Excalibur #2 annotations
As always, page numbers are from the digital edition, and this post contains spoilers.
COVER / PAGE 1. Captain Britain, Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee and the Villain Formerly Known as Apocalypse battling Silkies outside the Excalibur lighthouse. Basically in the issue, except for the bit where Rogue’s awake.
PAGE 2. Flashback to the fourth century BCE. Apocalypse watches as two outcast mutant twins with navigation powers set sail on a makeshift raft.
And they drown, because navigation powers don’t help you build ships. Obviously, these two have some sort of significance, and we’ll come back to them on page 13. Judging from their clothes, they’re presumably druids – in which case they got kicked out of the druid tribe for being mutants.
“Apocalypse was the first of his kind.” Well…. Established continuity has Apocalypse being born in the Egypt at the time of the pharaohs, while X Necrosha (2009) has a flashback which claims that Selene is 17,000 years old (putting her back around the fall of Atlantis, in Marvel Universe terms). But there’s been a lot of hinting that Apocalypse now has some sort of quasi-mythical origin way back in the mists of time. So maybe he’s much older now, or maybe we’re just ignoring the X Necrosha thing (Selene could have been lying, after all).
“Akkaba or the people there.” Akkaba was originally the small village in Egypt where Apocalypse was born. But it’s previously been shown that the place became a focus of an Apocalypse cult in later years. This story seems to be suggesting that he was gathering mutants there at this point.
PAGE 3. Kate Pryde gives Captain Britain, Gambit, Jubilee and the comatose Rogue a lift to the Braddock lighthouse.
Kate Pryde is the leader of the Marauders but… um, why the boat? We’re surely not meant to take it that they’ve sailed this little yacht all the way from Krakoa to Cornwall? Presumably they’ve used the nearest existing gate and Kate is giving them a lift for the rest of the way, but it still seems unnecessary. There’s a gate in the Braddock Academy garden. For that matter, we never get a very clear explanation of why Rogue is being brought here (because her condition is something to do with Otherworld, presumably?), or why Jubilee has come along. The plotting in this issue feels a bit rough. Betsy seems to be trying to take advantage of the nexus and the established connection with Brian.
The Excalibur Lighthouse. Brian Braddock’s Cornish lighthouse was the original headquarters of the first Excalibur team, and turned out to be a nexus point between various realities. Meggan destroyed it in Excalibur vol 1 #50.
“I haven’t been to the old Excali-Braddock lighthouse since we destroyed the original!” Yeah, that’s just wrong. Kate visited it in X-Men Gold Annual #1 (2018).
PAGES 4-5. Recap and credits. Note that the cast list is still calling the big guy Apocalypse, despite his insistence last issue that his name is now an unpronounceable symbol. The title is “Verse II: A Tower of Flowers”. As with Marauders, the small print is repeated from the previous issue.
PAGES 6-12. After fighting off selkies, the heroes find that the lighthouse is missing. Captain Britain encounters a group of hooded people who explain the plot, and allow a new Krakoan lighthouse to grow in its place, with a still-unconscious Rogue as the lamp.
Selkies. Mythological seal people. Normally they’re shape changers, but there are versions of the story where they can’t change at will – like these ones. They’re not a million miles removed from mermaids, basically. I can’t say I particularly associate them with drowning the broken hearted, though. At any rate, it’s not obvious why they’re here. They’re several hundred miles from home, and they seem to be after Captain Britain (in that they chase her when she leaves the boat). At first she assumes that Morgan sent them, but later on she points out that they’re an unlikely choice for that mission, being unable to walk on land and all that. Perhaps the idea is that they’ve been selected to spur our heroes along without actually being much of a genuine threat, in which case Apocalypse might have something to do with it (given what happens later on).
The druids. Described as druids later in the issue, the people in green cloaks seem to have some magical powers, since only Captain Britain can see them. Their antlers – which presumably echo the Green Man mythical figure – look like they might be genuine. They allow Krakoa to grow a new lighthouse on the site, implying that they could have done something to stop it, though again, it’s all rather vague. Quite what this story means by “druids” is difficult to follow, since it seems to assume that druids are in hiding – Captain Britain says they are “very secretive and shy” and “haven’t survived this long by being seen”. In reality, you can sign up to be a druid on the British Druid Order’s website.
