Isn't it time for EXCALIBUR to come back already?

[Sundowhn]

The only Excalibur team that's ever really been successful was the original. I'd love to see that one back.

[AcesX1X]

Is Megan holding a baby there?

yes ZNOP.

i think it's a warpie.

[yogaflame]

The only Excalibur team that's ever really been successful was the original. I'd love to see that one back.

Okay, but was it successful due to the cast, or was it the Claremont/Davis combo?



I'd be fine with that cast and crew coming back!

[Maestroneto]

Okay, but was it successful due to the cast, or was it the Claremont/Davis combo?



I'd be fine with that cast and crew coming back!

The cast, because it was also popular when a pre-fame Ellis wrote it.

[Factor]

i don't consider kylun or cerise to be "new" to excalibur and i think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else who does.

both are chris claremont additions that were supporting cast to the originals. i'm simply 'factoring' in your requirement that it can't be the original formula (which is nonsense). the original formula might not work for you, and that's fine.

of course the characters have additional canon to account for. that's how serial storytelling works.

I'm pretty sure they're both additions from Davis's run as writer/artist. Claremont had already left when they joined in #46 or #47. But that's not my point. I seem to have misinterpreted your definition of "originals" as to only include the first members, not later additions.
Anyway, I think there are great characters created later that could be great fits for a new series.
Pixie for example. She fills the teen niche no older members fills anymore, she has a mystical origin and she's also British.
Faiza Hussain is an awesome new addition to UK's heroes and the current wielder of Excalibur, ignoring would feel kind of forced.

I would hate for a new run to ignore newer characters' potential just because they weren't created in the first series. No one can ever mimic those early days anyway. Not even a reprise of Claremont/Davis, sadly.

[Digifiend]

What would you think if Al Ewing wrote a series? He's British, so knows the cultural backdrop, and has used Captain Britain before. I'd have the team built around Captain Britain, Meggan, and Psylocke (she's Cap's sister, and she's only currently being used in Astonishing). Rachel, Kitty and Kurt are all in Gold and Kurt's also in Red, so none of those would be included. Other mutants would round out the cast instead (Pixie is a good suggestion, but they don't all have to be British, we had a German and two Americans on the original team). I also agree with the idea of Faiza being on the team - she actually uses the Excalibur name as a solo hero!

[Factor]

What would you think if Al Ewing wrote a series? He's British, so knows the cultural backdrop, and has used Captain Britain before. I'd have the team built around Captain Britain, Meggan, and Psylocke (she's Cap's sister, and she's only currently being used in Astonishing). Rachel, Kitty and Kurt are all in Gold and Kurt's also in Red, so none of those would be included. Other mutants would round out the cast instead (Pixie is a good suggestion, but they don't all have to be British, we had a German and two Americans on the original team). I also agree with the idea of Faiza being on the team - she actually uses the Excalibur name as a solo hero!

I'd love it. Ewing has shown he loves the characters and concepts. He even used Technet for his Rocket Rackoon mini and he's done a lot with Brian and Faiza.
Ideally, I'd want either Ewing or Paul Cornell co-writing or consulting with Alan Davis. I think that should make old and new fans happy.
For the art, I'd want someone like RB Silva.

[yogaflame]

The cast, because it was also popular when a pre-fame Ellis wrote it.

I can't find hard numbers for sales that long ago to compare the different eras, but I would imagine the Claremont/Davis era was the most popular, followed by the Davis/Davis run, with diminishing returns for everyone else.

[DDM]

Just have Captain Britain and Meggan join Gold. They can replace Colossus and Storm. Then bring in Lockheed to replace OML. And then Chris Claremont to replace Marc Guggenhiem

[Panic]

I'd rather not see Claremont write Captain Britain and Meggan again.

[WolverineandDeadpool]

I'd rather not see Claremont write Captain Britain and Meggan again.

But I bet Guggenheim would be worse.

[AcesX1X]

I'm pretty sure they're both additions from Davis's run as writer/artist. Claremont had already left when they joined in #46 or #47. But that's not my point. I seem to have misinterpreted your definition of "originals" as to only include the first members, not later additions.
Anyway, I think there are great characters created later that could be great fits for a new series.
Pixie for example. She fills the teen niche no older members fills anymore, she has a mystical origin and she's also British.
Faiza Hussain is an awesome new addition to UK's heroes and the current wielder of Excalibur, ignoring would feel kind of forced.

I would hate for a new run to ignore newer characters' potential just because they weren't created in the first series. No one can ever mimic those early days anyway. Not even a reprise of Claremont/Davis, sadly.

chris claremont introduced kylun in excalibur #2, alan davis brought him to the team in #43, with cerise in #47, so we're both half right.

i'd rather someone try to tap back into the original series rather than do another "captain britain and mi:13" crap with spitfire and black knight .. as an excalibur replacement, it just didn't capture anything of the original.

exiles was more of a spiritual successor to what magic excalibur had to offer imo

[Master of Sound]

I don't think the original team would work in this time. Pete Wisdom could still work. Maybe the 3rd team with Pete, Sage and Dazzler could work better

[CRaymond]

exiles was more of a spiritual successor to what magic excalibur had to offer imo

AcesX1X is on point. "Classic" Excalibur is weird among the X-Men in that it has earnest warmth. It's that warmth we look for when we settle in for their whimsical adventures, and what keeps them together despite all the melodrama of their western cousins. For a creative team, I think Waid would be a good choice, but I cannot for the life of me think of a decent successor to Davis.

As for cast, I've already covered the "essential chemistries", and I honestly feel the relationship between Meggan and Brian is the center of the book, and should remain the essential love story. Any Excalibur book needs BOTH of them, not one or the other.

One thing that was never really explored in various Excalibur books was Braddock Industries, and Brian's very Bruce Wayne-like public identity. I'd expand on this and hire an Excalibur deep cut Kylun as Meggan Braddock's bodyguard, and hire tangential X-Man Forge as Braddock Industries' Creative Director. That's four.

I'd round out the team with old friends, and another love story. I'd resurrect both Moira MacTaggert and Sean Cassidy, and make their experiences in the Afterlife akin to Rachel's time in Mojoverse. Both are picked up to help at the Braddock Academy, and both are haunted by the ghost Proteus. Wolfsbane comes along for her own experiences working at the Jean Grey School, but mostly to keep an eye on her resurrected mother.

Sean and Forge get to the X-Men's Booster and Beetle again, and that bromance now includes Brian playing Guy Gardner, and Kylun as the new guy.

Wolfsbane and Forge used to work together in X-Factor, Wolfsbane and Meggan used to work together in Excalibur. Lots of available glue.

[Factor]

I liked MI13, but not as a successor to Excalibur. I think it was a good comic, but I agree it didn't capture the Excalibur feel. It wasn't really trying to, thought.
I think it's more about having that classic feel than any particular line-up. That's why Exiles could often have a similar vibe even with a totally different cast.
If the writers can revive some of the wonder and adventure of those early days and still use some new characters and concepts, it's the best of both words, IMO.