The Braddock Family Appreciation 2022

[JB]

[JB]

What in the world were Delano and Davis thinking?! My anxiety can't take it. Stay tuned for a double-sized recap...

[Panic]

This was the first issue I had managed to get since the one where the Fury attacked Linda l and ripped off Wardog’s arm. It was a bit of a shock, and I had to wait a month before reading the conclusion.

The Davis/Delano stories are notably more violent than Moore’s. I don’t know why that is, Davis’s Marvel work was not nearly so nasty. I can't say I like the threat of sexual violence in my escapist fiction, I'm way too squeamish.

Davis’s fight scene you posted on the previous page is great work.

The colouring in the Davis/Delano stories is, imo, much better than that done for the Thorpe/Davis stories (which I thought was bad), and that of the Moore/Davis run. The trade paperback which the colouring was done for was printed on something like Baxter paper (thick matte but good quality colour reproduction); the omnibus these scans are from was printed on high quality glossy paper which tends to print colour brighter than matte paper, so things like the flesh-tones are a bit lighter than they were originally intended, which is why everyone’s skin is almost white.

[JB]

This was the first issue I had managed to get since the one where the Fury attacked Linda l and ripped off Wardog’s arm. It was a bit of a shock, and I had to wait a month before reading the conclusion.

The Davis/Delano stories are notably more violent than Moore’s. I don’t know why that is, Davis’s Marvel work was not nearly so nasty. I can't say I like the threat of sexual violence in my escapist fiction, I'm way too squeamish.

Davis’s fight scene you posted on the previous page is great work.

The colouring in the Davis/Delano stories is, imo, much better than that done for the Thorpe/Davis stories (which I thought was bad), and that of the Moore/Davis run. The trade paperback which the colouring was done for was printed on something like Baxter paper (thick matte but good quality colour reproduction); the omnibus these scans are from was printed on high quality glossy paper which tends to print colour brighter than matte paper, so things like the flesh-tones are a bit lighter than they were originally intended, which is why everyone’s skin is almost white.

The first time I saw that page I was shocked as well. I can't imagine having to wait a month to find out what happened next.

I hesitated posting it because of how uncomfortable it made me but I felt that the way it concludes is important to Betsy's story. Plus it ultimately prompts another important character to return. I agree that the Davis/Delano stories are quite violent and often jarring. Even Moore's Slaymaster assassinations seemed tame in comparison.

Interesting about the coloring and I agree that it's better here overall. And I'm posting from the digital version of the omnibus which might make the colors even lighter than how it would appear on the printed version.

[Panic]

Don't get me wrong, I think its a great story in a great run, but I think Moore was more accomplished, able to create greater drama and horror without getting so explicitly nasty.

[JB]

Brian wakes up in a bed not his own, immediately knowing he's not where he should be. Groggy, he remembers that he lost the fight with his alternate self. He's nauseous and confused. He's on Sat-Yr-9's world, a long way from home.



He thinks back to the battle with Kaptain Briton, while his sister is living a nightmare.



Sat-Yr-9 enters the room, mistaking Brian for her lover Byron Bra-Dhok. And he mistakes her for the Saturnyne we all know. Sat-Yr-9 asks him to never leave her again and Brian is totally confused, saying none of this makes sense. She lifts a bowl of her shady perfume to his face and he gets super high and subdued. Betsy's scene is playing out simultaneously.



So sick. Brian wakes up again, this time naked. He is being served breakfast by a servant who tells him that Sat-Yr-9 is waiting for him in the chamber of the world where she's put together a great celebration for his return.

[JB]

Sat-Yr-9 thanks Gatecrasher for her services and for returning "Byron", and invites her to stay for the festivities. Gatecrasher's all, "No thanks, just run me my money, we gotta go." Brian is escorted to the stage where Sat-Yr-9 does the Nazi salute and the crowd goes wild, chanting, "Hail Mastrex." At the same time, Betsy reads Byron's mind and learns that he is a psychotic mass murderer who enjoys participating in Sat-Yr-9's sacrifice rituals.



Now Betsy is pissed. Sat-Yr-9 announces "Byron"'s return to the crowd and they start chanting "Kaptain Briton." She has set up a pit where slaves are to fight to the death in celebration of the Kaptain's return. It's so twisted and sick. "Let the slaughter commence" she says.

[JB]

Betsy just threw a powerful super-being, another version of Captain Britain, off of her.

Brian catches up to Gatecrasher who thankfully hasn't left yet.

[JB]

Gatecrasher says they'll arrange credit and agrees to help Brian. By now Sat-Yr-9's forces have them surrounded and she orders them to "Kill them all!" Gatecrasher: "Okay, kids..."



Telekinesis?? Betsy is tossing around a superhuman, that went toe to toe with Brian, like a ragdoll.

Brian and Technet are getting overwhelmed so Gatecrasher orders Yap to open "Pandora's box" to summon Pandora.



Pandora, a sentient slime, engulfs Sat-Yr-9's forces and kills them all. Suddenly, everything is silent.

[JB]

Sat-Yr-9 is the only one to survive the Pandora attack. As Technet and Brian start to walk away she stands on a mound of bodies, begging and pleading for him to not leave her again. Her cries echo as he walks out.



The imposter is dead. Neck snapped and body mangled by Betsy's powers. Her first kill.

Stay tuned...

[JB]

Damn right she did that.
I greatly appreciate Meggan already being protective of her future sister-in-law.

[JB]

The computer in and below the basement has decided to send its emissary, Mastermind, to intervene because it believes their minds are weakening and they are not utilizing the computer's power and knowledge properly.



We take a quick detour to a very large facility now governed by the R.C.X., formerly a prison. Inside they house over one hundred Warpies. Background: "Warpies are children mutated by unstable dimensional energies released after the reality manipulations of Jim Jaspers." We won't get too deep into their story but we're shown that some of these children have been trained to fight, to be used as weapons. Weaponizing mutated children? Say it ain't so. Back at the Manor...

[JB]

I posted some of these panels a few weeks ago but they're worth reposting as they reveal important information about the backgrounds of Brian and Betsy.



Davis' expressions are priceless.

[JB]

Back at the R.C.X facility, Linda McQuillan, Captain UK, has arrived for what she believes is a photography gig. She's evidently been trying to live a normal life as a photographer. Agent Michael meets her and right away tells her she can drop the charade as he calls her "Captain." She pretends to not know what he means so he attempts to hit her with a crowbar. She blocks it, bending the crowbar as only a superhuman can.





They brought Linda in to help them convince Captain Britain to be the symbol they believe they need to unite the nation. Back at the Manor...

[JB]

We then see Linda in her Captain UK costume getting ready to travel to the Manor with Agents Michael and Gabriel by van. She notices however that a bunch of the Warpies, a group named The Cherubim, are in the back of the van and she questions why.



"We use them to fight." Jerk. Back at the Manor again...





Mastermind isn't looking too benevolent anymore.
We're also seeing the beginning of the fall out between Brian and Betsy as the end of the Marvel UK stories is approaching.

But first, stay tuned for Meggan's transformation...