TITLE: Excalibur vol. 1, issue #42
YEAR: October 1991
COMPANY: Marvel Comics
Written/Pencils by Alan Davis
Inker: Mark Farmer
Letterer: Michael Heisler
Colorist: Glynis Oliver
Editor: Terry Kavanagh
Editor-in-Chief: Tom DeFalco
Excalibur was created by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis
Back in the ’90s, as I was enjoying the X-titles, “Excalibur” was fascinating. It was unlike other X-Men titles and had a lot of humor, it helps that you had X-Men members Shadowcat and Nightcrawler plus Rachel Summers (Phoenix) and then you had Captain Britain and Megan. A team that was based in England and a storyline that would incorporate crazy characters but yet a storyline that really grabbed you because it was so different and a lot of fun.
For issue #42, the mercenary group Technet, ran by Gatecrasher has been after Excalibur and wanting revenge for being beaten.
So, Gatecrasher comes up with an idea to kill all members of Excalibur and that is by making a bomb.
Back at Excalibur’s HQ at a lighthouse, the group are preparing to eat breakfast and when Megan goes to cook an boiled egg, the egg jumps out of the water and when it opens, out comes a little chick which turns out to be a time bomb.
The bomb blows up and the takes out Excalibur HQ.
As Gatecrasher goes to check on the death of Excalibur, She has their bodies teleported outdoors but thinking they were dead, Phoenix was able to deflect the main blast and now a fight between Excalibur and Gatecrasher and her group begins.
But out of nowhere, a mysterious man named Horatio Cringebottom from the Crosstime Transport Regulation Monitor and Control and a mechanic named Herb shows up and freezes Gatecrasher and her team.
Horatio explains that he and Bert came for Widget and as Herb opens up Widget to examine him, he’s a bit mystified by it and what keeps Widget together because the component that he finds is sludge from organic soup, decomposed bake beans, an apple core, transistor components, a rubber spider and a key. So, Herb theorizes of what Widget may have been created.
Also, can it be…Captain Britain getting a little jealous of the attention Megan is giving Nightcrawler?
Overall, this is a humorous and action-packed issue of “Excalibur” worth reading.