Marianna Stern was the coven leader from the previous issue who killed her coven in order to get power from Morgan Le Fey (referred to here by her alternative name “Morgaine”), and then joined Coven Akkaba at the end of the issue. She doesn’t actually appear elsewhere in this issue, but she gets a mention to keep that plotline ticking over. Morgan doesn’t actually appear in this issue either; the book has a lot of balls in the air.
PAGE 13. Data page, in the form of an extract from Apocalypse’s grimoire. The top part appears to be a diagram of a lighthouse-type tower, with some scribblings to the effect that focus leads to power. The Krakoan – getting a rare outing outside the trailer pages – says “GATE” at the bottom of the tower, and “NADIR” and “PINNACLE” at either end of the arrow. A footnote seems to indicate that this “focus” can come from the dead mutants of the past, including the crystallised bodies of the two we saw on the first page, who died just by the lighthouse site.
PAGE 14. Betsy, Remy and Jubilee discuss what to do next.
It’s still far from clear what the point of bringing Rogue here was, and the plot problem is compounded by the fact that the characters seem to have had no clear idea in mind. Understandably, Gambit is preoccupied with looking after her, to the point where he’s rather unsympathetic to Betsy’s more restrained concerns for the missing Brian.
PAGES 15-16. Jubilee has a nightmare that Apocalypse has taken Shogo, and runs off through the gate to fetch him from Krakoa.
Shogo was indeed a normal human, as far as we know – subject to what happens at the end of the issue. Apocalypse treats Shogo’s human status something that Jubilee was keeping secret, in order for Shogo to get onto the island – though presumably the X-Men must have known. Since it turns out to suit Apocalypse for Jubilee to bring him here, presumably he has something to do with this dream. As for his interest in Shogo, it’s probably linked to (again) what happens at the end of the issue.
“You left him with someone on the island for me to find.” When Jubilee showed up to help last issue, it was in response to a message from Apocalypse, and the first thing she said to him was “First of all, you’re crazy if you think I’m bringing my son to see you.” So evidently Apocalypse has shown some interest in Shogo before, and the dream is conspicuously vague about who Jubilee left him with.
PAGES 16-17. Captain Britain has a dream where a wolf with a sword leads her to a statue of Apocalypse.
The wolf. Or maybe dog? It’s a bit of a mystery, and again, it’s something we’re coming back to. I can’t honestly tell from the art whether it’s supposed to be some sort of golden ghost, or whether it’s meant to be fire. Its message for Captain Britain seems to be simply that Apocalypse is using them, but they can do the same to him.
The thought balloons… This whole scene is run through with very stylised thought balloons of the sort that may test your patience. Presumably it’s going for “dreamlike”, but… it’s a bit much.
PAGES 18-23. Jubilee arrives back with Shogo. The druids return and ask Captain Britain to defend them from Clan Akkaba, who immediately show up and attack. Apocalypse wipes them out and insists on defending the lighthouse and Rogue while everyone else goes to Otherworld. Shogo turns into a dragon as soon as he enters Otherworld
The druids are not exactly rounded characters, are they?
“Commanders of the ley.” “Ley lines” are mystical lines of force across the British landscape of great significance to ancient cultures. At any rate, there are apparently still some druid groups who believe this.
In fact, the term “ley lines” was coined in the 1920s by amateur archaeologist Alfred Watkins, who thought he had identified some straight lines that could be drawn through features of the landscape, and theorised that they might be trade routes. The “ley” was simply because they passed through a lot of places with “ley” in the name (the place names, in turn, got it from the Old English for “clearing”). The mystical associations seem to have been introduced by 1960s esotericist John Michell.
Coven Akkaba. According to Apocalypse, Coven Akkaba are human worshippers of Apocalypse who he rejected after they came to believe that their magic put them on a par with mutants. This is basically what we saw at the end of the first issue.
Apocalypse is indeed still up for a good old cleansing war. He hasn’t changed that much after all. He’s also rather pleased to see a mutant Captain Britain, which he sees as laying claim to the country – basically, all that’s really changed is that he’s stopped testing the mutants themselves to destruction, because Krakoa is what he was looking for all along.
Or… his interest in Otherworld could be to do with its border with Arakko, mentioned in X-Men #2.
PAGE 24. Data page: the translated text of a “druid lullaby” from the 4th century BCE (the same time frame as the prologue, in other words). It seems to be original. It’s generally a “one day you will grow up and I won’t be able to protect you any more” thing, so presumably linked to Shogo.
