Eˣcelsior (Vol. 1)

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Empire Of The Sun - DNA

'IN THE RED' Part 1 'ECONOMIC SUPERPOWERS'

•The Amaterasu Array: thousands of Hinomaru Corp. satelittes absorbing and converting solar energy into high frequency radio waves to beam to rectifying antennae on Earth which convert them into electricity. The Array's creator is Shiro Yoshida, also known as SUNFIRE, so he knows a thing or two about solar power. Shiro is openly a mutant, part businessman, part socialite, part Japanese national superhero, part environmental activist, and he intends to help change the way many humans view mutants.

•What the world doesn't know is that Sunfire is also Crimson King of the Outer Sphere: mutant royalty who leverage their political, financial, and genetic powers to make the world safer for mutants. And the world needs them now more than ever.

•When one of the Amaterasu earth stations temporarily went gone dark after an uusual energy surge in the solar transfer beam, there was no cause for concern.

•When a memo reassigned Hinomaru Corp.'s top mutant technopaths and technokinetics to that earth station, one or two eyebrows were raised. When a decent chunk of Japan's internet capacity began flowing through that earth station, no one realized since BLACK BOX, FRANCISCO MILAN, HIJAK, and PARADIGM were doing their new jobs. When the previously unknown corporation HEXUS is on the cusp of simultaneous hostile takeovers of Roxxon, Hinomaru, Da Costa International, Alchemax, Brand Corporation, Frost International, and even Stark Industries, the Outer Sphere turn their attention to the problem.

•While Crimson Knight M searches through petabytes of data, her twin and fellow Crimson Knight PENANCE dimensionally shifts from shell location to shell location in search of the Hexus nexus.

•And what corporate takeover is complete without a dinner party? With the heads or representatives of the compannies at stake invited to the roof deck of Madripoor's exclusive Sovereign Hotel, Sunfire and Teresa Cassidy, the Crimson Queen SIRYN, decide to face their adversaries directly. They didn't expect the entire hotel staff and many guests to be techno-organic monstrosities bent on either assimilating them or dismembering them!

•Hack faster, M. Hack faster!

Outer Sphere Profile

SUNFIRE

Name: Shiro Yoshida

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Crimson King), Hinomaru Corp. (C.E.O.)

Powers: •Atomic Flame

•Radiation Absorption

•Flight

•Survival in Space

Intelligence: •••

Strength: ••

Speed: ••••

Durability: •••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: ••••

48 PGs./Rated T+...$4.99

EˣCELSIOR #2

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: This Mortal Coil - Song To The Siren

'IN THE RED' Part 2 'MARKET PENETRATION'

•The roof deck of Madripoor's exclusive Sovereign Hotel has become a war zone as Outer Sphere Crimson King SUNFIRE and Crimson Queen SIRYN face a techno-organic army composed of hotel staff and guests! Strangely, there are no Hexus Corp. representatives around despite it being their soirée. Luckily, when you have shady executives from shadier businesses like Roxxon, Da Costa International, Alchemax, Brand Corporation, Frost International, and Stark Industries, they bring their own special brand of protection.

•Mandroids! Life Model Decoys! Iron Man drones! Spider Slayers! Attack Flora! Henchmen wielding Kree Universal Beam pistols! Can Siryn channel the Celtic goddess Spéirbhean's healing power through her sonic scream and purge the techno-infection from its victims? She'll take her time, though. A few less hedge fund managers, chief financial officers, private equity brokers, and their ilk can only make the world a better place... and that's what the Outer Sphere is all about.

•Crimson Knight PENANCE phases along with twin and fellow Crimson Knight M into Amaterasu Earth Station X in Fukushima, Japan, the source of Hexus Corp.'s data trail. The congealed mass of technokinetic mutant-machine madness that confronts them is HEXUS, it isn't of this world, and it very much wants all on Earth to part of its business expansion!

Outer Sphere Profile

SIRYN

Name: Theresa Maeve Rourke Cassidy

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Crimson Queen)

Powers: •Sonic Scream

•Flight

•Spéirbhean Magic (Clairaudience, Healing Voice)

Intelligence: •••

Strength: •••

Speed: ••••

Durability: •••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: •••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EˣCELSIOR #3 \*World War Zemo tie-in\*

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Device - Penance

'IN THE RED' Part 3/Finale 'LIQUIDATION'

•Sentient extraterrestrial corporation HEXUS wants to take control of all Earth's wealth before expanding, sending its spores out through the same satellite array it entered. Hexus worked the usual hostile takeover angle in addition to assassination attempts on the competition, and its support and advocation of the ZEMO administration's policies through traditional and social media has reaped huge benefits so far.

