Who the Clix? is a series of articles featuring information on comic book characters that have been made into figures for the popular tabletop game Heroclix. These articles are meant to help Heroclix players learn more about the characters behind their favorite pieces.
Today we look at one of the acolytes of the Great Destroyer, Rabum Alal: Black Swan
Appearances in Heroclix: Avengers Assemble
First Appearance: New Avengers #1
Team Affiliations: Cabal, Black Order
Created By: Jonathan Hickman and Steve Epting
Yabbat Ummon Tarru is a young princess on Earth-1365. When she is four years old, her earth is involved in an incursion event, the collision of two parallel universes. The being known as the Black Priests come to her earth in order to destroy it and save their own. The young Black Swan flees into the Library of Worlds and is met by three Black Swans. These Black Swans raise the young Yabbat Ummon Tarru as one of their own, teaching her the doctrine of the Great Destroyer.
She spends years destroying chosen earths during incursions to prevent the loss of both realities. She eventually comes to Earth 616 during its first incursion. Black Panther sees this strange woman and attempts to stop her but is unsuccessful. He is surprised when she destroys the Earth she had traveled from instead of Black Panther’s home world. Black Panther captures her and imprisons her in the Necropolis that he is currently using as his home.
Mr. Fantastic is chosen to interrogate Black Swan but all she gives are cryptic riddle like answers. She seems cool, calm and collected when faced by the heroes but is filmed crying out for help in her sleep. She gives straight forward answers over the several interviews that occur and warns the heroes that worse things than her and coming. She continues to advise them to prepare themselves because everything dies, but her words go largely unheeded. The only hero she shows open contempt for is Doctor Strange, as he is a magic user like the Black Priests that destroyed her home. As well, the Black Priests sigil looks much like the Eye of Agamotto.
The next two incursions are successfully dealt with by the Illuminati but only through luck. Feeling their luck running out, they ask Black Swan for help and strike a bargain: she will help them if they spare her life. They agree and she gives them the technology to predict coming incursions as well as the answer they all dread: the only way to stop further incursions is to destroy their Earth. They are also able to reverse engineer her anti-matter injection bomb and use it to stop the next incursion. She is later placed in a cell with Terrax of Earth 13054.
Thanos eventually finds the Illuminati base in the City of the Dead while searching for the Infinity Gems. Thanos finds both Black Swan and Terrax, who both pledge to serve him in exchange for their freedom. Thanos declines and leaves them to their fate. After the Builders are defeated, Swan warns the Illuminati that the Builders are weaklings compared to what lies in the Multiverse. She shows them how to build the Bridge which reveals her past behavior on other Earths. She is imprisoned with Terrax once more, as well as Thanos trapped in amber. Terrax shows her that Corvus Glaive, who had been incinerated to a skeleton with Thanos, is slowly regenerating.
Namor is soon booted from the Illuminati for crossing a line and destroying another Earth. Feeling he must do whatever is necessary to save his kingdom as well as the Earth, Namor releases Thanos, Proxima Midnight, Corvus Glaive, Black Swan and Terrax. Together they form a Cabal in oppositive to the Illuminati, laying waste to other Earths in order to prevent the destruction from incursions.
The Cabal sets up their base in the ruins of Wakanda, destroyed during the war between the Avengers and X-Men by a Phoenix Force empowered Namor. Black Swan soon begins to taunt Namor, feeling that his heart is not in the work and that he will eventually betray the Cabal. Soon, Black Swan reveals to them that they are unable to return home from this latest incursion. They are barely able to escape to Earth 1610. Black Swan confronts Namor but he informs her that he only cares about survival. For some unknown reason, Black Swan does not tell the rest of the Cabal.
The Cabal works with the Maker to create a life raft that will protect them from the final incursion between Earth 616 and Earth 1610. After the incursion, the Cabal awakens on the patchwork planet created by Dr. Doom known as Battleworld. Black Swan is taken to Doomgard by Sheriff Strange and pledges her allegiance to God Emperor Doom. During the final battle, Black Swan confronts Earth 616’s Star Lord near the World Tree. She is amazed when he places a splinter into the World Tree, awakening it as Groot. Groot crushes her.
After the Multiverse is restored, Thanos recruits Black Swan and Proxima Midnight to join the second Black Order. He sends them to the Collector’s ship to retrive the Mjolnir of Earth 1610. The two women are accompanied by a strange cloaked figure. The trio run into Thor Odinson and Beta Ray Bill. Thor accidentally knocks out Beta Ray Bill and both Black Swan and Proxima attempt to get Stormbreaker. The cloaked figure tells them that Stormbreaker is not their goal, however. They continue to search the Collector’s ship until they find the City of Asgard, where the Ultimate Mjolnir is. Black Swan and Proxima attack the Collector only for Mjolnir to blast them back.
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