Issue(s): Excalibur #3
Cover Date: Dec 88
Title: "Moving day"
Credits:
Chris Claremont - Writer
Alan Davis - Penciler
Paul Neary - Inker
Terry Kavanagh - Editor

Review/plot:
There's a Juggernaut fight this issue but you can get a sense for this book's tone and focus by looking at the cover and also by seeing that the fight is over on page 13 and the rest of the book deals with interpersonal stuff.

Vixen invades a high security prison trying to free someone else (we don't find out who) but it turns out the police were waiting for her.

To get out of the trap, she frees the Juggernaut.

The Juggernaut proceeds to tear his way through the army, and, apparently, Rainbow Man...

...before Captain Britain shows up.

Going at it alone doesn't do much for Brian...

...and even Meggan, drawing power from the Earth to match Juggernaut in size isn't enough.

Luckily Excalibur have a telepath on the team. "Guess what I do?"

Excalibur help with the other prisoners that are escaping too. There's a sequence where i'm not so sure about the sequence. The prisoners are driving away in a range rover. Kitty phases the vehicle but not the prisoners, and yet the prisoners fly forward. It's said that the car "slows" but surely not to a complete and instant stop? It's not like anyone is pressing on the brakes.

Another possible art communication issue. A geeky UFO hunter named Rupert stumbles upon Widget...

...and is teleported to the dimension of Opal Luna Sat-yr^9 (this is the alternate universe version of Opal Luna Saturnyne that we first saw in Captain Britain #2). And the text says that she smiles, but the art shows a scowl.

Oh well. Minor things.

The interpersonal half of this issue has the team moving all its stuff into Brian's lighthouse, something that Brian himself isn't so sure about. Brian's drinking problem is brought up as a problem. He's first seen waking up next to a bunch of bottles, and with a headache, and then Rachel happily tosses all his whiskey crates into the ocean when Lockheed accidentally causes a fire.

Brian doesn't take kindly to that and storms out. And the fact that he doesn't confide in Meggan causes her to get upset and revert to her less human form, and turn to Nightcrawler for comfort.

Brian, in turn is turning to Courtney Ross. But he's called back when Kitty runs across an alternate dimension version of herself in the lighthouse, similar to what Nightcrawler saw in issue #1.

The issue ends on a happy note, with the team agreeing to put aside their differences and stay together (in part because they're intrigued by the weird inter-dimensional stuff), but we've established the potential breaking points.

Quality Rating: B+

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• Talking to Courtney, Captain Britain makes a reference to his sister Psylocke getting blinded by Slaymaster in Captain Britain #13.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

FNORD - you wrote " And the text says that she smiles, but the art shows a scowl." Ah, but in the dimension of Opal Saturnyne, a scowl is a smile. After all, it is a different dimension.:)

I was completely confused by the relationship between Saturnyne and Sat-yr-9 (and so apparently are you, since you wrote Saturnyne instead of Sat-yr-9 and listed Saturnyne as a character appearing.)
The annoying part was that Claremont never explained what the relationship was between Saturnyne and Sat-yr-9. I couldn't figure out whether they were supposed to be the same person with the name spelled differently or alternate reality counterparts of the same person. It would have taken two panels for Brian to explain "They're alternate reality counterparts- one's a dimensional guardian, the other a deposed dictator"- but Claremont couldn't be bothered.

Hi Fnord12, you wrote "Another possible art communication issue. A geeky UFO hunter named Rupert stumbles upon Widget"
but underneath the scan is broken.

Thanks, JSFan. Fixed it.

Michael, thanks. I'm probably going to get confused a lot with this alternate reality stuff. But you've reminded me that this alternate reality version first appeared in Alan Davis' Captain Britain run, which may be why Claremont didn't think to re-explain it (although i certainly wouldn't have said no to the offer).

By the way, the MCP doesn't list Sat-yr^9's appearances until starting with Excalibur #5.

Alan Davis's Captain Britain run hadn't been reprinted in America yet, though, so Claremont should have realized Americans would be confused.

I read this when it came out (I was 12) and I remember the smile line. It was something I noticed and had to think about but I figured it was a joke meant to show us Sat-yr-9's a serious and dangerous person.

"Alan Davis's Captain Britain run hadn't been reprinted in America yet, though, so Claremont should have realized Americans would be confused."

Oh God, yes, were we confused.

But, Rachel's takedown of Juggernaut was awesome (especially his realization of what she can do) and I love Kitty phasing the car (all science issues aside).

Kitty can walk on air, and cause others to do so, implying some kind of mass/density shenanigans. Basically, the car collided with air. The tyres screeching would be art mistake, regardless.

As the gas in the tank becomes insubstantial, it stops combusting, pistons stop pumping, everything seizes, and the car slams to a halt. The tires raise some dust as they slide via the same magical friction that allows Kitty to walk while intangible.