New Excalibur #14

December 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Fair
Title: Unredeemed Part 2
Rating: A

To reclaim his lost power, the Juggernaut must face Cyttorak.

Writer: Frank Tieri
Pencils: Jim Calafiore
Inks: Mark McKenna
Colors: Tom Chu
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Editor: Nick Lowe & Mike Marts
Cover Art: Jim Calafiore
Publisher: Marvel Comics

Having turned his back on his once-master, the Juggernaut feels his power waning. To regain his once immeasurable-strength and invulnerable hide, he makes his way to face the dark god that granted him his power in the first place, Cyttorak. The demon is unhappy with his former disciple, though, and reveals a horrible secret to him. Meanwhile, the rest of Excalibur (plus the Black Knight) are following the Juggernaut’s trail.

It makes sense that someone would follow up on the Juggernaut’s incomprehensible transformation from evil to good, and this isn’t a bad way to do it. The twist at the end is pretty predictable, but other than that the only real problem is that this story really depends on you caring about the Juggernaut as a character, which frankly, I don’t. I was actually more interested in the scenes of the rest of the team interacting, with growing tensions between Nocturne and Dazzler and the Black Knight asking himself why he’s even bothering with this ill-defined group, which is no doubt a question the reader is asking himself.

Jim Calafiore’s artwork is much stronger than the story. His Cyttorak is nice and demonic, and he handles the other principals quite well.

A decent issue, and it’s about time someone looked into the consequences of the Juggernaut’s change of heart.

Rating: 6/10