain undercover for long. But this also raises the question of how such a spy was able to slip past them and infiltrate S.W.O.R.D. in the first place.
S.W.O.R.D. also has one of the largest active rosters of any group in the current era of Krakoa. Between the Six, the circuit of teleporters that assist them, and the support staff of the Peak, there are plenty of possible candidates for who the mole could be. This could even be tied to an unresolved plot point from The Hunt for Wolverine, where Iron Man discovered someone had infiltrated the X-Men and wasn't even really a mutant. It's imperative that Brand and Manifold discover the truth sooner rather than later, as it might be the key to keeping disaster from befalling the mutant organization.
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