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This is the fourth edition of the third volume of the CBCU. This would be what I would call the X-Men mini-series edition. Of course, New Excalibur is not a mini-series but it is the last two issues and it leads into the first mini-series on the docket. There are a total of 9 issues this time around. Same rules apply, 1 point is awarded for each acceptable issue, 0 for the ones that suck.
Oh yeah, Spoilers Ahead.
Catching Up – X-Men: Excalibur & Other Mini-Series’:
-New Excalibur #’s 23 & 24- And to all things, an ending. Yes, New Excalibur has officially ended, only 24 issues old. It seems that it just can’t stay alive for longer than 25 issues since it originally ended. Basically these two issues deal with New Excalibur trying their best to defeat Albion, with the help of the dark X-Men. Issue # 23 is really the set up to all the action and reveals of #24. The big reveal of #23 is that Albion is actually an alternate version of Captain Britain! Issue #24, the end, features the rest of the X-Men dying, Sage and Lionheart returning to their heroic state and Lionheart revealing her identity to her children. Albion is defeated, and Excalibur can celebrate, though Juggernaut leaves the team. The last issue was very enjoyable, but issue #23 was not that great. The final tally was 1/2 and this leads directly to the Die By The Sword Mini-Series.
-X-Men: Die By The Sword #’s 1-5- I was expecting this to be a crappy mini-series since it featured Excalibur (which I never really cared for) and the Exiles, which has been on a downturn as of late but the team-up, despite a weak first issue, was very enjoyable. Issue one really dealt with Excalibur celebrating their victory over Albion, the Exiles showing up for no reason, a villain killing some of the Britain corps and being asked by Merlyn to take on Roma, his daughter. A villainess named Rouge-Mort attacks Cap at the end. The following issues chronicle the Capt Britain corps teaming up with Excalibur and the Exiles to take on a character named Jasper who has a team of fighting machines called The Furies. There is action galore here, Captain Britain is perilously close to dying, the Exiles decide to help since Betsy is Britain’s sister and all. There is a memorable reunion between Dazzler and Longshot, who sadly doesn’t remember her. When things go bad for the good guys, Wisdom, Psylocke and Sage get Albion out of prison to help. The final battle is not without casuatlies. Jasper becomes a Fury and is defeated, Roma is killed in battle, Sage goes crazy (which wasn’t adequately explained) but in the end Excalibur wins. Sage and TJ stay with the Exiles and Longshot remains in the 616 universe. I mentioned the first issue was slow and plodding but the mini-series picked up after issue 2 and didn’t stop. I wasn’t familiar with all the characters but everything was well-explained and easy to follow. I didn’t hear about this at all when it was out but I think it shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s just a good action story. 4/5.
-X-Men: Emperor Vulcan #’s 1-3- I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything from this mini-series. I was very surprised. Issue #1 started how I thought the whole mini-series was going to go, a boring fight between Havok (with the Starjammers) and Vulcan (and the Shi’ar) but a huge wrench was thrown in when a group of aliens basically declared war on the Shi’ar. Their name translates into Death to the Shi’ar and they use their massive weapons to basically put a star on top of a Shi’ar planet! These ancient beings have more to them than just a grudge. They had their land and possessions taken by the Shi’ar and they want it back. They have a more familiar name for their race, the M’Kraan. Yep, the Shi’ar stole the M’Kraan crystal from them! They are powerful aliens, too, being able to break Gladiator’s arm! Vulcan knows he can’t face them alone and a hazardous partnership is formed by Havok and Vulcan to stop these monsters. No one really likes it, especially Rachel when she finds out she has to work with those that slaughtered her family. The last two issues really rocked my world and I can’t wait to read the conclusion. I’d say this was the best of the bunch in regards to this edition. 3/3.
-The Bottom Line- 7 out of 9 is about 6 issues better than I was expecting these to do. I would recommend any Exiles/Excalibur fan pick up the Die By the Sword trade as it provided a bunch of action and anyone can pick it up and understand what’s going on. The Vulcan mini-series has started off just excellently and is recommended. Very nice job from these third-tier X-Titles. Next up we have Astonishing, Exiles, Cable & Deadpool and X-Men First Class.
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