Excalibur #16 Review/Spoiler - "Tea for the queen?"

[MentalManipulator]

There's nothing wrong with a "weekend in Vegas" type of guy. And he might be exactly the type of guy Betsy needs...someone who's not so emotionally demanding, easy and casual, friends with benefits fun. Serious committed monogamy is not for everyone.

Right? it would be fun to read. I don't want her to settle down. I think she could just have fun with him and keep her free to be the adventurous she needs to be.

[Outburstz]

Right? it would be fun to read. I don't want her to settle down. I think she could just have fun with him and keep her free to be the adventurous she needs to be.

You do see that Rogue and Gambit who are together go on adventures right I mean in the same book no less.

[AdamFTF]

That right there is the most disappointing part, even more than the lackluster execution. This book has HALF OF THE X-MEN BLUE TEAM. The chemistry between Betsy, Gambit, Rogue, and Jubilee should have made this book burn through the roof. Though I'm clearly aging myself here, their interplay was amazing "back in the day."

It's half the Blue team but put in a really weird situation. Like, why are they the ones dealing with magic? Heck, why is X-Factor acting like they're spe******ts in it? They never seemed to know what they were doing before this. The thing with the Blue team back in the day was that it was the team composed largely of the rebels, crazies, sneaks and hand-to-hand spe******ts. You've got the ex-ninja Betsy Braddock, Gambit the gentleman thief, the crazy and unpredictable ex-criminal Rogue, and a resourceful street urchin in Jubilee. None of them are closely associated with magic or sorcery. Which is why we get stuff like Gambit standing around being like "What do I do?"

And I swear... I better never see Dragon Shogo again... Burning a hole in reality, nearly getting killed, and then Saturnyne taking him... I don't mind Jubilee being a mom. I kind of like it, but you don't see Meggan or Brian taking Maggie out into battle.

I swear they only did that for a surreptitious Game of Thrones reference, making Jubilee a "Mother of Dragons".

I swear Shogo was a toddler in Strain’s Gen X, don’t know why they regressed him.

Probably because they didn't want to age Jubilee any. Because God forbid they age Jubilee the two or three months it would require to get Shogo to that developmental stage.

[jwatson]

It may be stupid but if I was living a mutant life and had a significant other I hope we always angling for the same team. Especially before resurrections. If you can die at any second or be lost in another dimension at the least I want to be with the person I want to see most and maybe get some when locked in a dungeon when my powers are finally off. But that's just me.

[MentalManipulator]

You do see that Rogue and Gambit who are together go on adventures right I mean in the same book no less.

yes...you do see also that Rogue and Gambit are established in their roles, powers, codenames, etc.... but Betsy needs a ton of work with her new role as Captain Britain right?

[loke13]

It's half the Blue team but put in a really weird situation. Like, why are they the ones dealing with magic? Heck, why is X-Factor acting like they're spe******ts in it? They never seemed to know what they were doing before this. The thing with the Blue team back in the day was that it was the team composed largely of the rebels, crazies, sneaks and hand-to-hand spe******ts. You've got the ex-ninja Betsy Braddock, Gambit the gentleman thief, the crazy and unpredictable ex-criminal Rogue, and a resourceful street urchin in Jubilee. None of them are closely associated with magic or sorcery. Which is why we get stuff like Gambit standing around being like "What do I do?"



I swear they only did that for a surreptitious Game of Thrones reference, making Jubilee a "Mother of Dragons".



Probably because they didn't want to age Jubilee any. Because God forbid they age Jubilee the two or three months it would require to get Shogo to that developmental stage.

You really have to turn your brain off because it doesn't make a lick of sense. Let's say Shogo was 3 to 4 months when Jubilee adopted him. Ok cool. But there's literally been a 6 month time skip since the end of Rosen's Uncanny run as well as an extra month since the end of HoX Shogo should be 1 years old no matter how you slice it.

If they don't want Jubilee to age just say her aging process been slow down because of her time as a vampire or some other nonsense.

[LordUltimus]

Comic aging hasn't made sense since the seventies when fans started asking "Hey, shouldn't Nick Fury retire at this point?" Trying to make sense of it will only lead you to hurting your brain.

[Devaishwarya]

yes...you do see also that Rogue and Gambit are established in their roles, powers, codenames, etc.... but Betsy needs a ton of work with her new role as Captain Britain right?

This is why I don't necessarily see her wanting to commit to a serious relationship just yet.

That and... while Brian has always been portrayed as the serious, stodgy, settle-down type...Betsy has been his almost polar--fun and carefree-- opposite. I'm not saying that characters can't change fundamentally under a new writer but it seems as though her being CB takes precedent over relationships...as we saw with Wisdom.

[loke13]

I just wish we got a guest writer to come in for at least 2 to 3 issues or something. I feel like Tini really isn't taking advantage of the cast of characters that she has right now. This book was started under the premises that we would be establishing and defining "mutant magic" and I feel like Tini has completely failed in that regard and instead all we have forgotten instead is a bunch of vague explanations and confusing diagrams.

She has failed to successfully define Betsy's role as CB and how her powers differ or enhance Betsy's mutant abilities. She's been largely ineffective and just downright embarrassing as team leader.

