Betsy Braddock: Psylocke/Captain Britain Appreciation 2019

[Gamall]

My opinions on Fantomex nearly got me unanimously disliked from the Psylocke appreciation thread circa 2010-2013. I was the only one actively voicing my fondness for Fantomex, while all the other fans absolutely wanted to, well... kill him with fire.

I consider Rick Remender's Uncanny X-Force one of my favorite, or if I'm not lying, probably my top favorite X-Men story in all of history. It was well-written, had great and consistent art, and the plot and characters were enticing. As a fan of books that focuses on a small cast of characters and darker tones, Uncanny X-Force was the book for me. I also think it was very similar in style to Grant Morrison's New X-Men and Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men.

Remember ushered Betsy into a role in which her actions and choices mattered, that gave her emotional depth, and allowed her to explore her powers. It was also during this time when Betsy was regularly appearing in three books and her character was written consistently across the board. Both Scott and Logan, even after during the Schism, depending on Betsy. She was BOTH of their go-to girls.

As for Fantomex -- I don't like him as a person, but I love him as a character. I think there's a huge difference in saying that. It was a plot that Remember continued from Morrison and he fit the story really well. Every good story needs a nice blend of characters that can bounce off each other. Betsy was arguably the main protagonist of Uncanny X-Force, and Fantomex was her foil. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten the to see the qualities of Betsy shine. There needs to be characters you love to hate, to keep the amp going.

As a Betsy fanatic, I do not like Fantomex as a healthy partner for her -- as a person; however, I think the type of relationship they had was a realistic, unhealthy relationship that was written well. Without his foil, Remember wouldn't have been able to give Betsy the agency she received.

Just like in real life, you're going to go through all sorts of relationships until you find the right one, and I'm totally fine with Betsy going through that with Fantomex. I found it a very enjoyable read, but not because I like them as a couple, but because it was an interesting and different relationship to read about.

Thank you for answering. That was really interesting to read.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Whether Fantomex helped Betsy to expand upon her as a character or not I'd guess that most of us would be all to glad if he never showed up again...

[Psy]

I may be in the minority here but I didn't mind the Fantomex relationship. It suited her at the time and let's be honest. Warren and Betsy were doomed even before UXF started. They had that preview issue or maybe it was a little thing at the end of one of the other issues. I remember Fantomex flirting with Betsy and literally just Warren stepping in and hugging her and peeing all over his territory. Then of course we have issue 1 where Betsy and Warren clearly have trust issues. Fantomex was a fling for Betsy to get out a bunch of these negative emotions and deal with it all. It was not meant to last. This is really why I am sick to death with the Warren Betsy fiasco. Nothing has felt organic about this and quite simply seems to just throw all that growth and development out the window. I love Betsy's moments and convictions here but I am tired of the same old trope she gets put into. Get her away from Warren, I'd love to see her start a rendition of Excalibur. Brian and Meggan could be on call. Betsy could wear her own cpt. Britain suit once in awhile. Bishop would fit there, bring Rachel and Nightcrawler too. You have one heck of a book.

[Thievery]

I dislike both the Fantomex/Psylocke and Psylocke/Archangel romances.
I find Fantomex to be a cheap Gambit knockoff, and just an all around lame character. The only interesting thing about him is his ship.

I don't mind Psylocke moving on from Warren so easily, if for no other reason than it helps put an end to that relationship. I just wish she would end up with a better character than
Fantomex or Neal. I'll say she could end up with Nightcrawler, just so that I sound at least somewhat positive.

I'd say that Izanami made some great points as to why Fantomex was a bad partner for Betsy.

I'd say that early on, Psylocke/Archangel was my favorite X- couple of all time. But, right now, I'd say that it has more than run it's course. The two characters always seem to be trapped in the same cycle of stories whenever they are togather these days. I would like them both to move on to new stories away from each other. I'll be in the minority on this I'm sure, but unlike many of my other fellow Psylocke fans on this forum, I think that Archangel suffers more from their relationship. Both characters seem to regress when they are togather, but Warren seems to regress even more, and just seems to become a vehicle to tell stories about Psylocke. That's just my opinion.

