X-calibre Issue #1 (Age of Apocalypse part 5)

X-Calibre  issue #1 Age of Apocalypse

Written by Warren Ellis.

Art by Ken Lashley.

Inks Al Milgrom.

Colors by Joe Rosas

During the Age of Apocalypse alternate timeline  the Excalibur title became X-Calibre. In the Original Timeline Excalibur was the London based team that helped Mutants in Europe and the British Isles. Now that the world has been turned upside down by Apocalypse and his ruling party there is only the X-men to stand in his way.  As a member of the X-men; Nightcrawler is tasked with a mission of utmost importance to Magneto and the rest of the X-men.This title follows that mission and we see that the first issue doesn’t have an equivalent team for this book and that it’s a Nightcrawler solo book.

And now on to the story.

Deep in an icy catacomb, we see a character by the name of Switchback traveling on a partially frozen river with a boatman.Very similar to the mythical tales of the river styx.  The boatman and Switchback arrive to a shore line where we are introduced to a man named Cain. Hmm looks an awful like Juggernaut. Cain informs Switchback that he is her escort to the land of Avalon.  

As the two travel, we learn a little of Switchbacks journey from America to Avalon. She has lost friends and personal possessions to make it this far. During her lost in thought travel, she completely ignores Cain and what little he tells her about himself. When they get close to their journey’s end Switchback notices that the ground around her has been warming up and where there was once snow there is now mud.  They both emerge from a cave and into an open space of jungle and they are revealed to Avalon. A land that time has forgot.  We know this place to be the Savage Land…..

We are then transported to the now dystopian New York city where Sentinels fly through the sky. Why they are patrolling the skies of new york city is unknown in this book. Here they are just window dressing for the title Splash page. We are then pulled forward to the main focus of the books starting point. A nightclub called Heaven which is run by the mutant known as angel. It is interesting that Angel has a role like Bogart in Casablanca, when in the original timeline he was a horseman of the apocalypse.

In his office at the club Angel is confronted by Nightcrawler; who in this timeline is an A1 jerk. Nightcrawler demands that Angel gives him the information he requested on leaving America. With a few panels we learn the main plot for this book as well as a little back story on Angel and his role with the X-men. Not a good situation for Angel, and Nightcrawlers attitude doesn’t help one bit. After threatening Angel; Nightcrawler learns that he needs to go to the docks to a warehouse from Stark Holding’s where he will get a ride from there.

At Stark Holdings; Nightcrawler runs into a tribe of Native Americans and Mutants doing some type of war dance in the hopes of getting rid of Apocalypse.  While spying on them, Nightcrawler is discovered by one John Proudstar.  When he is confronted Nightcrawler becomes a super asshole and makes his “point” to John Proudstar as to why he is there and what needs to be done.

While Nightcrawler finalizes his plans with Proudstar, they are observed by a person looking very similar to Dani Moonstar. This observer then leaves the warehouse to report back to her lord and master Apocalypse. Here we learn that she is in fact Dani Moonstone, and she is one of Apocalypse’s many spies.  She tells Apocalypse about Nightcrawlers plans to travel to Antarctica where Avalon is and to seek out a woman called Destiny.

Apocalypse sees this an opportunity to find the location of Avalon and wipe it off the face of the earth. He orders Dani to follow Nightcrawler with her own team and take them all out.

On a side note we are shown a version of deadpool that is more like a man in a walking coma. Still ugly as sin just more gone mentally than his original earth counterpart.

This issue wraps up with Nightcrawler in a submarine on his way to Avalon. The name on the Sub…. Excalibur.

This story sets up an interesting plot thread of a resistance group within the world of Apocalypse. However, the overall goal is to confirm information we learned in a completely different book. This feels a little lame, I mean why not make a call to one of the mutants near the Avalon site and talk to them to confirm their information. Makes me feel the start of the book a little lack luster.

I will give it to Warren Ellis that he can spin a greatly paced yarn, and establish some really cool characters for the book.

Ken Lashley’s pencils are really good on this book. His style of angular linework and well detailed backgrounds render really well. The look of this book really fits in with the rest of the art for the entire crossover event.

Overall I give this book a 7.5 out of 10.

Art is great, story setup is good, overall plot and Motivation really could use some more.