•M and twin PENANCE have found the Hexus core: a techno-organic amalgam of several technopathic and technokinetic mutants at an Amaterasu Array earth station! Hexus believes the intruders won't try to physically separate BLACK BOX, FRANCISCO MILAN, HIJAK, and PARADIGM from the hivebody and hivemind but M's telepathic incisions and Penance's razor-sharp excisions soon free them.

•In orbit, SUNFIRE's solar plasma obliterates an infected Amaterasu Array satellite, cutting off any interstellar corporate escape. On Earth, SIRYN' healing song restores the absorbed mutants to healthy, wholly organic existence. The Crimson Court have prevailed.

•The rest happened quite organically. Rising dissent against Zemo's totalitarian rule, anti-mutant policies, and general evil turn the public against his administration and Hexus, and they're soon cancelled online! When stock prices plummets, a consortium of Frost Enterprises and Hinomaru Corp. buys 51% of Hexus. Unable to complete its life cycle and spawn off to another world, Hexus is firmly under the control of the Outer Sphere, and its mutant rhetoric will be very different from now on.

•Next issue: The Ebon Court tangles with the Nature Bros.!

Outer Sphere Profiles

PENANCE

Name: Yvette St. Croix

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Crimson Knight)

Powers: •Psionic Energy Absorption

•Invulnerability

•Claws

•Cloaking

•Dimensional Shifting

•Telepathic Resistance

Intelligence: •••

Strength: ••••

Speed: ••[•••••] \*Teleportation

Durability: ••••••

Energy Projection: •••

Fighting Skills: ••••

M

Name: Monet St. Croix

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Crimson Knight)

Powers:•Enhanced Intelligence, Senses, Strength, & Durability

•Regenerative Healing Factor

•Flight

•Telepathy

Intelligence: •••••

Strength: •••••

Speed: ••••

Durability: •••••

Energy Projection: •••

Fighting Skills: •••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EˣCELSIOR #4

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Troye Sivan - Bloom

“ORGANIC GROWTH”

•To celebrate their 125th anniversary, DESTINY suggests she and MYSTIQUE have a romantic getaway. Raven knows Irené too well, and anything the precognitive suggests has ulterior motives.

•Orbia, an African nation known for its oil exports and corruption, hasn't been renowned for its natural beauty or as a vacation spot since the early 20th century. Mystique and Destiny remember how it used to be amidst the present day squalor of the capital city's slums on one side and the extreme opulence of their hotel on the other. Just when Mystique began to believe this really was just a sentimental trip, the first explosion happened.

•The trio attacked the financial district with their unique mutant abilities. The ARMAGEDDON MAN rocked petroleum and forestry company offices with localized earthquakes. HUMUS SAPIEN unmade unnatural things like polymers, concrete, and alloys, fueling his powers by draining the life forces of fleeing executives. BROTHER NATURE raised a forest amidst the crumbling ruins, and summoned animals from near and far to reclaim their territory.

•Amidst the carnage, Mystique laughed and kissed Destiny. What a spectacular way to celebrate their quasquicentennial!

Outer Sphere Profile

DESTINY

Name: Irené Adler

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Ebon Queen)

Powers: •Precognition

•Psychometry

Intelligence: ••••

Strength: ••

Speed: ••

Durability: ••

Energy Projection: ••

Fighting Skills: ••

MYSTIQUE

Name: Raven Darkhölme

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Ebon Knight)

Powers: •Metamorph

Intelligence: •••

Strength: •••

Speed: ••

Durability: •••

Energy Projection: •

Fighting Skills: •••••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EˣCELSIOR #5

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Sevendust - Decay

“DECOMPOSITION”

•After the ARMAGEDDON MAN, HUMUS SAPIEN, and BROTHER NATURE turned the African nation of Orbia's business district into a sprawling nature preserve, they still had to deal with the human population before restoring the entire country to a pristine state. Their solution: a viral hemorrhagic fever called Arcturus!

•As much as DESTINY and MYSTIQUE enjoy a bit of slaughter, they typically draw the line at genocide. And so came the Ebon King of the Outer Sphere to Orbia. BLACK TOM CASSIDY's connection to the Earth was strongest in Ireland but his mutant and druidic talents should stand up to the combined might of the trio Mystique mockingly nicknamed the NATURE BROS. For all their natural abilities, there's something decidedly unnatural influencing the Nature Bros, but can Black Tom sever the connection?

