Comic Book / Excalibur (2019)

Trinary: Miss Braddock?
Gambit: Betsy.
Jubilee: Psylocke!
Apocalypse: All incorrect. You stand in the presence of a hero of legend. Hail Captain Britain.

— Excalibur #1

The fourth Excalibur series, and the first in 12 years, spinning out of the status quo of House of X/Powers of X. It is part of the Dawn of X relaunch, written by Tini Howard (Hack/Slash Revolution) and drawn by Marcus To (Age of X-Man: NextGen).

War wages in the Otherworld, just as a new era for mutantkind dawns with the magic connection between the mutants of the world and the Otherworld. Betsy Braddock takes center-stage as the new Captain Britain, holding the Amulet of Right while fighting for the Kingdom of Avalon alongside her Excalibur: Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, Rictor, and... Apocalypse?!

The first issue came out October 2019.

Collected editions

• Volume 1 — Collects Issues 1-6.
• Volume 2 — Collects Issues 7-11.

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Excalibur (2019) provides the following tropes:

• Affirmative-Action Legacy: Betsy, a bisexual (and formerly Asian... or in an Asian body, anyway) woman, taking the identity of Captain Britain from her twin brother Brian, a heterosexual man. For added bonus, she's another one in-universe by virtue of being a mutant taking the legacy from a human.
• Back for the Dead: Apocalypse calls together the Externals to sacrifice four of them in a magical ritual to establish a permanent portal to Otherworld. The process is stated to kill them permanently (though this is later shown to not be entirely true for all of them, for one reason or another).
• Back from the Dead: The first issue shows that the Five resurrected Jamie Braddock, who is slightly saner, but still unhinged. After Betsy tells him to talk to Brian, Jamie refuses, refusing even to leave Krakoa.
• Big Bad: Queen Morgan le Fay, who does not take the Krakoan gate in Otherworld lightly.
• Big "NO!": Pete Wisdom is the one who does this when he learns that he and Excalibur have been exiled from England.
• Body to Jewel: The bones of ancient mutants that Apocalypse is using for his rituals are crystalized. Later on he forces four of the Externals to undergo this process to complete the next phase of his plans.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: What Morgan le Fay does to Brian Braddock to turn him against his sister.
• Came Back Strong: Rogue reawakening from the coma and temporarily using Apocalypse's powers fixed up the problems she had with her powers thanks to the M-Pox.
• Catapult Nightmare: Jubilee has one in issue #2. It involves Shogo, Apocalypse and things you shouldn't do to a baby.
• The Chessmaster: Everyone is suspicious of Apocalypse's motives but none of them have enough evidence to actually work against him so they all end up fulfilling his plans in spite of themselves.
• Continuity Nod:
  • The first issue references the rule "As Above, So Below," which had shown up before during Kieron Gillen's Journey into Mystery (Gillen) run with Kid Loki. During that run, it meant that destroying British monuments on Earth affected the magic in Otherworld... while in Excalibur, it's flipped so the introduction of Krakoa and the Krakoan gates means a Krakoan portal appears in Otherworld.
  • Morgan le Fay calls mutants "witchbreed," which is the same thing people called them in Marvel 1602.
  • In Age of Ultron, Brian Braddock had described the Black Knight as the dark side of Britain, representing its xenophobia and imperialism. Later, the imperious and xenophobic Morgan Le Fay forces Brian to become her Black Knight.
• Convenient Coma: Whatever came from Otherworld infected Rogue and put her into a coma. A glowing purple coma.
• Covers Always Lie: Issue 2 shows Rogue fighting with the team. In-issue, she's still in a coma.
• Death Glare: Betsy and Kwannon's only interaction in the first issue.
• Double Consciousness: Betsy, still reeling from getting her original body back and now trying to live a life on Krakoa, is suddenly thrust into the role of Captain Britain, which puts her in charge as Defender of the Realm from threats within and without the universe. She's torn between representing the newly born nation of Krakoa while also being deeply distrusted by everyone of note from Britain because of her dual citizenship.
• Fantastic Racism: Morgan le Fay is furious that a Krakoan portal grew inside her scrying pool and decides no one can harness Avalon's magic until that portal is cut off. Continuing the theme of Hickman's run she is contrasted with her praise of the Braddock parents for being "pure" humans whole with Jamie electing to never interact with any other humans for how they treated him.
