Appearing in "Reel People"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
Antagonists:
- Jamie Braddock
- Vixen (In fox form)
- Nigel Frobisher (Impersonates Vixen)
- Alfie O'Meagan
Other Characters:
- Shadowcat (Kitty Pryde) (Mentioned)
- ⏴ Emma Collins
- Dr. Candy Goodstroke (First appearance)
- X-Men (Mentioned)
- Jamie Braddock (Earth-9019) (Mentioned)
- KGB (Mentioned)
- Spiral (Illusion or holographic simulation)
- Galactus (Galan) (Mentioned)
- Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) (Referenced)
- Prime Minister (Referenced)
Races and Species:
Locations:
- Earth-616
- Earth
- Europe
- United Kingdom
- England
- London
- Jamie Braddock's townhouse
- Pinewood Studios (First appearance)
- Excalibur Lighthouse (Mentioned)
- London
- England
- United Kingdom
- Washington, D.C. (Mentioned)
- Pentagon (Mentioned)
- New York (Mentioned)
- Europe
- Earth
- Earth-8908
Items:
Synopsis for "Reel People"
Sitting in his London house, Jamie Braddock stares at an empty TV screen. Emma walks in, bringing him a cup of tea. As he looks at her, he sees a blank space instead of the strings he normally sees, as Emma is but a construct he has created after the real Emma died in his absence. As she pours him tea, Nigel Frobisher arrives to inform Jamie that Excalibur have returned. As they talk, Nigel lashes out at Emma, spilling tea all over the room. While she tends to the mess, Jamie grows angry. He transforms Nigel into Vixen, in a revealing dress. Nigel complains, as he has to meet the crime chiefs of London, but Jamie is satisfied. Again, he asks how Jamie plans to deal with Excalibur. Jamie responds by turning on the TV, that glows with a unnaturally bright light.
Meanwhile, at Pinewood Studios in London, Excalibur meet with Brigadier Stuart and Dai Thomas. They are presented with Dr. Candy Goodstroke, a Pentagon consultant. However, she has never been heard of at the Pentagon, and a series of clues lead them to believe that she is from another dimension. Rachel reaches into her mind, confirming she is from another world, one in the middle of a WW3 without nuclear weapons, where Alfie O’Meagan, an omnibenevolent superbeing is all powerful. While trying to break his megalomania, she was transported to their world, with no way home.
Still depressed from the apparent loss of Kitty Pryde, Rachel wanders alone through the studios. She sees Nightcrawler on a ramp beside her, who invites her to dance, to distract her from her troubling thoughts. As they dance, Rachel realises how strange it is Nightcrawler isn’t helping the others, and then he transforms into Spiral. Rachel realises she’s been tricked again by Spiral, and she has fallen into a trap by dancing up a spiral ramp. As the rest of Excalibur approach, the Phoenix flares. Inside, Rachel and Nightcrawler are twisted and pulled until with a Flash, they end up in another world, in someone else’s clothes. Nightcrawler soon realises that they have arrived in Dr Goodstroke’s world, and after seeing Jamie Braddock on an enormous television, knows it must be by his actions. Alfie O’Meagan, dressed in Galactus’s uniform, attacks them, demanding to know where the Nth Man and Colonel Novikova have gone.
In Excalibur’s home dimension, the Nth Man and Colonel Novikova arrive, to find themselves in Rachel and Nightcrawler’s clothes. As Captain Britain and Meggan fly towards them, the Nth Man hypnotises them into thinking gravity is acting upwards, and he and his colleague make their escape.
Back in Alfie’s world, his attempts to interrogate Rachel have failed, as she uses the Phoenix force to knock him down. As he lies on the floor, he sees Jamie Braddock on the TV, and is confused that other powerful beings exist. Jamie antagonises him, until he turns on Rachel and Nightcrawler with his full strength.
Back at Pinewood, The Nth Man and the Colonel struggle to comprehend the idea of a film studio as they explore. Climbing into a mock helicopter, they try to work out if this is the work of Alfie. They quickly realise that it cannot be, but then Captain Britain and Meggan lift up the helicopter and threaten to drop it if they don’t get answers. The Colonel responds by throwing a bomb at them, and she and the Nth Man dive into the set trees.
As Rachel lays into Alfie, Jamie Braddock reaches through the TV in an effort to crush Nightcrawler to send Rachel mad. He teleports, onto the top of the TV, and leaps over Jamie’s hands as he scrabbles to try and grab him. As Jamie shows a detailed knowledge of him and Excalibur, Nightcrawler wonders about Jamie’s identity, not connecting him with Brian. As Jamie’s hands scrabble, he accidentally hits rewind on a remote lying on top of the TV, and Nightcrawler finds himself watching Dr. Goodstroke talking to Alfie just as she travels to his own dimension. Nightcrawler deduces that the TV is acting as a window between their dimensions, allowing the transfer of people. As events catch up to before Jamie hit the rewind button, Nightcrawler tries different buttons until he hits the cancel button, thinking it should stop this whole series of events. In a flash, everyone reverts back to their original worlds, just after Rachel’s powers flared. Nobody can remember the events that took place, but with Dr Goodstroke home, Excalibur can leave in peace. Only Jamie, in his house, can remember the events that have taken place, and they further his resolve to take control of, as he sees reality, his dreams.