PAGES 25-26. The trailers. NEXT: SLAY THE DRAGON. Poor Shogo.
Excalibur has probably been the roughest book of the bunch so far and the one I’ve least enjoyed.
There’s some interesting stuff but it’s not grabbing me the way X-men, X-Force Marauders or New Mutants have so far.
Yeah, this was pretty bad on both writing and art.
How’d those two brothers die like 15 feet from shore?
They were bad swimmers as well as bad boat builders. The water was probably really cold, too lol. That part was believable, jubilee bringing Shogo back to the light house was more questionable.
Yeah, this issue’s a little rough. I’m having trouble figuring out why characters are doing what they’re doing, and why/how things are happening. That’s a problem.
At least I can understand why Betsy wants to go to the lighthouse; so she can travel to Otherworld and save her brother. Great, that makes sense. Clan Akkaba attacks because they’re working for Morgan and she’s trying to stop Betsy from getting to Otherworld. Great, that makes sense. Apocalypse is acting in a mysterious way because he has mysterious ulterior motives. Great, that makes sense.
How was the lighthouse destroyed? On my first read through I thought the Druids did it, but that doesn’t make any sense. Why is Jubilee tagging along (OK, she’s helping Betsy to be fair), and why does she go back for Shogo knowing they’re in danger? Why are they bringing an unconscious Rogue to the lighthouse? Why, when they get there and grow a new lighthouse, do they take a nap? Isn’t Brian in trouble RIGHT NOW?
Unfortunately, the only thing I can think of is “Because the plot demanded it.” The story wants these characters in a certain place, so the plot moves those characters to a certain place. The story wants the lighthouse to be Krakoa-themed, so the plot destroys the old one. The gears are really out in the open on this one.
The art’s nice, and I like the idea of Betsy being the new Captain Britain (again). I want to like this book. Maybe I’m being nitpicky because I want it to be good, I dunno. Hopefully things tighten up after the initial “gathering the team” arc.
Finger crossed.
“For that matter, we never get a very clear explanation of why Rogue is being brought here (because her condition is something to do with Otherworld, presumably?), or why Jubilee has come along.”
Rogue is being brought because the plan apparently is to “tear off a chunk” of her flower bed to make a new gate at the lighthouse.
With Jubilee, I think it can be as simple as she was already involved and is sticking around to help.
I agree with everyone’s general criticism that there’s a lot of “so why are they doing this?” this issue, though not necessarily with the specifics. For me the questions were “Why didn’t Kate also disembark to help?” and “Why is Betsy so sure Rogue’s safe with Apocalypse?”
It’s a frustrating book. I think all the world-building and sense of the magical is really well done. I love the text pages. But when the characters are actually doing things in this book, the above problem rises.
Everyone online is calling the thing in Betsy’s dream a wolf. Am I the only one who sees a fox? Look at that bushy tail!
I wonder if those crystals Apocalypse was waving at the gate last issue are meant to be the crystallized remains of those twins.
@Col_Fury
“How was the lighthouse destroyed?”
The story’s pretty clear that Akkaba and Marianna Stern did it, no?
Apocalypse says Who destroyed the lighthouse (Coven Akkaba) and why (to strike at Betsy). He doesn’t say how, but I suppose “with magic” is good enough as an answer. But it’s kind of vague why this would be such a priority (it’s not even her house), and it’s an explanation given to Apocalypse, who’s not a reliable source, and has no obvious way of knowing.
>flips through the book again<
ah, yes. When the druids are explaining to Betsy who Stern is, that's a flashback to her and her Akkaba pals burning the lighthouse down. It's a flashback, not a "this is who we're talking about" picture. I didn't catch that the first time through (and the lighthouse is kind of hidden with all the foreground business). Thanks! 🙂
You might be right about Rogue's flower bed, but why couldn't they just grab a flower from Krakoa like the New Mutants did to bring to Sam? Why drag an unconscious Rogue along? The answer seems to be "so Rogue can be the light at the lighthouse."
Again, I'm probably being more harsh than I should be here; there's a lot to like in this series so far.
Well, we also see it happening in the vision the good guy druid shows Betsy. It looks like the place was consumed in some kind of magical fire, which I guess explains the lack of remains.
I read that flashback as a generic “here’s who we’re talking about” panel as well. There are some storytelling issues here. The problem, I think, is that the lighthouse is *both* receding into the background *and* partially obscured by a thought balloon.
