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OVERVIEW: EXCALIBUR
Writer:
Warren Ellis It reads like the cast for the world's oddest sitcom: A Jewish princess. A Russian farmboy. A British ex-spy. A German circus performer. A Scottish geneticist and her lycanthropic ward. A dead boy's ghost, cast in wires. And not forgetting, the superhero, the shapechanger and the sorceress... When the X-MEN were revamped by Roy Thomas, Len Wein and Dave Cockrum a quarter of a century ago, both title and team would reflect the international market. Thus, the book was populated by an African goddess, an Irish super-villain (reformed, naturally), and a Canadian berserker, along with the aforementioned German and Russian. Long story short: under the guidance of Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Cockrum, the retooled book became a success. Come 1987, and the new series EXCALIBUR made its debut, spun off the events depicted during the 'Fall of the Mutants' arc in UNCANNY X-MEN. The book was set in England, while the team comprised of Kurt 'Nightcrawler' Wagner (the German), Kitty 'Shadowcat' Pryde (the princess), Brian 'Captain Britain' Braddock (the superhero…obviously), Meggan (the shapechanger), and Phoenix (Rachel Summers, refugee from an alternate future). Claremont was the initial writer on the book, describing it as one of 'cosmic comedy', the Marvel equivalent of DC's JUSTICE LEAGUE under Giffen and DeMatteis. Long story short: EXCALIBUR started out as one of Marvel's top sellers, but suffered through frequent creative turnovers and an overall lack of direction. Enter Warren Ellis. EXCALIBUR was Ellis' second ongoing series at Marvel, following the critical success of HELLSTORM, but while Ellis came in and cleaned house on the latter title, it took a bit longer to establish his imprimatur on EXCALIBUR. And not without good reason… The 'Soulsword Trilogy': 'Bend Sinister'/'Dark Adapted Eye'/'Edge of Night' Ellis' opening arc was listed in the credits as being 'based on an plot by Scott Lobdell,' which doesn't exactly instill confidence in the reader. Still, Ellis makes a reasonable fist of the story, which deals with the whereabouts of Illyana Rasputin's mystical Soulsword. Not an auspicious start by any means, having to deal with plot threads started elsewhere, as well as two new characters introduced from out of nowhere. Having three different pencilers in the course of the story – Terry Dodson, Daerick Gross and then-regular EXCALIBUR artist Ken Lashley – didn't help matters much either. If nothing else, though, the 'Soulsword Trilogy' helped usher out the old, and laid the groundwork for the new. And the new did arrive, in all its shock and fire… ' Back to Life'/' Back to Reality' "This man is named Peter Wisdom. He is a mutant. He's just decided to quit British Intelligence. And he's crying because he knows he should have done it long before he killed everyone in Ronsaphan." Foisted upon the team by agents of the covert intelligence group Black Air, Wisdom accompanies them to Genosha, in order to quell (yet another) mutate uprising. Wisdom also makes an immediate impression on the team (and the reader), starting with geneticist Moira MacTaggart: "Did he just tell me to sod off?" Wisdom appears the least taken with Kitty – he refers to her as a 'body fascist' and a 'toerag' in rapid succession... and with a few snide insults, the book is injected with some much-needed personality. Wisdom's introductory two-parter is essentially a chase-cum-intrigue potboiler, but is seminal Ellis in its sharp dialogue, off-the-wall ideas (semi-sentient bullets ?), and flashes of humour (witness Douglock's take on 'Speed Racer'). Things were looking up, despite the taste of dangling plotlines left in the mouth. Thankfully, this would not be the case for too much longer.The 'Dream Nails' Trilogy: 'Dream Nails'/'Easy Tiger'/'Blood Eagle' Pete Wisdom began making his presence felt with this arc; investigating the death of a colleague with Kitty's help, Wisdom discovers the secrets his former employers have kept from both him and the larger world. 'Dream Nails' touches upon a number of themes and concepts – alien contact, loyalty and friendship, space-born viruses, and even (gasp, horror, shock) romance – but never fails to keep the reader engaged. There is some excellent artistic storytelling during this sequence, multiple artists nonwithstanding, especially from David Williams and Carlos Pacheco (making his debut on the title).'Baby, I Love You'/'I Want You' With this pair of stories, Ellis well and truly put his stamp on the series. 