The Braddock Family Appreciation 2022

[JB]

With today's announcement of the Betsy Braddock Captain Britain series, and recently devouring the Captain Britain Omnibus over the past 3 weeks, I wanted to honor and explore the history of the Braddock family over the coming months leading up to the new book. It's not too often that the family is featured together as part of the main cast in one title, at least not for a long time until recently.



We'll also revisit the breakdown of Krakoan/British relations as that will be the central theme to BBCB per today's announcement, and I'll highlight deep cuts like the relationships between the Braddocks and the S.T.R.I.K.E. Psi-Division, as I'm confident they'll be reappearing after their recent resurrections. Will there be scans? Oh you better believe it!

Betsy Braddock is Captain Britain and, along with Rachel Summers (Askani) and the Corps, protectors of Otherworld and the multiverse. Brian Braddock, Captain Avalon, is head Knight of Arthur’s Kingdom of Avalon, one of the 8 regions of Otherworld. He is joined by his wife, Meggan "Gloriana" Braddock, and their daughter Maggie. The twins were reunited with their recently resurrected older brother, Jamie Braddock, former king of Avalon and Omega-level mutant.

We'll also include Askani and her character's recent developments, as well as her history with original Excalibur teammates Brian and Meggan. And we'll throw in the Captain Betsy Corps along the way for fun. It's one big happy family!

The X-Men Turn One of Marvel's Most Dangerous Locations into their Backup Base




(Inspired by the House of M appreciation thread.)

[JB]

Betsy and Brian have had so many reunions that I've lost count. But this one, shortly after she returned to her original body, was very special.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Excellent idea for a thread, Jbenito!

I think with Betts, Brian, Meggan, Jaime and Maggie, the Braddocks definitely rival the Summers, the Greys, the Snikt family and the House of M in a Game of Thrones of mutant royalty.

While not the biggest fan of Tini Howard's writing, I do appreciate the worldbuilding she's done for Otherworld which is now a great location for the mutant books and the Marvel Universe at large with plenty left to explore.

For 2023, I'm hoping to see Betsy reconnect with the rest of her friends on Krakoa - it's been way too long since she's had any meaningful interaction with the likes of Storm and Wolverine and the Fall of X might be a good place to start.

And Brian will also hopefully get some focus in the upcoming Captain Britain book.

[CGAR]

Love the selection of photos you used.

[kevlon]

Has it ever been explained why Maggie talks like an adult in a childs body? Or if she has any powers?

[JB]

Excellent idea for a thread, Jbenito!

I think with Betts, Brian, Meggan, Jaime and Maggie, the Braddocks definitely rival the Summers, the Greys, the Snikt family and the House of M in a Game of Thrones of mutant royalty.

While not the biggest fan of Tini Howard's writing, I do appreciate the worldbuilding she's done for Otherworld which is now a great location for the mutant books and the Marvel Universe at large with plenty left to explore.

For 2023, I'm hoping to see Betsy reconnect with the rest of her friends on Krakoa - it's been way too long since she's had any meaningful interaction with the likes of Storm and Wolverine and the Fall of X might be a good place to start.

And Brian will also hopefully get some focus in the upcoming Captain Britain book.

Thank you friend! When Tini brought back the Psi-Division I had to go back and read up on them. I knew about Tom Lennox and the more I explored the others (especially Alison), I fell into a rabbit hole of the original Captain Britain stories. Then when you said, "Alan Moore, Jamie Delano and Alan Davis's Elizabeth matters A LOT" in the Betsy thread, that was my cue to buy the Ominbus. Um, you weren't kidding. Those Captain Britain stories, especially for their time, were excellent. And HEAVY! Brian and Betsy were put through the ringer and I found myself reading sometimes 10 issues at a time (dude was strapped to an airplane engine and almost sucked in, wtf lol.)

The villains were brutal and imagine if it's revealed Vixen has been pulling the strings of Brousseau and Coven Akkaba this whole time? She infiltrated and took over S.T.R.I.K.E. back then so why not. Considering she is responsible for the deaths of most of the Psi-Division, that would be high drama.

And I agree with you 100% that we need some quality time between Betsy and her closest X-friends, especially Storm and Logan. Have we even seen her and Logan on panel since she returned to her original body? It's a crime.

