WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Excalibur #6, by Tini Howard, Marcus To, Erick Arciniega, VC's Cory Petit and Tom Muller, on sale now.
Excalibur has proven to be one of the craziest titles of the "Dawn of X" era, with an X-Team diving deep into the world of magic as Apocalypse pulls strings behind the scenes. The story has focused on the rescue of Brian Braddock from the clutches of the witch Morgan La Fey in the magical realm of Otherworld. Betsy Braddock, the newly appointed Captain Britain, and her team of mutants, including Jubilee, Rogue, Gambit, and Rictor have been fighting tooth and nail against Morgan's forces as the scope of Apocalypse's plan begins to reveal itself.
Now, Excalibur #6 has shed some light on the former villain's machinations and set a startling new status quo in the Kingdom of Avalon as the reality-warping Jamie Braddock is crowned the new king of the Otherworld. Despite his mental instability, Jamie is an infamously powerful Omega-Level mutant, and his partnership with Apocalypse will almost certainly have some massive repercussions.
To those unfamiliar with the more British side of the Marvel Comic Book Universe, the Otherworld is described as the magical reflection, or subconscious, of the British Isles. It's a realm that exists in a dimension that's adjacent to the main Marvel Universe. While it's host to a number of fantastical creatures and landscapes, it is also the home of all magic, the headquarters of the Britain Corps and the Kingdom of Avalon.
In Excalibur #4, following Betsy Braddock's meeting with the Queen of England, Captain Britain's relationship with the Otherworld is broken down further in a decree stating that whoever holds the title of Captain Britain is the ultimate representative of Earth in Otherworld, in the eyes of the British government at least. This responsibility is further cemented when Captain Britain and her Excalibur team are tasked with repelling the magical beasts which managed to leak through from the Otherworld and onto Earth.
Like many of Marvel's most powerful mutants, Jamie has treaded the line between hero and villain his entire life. As the oldest of the Braddock siblings, Jamie developed his mutant powers late into his adulthood and since then has used them to wreak havoc while occasionally finding time to do a good deed or two, like resurrecting his siblings with his limitless reality-bending powers.
In Excalibur #1, Jamie was resurrected on Krakoa and quickly returned to his usual troublesome, cocky self, even refusing to vacate his resurrection pod, opting to hang out and drink in it instead. But in this issue, we see him help a newly resurrected Apocalypse out of his own Krakoan pod, which implies that Jamie and Apocalypse have been planning something together for at least some time.
Following Betsy Braddock's victory against Morgan Le Fey, Apocalypse names Jamie as the King of Avalon, explaining that the combination of his powerful reality-bending abilities and his Braddock name make him the perfect choice to rule the Otherworld. With his powers, he was even able to repair the damage done to the border between Otherworld and the Marvel Universe by Shogo's dragonfire.
For the most part, this story seems to end with Apocalypse victories, and getting exactly what he wants. Now, Apocalypse has seemingly gained control over a dimension where a Krakoan seed had found itself in. However, the issue ends with Apocalypse vivisecting a captured Morgan La Fey, and he already seems to have identified a mystical threat that has his attention.