Excalibur [01] : The Accolade of Betsy Braddock *spoilers*

[CGAR]

Pre Read Thoughts:

Excalibur is the one series I AM most excited about because Betsy Braddock. Duh. And Rogue/Gambit. I kind of feel like Rogue may be side lined for a bit. BUT hopefully everyone gets great moments throughout the series.

I like that both editors JDW and Annalise or excited about Captain Britain Betsy Braddocks upcoming journey.

I low key wish that Betsy/Kwannon were in the same title just to challenge the writer to differentiate and make them both grow and prosper as individuals because my fear is everything we attribute to Betsy they are just going to give to Kwannon. Powers, attitude, friendships etc

I’m hoping Betsy continues to be her bad ass self with her warrior mentality and maintains all the X-Men friendships she is known for, more realistic moments w her brothers (let’s not act like they haven’t disagreed on many things), keeps her TK/TP, builds up the Braddock lore.

We know that she got the body she always desired when she “had” Kwannon’s body even though Jamie kind of altered it.

But now I am intrigued with the thought that she created the body that she always wanted when she came back this 3rd/4th time.

This big change happened in August 2018 but then we got pulled into Extermination / Uncanny Disassembled / Age of X-Man (Not to be confused with Age of X)

So we’ve been waiting for this for awhile. I’m hoping Tini Howard doesn’t have her acting like she doesn’t know herself for too long. Because she’s been through this for so long she should already be confident in who she is in my opinion.

So starting off with the preview pages; we see Betsy packing some things from the Braddock Manor. And Braddock Academy is still operational. I don’t know if this has been stated in any of the new series but I believe its been six months since the events of Age of X-Man and the Cyclops/Wolverine adventures in Uncanny.

Maggie the baby that is wise already due to something. I didn’t read the X-Men Gold Annual. Hold that thought I’ll be right back.

Maggie is the daughter of the superheroes known as Captain Britain and Meggan Braddock. When she was merely three months old she said her first word and, in a few days, began to formulate full sentences. In the meantime, her parents' ex-teammates, Kitty Pride, Nightcrawler and Rachel Grey were invited to meet her and, after a few complications, they were asked to be her godparents. She low-key is going to be super powerful when she get older.

She wants her Auntie Betsy to stay but Betsy is getting ready to head to Krakoa. The Braddock twins, Betsy and Brian, or bonding as they head to the gateway. There is one located near the Braddock Academy.

I’m assuming that between the time gap and everything that happened with Krakoa. The twins bonded again, reconnected and drop any grievances they had with each-other because they weren’t in the best place during the Uncanny X-Force runs. But one thing good that came out of that. Is that they got their psychic bond back.

Something that is interesting is that Brian is coming off like seeing her like she really is has a profound affect on him. Twin love I guess. He thinks Krakoa will be good for her. And he’s glad that she came home. She makes a comment about Jamie. But Brian’s response is confusing. Like he doesn’t know who she’s talking about but she thinks it would be good for him.

From HoX/PoX Jamie is not currently affiliated with Krakoa. And he is one of the omega-level mutants.

Also I don’t know if thats a cameo by Pete Wisdom.

When she gets to the Krakoa side she is welcomed by a bunch of mutants. Rogue and Gambit, Jean Grey, Marrow, and Maggot.

Someone calls her Psylocke but she would rather go by Betsy for now. I really hope this is explained further. Tini made it seem like she wont delve into this until further down the line. But we’ve been waiting since like August 2018 to get some reflection into her current situation.

We transition to the Trinary and Apocalypse pages. She tells him that they isolated a gate for him. Trinary, Sage, and Cypher have all been working on it. No one has been able to get through it. And they can’t figure out where it heads to but Apocalypse knows it heads to a different plane, OtherWorld. They come to the conclusion that it seems to be blocked from the other side. And Apocalypses says it looks like we need a champion. We can assume that that will possibly be Betsy Braddock (Baetsy)

We are introduced to Queen Morgan La Fay who is upset because it looks like Krakoa flowers are polluting the Kingdom of Camelot in OtherWorld. And she is trying to take magic back. It’s not explained how she can give it and take it from other magic users. But she is the witch queen of Avalon. She’s really upset about mortals using magic. And she is trying to destroy the gate possibly.

We get to the scene where Betsy and Kwannon walk near each other but they say nothing to each other. Fabio Medina interrupts and pulls Betsy aside asking her for help. Seems like they brought Jamie Braddock back. And he won’t leave the hatchery.

