Marvel’s Lord of the Rings Team Debuts in Knights of X Preview

The time to save Otherworld is finally here as Captain Britain assembles her team of mutant knights in Marvel Comics’ new series Knights of X by Tini Howard. Mixing Lord of the Rings-style High Fantasy with classic X-Men lore, Knights of X will explore Betsy Braddock’s war against the villainous Merlyn, King Arthur, and their Furies in a bid to save Otherworld, Krakoa, and all of mutantkind.

The build up to Knights of X has been a long time coming, since Tini Howard and Marcus To’s already-iconic relaunch of the Excalibur franchise in 2019, which saw Betsy (formerly known as Psylocke) take on her brother’s mantle of Captain Britain and become the mutant ambassador between Otherworld and Krakoa. Otherworld, a mysterious and mystical realm, has a long and sordid history with mutants, who Otherworld citizens refer to as “witchbreed.” And because of the mutants’ political connections to Great Britain, which has also taken a strong anti-mutant stance, the fight for Otherworld is really a fight for all mutants. Merlyn has dethroned Saturnyne, Universal Majestrix, and transformed the Starlight Citadel into the monstrous Lunatic Citadel.

In Knights of X #1 – written by Tini Howard with art by Bob Quinn – Captain Britain is finally forming her “Fellowship” after the disastrous conclusion of the Excalibur series which saw Merlyn take over Otherworld and destroy the gate to Krakoa. In exclusive preview images given to ComicBook.com Betsy can be seen convening her growing team of mutant Knights, including Shatterstar, Rictor, Gambit, Gloriana, Rachel Summers, Bei the Blood Moon, somehow bringing them to Otherworld after the Krakoan gate was destroyed in the war against Merlyn. The first look images also show Shogo, Jubilee’s baby who turns into a dragon while in Otherworld, and the team rescuing Kylun, a classic 1980s Excalibur mutant character who is finally showing back up in X-Men comics!

Along with the preview images, series writer Tini Howard had this to say about Knights of X:

“‘At the end of Excalibur, we saw Merlyn take control of all Otherworld, transforming the Starlight Citadel into the Lunatic Citadel and raging his war on mutants from Saturnyne’s former throne. Captain Britain stayed within when the gates fell, but even with the whole Corps at her side – it’ll take more than an army of one to bring down King Arthur and his Furies,’ Howard explained. ‘You’ll recognize many of the Knights from Excalibur’s past – both my run and the classic – in a quest for a precious treasure that crashes our high fantasy tale into that most classic X-Men story – fighting for a(n Other)world that hates and fears them.'”

The story of Knights of X is so important for the current era of the X-Men because back on Earth the mutants have formed the island nation of Krakoa, and although many on Earth do still hate and fear them, the mutants of Earth have a safe home to live on where human oppression does not reach them. On Otherworld the many mutants who inhabit its realms are not safe from Merlyn’s wrath. Art from Knights of X shows that Otherworld may have become similar to Earth from the “Days of Future Past” event. Furies, magically imbued cyber-beings similar to the mutant-hunting Sentinels, have been dispatched by Merlyn to take down the Knights of X and any “witchbreed” in the realms, making Captain Britain’s new Excalibur team more important than ever.

Tini Howard has yet to reveal who the last two Knights of X will be, but she has indicated that they will be exciting surprise additions to the group. Many fans hope that they are classic Alan Davis Excalibur characters brought back into the limelight. Howard and Quinn have already teased that the plot of Knights of X will revolve around a classic X-Men object and storyline, so there is a chance that they will be making a lot of references to the 1980s run of Excalibur and “Days of Future Past.” Make sure to pick up Knights of X #1 by Marvel Comics when it debuts on April 13th to see how Captain Britain manages to form her Lord of the Rings-esque team of mutant Knights.

Source: ComicBook.com

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