Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain Appreciation 2023

[Frobisher]

I must say I think Captain Britain is one hard to swallow pill due to the same reason a Captain Brazil would be despicable nowadays, (and I’m Brazilian): patriotic identitarianism is an atribute that has been largely stolen by racists bigots, so it doesn’t cope well with betsy being a mutant herself. Once you dive into her comics you get the idea she is the unprodigal daughter for British ultraconservatives, which is a cool concept by the way, but the concept is not actually appealing from outside of her books to the younger generation.

I’m not polarizing here: you can be a patriotic British without being xenophobic. I’m just bringing in the overall dynamics on social networks and how the conversation towards exacerbated nationalism goes…

Yes, plus making her Captain Britain right on the heels of the Brexit referendum and a hard right turn by the country’s government and client media and you have a toxic combo for a “patriotic” hero - even if they decided she was only a hero for Otherworld (which is also an awful choice because Steve resists bullies no matter which “side” they are on).

(Interestingly, none of the gutter press in the UK even noticed that Captain Britain had become a woman or queer to be outraged, which shows how far the star of US comics has fallen.)

[PoP]

nice that she's being talked about and brought back to a different book. not loving that she's still CB or that she's still going to be with rachel, but excited to see Betsy in the hands of a new writer who seems to like her and acknowledge her fans.

[JB]

Yes, plus making her Captain Britain right on the heels of the Brexit referendum and a hard right turn by the country’s government and client media and you have a toxic combo for a “patriotic” hero - even if they decided she was only a hero for Otherworld (which is also an awful choice because Steve resists bullies no matter which “side” they are on).

(Interestingly, none of the gutter press in the UK even noticed that Captain Britain had become a woman or queer to be outraged, which shows how far the star of US comics has fallen.)

Eh, Captain Britain was never a government connected position anyway and I think the whole political angle was leaned into because of Krakoa. Should Krakoa not return I'm fine with the political stuff going away. CB's role is to protect the magic of the British Isles/access to Otherworld so she's not beholden to anyone, she was mostly responding to the artificial anti-mutant hysteria being whipped up. If they're ever gonna do government stuff again I'd prefer for it to be STRIKE related.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Like many here I enjoy the Agent of STRIKE angle for Betsy... however I feel it's also a bit of a double-edged sword.

STRIKE works really well for solo adventures however that's not the natural state for Betsy in the comics. She can't sustain a solo book aside from the occasional limited series, she needs to be part of an ongoing team book in order to appear regularly. While not necessarily at odds, being a STRIKE agent makes it easy enough to make her a supporting character rather than a team member, to be used only when spy stuff is involved. Regular X-team membership and being part of a government agency don't go hand in hand, it's not impossible for someone to pull off both but I personally find it unlikely. It's possibly even more counter-teams than being Captain Britain IMO.

On the other hand, having a rich personal lore will likely be a blessing for Elizabeth when the time comes to bring her into movies and shows. Team movies are more complex and expensive to make and all TV projects so far ha e basically consisted of solo/duo outings. Having her Captain Britain, Otherworld, X-Men AND STRIKE connections makes Betsy ripe for adaptation as you could basically tackle her from any of these angles and still have a rich lore to adapt from the comics. That's not something all X-characters can say and I believe it's a huge boon for Betsy and a testament to her complexity and worth as a character.

[crimsontt]

(Interestingly, none of the gutter press in the UK even noticed that Captain Britain had become a woman or queer to be outraged, which shows how far the star of US comics has fallen.)

perhaps, I have to repeat the haunting words of jordan d white now, it’s just betsy braddock.

Not much of a british icon to uk to crazy on ideology wars.

[CGAR]

We all know that I think the Captain Britain title is a hinderance to our dear Betsy Braddock BUT i'd still love a good writer to explore STRIKE and Otherworld adventures.

I do agree that she needs to be on a team with other popular characters.

When she was Psylocke with the blue ninja suit her solo mini I believe only sold less than 20000.

What would you all think of a book headlined by Betsy and Brian. Both being CB with one with the sword and the other with the amulet.

Actually maybe thats how the ultimate line should do it. Hmmm.

Because I will always be fascinated by Hickman having them both on the Illuminati.

[Selene]

This ship has sailed now, should a writer make a pitch for a Captain Britain-centred title, the editors would likely refuse it after three similar books bombed in succession. They absolutely should have taken that route for the latest book, though, instead of using Rachel.

I hope she's back to the X-Men by the time Krakoa closes curtains.

[Luckystar.]

God knows I used to love Otherworld, but right now I don't want to see it with respect to Betsy at all. I don't even want to read about Betsy hanging out with the Braddock family and Rachel for a while. I'm just itching for fresh content, new connections, and different adventures.

[CGAR]

Yeah thats understandable. But I think we feel like that because we only got to see TH's version of it.

[LoganAlpha30X33]

Then again outside of the near future neither Betsy Sadly or Rachel were wanted by other writers so if they're not in demand then her family and Otherworld even less. So going forward Betsy in one book and Rachel in another and then see where that goes.

[MentalManipulator]

What would you all think of a book headlined by Betsy and Brian. Both being CB with one with the sword and the other with the amulet.

Actually maybe thats how the ultimate line should do it. Hmmm.

Because I will always be fascinated by Hickman having them both on the Illuminati.

