The Braddock Family Appreciation 2023

[Panic]

Could some of you weigh in on whether the colours on the main CB figures are too bright? I somehow bricked my PC back when I posted my Psylocke design, so I’ve been using my iPad Air to complete this, however I just saw my design on an old iPad and the reds look very bright and oversaturated. It’s a relatively easy thing to correct if I know which display to trust.

[JB]

Could some of you weigh in on whether the colours on the main CB figures are too bright? I somehow bricked my PC back when I posted my Psylocke design, so I’ve been using my iPad Air to complete this, however I just saw my design on an old iPad and the reds look very bright and oversaturated. It’s a relatively easy thing to correct if I know which display to trust.

The red is brighter than how it normally looks in the comics but it still looks great. If you dim the saturation a few notches down I think it'll be a closer match. But I still love how it looks.

[Panic]

The red is brighter than how it normally looks in the comics but it still looks great. If you dim the saturation a few notches down I think it'll be a closer match. But I still love how it looks.

Thanks, I think I’ll do that.

[JB]

Thanks, I think I’ll do that.

My pleasure. I'm looking forward to seeing how the cards continue to develop.

This is quite cute and now I wish it was real.

https://twitter.com/Super_Pixel_Boy/...31475197067269
"I’ve been going crazy waiting for the #BetsyBraddock #CaptainBritain book to get released next month. In the meantime I’ve made this 90’s Tiger game mock up. #xmen"



Click the link for the animation. Betsy dealing with warwolves and taking out Morgan Le Fey with Brian's assistance.

[Panic]

Ha, that’s really cool.

[JB]

The next time we see the family together is in X-Men Annual #11 by Claremont and Davis. Brian and Meggan are visiting Betsy at the mansion. By now she has experienced the Mutant Massacre, has battled Sabretooth, and has very recently accepted the invitation to join the X-Men. But she has doubts about herself and discusses them with her brother.





The massacre has obviously greatly impacted her and with each passing day she's facing the reality of mutantkind's growing plight. The X-Men are a team of warriors, something she's unsure she can live up to.

Meanwhile, while tending to her attic greenhouse, Storm is ambushed by a brute of a clown named Horde.



This is the first time we see Brian and Meggan working and fighting alongside the X-Men. Unfortunately, Horde picks the team off one by one until Betsy is the last one standing. Horde threatens to kill her family and friends if she doesn't surrender. Though she can possibly still escape, she immediately surrenders. Horde is a cocky piece of work and he challenges the X-Men to hit him with their best shots, as he transforms their pajamas into their costumes. Dazzler hits him point blank with her light powers...

[JB]

Storm was right. Horde shrugs off their combined attack demonstrating how they essentially have no choice but to do as he says. He tasks them to break into the Citadel of Light and Shadow and steal the Crystal of Ultimate Vision. They begrudgingly agree. Upon entering, the gigantic front door slams shut behind them as attempts are made to break it back open, we get a quick nod to Brian's history.



No luck. Turns out this place traps people by showing them their greatest desires, absorbing them into their own fantasies. Rogue and Havok are pulled in. Longshot apparently is of pure heart and doesn't really desire anything so the Citadel sees him as a threat and absorbs him anyway. Dazzler runs off, upset that she convinced Longshot to enter the Palace despite his hesitancy to enter. Betsy stays in psychic contact with her and "witnesses" as she too falls.

Then things get very interesting for the Braddocks.

[JB]

Davis draws such a dynamic Brian in action.

[JB]

[JB]

Unfortunately Betsy is unable to hold Horde back as he approaches the crystal's chamber where Storm and Logan are. This being the Braddock thread I won't get into specifics about what happens next but we are gifted with beautiful pages by Davis as Wolverine basically becomes transcendent via the crystal and saves the day, while naked of course. I highly recommend reading the issue if possible.

Storm suddenly wakes up back at the mansion. Was it all just a dream? The team compares notes and finds they shared the same dream. They each ponder all that they were shown. Ultimately it was a test. Other species received the test and those that chose to use the crystal's power were transformed into lifeless statues guarding the citadel. Their species frozen in evolutionary place. But thanks to the X-Men, humanity passed the test.



More classic story highlights to come, mixed in with content from Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain as released. Hoping for some more art teases with tomorrow's X-Men Monday.

[JB]

https://aiptcomics.com/2023/01/16/x-...ptain-britain/

I wasn't anticipating seeing Brian in a lab again so that's a nice surprise. It's of course such an important element to his character, from literally his first appearance when he was a student.



I liked how he would at times use his scientific expertise in dealing with villains. I'd love to see that again.

[JB]

The previous story is the last time Brian would see Betsy in her own body for about 30 years in real time, I believe. After several adventures with the X-Men, Betsy and the team end up suffering a very public death. The following few scans are from Excalibur Special Edition #1 by Chris Claremont and Alan Davis.

[JB]

Meggan attempts to console Brian but he's distraught, upset and angry, emotions flaring. He lashes out at her, having a bit too much to drink.



She heads to Muir Island where she runs into Kitty and Nightcrawler, who are in the middle of an encounter with Gatecrasher. It's the beginning of a series of events, which includes Rachel's return and a battle with the warwolves chasing her, that leads to the forming of Excalibur. (It's amusingly ironic that Rachel is currently raising a warwolf pup, Amazing Baby.) As they share stories about the X-Men around a fire that night, it's Rachel's speech that sparks it all.

[JB]

[JB]