Love the selection of photos you used.

Thank you! I love playing with collages and I'll do a few more as I do quick intros of the family members this week for readers that may not be familiar with them.

[JB]

Has it ever been explained why Maggie talks like an adult in a childs body? Or if she has any powers?

I think it's still a mystery as I don't recall them talking about it specifically. And so far no powers (unless it's heightened intellect) so she'll probably manifest them at puberty. Then again she has magic in her genes so she might manifest them at anytime haha.

[Psycwave]

Mutant royalty. Maggie >>>

[JB]

Mutant royalty. Maggie >>>

Truly.

[H-E-D]

Has it ever been explained why Maggie talks like an adult in a childs body? Or if she has any powers?

Her adult-level intelligence is her power, I think?

I think she's an homage to Winter Moran, Miracleman's daughter who was similarly intellectually beyond her years.

[JB]

Her adult-level intelligence is her power, I think?

I think she's an homage to Winter Moran, Miracleman's daughter who was similarly intellectually beyond her years.

Very interesting reference. And a Moore/Davis creation no less.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Her adult-level intelligence is her power, I think?

I think she's an homage to Winter Moran, Miracleman's daughter who was similarly intellectually beyond her years.

Oh yeah, I never made this connection until you pointed it out but it makes perfect sense! Alan Moore's Captain Britain laid a lot of the foundations that Moore would go on to explore more thoroughly on Miracleman so it's a nice touch to homage the connection like that.

[JB]

I’ve been a fan of Betsy Braddock since “Fall of the Mutants” and I fell in love with her all over again after diving into her early appearances. She always had a formidable spirit and despite so many life/death/body changes, she continues to stand tall and is deserving of her solo book.
After her body was shattered in X of Swords, brother Jamie created a new body for her. With the help of Kwannon, her essence was integrated into the new body and she was made whole (yet again).





Nuclear physicist, founder of the Braddock Academy, former Captain Britain and former Avenger. A true legacy hero, Brian Braddock is now Captain Avalon, head knight of King Arthur’s roundtable and he is one of mutantkind’s greatest human allies – his wife, daughter, and siblings are all mutants. I have a newfound love and respect for Brian after my recent deep dive. He’s endured quite a lot and really is your quintessential superhero.

[JB]

Some press.

Captain Britain Finds Herself Country-Less In New Marvel Series

Betsy Braddock gets her own Captain Britain title in 2023

Betsy Braddock headlines a brand new Captain Britain miniseries this February
Announced at New York Comic Con 2022, longtime X-Men character Betsy Braddock is stepping into a new solo series

Most of the articles coming out list it as a mini but apparently AIPT confirmed it's an ongoing (thanks for the link, H-E-D).

I really like that her name is in the title. If she were to ever stop being Captain Britain, I'm fine with her just going by Betsy Braddock a la Jean Grey and Emma Frost.

[JB]

The first time we see the siblings together is in 1976's Captain Britain #8 by Lord Claremont and Herb Trimpe.

Betsy finds Brian on his college campus to tell him that Jamie has been in a terrible car accident. She was present and saved Jamie from burning then got him to the hospital. That's when she took one of Jamie's cars to find Brian. They speed off to a hangar where they board a private plane (because she's a charter pilot) and, in the snow, head towards the hospital.



This is the first time we see pink around Betsy's eyes and head as she's attacked by Dr. Synne. The color was associated with his powers at the time but we can assume this was the early stages of what would become the pink butterfly. Dr. Synne is a nasty, menacing villain that looks like an insane Ian McKellen. Like he did to Jamie to cause the car accident, he creates illusions of monsters in Betsy's mind and she crashes the plane.



Brian in turn saves her from burning. But before he can get too far he's attacked by Dr. Synne while Betsy is knocked out in the snow. What a first appearance! Brian and Synne battle until Brian is also trapped in an illusion. Thankfully it's broken when Jamie, given a ride by a friend from the hospital, shows up. (Don't ask me how he was released so fast and reached them.) Dr. Synne slips away and the siblings go back to Braddock Manor. This is now issue #9 and Jamie's first appearance by the way.



They catch their breath for a moment but only for a moment because Dr. Synne attacks again while they're at home. I told you he's nasty. Stay tuned.