“The plotting in this issue feels a bit rough.”
You’re not kidding. Rough as a badger’s arse more like!
It felt like too much was trying to be crammed in with too little time. I like Marcus To’s crisp artwork – but it doesn’t mesh with the dreamlike or magical tone required for some scenes. And the narration needs to call out things the art isn’t clear on – for example, there’s far better ways to show that the druids are invisible to everyone but Betsy, rather than having to have her say it.
As you picked up on, so many odd points…
– why bring Rogue at all?
– Kitty just sails off?
– why does Jubilee go and grab Shogo off-panel in the middle of a dangerous fight… And bring him back??
I found it all terribly confused, and it must be worse as a new reader. The inconsistent status of the lighthouse and/or castle (was there a castle there too? Why was that referred to?) was especially jarring. This would have been an ideal use for a data page, to dump a load of background info.
More positively – the character voices felt spot on, especially Gambit, Jubilee and new style Kate, as was the banter between them all. It’s a shame the rest was so busy and confused.
@YLu
I saw it as a fox too! Glad I’m not the only one.
I’m noticing that nonsensical things happen in these series for no reason other than to manufacture conflict. I’m not sure there’s been an organic conflict yet.
And just to give an example of the kind of organic conflict I could see arising from this premise: Archangel comes after Apocalypse or Dazzler (Alison Blaire, not me) comes after Mystique. There is some untapped story potential, but it’s all being ignored so the characters can do stupid things that don’t make sense.
Minor point, but since when was the lighthouse in Cornwall? I think there’s an issue of Excalibur where they showed it was near Liverpool.
I’ve had a quick look at the lighthouse’s location. Excalibur has conflicting references, and it’s understandable that Tini Howard opted for Cornwall.
Sword is Drawn says it’s on the Celtic Sea, and so does Excalibur #28. That would mean it was somewhere south of Ireland, and Cornwall would work fine.
Unfortunately, Alan Davis did indeed establish that the lighthouse is near Liverpool. Issue #4 has Rachel and Kitty visiting a city just along the coast, which isn’t named, but it’s clearly drawn as Liverpool. But the real problem is issue #49, which not only tells us that the lighthouse is “180 miles northwest of London” (i.e., near Liverpool), but then has several panels of everyone looking at the lighthouse’s location on a map.
I think it’s not impossible that Alan Davis (perhaps correctly) thought that Claremont was unclear on the distinction between the Celtic Sea (not actually a term that normal people use) and the Irish Sea (used all the time, obviously).
@Dazzler
I’d unironically love an issue where Warren sits Apocalypse down in some miserable dive bar with a power suppressor, a bottle of rotgut liquor, and a revolver loaded with a single bullet. Just start with a conversation and let the scenario play out in the grimmest way possible. But then, I love me some grimdark Archangel.
Paul: Thank you for checking. I was thinking of #49, but my back issues are at my parents’ so I couldn’t check.
Dazzler: You might be right, although in that case the mistake may be Davis’s. Given that the lighthouse was always shown to be fairly remote, Cornwall fits a lot better than Merseyside.
Then again, it’s not like Marvel has all been all that good about keeping track of their UK continuity, so five years from now there will probably be a new series where the lighthouse is in the middle of Shropshire.
The lighthouse is actually sentient and when so inclined, will relocate for a change of view. The characters are oblivious to this phenomenon because whenever the lighthouse relocates, it magically alters reality so that the characters believe that the lighthouse has always been at its present location.
This was all clearly explained in an issue of nothing whatsoever as I’m making this up and also I’m high.
So, its really a tardis?
I’m pretty sure it was a fox, YLu. I was thinking about fox hunting, with its long and “glorious” legacy in England.
Dazzler-But…But…Apocalypse is a sorcerer now! A sorcerer!
I mean, just in this one book.
Evilgus-You thought the characters were spot on?
Because, I find that Tini Howard seems to write every character exactly the same. No matter what the comic.
Her Age of Conan mini-series read exactly like this too.
All I can think when I read this book is that Gambit is stuck moping in some stupid plot taken from a fairy tale, when he could be part of the Marauders instead.
Also, Paul, “Apocalypse says Who destroyed the lighthouse”. I think you mean The Doctor destroyed the lighthouse!
It does seem like Howard’s front loading the mythology pretty heavily at the expense of some of the characters. But didn’t Jordan White say there was an accelerated publishing schedule to get the books to a certain point by issue 6? Or something along those lines. I think that’s how we end up with all the X-Books releasing on the same day in December.
