A Duel To The Death! A Throne Ascended! A Sexy Hot Tub! All This And More In Excalibur #6

All hail the rulers of Otherworld! The queen is dead, long live the king! After a duel of champions, Betsy freed her brother from his curse, freed Otherworld from Morgan Le Fay, and freed Excalibur to move on to their next adventure. Tini Howard, Marcus To and Erik Arciniega finish their quest and give us a roaring adventure comic with Excalibur #6.

Nola Pfau: Well. I’m not even sure how to start us off this time around, Charlie. Reading this issue was a time. I feel satisfied. I feel gratified. I feel fulfilled! How about you?

Charlie Davis: I feel like if •┤Ȧ├• doesn’t stay ten to twenty feet away from Rictor at all times as we go forward, I’m going to walk into the comic and throw him into a dumpster myself. So GOOD. I’m doing WELL. No but really. This week’s issue was such an amazing culmination of all the threads Tini has been giving us this far. We got a conclusion to •┤Ȧ├• momentary end game, a HORRIBLY BAD decision of King’s rule AND a death and rebirth. Oh also some rad Druid s-word and a sexy hot tub scene. I’m not really sure what more anyone could actually want?

NP: Shatterstar?

CD: WE HAVE A WINNER. But honestly this issue was pretty amazing. You get a little taste of everything and a sampling of what’s to come. So let’s get into it, shall we? I’m glad all our party members rolled really well because they are kicking ass and taking names in Otherworld. Probably helps that Shogo is a dragon, but this opening sequence highlights Marcus To’s incredibly clean and vivid style. Nothing is out of place and the backgrounds are gorgeous during the battle in Otherworld. It honestly felt like a scene from Lord of the Rings and I know I say that a lot, but it doesn’t stop being true. We’ve seen To showcase himself before, but these battle pages are simply stellar. [Ed. note: Excalibur has big Dungeons & Dragons vibes.]

Otherworldly Ambitions

NP: It lacks LOTR’s love of sweeping, panoramic views but it does certainly include some classics of pre-industrial age battle, such as giant swarms of arrows floating in the air, and tightly packed companies of soldiers using shields as cover. I also really enjoyed that a few of Excalibur’s members really got a chance to shine here, not the least of which was Gambit, Jubilee and Rogue playing bombardiers from on high, tossing explosions and power blasts from a distance. Oh yeah, that last issue cliffhanger, with Rogue absorbing a bunch of •┤Ȧ├•’s power and killing him? They’re both fine.

I have to say that it’s pleasant to see Rogue using her powers without any kind of looming threat of them overtaking her; not only is that a story we’ve seen before, but for it to happen immediately after her release from the crystal coffin would have meant back to back arcs where she plays a victim or damsel. Instead, we get to see her thriving, which is a smart move. I…think somebody else had a pretty good scene in this fight? Charlie?

CD: I am everywhere you have ever stood! Ric is very VERY at home in Otherworld it seems. He uses his powers precisely and expertly here. He’s an extremely powerful mutant and we see just what he can do here. I love his hooded outfit, I LOVE THAT HE GETS TO SHOW OFF. But I am very concerned about what •┤Ȧ├• has done to him to get his powers in check. I don’t like it. I don’t like it one damn bit. We’ve seen exactly what •┤Ȧ├• thinks about people who go against his wishes and I am just waiting for Ric to wake up out of this depression induced comfort stupor and show him and everyone who is BOSS. Tini is using him expertly and I knew she’d rend my heart from my body here. As the battle dissolves we quickly see the showdown of showdowns Morgan Le Fay and •┤Ȧ├• with Captain Britain backing him up. •┤Ȧ├• urges her to lay down her weapon and let her armies do the same, but of course she doesn’t. Then •┤Ȧ├• makes an offer she seemingly can’t refuse; a duel of champions. [Ed. note: Uh-oh.]

