''Excalibur'' is the name of several

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

titles featuring the team

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

and published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

, beginning with the original ''Excalibur'' comic book series which debuted in 1988.

Publication history

''Excalibur'' (vol. 1, 1988–1998)

''Excalibur'''s original creative team, writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer

Alan Davis Alan Davis (born 18 June 1956) is an English artist and writer of comic books, known for his work on titles such as ''Captain Britain'', ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''ClanDestine'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Excalibur'', '' JLA: The Nail'' and '' JLA: ...

, incorporated elements of two Marvel properties: the X-Men and Captain Britain. The resulting superhero team

first gathered together in ''Excalibur Special Edition'' #1 (1988) and were soon featured in a monthly series. Davis left with ''Excalibur'' #24 (1990) and Claremont with ''Excalibur'' #34 (1991), leaving a number of various plot points unresolved before his departure. A year later, Davis returned as both writer and illustrator with ''Excalibur'' #42. He rejuvenated the series, returning to the (mostly) lighthearted tone of his original run, while resolving many of the plotlines Claremont had left dangling. After Davis left again in 1993 (issue #67), ''

Uncanny X-Men ''Uncanny X-Men'', originally published as ''The X-Men'', is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics since 1963, and is the longest-running series in the X-Men comics franchise. It features a team of superheroes called the X- ...

'' writer

Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous ''X-Men'' series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely '' Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Tita ...

filled in for over a year (issues #68-82). Lobdell stated one of his key goals was to create a foundation for the series beyond being another X-Men spinoff, something both he and editor

Bob Harras Robert Harras (born January 11, 1959''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comics writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000 and editor-in-chief of DC Comics from 2010 to 2020. ...

felt the series was lacking. In addition, the tone of the series changed as well, from a lighthearted, fun comic to a more grim and depressing series. In 1994,

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

assumed writing duties (issue #83) and, using his dark sense of humor, helped the book gain its own voice once again. Ellis left in 1996 (issue #103) and

Ben Raab Benjamin Raab (born October 13, 1970, in New York City, New York) is an American screenwriter, television producer, comic book writer and editor. Early life Raab is a native of Cedarhurst, New York, and attended Lawrence High School. He grad ...

, his replacement (issue #106), failed to find a voice for the series, often borrowing plotlines from other X-books. Sales fell and Marvel canceled the series, which ended with issue #125 (1998).

''Excalibur'' (vol. 2, 2001)

In 2001, a four-issue

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

titled ''Excalibur'' was published, written by Raab. Originally solicited as ''Excalibur: Sword of Power'', the subtitle was absent from the published issues, and, due to an error, the indicia described it as ''Excalibur'' volume 1. In addition, the solicited cover to issue #1 was unused.

''Excalibur'' (vol. 3, 2004)

In 2004, Marvel Comics launched a new ongoing series titled ''Excalibur''. Aside from the name and the writer (Claremont), it had no connection to Marvel's previous ''Excalibur'' titles. The series' last issue was #14, released in May, 2005. The letters page of the final issue of ''Excalibur'' (vol. 3) announced a relaunch of the title as ''New Excalibur'' in November, 2005.

''Excalibur'' (vol. 4, 2019)

''Excalibur'' was relaunched as a part of

Dawn of X "Dawn of X" is a 2019 relaunch of the ''X-Men'' line of comic books published by Marvel Comics in the wake of the twin miniseries ''House of X'' and ''Powers of X''. This initiative culminated in the crossover event '' X of Swords'', which was fo ...

in October 2019. The initial roster comprised includes

Betsy Braddock Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Captain Britain and the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe in 1976, she ...

as the new Captain Britain,

Gambit A gambit (from Italian , the act of tripping someone with the leg to make them fall) is a chess opening in which a player sacrifices with the aim of achieving a subsequent advantage. The word '' gambit'' is also sometimes used to describe sim ...

, Rogue,

Jubilee A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of y ...

Rictor Rapamycin-insensitive companion of mammalian target of rapamycin (RICTOR) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''RICTOR'' gene. RICTOR and mTOR are components of a protein complex that integrates nutrient- and growth factor-derived s ...

and Apocalypse.

Roster

Supporting characters

Angel (Warren Worthington III) Warren Kenneth Worthington III, originally known as Angel and later as Archangel, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics and is a founding member of the X-Men. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirb ...

Captain Britain Corps Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain Weekly'' #1 by writer C ...

* Monarch (Jamie Braddock) * Merlyn *

Morgan le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

* Opal Luna Saturnyne * Shatterstar (Gaveedra-Seven) *

Pete Wisdom Pete Wisdom is a fictional secret agent published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in ''Excalibur'' vol. 1 #86 (February 1995), and was created by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley. Wisdom is a British Secret Service agent with the mutant abilit ...

and

S.T.R.I.K.E. S.T.R.I.K.E., an acronym for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, is a fictional counter-terrorism and intelligence agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The organization often deals with s ...

* Psylocke (Kwannon)

Prints

Collected editions

''Epic Collections''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Excalibur (Comic Book) 1988 comics debuts Comics by Chris Claremont Excalibur (comics) X-Men titles