Jamie Braddock comes back wanting nothing to do with humans. He wants to stay on the island. And Betsy says she won’t lie to Brian about him being back. He also has some parental baggage that isn’t really delved into. Betsy gets upset and thinks Jamie should see Brian after everything Brian risked for Jamie. And it seems like Betsy is just going to bring Brian to him. But that exchange is cut off by Apocalypse. He calls her Psylocke but she restates BETSY! He tells her that a gate opened from OtherWorld but not to it. And he says they need something that has traveled to OtherWorld and she says like the amulet of Captain Britain. And Apocalypse allows her to bring Brian over. And assures her that he won’t be harmed. And she says yes to spite Jamie.

She goes back to Braddock Manor to get Brian. Who is suited up and almost on his way out. He was beckoned to OtherWorld. And Betsy thinks something is wrong in OtherWorld and that it may be a trap. He questions her about Apocalypse but she rebuts with he's mutant he’s allowed on the island.

They have new Krakoan costume technology that they can just activate to switch to their costumes. Betsy doesn’t feel like she has anything to celebrate and that she doesn’t want to spend the evening dodging the woman whose life she stole. Just a little FYI Betsy it really wasn’t your choice or your fault. She said she’s going to OtherWorld with her brother to fight alongside him.

So they jettison off to OtherWorld and are greeted by Morgan La Fay who grabs Brain by the neck and demands he start hunting the witch breed which we learn is the mutants. And she states that she didn’t expect him to start with his sister. And she orders her coven to take Betsy.

This will pique people’s interest because it cuts to Gambit and Rogue having an evening talking about where they want to live on the island. And Rogue brings up the law about Make More Mutants but Trinary interrupts.

She brings them to Apocalypse who is not pleased that Betsy and Brian went to OtherWorld without speaking to him first. OtherWorld is the realm of faerie and the source of Captain Britain’s power. I guess the other X-Men don’t know that she doesn’t want to be called Psylocke anymore because they keep calling her that.

He wants Rogue to use her powers to try to get through the gate. Gambit is displeased at this. Mentions cats. I think he has three cats right. She decided to do it because Betsy might need help. Jubilee gets brought in because she was the last one that spoke to Betsy.

Gambit and Apoc have a little back and forth. Gambit does not like him. For good reason.

Back to Avalon where Betsy and Brian are pitted against the coven. Morgan La Fay is strong and she takes Brian and turns him into her Knight. And he turns dark.
Brian attacks Betsy. He has no control. At the gate Apocalypse finds her presence and reaches out to Betsy to disrupt the gate. She created her psychic broadsword. So happy to still see this. And throws it into the gate. The backlash of the power surge of the gate gets to Rogue. She took too much. The blue leaves envelope Rogue.

Apocalypse states that Betsy shattered the gate and that she sacrificed herself to protect Krakoa. Whatever came through the gate was seeking a host. And on the other side Betsy is being fought by dark Brian and Morgan La Fey.

As the dark Knight approaches she has Brian's old amulet in hand. And it looks like Brian is trying to internally fight the darkness and tells her to put it on. He is begging her to with his eyes. And she transports out.

She gets transported back to Krakoa. She looks so good in her introduction. It really seems like Apocalypse planned this all out. So that a mutant would be Captain Britain with access to OtherWorld. She asked what happened to Rogue.

There is a Clan Akkaba introduced in the last panels. I don’t know if they are humans, witch or mutants though.

Post Read Thoughts

This was really good. I love the Braddocks so I love that they got focus in this issue. We got no Rictor but we know he shows up later. Apocalypse has something going on.

Betsy still seems to be Betsy so I am digging that. I loved the interactions with her brothers. And we know that Apocalypse is going to be intriguing throughout this series.

Like Marauders which focused on Kate Pryde this issue focuses on Betsy Braddock. I’m ok with that because I love that character but I can see why others may not. I love how low key these members are coming together. OR is it Apocalypse pulling the strings. We shall see.

There are some things from Other World that I was not too familiar with like the coven Morgan La Fay takes magic from but I’m down to learn more.

Marcus To on art. I was worried they would all look like teeny boppers but I am digging his art and can’t wait to see what he comes up with in the future.

[Purplevit]

Overall I would give Excalibur - 4/5. I tihink it was slightly better then Marauders and much better then X-Men.

Good:
- Beautiful art and colors. To is great!
- Fine story with interesting concept and detailed data pages.
- Good written Apocalypse and Betsy.

Bad:
- I don't like how Gambit is portrayed in this book. If Gambit says something then he must show it. Otherwise he looks stupid.
- Rogue was just one sided and robotic for me. She never felt alive in it.
- Too many supporting Braddock charactes in it that I don`t know or even care about.

I hope next issue will focus more on actual team. Right now I like concept and story but don`t like how my favorite characters are written in it.

