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

[powerpax]

I assume that's Saturnyne.

[powerpax]

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.

Agreed. I thought she was past this ****.

[Purplevit]

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.

Power control is 1 thing that I was sure we won`t see again in next few years. Maybe Tini didn`t check MMX or Rogue is like Archangel.

[PeachFlavoredXanax]

Power control is 1 thing that I was sure we won`t see again in next few years. Maybe Tini didn`t check MMX or Rogue is like Archangel.

Is the editor also asleep at the wheel?

This was a storyline from 6 months ago goddamn. Like a 3 minute wiki read would have cleared this up.

[LegoLiz]

Yeah, IÂ’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 shouldnÂ’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.

Right? The only thing that kinda makes sense is that in MMX, she told Remy that she would continue to still wear the power dampener "just in case" but why would she need it to be with Gambit (they were fine without it in the book). I was so happy we could put her power issues to rest in MMX. Why bring it up again?

I am sad feeling that Gambit appears dismissed by robotic Rogue. And yes, I'd like his threats to "A" (very Pretty Little Liars I must say) to look more valid rather than just words.

Finally - ROGUE is going to be the host of something? So is it a pregnancy story? Or just magical powers? And if she does give birth to something (A's speech is strongly suggesting we are going down that path), will Gambit and Rogue be the parents or is she just the host of some magical thing? So many questions. I'm still hopeful for the book, but still feeling disappointed. But I understand...the focus of the story was Betsy (who I adore) and A (who I hate with such passion - he is responsible for deathbit and it will take a lot for me to ever get over that). But is Rogue out for a few issues (she still looks like she's in that state until issue 5 is it - tell me I'm wrong!). If so, I hope Gambit will be doing something important and effective during that time. But perhaps I shouldn't complain. These two got way more air time compared to Jubilee (who I adore as well - BLUE TEAM FOREVER). And yes, this is just the beginning.

[MechaJeanix]

I may be the minority opinion, but I don’t think Rogue should be able to control her powers. It always makes her boring when she can. The point of Rogue or even Scott is that they cannot completely control their powers. Rogue works because she has these awesome powers but it comes at a grave cost. I think it takes too much away from her to make her more like synch, hope, or mimic. Rogue is the untouchable character that touches everyone around her with her personality. Just my thoughts. I’m not a fan of the marriage and adding kids would prob do more harm than good to Rogue and Gambit.

[Veitha]

I may be the minority opinion, but I don’t think Rogue should be able to control her powers. It always makes her boring when she can. The point of Rogue or even Scott is that they cannot completely control their powers. Rogue works because she has these awesome powers but it comes at a grave cost. I think it takes too much away from her to make her more like synch, hope, or mimic. Rogue is the untouchable character that touches everyone around her with her personality. Just my thoughts. I’m not a fan of the marriage and adding kids would prob do more harm than good to Rogue and Gambit.

I liked X-Men Legacy Rogue a lot. The power absorption was very cool imo. Especially at the beginning of her part of the book, where she could control her powers but absorbing powers and abilities wasn't just mimicking whom she touched, but it drained them a bit too. It gave her a nice balancing.

[gifted]

You know. I was thinking about it. And this is me saying this with Rogue being a top five of my favorite X-Men-- Rogue had a long run in X-Men Legacy for a few years, was featured in Brian Wood's X-Men and Charles Soule's Astonishing X-Men. And she was pretty much the focal character and breakout star for all volumes of Uncanny Avengers. She and Remy had a miniseries and then their Mr. & Mrs. X series.

So I don't mind her being sidelined for the first arc of Excalibur as Betsy and Apocalypse's new roles are being established. I'm sure Tini Howard has plenty for both she and Remy to do afterward.

[Kurolegacy]

Is the editor also asleep at the wheel?

This was a storyline from 6 months ago goddamn. Like a 3 minute wiki read would have cleared this up.

Really, the editors asleep already? I know I joke about Marvel editors just being cardboard cutouts in the window but come on, you had one job.

[Dthirds3]

If Rogue is sleeping beauty then is gambit or betsy the prince ?

[Purplevit]

If Rogue is sleeping beauty then is gambit or betsy the prince ?

Apocalypse of course.

[PrezValentine]

It hurts my heart that I couldn't like this book like I wanted. Seriously. Let's try to focus on the positives first:
+ Art: Marcus To is a godsend. If you didn't know that, you're blind.
+ Characterization: everyone's voice was completely on point, in a sense. The dialogue for the most part feels like something these characters would say. Particularly Betsy and Gambit.
+ The concepts: really great stuff. The X being a superior choice for magic compared to the circle was a great idea. Akkaba Covenant is another great idea. Involving Morgan in the story is also great.
+ The plot: most of it is logically tied in a good manner. Avalon, Captain Britain, Apocalypse and his involvement with magic, Jamie, Rogue's coma. Good stuff all around. Kept me interested and curious to see what comes next.

And now the negatives:
- The dialogue feels stilted, awkward. It doesn't flow as it should in certain points and drags the book's pacing down. It's like Howard is trying to insert personality into what the characters say, but it just doesn't work as well as it should. It doesn't feel as pleasant to read as X-Men or Marauders.
- The colors are bland. It doesn't suit the story and makes parts that should feel more intense, like the fight between the Braddock twins feel weak.
- Jubilee's inclusion would be better if there was a mutant in the story called Toni Howard showing up to say "You guys should totally call Jubilee for this. Just a hint" and vanish to never be seen again. It doesn't feel organic. Hope she contributes more later.

Let's say a 7/10. Honestly hoping following issues improve.

[FIGHT]

It was great.
A lot of stuff I was not familiar with. Such as Captain Britain in general, the elder Braddock and I never read Excalibur before. Everything was explained pretty easily and was pretty straight forward. I like how everyone is changing names and the Braddock family dynamic was interesting. The story had great flow and was interesting from the get. I like it more than X-men and Marauders. Was fun. 9/10.

[Veitha]

GUYSS it was great! I freaking loved this book. It was so dense of content! And the magic, and the connection to mutants! And the art!

I have a few questions tho, since I'm not familiar with Otherworld stuff...

Is it ruled by King Arthur? Because I remembered that Saturnyne was in command.

Also, has Apocalypse ever used magic or identified as a sorcerer?

[Hi-Fi]

Yeah, I didn't love this lol.

I feel like the story is interesting (even though I'm not really into the fantasy aspect, the plot did engage me), but I feel like the pacing wasn't really the best and the characters (excluding Psylocke and Apocalypse) had no personality in their voices. Trouble is that, while I love Besty, I don't really care for Brian and his legacy. But I understand that this is on me and not on the writing.

It might be too early to tell, but it looks like Rogue and Gambit are there merely as plot devices (someone to be saved and someone to throw doubt at Apocalypse), and that feeling could very well have been avoided if we've been given some meat to their scenes.

Plus why are Psylocke and Rogue trusting Apocalypse so easily, especially considering what happened to Warren and Gambit by his hands?

It just didn't really work for me.

BUT

I'm very happy for Psylocke's reemergence! It's very deserving and Tini obviously has a great grasp of her voice. That final page was so cool and gorgeous. Marcus To's art is really amazing and I'm so happy he's drawing this book.

I feel like my mind will change with issue #2, when we'll finally have the team together and we'll be able to see more personality in these characters. But so far, I'm kinda sad because I wanted to LOVE this.