Excalibur #17: “From the Crucible—A Captain?”

In this episode, Anna, Mav, and Andrew are joined by Liz Large of ComicsXF to ride a “Warlord”-inspired hangover straight into a never-ending bacchanalian party, discussing drinking, dancing, and dueling in Excalibur #17, “From the Crucible—A Captain?” When we’re not unpacking what might be the series’ most explicit sex scene (featuring none other than Alistaire Stuart), we work through the re-traumatization of Rachel and make a rare detour into the present, discussing depictions of sexuality—and Nightcrawler—in current X-Men comics. Also, we read a very important missive from “Meggan fans everywhere” courtesy of the Sword Strokes letters page.