•The true masterminds of the Orbia assault aren't happy with this interference, and they take their jobs as caretakers very seriously. This Outer Sphere is very good. Next time, they'll have to be more careful.

•Back at Cassidy Keep, a forlorn AGATHA HARKNESS asks the Outer Sphere for help against a returning evil. Why aren't her own Agents dealing with it? The Bone Court won't like the answer.

Outer Sphere Profile

BLACK TOM CASSIDY

Name: Thomas Samuel Eamon Cassidy

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Ebon King)

Powers: •Concussive Blasts

•Florokinesis

•Cernunnos Magic (Geokinesis, Biokinesis, Zoopathy, Atmokinesis; Regenerative Healing Factor)

Intelligence: •••

Strength: •••

Speed: •••

Durability: •••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: •••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EˣCELSIOR #6

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Banshee - Legend Lost

'CÉT-CHATH CONTAE MHAIGH EO'

•As AGATHA HARKNESS predicted, they marched out of the sea and crawled out of the earth around Cassidy Keep. The FOMÓRAIGH, ancient mutants warped by chthonic energies, have awoken from millennia-long slumber intent on retaking Ireland!

•BANSHEE, king of the Bone Court, knows the ley lines converging on his ancestral home are too powerful to let fall into the hands of mythic monsters... but mutants have always been cast as villains. Even as he flies out to parlay with the Fomóraigh leader, Sean Cassidy feels Death's approach.

•What a time for ARCHANGEL to accept EMMA FROST's (DESTINY-suggested) offer to become the Outer Sphere's first Knight Errant!

Outer Sphere Profile

BANSHEE

Name: Sean Cassidy

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Bone King)

Powers: •Sonic Scream

•Flight

•Ben Síde Magic (Death Sense, Death Scream)

Intelligence: •••

Strength: •••

Speed: ••••

Durability: •••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: ••••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EˣCELSIOR #7

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Siouxsie And The Banshees - Cities In Dust

“CATH DÉDENACH CONTAE MHAIGH EO”

•The Outer Sphere's duplicating multiple manpower, the JANISSARIES, weren't having much luck against the FOMÓRAIGH even before the invaders' leader opened his one eye and detonated one of Cassidy Keep's outer walls!

•Bone King BANSHEE flies overhead, reluctant to use his Death Scream on the misshapen mythic mutants, but soon he's joined aloft by another harbinger of doom: ARCHANGEL.

•Warren and Bone Queen EMMA FROST have devised a novel business opportunity for the Fomóraigh, one dependent on their acceptance and Bone Knight BLINK's spatial portals raising their sunken cities.

•AGATHA HARKNESS doesn't wait for the resolution. She senses a great disturbance in the magical forces centered in Westchester, New York!

Outer Sphere Profile

BLINK

Name: Clarice Ferguson

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Bone Knight)

Powers: •Spatial Teleportation

•Spatial-Shearing Molecular Disruption

Intelligence: •••

Strength: ••

Speed: ••[•••••] \*Teleportation

Durability: ••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: •••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99

EXCELSIOR #8

Plot by NX01A

Written by BRANDON THOMAS

Art by JESÚS SAÍZ

Theme Song: Dropkick Murphys ft. Jaime Wyatt - Bring It Home

'FAUGH A BALLAGH'

•Despite considerable strain, BLINK has raised the main FOMOR city from its prison far beneath the North Atlantic. With their main seat of power restored, will BALOR formalize the treaty he verbally agreed to with the Outer Sphere on behalf of his people?

•It's amazing what a telepath can accomplish but what wonders could a time traveling telepath achieve? EMMA FROST has only just unlocked the Time Diamonds-given ability to speak with her past and future selves; pity LADY KWANNON made Emma return the Time Diamonds to Kwannon's twin island nation of Kaiwann. Emma's using it as best she can at short notice to telepathically scan Balor then negotiate and renegotiate the Fomor Accords to the benefit of herself... and the Outer Sphere, of course.

•Emma soon realizes she's not the only one tampering with time in these negotiations, and the other party's meddling threatens not only the Fomor-Outer Sphere Accords but all local space-time!

Outer Sphere Profile

EMMA FROST

Name: Emma Grace Frost

Affiliation: Outer Sphere (Bone Queen)

Powers: •Telepathy

•Temporal Autotelepathy: Communicates with herself up to five minutes in the past or future.

•Diamond Form: Enhanced strength & durability; telepathic immunity

Intelligence: ••••

Strength: ••••

Speed: ••

Durability: •••••

Energy Projection: •••••

Fighting Skills: •••

32 PGs./Rated T+...$3.99