Excalibur [20] : Review and Spoilers

[Omega Alpha]

I was recently wondering if there might be mutants (especialy former villains), who might consider themself not worthy of being brought back from the dead, beacuse of their trauma or the sins they commited and instead would seek the compromise that if they die, Krakoa will bring back a younger (or even newborn) version of themself, who are free of these issues.
Basicly a second chance for a new version of themself.

Which narrative would also create a set of mutant characters who are actualy still in danger of dying (as the characters they are), adding tension to their involvements in stories.

But this also made me notice that there was always a fourth option they could have picked for Sabertooth.

If i recall right the reasoning for throwing him into the pit was that they can't let him run around the outside world, because he would just kill humans again, they can't kill him, because no mutant is allowed to stay dead and they can't put him in a prison because Krakoa is not supposed to have prisons.

So instead they threw him into a pit where he would remain in an eternal fully aware stasis.

But as mentioned. There was a fourth option. Execute him and bring an entirely fresh version of him back, who could grow up in a way that would prevent him from being the person the original Sabertooth was.

Now mind you that's still a pretty amoral idea, but given the extreme context it would be a form of redemption and second chance, while the alternative is eternal torture, which isn't particular moraly upright either.

So yeah. it feels like they are weirdly trigger happy at times with throwing mutants in the pit, when they still have alternatives at hand.

If he doesn't remember anything, and is just a child, then he's just not Creed, but a clone.

That said, yeah, the whole thing feels iffy.

[Rnap22]

If he doesn't remember anything, and is just a child, then he's just not Creed, but a clone.

That said, yeah, the whole thing feels iffy.

Kill him in Otherworld and pray for the best. Haha

[Havok83]

Im surprised no one has suggested they use Sabretooth as a test subject to try and understand why his inversion wore off and Alex' did not

[Grunty]

I have to say...the inclusion of Malice as a significant plot point in this arc focusing on Betsy and Kawannon is so...effin' random. You could remove her from this story entirely and have no impact on how the story between Kwannon and Betsy unfolded.
It started out being a search for Betsy but ended up being about Malice in a new body living on Krakoa. Tsk!

Didn't the writer herself said in an interview that she can't get into heros and finds villains much more interesting?

Not to be mean spirited, but if that's true, one could get the impression the editors allowed her to randomly throw in Malice so she can have her villain to explore for the arc, while actualy focusing on the existing plot too.

It's just how this random choice feels. I can neither proof these intention nor remember where the interview was. So i might be entirely wrong.

[Devaishwarya]

Except Malice wasn't "explored" not to any great depth, she was just inserted...unnecessarily so.

[Glio]

Except Malice wasn't "explored" not to any great depth, she was just inserted...unnecessarily so.

She was just a "disembodied psyche" metaphor to bring Kwannon and Betsy together.

A bit clumsy, really.

[ermac]

That was one surprisingly good read.

Maybe the first Excalibur issue I truly enjoyed?

[Snoop Dogg]

yaaaas betty rock that choker

[Frobisher]

I wonder if Marvel will ever admit that this is not a team book.

Betsy is done well enough as always while all the side characters support her.

I’m not sure they’ve ever branded anything as a “team book”. Was X-Men a team book when it was monthly and Claremont would spend up to three months at a time on a couple of characters having a side adventure?

[Havok83]

I’m not sure they’ve ever branded anything as a “team book”. Was X-Men a team book when it was monthly and Claremont would spend up to three months at a time on a couple of characters having a side adventure?

Claremont's Uncanny was very much a team book until Siege Perilous where he purposely disassembled the team in order to rebuild it

[Devaishwarya]

She was just a "disembodied psyche" metaphor to bring Kwannon and Betsy together.

A bit clumsy, really.

Pretty much.
A bit of a misstep in what was an otherwise good story.

[Frobisher]

I am not familiar with Malice's previous appearances, but based solely on her actions in these issues of Excalibur - I struggle to find any sympathy for her character and so am more on Xavier's side than the others.

She's not characterized as not able to control her powers, she's not characterized as being misguided, she hasn't been shown to have an origin that explains why she is acting the way she is (Her 'origin' story just shows a standard teenager rebelling against her mother, with shades of feelings of depression/lack of self worth).

I get why Betsy, Psylocke, and Emma are favoring rehabilitation over imprisonment, based on their personalities and character development, but nothing that Malice has done in these issues supports that choice.

That’s enough though. Like Empath she’s always been able to get away without the consequences of her actions, which essentially means she’s never had a chance to emotionally develop from the annoying self-absorbed teenager she was when her mutation kicked in. Of course Sinister took advantage of that.

Good also to finally see a mutant from a background similar to mine, though pretty sure no-one in 1970s Doncaster had a staircase that massive in their terrace.

[EldonMaguan]

So can anyone explain why Alice's hair switched from black to brown and then back to black?

Secondary Mutation!

[ermac]

Claremont's Uncanny was very much a team book until Siege Perilous where he purposely disassembled the team in order to rebuild it

If it was released nowadays, people would complain it was "Storm's show" between Jean's death and the Outbeck era.

[Havok83]

If it was released nowadays, people would complain it was "Storm's show" between Jean's death and the Outbeck era.

I dont think I'd agree bc he did a good job of rotating and using everyone. His Uncanny wasnt written the way Excalibur has been with Apocalypse and now Betsy or Maraurders with Kitty and Emma