The legendary X-Men villain Apocalypse has a new, unspeakable name

The X-Men have been through a lot of change in recent months, moving to a sentient island, coming back from the dead, and starting a new nation with a lot of their former villains. And in this week’s Excalibur #1, the ancient mutant formerly known as Apocalypse decided to christen the next era of mutantkind with a new name for himself.

It’s ▪︎-|A|-▪︎.

If you’re wondering how to pronounce that, writer Tini Howard made a Tweet that should clear up any confusion:

In a follow up reply, she explained that readers don’t necessarily have to use it, as Apocalypse’s new name is “intended for mutant tongues alone,” and “only mutants can/are expected to say it.”

What else is happening in the pages of our favorite comics? I’ll tell you. Welcome to Polygon’s weekly list of the books that our comics editor, me, enjoyed over the past seven days. It’s part society pages of superhero lives, part reading recommendations, part “look at this cool art.” Let’s get started!

Excalibur #1

Tini Howard, Marcus To/Marvel Comics

Come on, Trinary, Rogue has a much longer history with Apocalypse, and if she can get it right, so can you!

Joker: Killer Smile #1

Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino/Marvel Comics

Joker: Killer Smile #1, a comic about the Joker’s newest doomed psychiatrist, came out this week and this panel is still great.

Hellblazer #1

Simon Spurrier, Marcio Takara/DC Comics

I’ve liked so many things that Si Spurrier has put out lately that I’m very excited to see what he does with a revival of full-on-Vertigo Hellblazer. This #1 is a promising start, and Takara’s art is great.

Nightwing Annual #2

Dan Jurgens, Travis Moore/DC Comics

Look, [takes off professional comics critic hat], I can’t pretend to like amnesiac Richard “Ric” Grayson, but when you give me a comic drawn by Travis Moore that’s all about Bruce Wayne blaming himself for everything bad that happens to his children, I’m gonna feel a feeling.

Black Panther #17

Ta-Nehisi Coates, Daniel Acuña/Marvel Comics

I’ve been curious how Jonathan Hickman and his X-Men team would address the Wakanda-Krakoa relationship but I have to admit that I thought we’d see it in the pages of X-Men, not Coates’ Black Panther.

Runaways #26

Rainbow Rowell, Andrés Genolet/Marvel Comics

OK, a little backstory. This guy is Gib, the newest member of the Runaways. He can only derive sustenance from blood sacrifice, but recently discovered that murder is pretty unethical! So he’s been depressed and starving until this lil kitty helped him out and I swear I teared up.

Venom #19

Donny Cates, Iban Coello/Marvel Comics

In Venom #19, Eddie Brock’s son Dylan (conceived in a moment when Eddie, Anne Weying, and the Venom symbiote were all merged) tried to merge with Sleeper, a symbiote born of Eddie’s merging with the Venom Symbiote. It didn’t really work, and we don’t know why. But maybe it was because they’re weirdly kinda siblings? Maybe Dylan is part symbiote????

Basketful of Heads #1

Joe Hill, Leomacs/DC Comics

This is just to remind you that Basketful of Heads, the first comic in DC’s new horror imprint, is worth checking out.

Old Man Logan #12

Ed Brisson, Mike Henderson/Marvel Comics

This week we said goodbye to Old Man Logan. May he rest in peace, because we never would have gotten Logan without him.