EXCALIBUR #125 - October 1998

Tying the Knot

Credits: Ben Raab (writer), Dale Eaglesham (penciler), Scott Hanna (inker), Kevin Tinsley (colors), Comicraft (letters)

Summary: Douglock, who's awakened with amnesia, is teleported to the Otherworld by Widget to attend the wedding of Brian Braddock and Meggan. Following Brian’s revelation that he knows Colossus was lying to cover for Meggan, and that he understands why she developed feelings for him, the wedding goes off smoothly. After the ceremony, Moira takes Douglock back to Earth for treatment. Meanwhile, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, and Colossus reveal that they’re going “home” to rejoin the X-Men. Roma asks her father Merlyn, who attended in disguise, why he’s arranged for Excalibur to disband. He responds that he didn’t, therefore the team must be exercising their freewill.

Continuity Notes: Virtually every character ever to appear in this series has a cameo. This includes Kylun, who reveals that his missing parents were merely on vacation, which means his glorious quest is over. Micromax says that he’s been laid off from the Brand Corporation and is unemployed. Peter Wisdom doesn’t attend; a brief scene shows him drinking alone and staring at the invitation. Widget's cameo is hard to reconcile with the ending of Alan Davis' run, which established that Widget was an older incarnation of Shadowcat from the future.

I Love the '90s: The date of the wedding is given as August 19, 1998. Later, Shadowcat promises to teach everyone how to “raise the roof” on the dance floor.

Review: So, Excalibur is sent off with a wedding, which I guess is preferable to a horrific bloodbath or forced “dramatic” break-up. It’s hard to complain about this issue, since it’s clearly intended as a tribute to the series and the dedicated fans who managed to make it all the way through to the end. Some obscure characters return, a few loose ends are resolved, and the team peaceably disbands. If you’re not familiar with the past of the book, much of this will go over your head, and the appearance of the Nazi Excalibur team from “The Cross-Time Caper” will just leave you wondering why exactly Brian and Meggan invited Nazis to their wedding. Even if you are familiar with the continuity, it’s hard to believe these characters are in the audience. (Maybe Brian and Meggan had no say over which members of the Captain Britain Corps would be invited.)

I am left wondering why exactly Raab has introduced a new Douglock subplot in the final issue, unless he has an X-Men Unlimited issue in the works that’s going to resolve this. I’m also confused by Peter Wisdom’s cameo, specifically his lack of an eyepatch. I’ve heard people ridiculing Raab for years for giving Wisdom an eyepatch, yet it’s never appeared in Excalibur. When did this come about? At any rate, this is an acceptable, low-key send-off for the book. I don’t think it redeems Raab’s largely mediocre run, but it’s a sweet ending with no shortage of fan-service.