Excalibur (comics)

Excalibur is a superhero group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as an offshoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, they first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1987), also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn. Stories involving this team have featured elements of both the X-Men and Captain Britain franchises, frequently involving cross-dimensional travel. The initial Excalibur roster, which was featured in the first eponymous series from 1988 to 1998, consisted of original Captain Britain Brian Braddock and his lover Meggan, along with three former members of the X-Men: Shadowcat, Nightcrawler, and the second Phoenix, Rachel Summers. A new iteration of the team was featured in the 2005 series New Excalibur until the title was replaced in 2008 by Captain Britain and MI13. Another Claremont-written series entitled Excalibur, though with no connection to the original team, chronicled the efforts of X-Men founder Professor Charles Xavier and his former nemesis Magneto to rebuild the mutant homeland of Genosha. The current iteration of the team is led by Betsy Braddock, who took up the Captain Britain mantle during the Dawn of X.