Issue(s): Excalibur #96-97
Cover Date: Apr-May 96
Title: "Fireback" / "Counterfire"
Credits:
Warren Ellis - Writer
Carlos Pacheco / Casey Jones - Penciler
Bob Wiacek / Tom Simmons - Inker
Suzanne Gaffney - Editor

Review/plot:
Alistaire Stuart shows up at the X-Mansion, asking if the X-Men can put him in touch with Excalibur. Stuart was the leader of the Weird Happenings Organization, the precursor to Black Air, and he's now been reduced to seemingly paranoid ravings about Black Air. Nightcrawler and Meggan go to pick up Alistaire, and on their way back they are attacked by Black Air helicopters. They survive the attack (thanks in part to going "very Sigourney Weaver" on her opponents) and manage to get Alistaire back to Muir island, where he confirms (unsurprisingly) that Black Air is up to no good. Among their crimes, they've killed off and dissected the Warpies. We also learn that they are controlled by the London Branch of the Hellfire Club.

Meanwhile, the Hellfire Club's leader Shinobi Shaw is coincidentally concerned about the London branch, so he contacts Brian Braddock and asks him to claim his father's seat in the Club. He says that they are involved in "murders" and other strange things. Brian is quickly welcomed into the Inner Circle (after a quick "fight" with the current non-powered Red Bishop).

Brian then sets about trying to determine which of the Hellfire Club members is really possessed by Mountjoy (something Shinobi warned him about).

I've been enjoying Carlos Pacheco's art, and even his character designs - i like the shaved head/goatee look for Nightcrawler..

...but the new costume for Meggan is ridiculously boobtastic.

I think the idea, in line with her recent power upgrade, of making her appear more combat-ready than she did in the barefoot unitard (which i never liked), is good, but Pacheco unfortunately couldn't restrain himself.

The MCP goes back to tagging Brian Braddock as Captain Britain with these issues, instead of Britanic (not that it's made a material difference in any of the issues i've seen).

Another development is that Lockheed is now talking more that his usual occassional "Yah!".

I don't know if this was a mistake on Ellis' part initially and then fans complained, but it will be revealed in issue #100 that only Pete can "hear" Lockheed talk like this.

Also, on a more serious note, something's going on with Douglock.

At the end of issue #97, Douglock is kidnapped by Black Air.

This issue sets up some potentially interesting intrigues, but it also features "Mountjoy", and that's a difficult thing to overcome. The idea of a British branch of the Hellfire Club has been mentioned before, and it makes sense (as the name of one of this branch's members - Emma Steed - reminds us), but this is the first time we're seeing these characters. Unfortunately they don't seem to have much of a longterm impact. They don't seem to appear beyond issue #100 and the MCP doesn't even seem to bother to list all of them (except for preexisting characters who turn out to be members, i.e. Margali Szardos, who will turn out to be the Red Queen, and the more goofy comic book-y named characters like Scratch and Scribe).

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 2 - details about the British Hellfire Club

Chronological Placement Considerations: Takes place before X-Man #15 (see reference). The MCP have the X-Men here between Uncanny X-Men #333-334, but that's odd because #333 begins a Juggernaut plot that continues directly and leads to Onslaught, and there are plenty of earlier standalone issues of Uncanny where this can fit instead. Next issue begins with Excalibur reviewing footage of Black Air's kidnapping of Douglock, meaning that some time has passed, but not too much.

References:

• Kitty is wondering about her father. She got a cryptic message from him before the "Phalanx thing" happened. There's no footnotes, but it seems we're looking at Excalibur #78 or so.
  
• The Black King, Quentin Templeton, argues with Red King Alan Wilson over the "debacle" at Black Air which occured in Excalibur #88-90. Templeton holds Wilson responsible for it but Wilson says that it wasn't his fault because he was restrained by Templeton.
  
• Before talking with Excalibur about Alistaire Stuart, Jean and Cyclops tell them that there's been no change in Captain Britain's sister Psylocke's condition (after the attack by Sabretooth in Uncanny X-Men #328) and also make an oblique reference to Colossus' attack on Pete Wisdom (which happened in Excalibur #92).
  
• Also in this issue, Shinobi's father Sebastian makes a trade with Scratch from Black Air. We're told that the fate of Sebastian and Tessa will be seen in X-Man #15.
  
• "Check out the Bishop Limited Series for the scoop on Mountjoy".
  
• Issue #96 ends with Excalibur's ship ("Moonlight Flit") getting hit by a Black Air missile, causing them to say "Oh, not again...!", a jokey reference to the way Excalibur #86 ended right before the Age of Apocalypse.
  
• Excalibur helped WHO with the Warpies in Excalibur #61-65.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A