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Doctor Doom and the X-Men’s Excalibur team just had a surprising team-up that resulted in the tyrant gaining a very important mystical artifact.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Excalibur #23, now on sale from Marvel Comics.
The mystical dimension of Otherworld remains a mysterious place in the Marvel universe, despite its nominal connection to the mutant nation of Krakoa. Mutants — or, as they’re known in the magical realm, Witch-Breed — have been accepted in some kingdoms and rejected in others. But due to Captain Britain’s role as a champion of Saturynne and her court, mutants are usually given a certain amount of respect in the realm.
This is reflective of the reason Doctor Doom comes to Braddock Island in Excalibur #23 (by Tini Howard, Marcus To, Erick Arciniega, and VC’s Ariana Maher), demanding they assist him in his latest mission — which results in Doom gaining a powerful boon.
Excalibur has been dealing with plenty of complications and calamities since reforming in the Krakoa era, but one of the most consistent has been concerning their dealings with the mystical villain Morgan Le Fay. The ancient and powerful sorceress had briefly controlled Avalon before she was defeated by the mutants of Krakoa, resulting in her capture and experimentation upon by Apocalypse. However, things have changed recently. The Clan Akabba was able to summon her back to the real world thanks to the sacrifice of Pete Wisdom, resulting in her secret return to Earth. Meanwhile, her castle is revealed to have been taken by the reality-shaping Jim Jaspers, who now runs the ever-expanding Crooked Market.
Doom’s insistence to be brought into Otherworld — and his decision to bring a mutant Latverian child as his means of breaching the Krakoa Gates — prompts Captain Britain, Jubilee, Gambit, Rictor, and Meggan to escort him to the Crooked Market. While her teammates enjoy themselves, a reluctant Betsy Braddock presents Doom to Jaspers. In his personal shop, Jaspers reveals Morganna’s Castle, shrunken down to fit within a box. Hiding this from Doom, he tries to earn a deal — until the Fury arrives and attacks the “friends of Mordred,” which includes Captain Britain. Luckily, she’s able to rally her teammates together and force the Fury to retreat. Jaspers then gifts Doom the box in an attempt to make him leave.
After returning to Latveria, Doom is enthusiastic about the capture of Morgan’s castle, as it likely contains plenty of powerful artifacts and weapons. Braddock specifically warned Doom about using the castle as a bargaining tool for Morgan (and thereby empowering the enemies of Krakoa), and Doom seems to find the ultimate discovery to his pleasure. He even sends Betsy a surprisingly kind letter, thanking her for her services and her guidance to the new ways of Otherworld. On top of that, he reveals that among the artifacts he found within Morgan’s castle was a sample of Otherworld Waters in the form of a Scrying Pool — useless to him but potentially a valuable tool for information gathering for Excalibur. Presumably in an act of good faith, Doom gifts the pool to Braddock.
This is a boon for Excalibur, as it aids them in their quest to discover the truth about Mordred and leads them to discover a possible link between King Arthur’s misbegotten son and the mutant race. It also makes an important step in potentially cooling tensions between Krakoa and Latveria (which have already been tense). But on top of potentially setting up Morgan Le Fay’s return to power thanks to her former romance with Doom, this also means a host of potentially powerful mystical weapons and artifacts within her castle are now in the hands of the tyrant. In essence, his brief trip with Excalibur may have given him a very impressive mystical upgrade that likely won’t bode well for anyone who opposes him.
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