WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Old Guard: Tales Through Time #1, from Greg Rucka, Leandro Fernandez, Daniela Miwa and Jodi Wynne, on sale now.
Following the popular Netflix film with Charlize Theron, the warriors of The Old Guard are back in action in The Old Guard: Tales Through Time minseries, which continues the story of a group of immortals who became mercenaries that help shape the world's sociopolitical state.
Led by Andy, they ended up feuding with many enemies over the centuries, but now, The Old Guard: Tales Through Time peels the curtain back even further. This prequel collection now reveals the history behind Andy's trusted double-sided axe, a weapon she's used since the Mesopotamian era.
In "My Mother's Axe," Andy trains the soldier, Nile, their latest recruit in a tale set before Force Multiplied. It's a nice bonding moment, especially as Nile exiled Andy in the latter for being a slave master and human trafficker, before taking over the team. Here, we get to see their sisterhood before that drama as they train on a beach, with Nile inquiring about the sturdy weapon.
Andy reveals it belonged to the leader of her female clan and that she saw it forged. The woman, who Andy sometimes thinks is her mother, protected her people and fought many wars with it before handing it down to Andy. It was more than a rite of passage, it was a baton to carry on the mission and as time passed, through many eras, dynasties and civilizations, Andy would use it to cleave people's skulls.
However, Nile does make an interesting point in that this isn't the same axe anymore. She makes that point when Andy admits she's changed out parts over the years, with the blade, shaft and so on being retooled and refined to suit her needs for that era. Wood was hard to come by that allowed her to make it unbreakable, plus the forgers and wood-smiths she met in her later eras weren't as good, with their collective skills diminishing by the century. It also didn't matter what tech was available in modern time; it'd never be perfect.
Still, she hasn't made alterations for the last 12 years, but some of the memories getting muddled along the way. While Nile says that the axe isn't the same, Andy maintains that it is because of the emotions that it still engenders within her.
It's what she used to fight with Booker and Joe, and it was part of her protecting her ex, Noriko, which is why it'll always be the same in her eye. And as Andy ends the sparring session, it's clear the axe has her feeling like she's living up to her mother's mantle, which is another reason why she doesn't want it to change.
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