That was always the direction that seemed the most appropriate, rich and interesting for both Betsy and Brian fans. For a while it looked like Swords of X was going to go in that direction. Instead they opted for such an anticlimactic route for the Braddocks, specially for Betsy. Yet another let down.

If they insist on her maintaining the role for her I could accept it as a better solution. Betsy with the sword and Brian with the amulet. But I want a new darker and slicker costume for her, no cape, hood, helmet, bulckiness.

But still I would much rather she'll go in a whole new direction after Brevoort takes over.

[Grunty]

God knows I used to love Otherworld, but right now I don't want to see it with respect to Betsy at all. I don't even want to read about Betsy hanging out with the Braddock family and Rachel for a while. I'm just itching for fresh content, new connections, and different adventures.

Giving her a semi-clean slate by having her next appearance practically re-introduce her as "just" a telepathic veteran X-men with plenty of combat experience and a heavy tie to the current Psylocke, while ignoring the three Captain Britian centric books as much as possible (reduced to footnotes and little asides), might arguably be much better for the character going forward. As harsh as this might sound.

This was not the grand new direction to help her gain a new identity or make her a breakout solo star, rather it seems to be a burden now and should be treated as such, rather than be artifical maintained against what seems to be a failure based on an apathic buyer/fan reaction.

The situation is comparable to the world of wrestling, when someone switches company and needs to establish a new or old gimick. If one of these fails, even after repeated attempts at saving it, the best course of action is usualy a complete re-invention, sometimes based on what worked in the past.

Betsy even without the Kwanon based gimick still has a lot of potential going forward, but perhaps not as the lead and in her current gimick or state of popularity.

[Knightmare]

We all know that I think the Captain Britain title is a hinderance to our dear Betsy Braddock BUT i'd still love a good writer to explore STRIKE and Otherworld adventures.

I do agree that she needs to be on a team with other popular characters.

When she was Psylocke with the blue ninja suit her solo mini I believe only sold less than 20000.

What would you all think of a book headlined by Betsy and Brian. Both being CB with one with the sword and the other with the amulet.

Actually maybe thats how the ultimate line should do it. Hmmm.

Because I will always be fascinated by Hickman having them both on the Illuminati.

I've already made this suggestion, but it bares repeating. That if people want Betsy to maintain a foot in each pond(Krakoa/UK), then she should give up the CB title and move in to some sort of ambassadorial role which would allow freedom to move between settings representing both without the downsides of either. This new fluidity would provide a unique perspective for her and allow her to make decisions that may not agree with either side. As well as tell her own stories from working with each side.

According to current cannon, there is no Amulet since Betsy destroyed rather than return it to Brian. Also the people who would normally hand them out don't seem to be in power any more.

The mythos is currently a bit wonky as the rule aren't being adhered to. There is a new Captain Britain over in Hickman's Ultimate Invasion book who has both the Amulet and the Sword. How he came by Amulet and Sword is any ones guess, but the fact that he doesn't have purple hair or look anything like a Braddock tells me that outside the X-Verse writers are doing whatever they like.

[JB]

I've already made this suggestion, but it bares repeating. That if people want Betsy to maintain a foot in each pond(Krakoa/UK), then she should give up the CB title and move in to some sort of ambassadorial role which would allow freedom to move between settings representing both without the downsides of either. This new fluidity would provide a unique perspective for her and allow her to make decisions that may not agree with either side. As well as tell her own stories from working with each side.

According to current cannon, there is no Amulet since Betsy destroyed rather than return it to Brian. Also the people who would normally hand them out don't seem to be in power any more.

The mythos is currently a bit wonky as the rule aren't being adhered to. There is a new Captain Britain over in Hickman's Ultimate Invasion book who has both the Amulet and the Sword. How he came by Amulet and Sword is any ones guess, but the fact that he doesn't have purple hair or look anything like a Braddock tells me that outside the X-Verse writers are doing whatever they like.

I agree that the mythos need to be worked out regarding the Amulet and the Sword as there's no "test" for potential captains of other realities at this time. I've held in the back of my mind the idea that the common Merlin, the one we all know, is out there and the "Merlyn" we saw recently was just one of his off-shoots (for lack of a better word). Bring Merlin back to sort all of this out.

As you mentioned, the new Ultimate Captain is odd and I'm not sure if it will be addressed how he came about acquiring both. He does seem evil though so perhaps there's a plan for a story where they're both recovered and returned.

[Knightmare]

I agree that the mythos need to be worked out regarding the Amulet and the Sword as there's no "test" for potential captains of other realities at this time. I've held in the back of my mind the idea that the common Merlin, the one we all know, is out there and the "Merlyn" we saw recently was just one of his off-shoots (for lack of a better word). Bring Merlin back to sort all of this out.

As you mentioned, the new Ultimate Captain is odd and I'm not sure if it will be addressed how he came about acquiring both. He does seem evil though so perhaps there's a plan for a story where they're both recovered and returned.

The Merlin we know is the gestalt of all the other Merlins across the multiverse, maybe even the onmiverse. For some unknown reason writers keep trying to make Merlin evil. This was reversed in CB&MI13, but Tini brought it back. Trying to bring Saturnyne to the fore while relegating Merlin/Roma to the aft was a mistake. It messes with the very foundation that Captain Britain is built on. What's worse I feel like this was another plot point that Tini unravelled with promises of putting it back together in a new way that we never got to see. So now it's just all a mess.