[CGAR]

Yeah I understand why Gambit and Rogue fans will be a little displeased but you guys did just get two mini's.

But yeah Gambit and Rogue showing was minimal here so I get it.

I like that the Braddock family is finally getting some attention.

And Tini Howard stated that they will be a big part of this run.

[Luckystar.]

I loved that every extra page and data page was used to advance the story. It didn't read as fast as X-Men and Marauders. Also loved the villain being established right from the start. Was getting bored of no-name humans with big guns. I can tell Apocalypse is the breakout star. His reinvention is great.

Now that Betsy and Poccy's status quos are established, hopefully we'll see more of the team. Gambit should be pissed af. Rogue being taken off the board so soon sucks, but I'm intrigued about her new status quo. Something seems to be going on with Jubilee too.

And Marcus To is great.

[Psycwave]

Very good read. Tini seems to have a decent voice for everyone and their dynamics. We always knew the first issue was going to be there to setup Betts and Poccy. Poor Rogue, but I'm super excited to see what this next "phase" for her is going to be.

I also can't wait to see how Rictor comes in.

[powerpax]

As I said elsewhere, I think To is quite good but I feel material like this needs a weirder artist, like a Bachalo or Siekiewicz. It was a very bold choice to dive deep into Otherworld/Arthurian lore but I’m into it. I have no idea what is going on with Le Fay and her “white witch” though.

I spotted Feral, Maggott and Marrow (together), Angel and Glob in the crowds. Warren and Betsy could’ve had a bit somewhere. Maybe sometime soon. (I never liked their original romance, but I did dig their story together in UXF)

Why the hell would Rogue not wear her bracelet on the island if it’s the only thing keeping her power locked down? Go **** on the beach!

Did not expect to see Jamie so soon but I’m living for it.

Apocalypse is glorious here. But I’m not understanding why Coven Akkaba, per the last info page, would seem to be against him.

[Romy Ship]

My complaint is that I don’t don’t understand Rogue’s power situation… She’s back to needing a power dampener? So she’s back to not controlling her powers? I agree with Purp that Rogue felt very one sided and not alive at all. Which I suppose is fitting given she ends up being a flower coffin by the end of the issue. She also felt “off” and incredibly gullible in regards to Poccy... “we’re on the same team now” just like that! I miss her sass... the one that doesn’t paint her as cold either.

Well anyway, the art was magnificent and definitely the highlight.

I’ll continue to read but as a Romy fan... not expect much outta their story.

[Frobisher]

Best line: “Brian with eyelashes”

[Andru]

This was...meh? I def need to re-read but it really seemed disjointed. Very similar to Marauders in that it was jumping around without enough substance to connect me to any of the scenes.

Also, this was the first time I felt the data pages were a chore to read.

Hopefully Ric enters the story soon!

[Foon4000]

Tini's got a great voice for posh twats like Brian and Betsy. I'm interested to see what magic does to Rogue considering she seems to be thinking about 'making more mutants' and considers it 'work'.

[TheRealWashout]

This was good. I had more fun with Marauders, but this was a great start. I am very interested in Betsy's state of mind and finally getting to see where her head is in regards to having her body back.

I'm much less disappointed in what's going on with Rogue than I could have been. I'm hoping the reference to Rule #3 is foreshadowing that she is "hosting" the magical flower thing.

It was smart to keep Rictor out of this issue because his appearance makes me much more interested in the next.

[RamaBird]

I liked it. I do wish we got more of Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee but I believe we will though. The story just has to start of with the Betsy and Apocalypse.

People need to let go and accept that in the Hickman era we won't have to worry about a GOLD/Kitty situation.

[Maestroneto]

I have no idea what is going on with Le Fay and her “white witch” though.

I assume that's Saturnyne.

[SchismOfMadroces]

Unf, those data pages are dense and delicious. Tini is not only (literally) turning Hermetic principles on their head, but she has also taken the brand logo and turned it into a mystical symbol that effortlessly ties into Apocalypse's backstory. I loved Marcus' artwork and Tini's script, but the real story is in the data pages.

[PeachFlavoredXanax]

My complaint is that I don’t don’t understand Rogue’s power situation… She’s back to needing a power dampener? So she’s back to not controlling her powers?

Yeah, I’m confused. She needs a power dampener again? She learned how to control her powers in MMX - which got all jacked up to a wonky level so if Rogue needs a power dampener shouldn’t she be currently absorbing the **** outta everyone?

So like did Rogue die off panel and get brought back with a memory reset prior to MMX? JFC we’ll never get away from “MAH POWERS!!” storyline with her.