NP: Boy, that scene of •┤Ȧ├• limping onto the battlefield with a cane is just delightful. There’s been a kind of soft focus on reinvention (evolution, if you will) [Ed. note: I will not.] with •┤Ȧ├• since Dawn of X started, and the way this book is leaning into him becoming a cryptic old wizard is so much fun! I like his negotiating tactics here; he offers Le Fay something she can’t turn down, both by custom, because it’s eminently reasonable, and by nature, because she’s grasping enough to reach for a seemingly easy victory when it’s presented.

Whoo, that offer is a doozy, though. His champion versus hers, and who does he choose? Betsy Braddock. Captain Britain has to fight her own brother in a duel to the death. It’s a perfectly suspenseful moment; we know she won’t kill Brian, just as we know that Brian, under Le Fay’s compulsion, will have no problem killing her. It’s neatly done and made to look like •┤Ȧ├•, already a shady dealer, is setting her up to fail.

CD: It’s the perfect kind of drama for a book like this. In the aftermath we see Betsy emotional and understanding there is no possible way to win this. We also get one of the best lines in the book from Rouge. “I don’t care if he’s a villain. I know you’re the hero.” I know Betsy and Rouge go way back, but this was a really nice way to bring them together for a brief moment before the battle. And boy it didn’t disappoint. The outcome isn’t surprising knowing what we know, but the aftermath threw me for a bit of a loop on the best way. All Hail Jamie Braddock? Yikes…

Maddening Monarchy

NP: Yikes indeed. If there’s a twist I didn’t see coming, it’s this one, and of course I feel like I should’ve in retrospect. Such a big deal has been made of Shogo tearing holes in the reality of Otherworld, of course they’d need a reality-warper to fix it, and all of the rest are tied up in The Five.

There was another thing I didn’t pick up until a reread–earlier you mentioned LotR, but I don’t think that’s quite accurate! During her earlier duel with Brian, Betsy says “…as Braddocks, Otherworld is the domain of us both!” Immediately following that, Jamie (also a Braddock) takes the throne. British siblings claiming dominion and monarchy over a fae land? This isn’t LotR, it’s Narnia! The colonial undertones of that honestly make me a little nervous.

CD: Oh goodness you’re right. The installation of Jamie should make people nervous and not just because it’s Jamie. We also shouldn’t be taking the fact that instead of exiled Le Fay, they place her in a cage, lightly. The whole thing got really creepy very fast. Jamie isn’t known for his discretion or sanity and I’m afraid what’s going to happen all in the name of giving someone who doesn’t truly deserve it a second chance. I’m not sure it’s meant this way, but the idea that villains deserve a second chance ESPECIALLY these two is clouding our casts already pretty shaky judgement. Gambit is the only one with a healthy distrust and I feel like the things you morally sacrifice to get some semblance of safety is going to be a theme here. People are making some bad choices and I can’t help but feel that they are gonna come back to bite them in the ass.

NP: You know I’ve never trusted •┤Ȧ├•, and I twigged to his expansion war right from the start of this, but I was really surprised he didn’t claim the throne for himself here. He’s not the type to do things without purpose, so installing Jamie on the throne tells me he has something planned that requires both Otherworld and Jamie’s power, and he’s willing to risk dealing with Jamie’s instability to do it. I suppose claiming the throne of his own realm would have put him at loggerheads with the rest of the Quiet Council; bygones are one thing, but I doubt Krakoa’s ruling body would be comfortable with •┤Ȧ├• assuming control of his own nation. At any rate, crown or no, Betsy, who actually did win that duel by killing Brian, immediately forces Jamie to bring him back, via a very well-placed boot.

There’s another scene after this, but we see the two one more time this issue, as Brian reveals he’s now the wielder of the Sword of Might, having been offered the choice by Merlin and Roma once again and choosing the wrong one.

