Synopsis and Review by Kid Alpha: Thanks!
Synopsis: Rachel and Betsy are exactly where we left them last issue: facing down a menacing Sentinel outside of Braddock Manor in England. The two X-men are ready to tear the giant to pieces when a sudden flash envelops them. Now embedded into 616’s new reality, the two now-civilian-clad women wonder why a Sentinel would be on Betsy’s brother’s manor yard. Betsy reminds Rachel that Brian is England’s monarch. The Sentinel is probably there to give the nearby party added security. Betsy wonders what the occasion is to merit such a large party. Once inside they quickly figure out that the party is to celebrate Magneto’s birthday and commemorate his rule. These two are not dressed for such a gala so Rachel, the more versatile of the two telekinetics, rearranges the molecules of their clothes to suit the occasion. This done, it’s not long before Betsy reunites with her brother. The tear-filled reunion allows Meggan to also greet Rachel; who keeps the moment private from the surrounding guests with her telepathy. Betsy pushes off Brian’s questions about how she survived Spain and tells her brother the King to enjoy the party. She’ll be around for a long time yet.

Late that night, all the guests have returned home and Brian and his family sleep as his staff cleans up. Normally, the King sleeps soundly; happy to serve the mutant and sapien people of his realm and content to know that he has nothing to fear from either set of people. Tonight however is not as happy. His dreams bring him strange images of him hurtling in costume through a shattered reality while Roma, Saturnyne, and his dead brother Jamie shout to him ominous messages about his world’s demise. He is carried to a place where he sees Saturnyne about to operate the controls to destroy his reality. He can’t reach her in time and she sets his life ablaze, burning away everyone he loved before dissolving him as well.

King Brian awakens with a desperate cry.

The next morning Brian recounts the dream to his wife, sister and Rachel while they are all still in their nightclothes. His sister and Rachel seem reluctant to believe that the images could be anything true but Brian knows they are. Even still, what could he do about events transpiring in another dimension? Meggan suggests contacting Magneto but he doesn’t care for that idea much. No more thought is given to the matter as Brian’s aide, Pete Wisdom enters the room with morning news. He’s also accompanied by Courtney Ross, who claims to have been Brian’s friend since school. Brian seems to only remember this woman as Sat-Yr-9, deposed tyrant of Earth 839 (which she truly is pre-HoM). He lunges at her. The terrified woman falls back and doesn’t seem to know what he’s talking about. Rachel attempts to subdue him and is thrown out a window by her own psychic force. She regains herself in the air and dives back into the window while the Sentinel outside watches.

Betsy moves in in hopes of stopping Brian before he kills Courtney. She’s stopped by Wisdom, who shoots his mutant hot knives at her. Rachel knocks him to the ground upon re-entering the room. Betsy takes the moment that affords to try and reason with her enraged brother. Brian seems convinced of what he’s saying. He can prove this woman’s identity by showing them a tattoo on her thigh. When he lifts her skirt up however the mark is not there. He now seems ready to recognize her as the woman she claims to be.

With the fight done, the three royals plus Wisdom and Rachel try to sort out who Saturnyne is. Brian can’t seem to really recall, but knows that it's Sat-Yr-9, and Saturnyne is someone else. He only has fragments of knowledge. Betsy suggests going into Brian’s head to find some answers. Brian agrees but Rachel can’t do anything more. She’s only getting from his mind exatly what he’s already been telling them all and nothing more. Brian isn’t happy with this at all and doesn’t appreciate feeling as is he were the only one going mad. Wisdom decides to change the subject and gives King Brian a briefing on world events. He notes Wolverine’s rogue status from SHIELD and also tells Brian of two mutants in the West Country being pursued by a clandestine group called the Marauders. One of the mutants seems to be somehow genetically related to Magneto. Brian asks if they have authorization to pursue. Wisdom informs him that any authorization they may have is not from them. That’s good enough for Brian. He decides to go after them.

Meanwhile in the West Country, Juggernaut tells Mammomax to just leave him alone as he knocks the elephant aside with one punch before being assaulted from behind by a Saurian looking combatant. This person sends Cain sailing with his tail; sailing right to another teammate of his. This powerhouse punches Cain squarely in the back. Soon Banshee comes up from above and uses his sonic scream to further disorient the X-Man. Callisto uses her tentacles to put Cain on his back. He’s now in a perfect position for the finishing blow. Blob falls out of a passing plane and hammers Juggernaut into the ground. Blob is as crude as ever as he picks himself out of the crater he created. His team regrounds around the impact sight and Callisto tells them to start looking for Nocturne just as they are met by Brian Rachel, Meggan and Betsy, all in costume.

Brian wants to know why they are after these two mutants. Callisto isn’t giving up anything. Her papers come from Magneto himself and as she sees it, his authority trumps the ruler of some little island. As Brian looks over Callsito’s documents, Rachel and Betsy strike out to look for Nocturne. While searching, the two swaps jabs at each other about their different psychic powers. Rachel has all the finess with her telepathy while Betsy can just smash things. Betsy’s ability to be immune to psychic attacks does not impress Rachel. The conversation then turns to weather this woman they are searching for really could be related to Magneto. Betsy figures there must be something to it. The House of Magnus would not tolerate a scandal. The two women stalk Nocturne before bringing her out into the open. The frightened mutant attempts to posses Betsy but the defense she has makes it impossible. Cornered, the young mutant begs them not to hurt her.

Review: After what I thought was a poor issue last time around, this has actually surprised me by being more than readable. Per normal Claremont fashion we had the unnecessary bedroom fight over Courtney Ross for three pages but beyond that I have few complaints.

To me, this is actually a strong tie-in when you consider books like HOM Iron Man or Spider-Man. Claremont has a set agenda here and you get the idea that he’s taken the time to create something more than a run of the mill alternate reality story. He’s letting his New Excalibur teammates take a role that will undoubtedly grow next issue. The best part is that since this is a new reality, it doesn’t matter as much that he even put in a few continuity references that people may or may not recall. As I said last issue, my knowledge about Courtney Ross / Saturyne and all other Captain Britain-related history is almost non-existent. So, this issue reads as much more new-reader friendly. Would I have preferred to see Betsy reunited with her brother in reality proper? Sure. But I can’t fault Claremont for moving forward with the plot he had with a healthy pace. I also appreciate that he brought TJ’s relation to Magneto into the equation and built up a scandal element around it. I probably would have expected any writer to just ignore this fact about Nocturne, so it’s cool that Claremont is using even that. That said, however Nocturne did seem to come off as rather weak in the issue’s final page but as we know nothing about how Wanda’s reality warp affected her and Juggernaut, I’ll wait and see where he’s going with her.

Sadly, this is Alan Davis’ last issue for the series and I am really going to miss him. As is his standard, his pages her vibrant and energetic, his faces were just as diverse in expression and his attention to small details is commendable. I’m a big fan of Bachalo’s work so I’ll take solace in the fact that he’s coming aboard next issue. Still, sorry to see Davis go.

All in all, a surprisingly strong, well paced issue that takes advantage of using characters as an alternate reality story affords while still moving forward with a story that will carry on after HOM and set up a new book nicely.