Anyway, some characters are definitely getting the short end, but I’m enjoying what’s going on with Betsy and Poccy enough to stick with this one.
Moo: Oddly enough, that would actually work for the lighthouse….
@ChrisV: hmm, well I thought the character “voices” were accurate. But then I guess Gambit and Jubilee with their tics aren’t hard (how does Betsy ‘speak’? Seems to veer between posh and east end, at times).
Character behaviour is all over the place, mind!
Maybe it’s because in all the other books characters are very much ‘off’ it’s nice to hear some of them at least speak in their 80s/90s way…
P.s. on the lighthouse location: I remember reading Excaliburs with the location near Liverpool. And wasn’t it one of the issues which Davis retconned away as being Merlin’s machinations?
Like most comic locations or exact dates, I just took it as an approximate thing. “Somewhere on the West coast near the Irish sea” was fine for me. Cornwall does seem a stretch on that basis… But hey ho. Given the structure itself has been up and down over the years (again editorial sloppiness) location feels least of the concerns.
Though at least it previously was representing the North?!
Braddock Manor moved from the Westcountry to Essex. The family has a problem with teleporting buildings.
TIL: the origin of the term “ley lines”. Thanks !
It’s becoming clear to me that Hickman is basically treating the X books not as a relaunch, but as a launch of a new shared universe. At least that’s my explanation as to why all books are referencing some other books, or having guest stars from other books , both for no apparent reason.
In another era, we would have seen an editorial note “who is this girl commanding this beautiful ship ? To see more of her, see Marauders #1-#2”
@Emmanuel
“Hickman is basically treating the X books not as a relaunch, but as a launch of a new shared universe. …books are referencing some other books, or having guest stars from other books , both for no apparent reason.
To promote the other books and get fans invested? Like, Isn’t that the actual, literal reason for including references and guest stars “for no apparent reason?”
…Isn’t this just the definition of any shared universe?
Man, you guys remember when SHIELD randomly showed up in the background of all those different superhero movies for no apparent reason? It was almost like they were trying to create, like, some kind of “shared universe” or something.
The thought of Brian growing up in Essex is hilarious.
Betsy and Jamie, on the other hand….
“you can sign up to be a druid on the British Druid Order’s website.”
An initiation tradition dating back to the bronze age.
“It’s becoming clear to me that Hickman is basically treating the X books not as a relaunch, but as a launch of a new shared universe.”
**What do you see as the practical difference between the launch of a new shared universe, and a relaunch of a franchise like the X-books (which have always existed in the same shared fictional universe)?
“though again, it’s all rather vague”
Indeed. I’ve thought that with both issues so far, and I think even the dialogue isn’t as straightforward as it should be.
Shropshire, eh? I’m all for the reveal that the furst iron bridge was built as a mystical barrier to demons.
Dave: It was the first inland county I could think of. And since my knowledge of British geography is about 800 years out of date I forgot about the bridge entirely.
Although, there is something to the idea of the Iron Bridge being a mystical barrier. After all, fairies aren’t supposed to like the touch of cold iron….
I’m enjoying this series – more for the lore and ideas and character takes than plot execution, since that, as mentioned repeatedly, is somewhat unclear. Then again, it’s a book about magic, so I can accept some dream logic. Even if it’s not actually meant as such.
Obviously that depends on enjoying the other aspects, but so far, so good.
“To promote the other books and get fans invested?”
Whoa, imagine if they actually used HOXPOX with its print run in the hundreds of thousands to do this! Like, just imagine if that event actually promoted the line. Like, promoted any of these books in any way. Maybe there wasn’t room, what with the 400 data pages explaining the story to the reader. Priorities.
Well, for what it’s worth, HOXPOX set up Marauders, at least. Though not by name, so if you didn’t already know the book was coming out, it wouldn’t help you anyway. 🙂
The final issue of POX promoted the entire line, right down to the release dates of each #1. Granted, they did it with text pages at the end instead of anything in-story, though I’m not about to complain about *less* product placement distorting the shape of a story.