[danielsan52]

I’d love to see Betts with Johnny Storm.

As for Fantomex, I’d love to see him eaten by Ursa Major.

[gifted]

I’d love to see Betts with Johnny Storm.

Ugh! Don't even get me started! In one of my fanfiction, I have a team called Future Foundation, a light-hearted superhero group that does philanthropic work to support human-mutant coexistence. Betsy quit the X-Men to leave the drama and joined the FF as their resident pilot and starts dating Johnny.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

It'd be easy then just don't repeat the same old same old stories with W/B, it's not the characters or the pairing it's that Marvel for some reason has them both stuck in a rut story wise, they could move forward together into bigger and better storylines and they'd be fine imho...

[Izanami]

I'd say that early on, Psylocke/Archangel was my favorite X- couple of all time. But, right now, I'd say that it has more than run it's course. The two characters always seem to be trapped in the same cycle of stories whenever they are togather these days. I would like them both to move on to new stories away from each other. I'll be in the minority on this I'm sure, but unlike many of my other fellow Psylocke fans on this forum, I think that Archangel suffers more from their relationship. Both characters seem to regress when they are togather, but Warren seems to regress even more, and just seems to become a vehicle to tell stories about Psylocke. That's just my opinion.

I can relate and I agree. I was okay with the Psylocke/Archangel romance but hated the way they disposed of Charlotte. The way Simonson paired off Warren with her was nice and I looked forward to Warren adopting Timmy as his own son. It was an interesting mixed relationship and it was adorable how much Charlotte's son adored Archangel because he saw him as a superhero instead of a weapon. What I didn't like was the poor treatment of Candy but I will leave that for another day. It's nice to see Claremont agree in his X-Men Forever series when Charlotte is still with Archangel while Psylocke is having her adventures. Their relationship is stale and boring for both characters. At this point the only people, in my opinion, who care about their relationship are those who grew up with X-Men in the 90s and can't live it down. The farther these two are away from one another the better. I prefer Warren branch out into the wider MU like he used to do and be in a fun team. Is Squirrel Girl taking any applications for team ups or superhero teams? :P

[Izanami]

Ugh! Don't even get me started! In one of my fanfiction, I have a team called Future Foundation, a light-hearted superhero group that does philanthropic work to support human-mutant coexistence. Betsy quit the X-Men to leave the drama and joined the FF as their resident pilot and starts dating Johnny.

Where can I find this fanfiction of yours, good sir!

[gifted]

Where can I find this fanfiction of yours, good sir!

Lol. It's one of those things where it's just on the storyboards and haven't been exactly written yet... I'm an indecisive Libra who can't decide which direction I want to go regarding my fanfic.

[danielsan52]

Ugh! Don't even get me started! In one of my fanfiction, I have a team called Future Foundation, a light-hearted superhero group that does philanthropic work to support human-mutant coexistence. Betsy quit the X-Men to leave the drama and joined the FF as their resident pilot and starts dating Johnny.

Love it!!!!!!

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Actually they did have Warren have to face the music so to speak with how he treated Charlotte before he started dating Betsy, and I don't remember him blaming anyone but himself for it all...there's no reason to live something down that works well when it's written well...especially when it's the pairing that the characters involved always go back to in the end, I hate Scott and Jean as a pair but know that it will happen again, when is anyone's guess...

[Izanami]

Actually they did have Warren have to face the music so to speak with how he treated Charlotte before he started dating Betsy, and I don't remember him blaming anyone but himself for it all...there's no reason to live something down that works well when it's written well...especially when it's the pairing that the characters involved always go back to in the end, I hate Scott and Jean as a pair but know that it will happen again, when is anyone's guess...

You need to take off your nostalgia glasses and for once be familiar with the characters pre-1990s. It doesn't hurt to read a Wikipedia page or a fan page summary of the characters you claim to like. If you did you would have been equally upset by the way their relationship was built up in X-Factor only for a writer to dispose of Charlotte because they couldn't figure out what to do with Psylocke.

[Izanami]

You know a part of me wonders what if Psylocke never went into the siege perilous or if Claremont had stayed. Would Psylocke and Havok been a Couple in the future.

[Psy]

Quick sketch I will ink....

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