CD: The wrong one seemingly on purpose. Brian is a good, if stupid brother and I think this really endeared me to him. Looking out for Betsy and just being so, so confused at the same time. This was a really meaty issue, but we leave Otherworld to rejoin our married couple back at Krakoa and—damn Marcus To you really did it. You gave us some very very spicy Rogue and Gambit content. Shall we take a dip in a hot tub too, Nola?

NP: He is a good brother, if ultimately one of Marvel’s most prominent early himbos. Speaking of, with the sword comes a new costume, and it’s one that echoes his original, but busies it up significantly. I find myself wondering if the more armored take on it is a direct correlation to the martial nature of a sword versus the ornamental one of an amulet, but either way I’m glad to see the lion emblem and the floppy hair return, even if I think the overall design is a little busy. I also think I’d like it better if his eyes were fully exposed in the way they were with his original costume, but I think that trend has generally fallen out of favor in costume design, sadly. But you’re right, let’s get…steamy.

Hot Tube Wine Machine

CD: I really appreciate this scene and while most people might just take away the fact that it’s sexy, which it is, [Ed. note: It really is] Rogue has some pretty intense and interesting things to say about having children. It was teased around the edges of the first issue that Rogue and Gambit might be thinking about having a kid. Rogue puts the kibosh on that right here. She explains vividly what she thinks about what she’s thought about and that she’s not ready. It’s so refreshing to see ESPECIALLY with that weird rule about “make more mutants” which still really rubs me the wrong way. Everyone thinks that law is cute but—laws about having kids or whatever just creep my the f-word out. Rogue too it seems. F-WORD THE RULES.

NP: I’m really glad you brought up the child thing because that is exactly what I wanted to talk about. The spicy art is great, don’t get me wrong, BUT: have there been any prominent depictions of this in comics, of women who are adults and who know that they do not want to have children? Because it’s such a frustrating topic to discuss in real life. It’s so hard to talk about without someone saying something to the effect of “Oh, you’ll change your mind,” or some other nonsense. It ties into so many aspects of our culture, and the way that people really, really don’t want to respect a woman’s bodily autonomy. To have Rogue state this on panel, to have Gambit support that, and to have it happen with no one on hand to push back, is important.

You’re right about the law, too. As funny as the scene where it came about was, there are underpinnings to it that are eugenicist in nature; if mutants must make more mutants by law, what does that mean for queer mutants, or for mutants who, whether by means of their mutations or any other reason, are unable to reproduce? What does it mean for mutants like Rogue, who don’t want to? If the law compels reproduction, then the law itself is a violation of bodily autonomy. We know that there is a database of all of these mutants’ DNA, and we know that it was almost entirely collected without their consent; ditto their mental imprints! The council has the means on hand to create offspring of Krakoan citizens without their consent or even say in the matter, and there are currently no laws or anything to keep that ability in check. [Ed. note: Nightcrawler being horny was accidentally problematic!]

CD: I really think this one thing that sets me off about Krakoa in general. It makes me think about another island full of a formerly endangered species. They were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should. I don’t meant to quote Jurassic Park, but how could I not? There are lots of good things going on on Krakoa, but my suspicions abound and with good reason too. In any case, I’m so impressed by this series. I can’t wait to get more.

NP: To be fair, Jurassic Park also didn’t have Rogue and Gambit in a hot tub, which probably dramatically decreased its odds of success.

X-Traneous Thoughts

Charles isn’t mad, he’s just disappointed.
RICTOR GET AWAY FROM •┤Ȧ├• THIS INSTANT YOUNG MAN
Jamie: Boop!
Since Betsy remains Captain Britain, and Captain is a ranking title, does she outrank Brian? Is he…Private Britain?
Do you think that hot tub is more of a hot spring?
Krakoan reads: The hunt

Charlie Davis is the world’s premier Shatterstarologist, writer and co-host of The Young Ones.

Nola Pfau is Editor-in-Chief of WWAC and generally a bad influence.