Okay, we're safe for Excalibur #11 spoilers now right?
Copied over from the Excalibur thread because I had a lot of thoughts.
I found this issue much better. Not great, not perfect, but I enjoyed it at least somewhat and don't regret money spent on it this time. Anyway here goes:
Finally a Gambit and Rogue I recognize! YAY! Their banter and innuendo in those last two pages was more on par with the dialogue flow and characterization that define them. I really enjoyed Rogue's line about "liking to let Gambit take his time". I smiled! High five, Tini! Thank you!
Now I have to do some nitpicking ...
It was a huge missed opportunity to not have Gambit, the master thief, pick his way into a locked cabinet rather than pillage an unlocked cabinet. Filling your pockets with items you just pick up isn't that impressive. I was glad to see Rogue suggest it though and show some appreciation/affection for her partner. And likewise his line about having a weakness for pretty things was perfect. It was also a very TAS moment when she volunteered him to stay. LOL
It was a huge relief to see Gambit not be the team punching bag anymore and be competent in battles and even contribute to some of the planning.
NOW ... can we try to let characters besides Ric, A, and Betsy shine a little?
They have amazing mutant abilities and other skills too. But where do we see that? 11 issues in and I haven't.
Gambit and Jubilee shoot things. Rogue punches things. Betsy hits things with her sword - still hasn't stabbed anyone with the totality of her psychic blade if that even is still a thing? It's all kind of generic.
SO much of the action and fights take place off panel. SO MUCH! And even if I'm not a huge action sequence person, in a superhero comic I expect to see SOME. I want to see some! Any?! Let them ALL be badasses at least sometimes. Tired of the A and Rictor show.
Rictor basically got to play savior to the whole team by tunneling them in and delivering the Krakoa flower while the rest of the team plays back-up singers with shooting and punching. You can do better than this, girl!
Jubilee, who looks fierce as hell on this cover, basically cried in a tree then sat out. I was ready to see her slay!
The plot bits revolving around Candra's backstory and her gem very much peaked my interest in this plot ... finally.
Our team is always traveling ... but they don't seem to be getting anywhere most of the time. I'm pretty ready for some major plot resolutions and answers here instead of more foggy mysteries and questions and mini quests.
We all know Ric is being manipulated and this issue doesn't foreshadow good things for him.
The real question I have is whether A will have expected Remy to steal Candra's gem from Saturnyne so he can get his mits on it or is that an ace up their sleeve? Or are A and Saturnyne in cahoots? Seems unlikely, but who knows.
It also came up in the Excalibur thread, do you think Gambit recognized the gem?
I took for granted and assumed that he did. But you know what they say about assuming. ; )