Highlighting her appearance in the latest issue of BB:CB for this Meggan Monday!
Followed by a breakdown of some of the things I really liked about the issue.
She looked beautiful and I loved her hand on her hip and overall expression when talking to the nosy reporter. She also let Jamie have it with the rest of the family, bringing up a very important point.
Highlights for me:
- Betsy confidently fencing with Tony Stark while exchanging fun banter. She made a very convincing case for requesting the help of the Avengers and Tony was fully onboard.
- Another peek into the Askani timeline and the overall lore. I'm extremely interested in this and hope it gets further explored in the future.
- The Braddock family showing up to the charity event as a unit was beautiful to see. As Daedra said in the review thread, it highlighted their standing as socialites. I like that it was their PR people that arranged the event to counter the tabloid narratives.
- Betsy speaking to the press and introducing Rachel as her girlfriend publicly was such a joy, especially as this issue came out on the eve of pride month. Her admitting to being nervous and keeping her powers in check so not to "hear" what the crowd was thinking was endearing. Yet she still confidently interacted with the crowd and the press which is a nice indication of how comfortable she's become in her own body again.
- The fans showing her adoration and love truly warmed my heart. My favorite scene was the man asking her to sign his copy of her magazine spread as Britain's Most Beautiful Woman. She was famous before the world knew she was a mutant and she's still being showered with love despite it being public knowledge. That to me is an example of great progress for mutant/human relations and serves as inspiration for what is possible. It's fully canon now that there is a segment of the public that openly supports her.
- The team-up with the Avengers was a dream. X-Men teaming up with them isn't anything new but for this brand new squad of Avengers to follow Betsy's lead in dealing with the Fury was next level great. They treated her like a peer, calling her "captain" (and even "cap") and were more than happy to assist. This is huge for me because while she's of course spent panel time with the Avengers, never has she truly been the focus of such cooperation in this way.
- I like that she utilized the magic in her Starlight Sword to finish the takedown of the Fury. There's still so much potential regarding Betsy and magic that's been mostly untapped.
- The power of the Fury is being respected as it took a team of mighty superheroes to knock it down and it still started to mend itself right away.
- The inclusion of Jamie was a treat and I love how he's willing to help his family with his omega powers. On the flip side, his shortsighted decision caused quite the ruckus. It was a smart move on Morgan and Doom's part as it somewhat ties Betsy's hands, who normally would rather chop their heads off. It's forcing her and the family to be strategic. Jamie continues to be so interesting to me in this era. He wants to do good but he has no intention of being a hero. He just wants to walk around in his king regalia. He's an enigma and as one fan on another forum put it:
"
1) he's an unfathomable creature of faerie logic, where he has his own internal code of behavior but its idiosyncratic and difficult for a person bound by normal laws to grasp. he's doing something that feels internally consistent to his system of obligations but is grievously raunchy to everybody else
2) he's a little dipshit sitting saucily in a chair"
- Maggie getting some spotlight for the final scene was fun and I love the return of her doll strategy meetings. It's cute how fans in-universe are creating custom figures of Betsy and the Braddocks, and that it was Faiza who provided Maggie with them.
- S.T.R.I.K.E. entering the fight is exciting and I'm really looking forward to the spy stuff next issue.
- The final page was powerful. Brian wanting to privately take on the Fury is a bit crazy but that's what I love about it. He hasn't forgotten what that creature did to him and so many others, and it seems he wants to end it once and for all.
I'm very much looking forward to issue #5!