• Forced Transformation: Due to being a non-mutant mortal AND a child in Otherworld, Shogo transforms into a dragon. He doesn't mind.
• Forgotten Fallen Friend: In-universe Rictor is acting very bitter and cynical about everyone living happily after Apocalypse left in X of Swords. This is in spite of the fact that, as he was rebutted, Apocalypse isn't dead and in fact was reunited with his long lost wife and family after eons, leaving to reconnect with them with no strings attached. He's also complaining to people Apocalypse exploited at best, or brainwashed into a horseman and made attack their friends and family at worst.
• Friend to All Living Things: Rogue feels that the war horses didn't do nuthin' to deserve her ire. Not to mention, all it takes to convince her she's not in Hell is the appearance of a dog, although it's made of flames.
• Heel–Face Turn: Even the solicitations note how surprising it is that freaking Apocalypse is fighting the good fight with Excalibur.
• Heroic BSoD: Brian is very shaken at the fact that he chose the Sword of Might over the Amulet of Right and begs Betsy to take the sword and hide it so he can't get it.
• Idle Rich: With him being out of the Braddock Academy and his sister Elsa being the family head and main monster hunter, Cullen Bloodstone just indulges himself with karaoke and purchasing creatures to hunt on the family estate.
• Insistent Terminology: Apocalypse is very (and surprisingly politely) insistent that everyone use his Krakoan name.
• Instant Costume Change: The team sports what they call "Krakoan costume technology" that lets them instantly change from civilian clothes into their superhero suits.
• Jerkass Has a Point: When Betsy confronts Jamie about how he has attempted to undermine her as Captain Britain by fuelling the British people's distrust of her, Jamie points out that her own "internal dithering" and refusal to actually pick a side between Britain and Krakoa instead of trying to keep a foot in both worlds has done just as much damage in that respect.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Apocalypse has renamed himself in Krakoan. He asks that Trinary refer to him with it from then on and she responds in the affirmative, stating she can pronounce it; Krakoan is, of course, a Cypher Language that's only ever written with no pronunciation apparent to readers.
• Legacy Character: Betsy is now Captain Britain while her old Psylocke identity is now taken by Kwannon. She briefly took the name in the past, but this time it's official, and she's now empowered by the Amulet of Right, making her an official Captain Britain. Cebulski compared this evolution to that of Carol Danvers becoming Captain Marvel.
• Lucky Charms Title: Apocalypse insists on being called · ··|A|·· ·. Even though Trinary says she can pronounce that, she ends up calling him Apocalypse anyway. Tini Howard says that even she doesn't know how it's pronounced, and scripts it as [Apocalypse]. (She says that it's a mutant name and only mutants can pronounce it.)
• Mandatory Motherhood: Discussed by Rogue with Gambit in issue six with Krakoa's law of "Make more mutants". She decides she never wants to have kids, regardless of whether or not her powers would even allow her to.
• Meaningful Rename:
  • Since Betsy doesn't feel like calling herself Psylocke anymore (now that she's back in her own body), she insists people call her Betsy, before she gets the Amulet of Right and becomes Captain Britain.
  • Apocalypse, on the other hand, insists that people call him · ··|A|·· ·.
  • Goldballs has considered renaming himself "Egg", with the change of how his powers work. Betsy doesn't think it'll last.
• Multinational Team: A England-based team, with very British themes. However, only Captain Britain is actually British. Gambit, Rogue and Jubilee are all Americans (Cajun, Southern but not Cajun, and Chinese, respectively), Apocalypse is Ancient Egyptian, and Rictor is Mexican.
• Power Crystal: Apocalypse's plan hinges on mystical crystals apparently born of the bones of ancient (but not as ancient as him) mutants
• Power Glows: Rogue as the host of the force behind the mysterious flowers sprouting in Otherworld glows brightly, enough so that she becomes the light in the new Excalibur lighthouse.
• Power Incontinence: Rictor is introduced in the series now incapable of stepping on the ground without generating earthquakes.
• Refuge in Audacity: While Apocalypse feels that lying is beneath him, Jamie Braddock just says it as it is.
  Jamie: They don't want me in here on account of how I act.
