Writer: Tini Howard
Artist: Marcus To
Colour Artist: Erick Arciniega
Letterer: VC’s Cory Petit
After being crowned the new Captain Britain, Betsy Braddock, along with Gambit, Jubilee, Kate Pryde and a glowing, comatose Rogue, embark on a journey to Otherworld to free Betsy’s Brother (the previous Captain Britain) Brian Braddock , and to find out just what is happening to Rogue. Meanwhile, Apocolypse is moving the group around, as if they were pieces on a chess board. Is Apocalypse up to something? Read on to find out.
(Warning: Spoilers ahead!)
Script
Before I begin, I want to say that I liked Excalibur #2. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. Excalibur #2 does some good things, but it also does a lot of bad things. It’s the bad things that really hold the book back from being as good as it should be. To prevent this review from being overly negative, I’ll begin with the book’s positives. I really like how Tini Howard writes Betsy. I like that she doesnt necessarily want to be Captain Britain,but realises that she has to in order to stop le Fey and save her Brother. These selfless acts make me care about Betsy, and gives me a reason to invest in the story. I also like Apocalypse’s role in the book. He’s like palpatine from the prequel trilogy- someone who has a plan and is able to manipulate the people around him to achieve his goals. Tini is playing Apocalypse’s true goals close to her chest, and that mystery is one of most interesting things about the book for me. I’m sure the next few issues will really build this thread, and I hope it pays off when the penny drops. Another thing that I like is the world that this story is taking place in. I love the magic and fantasy elements, I love the mystical characters that appear, for example: the Monks that are invisible to all but Betsy. I love the feeling of not knowing who could appear next, and I hope this continues in future issues.
With that said, let’s move on to the stuff that I didn’t like. For all the good that Betsy and Apocalypse bring to the book, I can’t say the same for the other characters. I feel like Gambit has no real point of being there except to worry about Rogue. I know Rogue’s his wife, but I still expect-within 22 pages-one of the 5 principle characters have something of importance to do. It’s not a lot to ask for. Jubilee is similar; she doesn’t do a lot other than feel sad over leaving her son. I mean, yeah, that subplot is directly tied to Apocoalypse and you witness some back and forth between them,but there still isnt a whole lot she does in the issue. However,going off the final page, that could likely change in upcoming issues, which is a good thing. Jumping back to Gambit real quick, he just lounges around complaining about Rogue’s predicament for most of the issue. He doesn’t impact the story at all. That’s my main problem with the issue-about a third of the book is dead space. There is a ton of pages that could either be devoted to Apocalypse or Betsy;or even to scenes where Gambit and Jubilee impact the plot. But no, instead it’s given to scenes that don’t add anything.scenes that if were removed, wouldn’t really detract from the story.
Again, I would like to say that I liked the issue, it’s just that Gambit and Jubilee make the book feel unfocused in places. If they had more to do plot wise, the issue would improve vastly, and the script would feel a lot tighter.
Art
Marcus To does a good job with the pencils this issue, and I especially love how he draws action. It’s fun and engaging, and is definitely one of the highlights of the the issue. I also love his designs for all the different characters the group encounters. They build upon the mystical feel of the book perfectly, and gives it a rich, lived-in feel. Erick Arciniega does a fine job of colours too. I appreciate how he tweaks the colours depending on whether they’re in reality or a dream. It’s a nice touch that prevents the issue from becoming confusing. I also enjoyed Cory Petit’s lettering. I enjoyed how he would change up the size or font of the onomatopoeia’s depending on the context, for example: whenever there is an explosion the onomatopoeia is big and blocky, where as whenever there is a creaking or something unsettling, Petit makes the onomatopoeia rigid and sharp. It’s a great addition that helps cement the atmosphere, that Tini, Marcus and Erick set.
In conclusion, Excalibur #2 is a fun, but unfocused issue that moves the story forward,but leaves a few characters behind without much to do.
Rating: 6/10
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