'Baby, I Love You' is by far one of the funniest comics I have ever read, the plot simply being Excalibur spending the night off in the local pub. (Not too dissimilar to most of my weekends, actually…) Pryde and Wisdom announce their romance to the team, and Wisdom is inducted into the group, but not without some hazing: Kurt: "[If you ever] hurt Kitty... " Brian: " – I will, without hestiation, tear off your head." Kurt: "And I will spend days mocking it... before teleporting it into the North Sea." Some wonderful character insights are offered... seeing Moira get plastered is worth the price of admission alone... and this is one of the standout issues of Ellis' run. In contrast, 'I Want You' – which re-introduces Peter 'Colossus' Rasputin, the Russian X-Man – is a study of the nature of obsession, and what it can do to people. The 180-degree turn from the frivolity of the previous issue is jarring, and Casey Jones makes his EXCALIBUR debut here with some effective artwork.'The Spire' The spotlight is placed firmly on Rahne 'Wolfsbane' Sinclair, as she comes to terms with her ultra-conservative upbringing at the hands of Reverend Craig. This story does far more to flesh out Rahne's character than did the sum total of her appearances in X-FACTOR , while bringing up one of my favourite topics - the hypocrisy of organized religion.‘Days of Future Tense’ As the title implies, this is a semi-sequel to the fan-favourite X-MEN story ‘Days of Future Past’, and offers a glimpse of an England ruled by Black Air. Fun, in a perverse sort of way, but the premise is slight and overly familiar.‘Amplified Heart’ This issue is a masterpiece of craft on the part of Ellis and Carlos Pacheco (who alternated with Casey Jones as penciler from this point on); in the space of three pages, they introduce the cast, give background on the larger theme of human/mutant relations, and clue in the reader on the particulars of this issue’s guest star - Nate Grey, the X-Man. Slim on plot (Nate throws a tantrum, and the team try to calm him down), but comes through where character delination is concerned.‘Fireback’/’Counterfire’ Wheels within wheels: Alastaire Stuart runs for his life from Black Air, privy to information that Excalibur would be better off not knowing; meanwhile, Brian investigates subterfuge within the workings of the Hellfire Club’s London branch. Setup and prologue, but nevertheless enjoyable. However, with the abduction of Douglock (the wireghost) from Muir Island by Black Air, matters soon become personal...‘Fireflies’ Kurt: "We are aupposed to be a proactive group, not reactive..." "We are going to the reacqusition station...and we are going to make a mess." And make a mess they do: major property damage (prefiguring Ellis’ take on STORMWATCH ) and righteous anger carry the story, all in glorious computer color. This was the first issue of EXCALIBUR that I read, truth to tell, and it remains my favorite of the Ellis run overall. Words fail me as far as this issue’s concerned; I implore you, pick up this issue, and see for yourself how good it is.‘Fire With Fire’/ ‘London’s Burning’ Rushing headlong towards the centennial issue, the Black Air and Hellfire Club plots dovetail; smoking guns and silent population control, double-dealing and a devil under London... It all comes together in the big one-zero-zero; action, humor, swordplay, emotion; Oh, and Onslaught too...‘Quiet’ / ‘After The Bomb’ Comedown and aftermath: what happens after the battle is fought? And what happens when there’s another battle you’d rather be fighting? Moira: "Charles Xavier’s gone insane! He’s evolved intae something called Onslaught..." Wisdom: "I’ve seen this plot on Star Trek." Long story short: they deal with their losses as best they can and get on with their lives. Mutants as people, rather than soldiers. Who would’ve thunk it?‘Bend Sinister (reprise)’ Ellis’ final issue: Kurt, Kitty and Piotr are forced to deal with recent events - and themselves - after a mystical logic trap is sprung on them. Kurt: "If I’d had a normal life, I’d quite cheerfully go mad and fall over right now." (Just the sort of thing one tends to say when confronted by a multitude of doppelgangers...) After a final, unorthodox admission by Wisdom, it’s hail, farewell, goodnight and amen.Ellis has stated in the months since his departure from the book (and its subsequent cancellation) that the reason he left EXCALIBUR was due to the sheer effort it took to bang out scripts for the series on a monthly basis, while juggling any number of editorial/continuity concerns that a X-book demands. Between that, and not being able to write the characters as he saw fit, it is understandable; but it is nice to think that for close to two years, there existed a superhero comic that was fun and mature both at once, that dealt with the smaller moments and the larger concerns in tandem. For a time, EXCALIBUR lived up to its title; named for a sword that united a people, the series wed light and dark in equal number. Humour and drama, action and emotion. For a time, the sword was sharp, and wielded brilliantly. Recommended
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