• Revisiting the Roots: Excalibur sees Betsy return to her core as a British-based character. Originally, she was introduced as a supporting character for her brother, and as she became more prominent she played heavily into the British side of Marvel — until Chris Claremont had her move to the United States, and then made her into a ninja. By that point she was an America-based character who was British. Here, she's a major hero in the British side once again.
• Science Fantasy: Mutation is scientific in nature but the solicits for the title describe Apocalypse exploring mutant sources of magic. The narration in the first issue establishes that he also sent a message to the world's mystics while Xavier was talking to the world at large, and also has an excerpt about how the X sigil is superior to the magic circle as it transcends the "As above, so below" doctrine of other forms of magic.
• Suddenly Always Knew That: For this title Apocalypse, whose origins have been more connected to sci-fi due to his relationship to the cosmic Celestials, has apparently been practicing mysticism for an unknown amount of time.
• Tamer and Chaster: Betsy, known as one of the Ms. Fanservice heroines in comics as Psylocke, is now Captain Britain and is fully covered from head to toe. That said, this only applies to Betsy, not Psylocke, as her former body Kwannon is the new Psylocke and has the classic ninja bathing suit (catch her in Fallen Angels). Also, Rogue has her classic skin-tight design, fanservice and all.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Gambit is understandably not enthusiastic about Apocalypse being around, and makes it clear if he tries betraying them, Gambit will try to kill him, contrast in power levels be damned. Apocalypse, for his part, merely says he'd like to see Gambit try.
• Thanatos Gambit: In issue 5 Apocalypse sacrifices himself to Rogue's power to complete his ritual to open a portal to Otherworld. He's resurrected by the next issue, with a minor admonishment from Xavier for exploiting the resurrection protocols like that.
• Took a Level in Badass: Betsy Braddock, already a very powerful telepath and telekinetic with a host of very devastating abilities, is now officially the new Captain Britain, complete with with the Amulet of Right that turned her brother into a Superman-esque Nigh-Invulnerable Flying Brick. She has those already overpowered abilities, combined with her own.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Cullen Bloodstone is reintroduced with quite a bit of bigotry against mutants. He's also become an Upperclass Twit who's so snobby about the tradition of the hunt that he assaults the team with his monster parasite, just because they used their powers.
• Unequal Rites: The conflict is set up to show the fight between humans and mutants in the world of magic. Morgan Le Fay is given a lot of dialogue scoffing at mutants as vermin witchbreed with obnoxious, chaotic powers instead of being real witches. At the end the Coven Akkaba is introduced. They are characterized as human followers of Apocalypse that splintered when they believed that magic made them equal to mutants, then started to think it made them superior because their "humility" in having to learn and earn their power meant they appreciated it more.
• Wham Line: In issue #19, Betsy is finally returned to her body, but the thing that had be inside her body escapes. Rogue feels it go, though, and says this:
  "She went right through me—but ah fought 'er off. I knew 'er moves 'cause she's attacked me before. You might remember too, Bets, now that ah think about it. Her name's Malice. And her power is..well..she could be anyone on Krakoa."
• Wham Shot: Morgan being vivisected, while awake.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Xavier isn't too thrilled that Apocalypse decided to pull a Thanatos Gambit to pull off his little plan as well as use his spot on the Quiet Council so he can be resurrected and back in action quickly.
• Worf Had the Flu: Normally the resources of Otherworld would be enough to fend up any singular universal incursion, as they're backed on a multiversal level. Unfortunately since the rebirth of the multiverse Saturnyne's forces are sparse, as Merlyn had eons to build up the Captain Britain Corps.
• Xanatos Speed Chess: His full plan is unclear but so far Apocalypse's actions seem to be working to gain a foothold for mutants in Otherworld, an insubordination Saturnyne is trying to combat against. The cover for issue 12 has Saturnyne moving the team as chess pieces on a board, with the giant hand of Apocalypse above her head as if about to move her as a piece as well.

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