Some of the new titles would be a weird fit for an in-story mention. Excalibur, for example, contains Betsy’s transformation into Captain Britain in the first issue, there’s no way to set that up beforehand. But Apocalypse’s interest in magic and Otherworld could have been set up – as part of the Krakoa/Arakko flashback, for instance. X-Force absolutely could have been set up with a scene about the need for Krakoa’s security / intelligence team. New Mutants could have been set up with a scene of Doug getting together with his friends during the post-resurrection rave – or a scene leading into Rahne’s resurrection.
And considering Fallen Angels #1 already has a scene with the characters feeling put off by the constant partying, that could have been another rave scene.
You know what, I take it back – there was a way to set up every book. And there was space for it, too, considering how many data pages were just repeating information present in the same issues, or how many pages of POX#6 were just repeated scenes from previous issues.
@Krzysiek Ceran
>And there was space for it, too, considering how many data pages were just repeating information present in the same issues, or how many pages of POX#6 were just repeated scenes from previous issues.
I mean, those are all free pages in the sense that Marvel doesn’t have to pay the cost (both in terms of money and time) of new artwork. They’re still paying for the writing and design work, presumably, but those would cost significantly less. But they wouldn’t have been able to just slot new story pages in their place.
Obviously, but isn’t that somewhat beside the point?
I’m talking about the fact that very, very few characters from this entire line of comics even appeared in the story, and the ones who did who were either barely featured or instantly murdered. There were many, many pages available to actually launch this line of books and give people a reason to check them out. HOXPOX accomplished very, very little in the grand scheme of things.
@Krzysiek Ceran
I thought you were saying they could have replaced those text pages with actual story pages more explicitly setting up the other books.
@Dazzler
HoX/PoX definitely prioritized telling its own story way over setting up those of other series’. But that’s a plus, in my book, not a minus.
Yes, that was what I was saying. And yes, making those pages would cost. That doesn’t make it impossible, does it?
@Krzysiek Ceran
I don’t know, but there would be a budget they wouldn’t want to exceed. And deadline considerations, since this wasn’t the sort of the series that’d use guest artists.
The Image series The Wicked + The Divine often had extra-sized issues without raising the price point… by having the additional pages be reprints of existing art, or by having pages where huge swathes were empty black space so the artist was still doing the same amount of work.
My point is you can’t just say “they had X pages available to them” as if X is a constant no matter what’s in those pages instead of a value dependent on what kind of pages they are.
You might as well ask why they didn’t replace ad pages with story pages.
Sure. But the conversation was about whether HOXPOX did or did not, should have or shouldn’t have set up the Dawn of X books within the story. In my view the logistics of ‘people would have to be paid for those pages, readers would have to pay for those pages’ are beside that initial point.
Maybe we are talking at cross purposes. What I’m trying to get at is, whatever further or better setup is necessary, it would have had to come through some other avenue than replacing those text/reprint pages, because that most likely wouldn’t have been an option.
The issues are fine, stop with the pickiness. They are all interconnected, you cannot see this run as an isolated thing that requires an exaggeratedly complex plot-point of its own because it’s going along the whole, encompassing plot that is the establishment of Krakoa and everything it brought about.
Excalibur is giving us whole new meanings to certain characters. Apocalypse having relations and apparently vast knowledge of Magic is somewhat new, and I love it. The ‘focus’ crystals are also something new he is creating, and as we saw in Moira’s 6th life, they are a form of ‘technology’ that he could come to master for various porpuses. They are now explaining to us what they actually are, and I find it interesting.
‘Otherworld’ is a place with iffy rules, you can’t be possibly trying to wrap logic around it. And for everyone to be debating about issues from years ago… gosh. This whole phase is a soft reboot, so forget all the cross-references, or rather, be grateful they still keep ‘some’ so that all your years of reading X-Men weren’t for nothing to this day.
Rogue is in a mystical coma of sorts, she’s clearly possessed by an entity or a power, something new, and it’s not surprising that they didn’t wanna get Rogue through another portal after what she went through. In any case, she was the key to opening a Krakoan Gate on the other side of Otherworld, so that’s why they took her with them.
Finally, there is a whole lot of plots and they are not “rushed”, they are just all being presented to us as any story does in its SECOND chapter. Who knows how long this run will be? They will likely have time to solve them all eventually, and I rather have all cards laid out on the table than later on, when I think it’s all coming to a nice ending, suddenly having more problems starting to pop up. That’s sometimes annoying.
I like the run, I love the new concepts and the art was exquisite, Idk why some comments say it was lacking? Obviously this is all too subjective because I also see people liking New Mutants more when it’s terribly boring and dense to read.