And now instead of this title focusing on the newly expanded Otherworld lore we are going to watch the Excalibur team bumble around like a bunch of morons while Gambit constantly obsesses over Rogue for a few issues until this "Rescue Betsy" plot is finished.

[BroHomo]

It's half the Blue team but put in a really weird situation. Like, why are they the ones dealing with magic? Heck, why is X-Factor acting like they're spe******ts in it? They never seemed to know what they were doing before this. The thing with the Blue team back in the day was that it was the team composed largely of the rebels, crazies, sneaks and hand-to-hand spe******ts. You've got the ex-ninja Betsy Braddock, Gambit the gentleman thief, the crazy and unpredictable ex-criminal Rogue, and a resourceful street urchin in Jubilee. None of them are closely associated with magic or sorcery. Which is why we get stuff like Gambit standing around being like "What do I do?"

Dude this all day

[kevinism]

It's half the Blue team but put in a really weird situation. Like, why are they the ones dealing with magic? Heck, why is X-Factor acting like they're spe******ts in it? They never seemed to know what they were doing before this. The thing with the Blue team back in the day was that it was the team composed largely of the rebels, crazies, sneaks and hand-to-hand spe******ts. You've got the ex-ninja Betsy Braddock, Gambit the gentleman thief, the crazy and unpredictable ex-criminal Rogue, and a resourceful street urchin in Jubilee. None of them are closely associated with magic or sorcery. Which is why we get stuff like Gambit standing around being like "What do I do?"



I swear they only did that for a surreptitious Game of Thrones reference, making Jubilee a "Mother of Dragons".



Probably because they didn't want to age Jubilee any. Because God forbid they age Jubilee the two or three months it would require to get Shogo to that developmental stage.

Huh I never noticed that as a kid. In my head it was the cool team vs the nerds

[AdamFTF]

Huh I never noticed that as a kid. In my head it was the cool team vs the nerds

Given how popular those types of characters were during that time period, that was probably typical '90s kid reasoning.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

This is why I don't necessarily see her wanting to commit to a serious relationship just yet.

That and... while Brian has always been portrayed as the serious, stodgy, settle-down type...Betsy has been his almost polar--fun and carefree-- opposite. I'm not saying that characters can't change fundamentally under a new writer but it seems as though her being CB takes precedent over relationships...as we saw with Wisdom.

All that she'd then have to do was find a guy that could match her in both the wild and crazy times as well as the sophisticated side that she has, and Warren fits both of those things imho, where as someone like Wisdom would keep secrets nonstop and be someone that she could never fully trust...

[Steel Inquisitor]

It's half the Blue team but put in a really weird situation. Like, why are they the ones dealing with magic? Heck, why is X-Factor acting like they're spe******ts in it? They never seemed to know what they were doing before this. The thing with the Blue team back in the day was that it was the team composed largely of the rebels, crazies, sneaks and hand-to-hand spe******ts. You've got the ex-ninja Betsy Braddock, Gambit the gentleman thief, the crazy and unpredictable ex-criminal Rogue, and a resourceful street urchin in Jubilee. None of them are closely associated with magic or sorcery. Which is why we get stuff like Gambit standing around being like "What do I do?"

Because they were on the team when Apocalypse activates his magic quest? It's not like the original Excalibur were sorcerers or had experience with magic. It was Captain Britain, Meggan (who didn't know anything about her true nature), Nightcrawler, Rachel, Lockheed and Kitty Pryde when she was a teenager.

I swear they only did that for a surreptitious Game of Thrones reference, making Jubilee a "Mother of Dragons".

It's also a lot easier for the character to be useful as a dragon than a baby. Babies don't do anything.

Probably because they didn't want to age Jubilee any. Because God forbid they age Jubilee the two or three months it would require to get Shogo to that developmental stage.

Shogo's a baby in a super-hero universe, he'll either stay a baby for 60 years or become a teenager by 2030.

[AdamFTF]

Because they were on the team when Apocalypse activates his magic quest? It's not like the original Excalibur were sorcerers or had experience with magic. It was Captain Britain, Meggan (who didn't know anything about her true nature), Nightcrawler, Rachel, Lockheed and Kitty Pryde when she was a teenager.

The original Excalibur weren't magic spe******ts, though. They were a regular superhero team during a time when superheroes used to by and large be generalists more than spe******ts. If anything, the more defining thing with Excalibur was that their adventures were a little sillier and a little weirder than with other teams.

It's also a lot easier for the character to be useful as a dragon than a baby. Babies don't do anything.

He shouldn't really have to be, though. His role is more to underscore the growth and development that Jubilee's gone through in a way that's in keeping with the themes of found family and embracing life in the face of trouble that are germane to the character. Every single part of a character's life shouldn't necessarily have to be useful for derring-do.

Shogo's a baby in a super-hero universe, he'll either stay a baby for 60 years or become a teenager by 2030.

Probably. But it's still kind of weird that they'd fuss over the small amount of time it would take for Shogo to age enough to become ambulatory and learn a few words. Babies grow and develop fast.