Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 - Review/Spoilers

[JB]

Giant-sized recap for a giant-sized first issue!

We open with the first preview page, Betsy and Micromax sitting with Reginald Cross on his TV talk show. Cross is questioning Betsy's role as Captain Britain saying she's not in favor with Britain, that her only supporters are "mad Wiccans and teenagers at Glasto trying to upset their parents." She's about to respond but Cross prompts Micromax to speak instead, who questions why she should be CB at all if she doesn't live in Britain, and if she pays taxes. Cross mentions Brian, how he was loved and served the country well. Betsy then gets a psychic distress call as one of her Corps needs help.

Data page of the news website The Reflector which serves as a great recap page. It also criticizes Betsy while favoring Brian as Captain Britain. It mentions Betsy's time as a member of the X-Men and X-Force, and working recently with Apocalypse. The propaganda machine against Betsy is in full swing. They quote Dr. Faiza Hussain who supports Betsy, saying she's free to serve the people of the UK because she doesn't have to serve Saturnyne, and "the fact that she's a woman and a mutant scares the right kind of people."

We get the rest of the preview pages as we are now on Corps member Britannica Rex's world. She's beside herself as fire is raining from the sky and she believes she has failed her world. Betsy and Rachel arrive, Betsy telling her she has not failed and *see my signature quote*. Betsy tells Rachel that she's not doing press anymore cause they're rude, and Rachel tells her to be rude back, joking that she has no trouble talking s**t in private. We learn they are living together. As Rachel assists innocents to safety, Betsy and Bri go over to the site of the main "meteor" crash and find a Fury. Different than the Sentinel sized ones in KoX, Betsy says this one is a soldier like the original Fury. It attacks and while Betsy keeps it at bay, Rachel returns and using a new trick where she now calls up Phoenix fire from the multiverse, launches a fireball at the tar pit beneath the Fury which explodes and engulfs it. Betsy says she needs to do research on this Fury since it shouldn't be so powerful as they fly home.

Data page of a Mothermind Readout about the Fury. (The computer under Braddock Manor created by their father was called Mastermind so this is a nice callback with the name.) We essentially learn that the Fury they encountered is 89% congruent with the original Fury. We get some classic Alan Davis Fury art with this data page. The Fury evolved into a warlike hive-mind and are led by the Forgemaster Federal who runs their own province in Otherworld.

The readout was generated by Brian who we now see is in the basement of Braddock Manor, presenting his findings with holographic images to Betsy and Rachel. Brian reminds Betsy that the Furies are super-hero killers and very dangerous. She remembers. Brian suggests that the one they encountered may belong to Mad Jim Jaspers but Rachel chronoskimmed it and confirms it's not from the infamous Earth-238 (the great Jaspers' Warp Marvel UK story). It's new and not from any other timeline so it must be from Otherworld's Fury province. Suddenly the manor starts shaking and they almost lose their balance. "Damnit, Jamie, be careful! There are delicate instruments down in this lab!" says Brian. We learn that the family is living under the same roof once again and Brian says Betsy and Rachel can stay as long as they like. Betsy says she's in it for the long haul, both with living at the manor and as Captain Britain and teases Brian that if he wants the mantle back he'd have to win a hell of a fight. The manor starts annoyingly shaking again.



I love that he's still wearing his crown. Of course they try to shoot him and he drops the tiny manor which then materializes as life size. Basically he just moved the whole manor with everyone and everything in it and now it resides on the contested Braddock Isle. Sure beats using a moving company! The soldiers are shocked and so over "bloody mutants." "Uncle Jamie! You did it!" says little Maggie. There's already reporters outside and Meggan offers to talk to the press because she loves being on the telly. Betsy loves this idea because she hates talking to the press. Betsy and Rachel have decided to visit the Forgemaster Federal to find out why the Fury was attacking Britannica's world. They walk towards the Krakoan gate to Otherworld now installed in the manor's courtyard. They have a sweet, quiet moment.



Micromax is at Coven Akkaba's headquarters meeting with Brousseau, proud of going against Betsy on television. He says he has plenty more opinions and makes a dig at the Green Lagoon because he's a jerk. Brousseau yells at him, telling him to speak when spoken to because he's "witchbreed", something people of magic called mutants before science discovered what made them different. A voice enters the room, agreeing that magic always knew the truth about how "wrong" mutants were. Micromax, not liking where this is going, shrinks down very small and attempts to leave but Morgan Le Fay grabs him and puts him in her pocket.



She wants control of Britain and says they'll endear themselves to the people by gaining control of Captain Britain. But not Betsy, she wants her own Captain Britain, someone who will wear the Union Jack, smile for the cameras, and someone she can control. She places Micromax in a jar.

Captain Britain and Askani arrive in Infuri and meet with the Forgemaster in a large hall, rows and rows of Furies on either side while Forgemaster sits on his throne. Betsy has given the provinces the freedom to rule themselves and Forgemaster expresses that he is pleased that Betsy understands sovereignty. She informs him about his citizen that attacked a reality she defends. Forgemaster jokes that it sounds like the Captain Britain of that world lost a battle and learned a lesson. The Furies lined up throughout the hall laughing. He asks if Betsy is there to scold them like a mother at the playground. She reminds him that since they've decided that they don't want Betsy's protection, they could very easily become her enemies. If the kingdoms of Otherworld are to be at peace, she will act when one of them seeks to destabilize it.

Askani, off to the side, is chronoskimming and we see a really cool strand of light which leads around a corner to another room. This is her multiversal powers and she senses that there is something in the building from the 616 timeline. As she sneaks off to follow the strand with Furies looking for her, Forgemaster says that if his citizens decide to make conquests of their own in other realities, he's fine with it and that's Betsy's problem to deal with. She says he's lying and doesn't believe it was some rogue attack, that she believes he's targeting the other Captains on purpose. The Furies announce that Rachel is on the loose and find her, Betsy abruptly ending her meeting and catching up with Rachel.

[JB]

The flag is from 616 and so was obviously given to them by someone. Surrounded, Rachel dumps a vat of some hot gunk on the Furies and the ladies fly off. Forgemaster tells the others to stand down, that they "cannot risk going to war with Krakoa for that one's offenses... we have our own orders to follow."

Pete Wisdom shows up unannounced that evening at Braddock Manor. Brian welcomes him and they chat over tea as Betsy and Rachel arrive back from Otherworld. It's pouring outside and Wisdom asks how the women aren't soaking wet as he traveled over the old fashioned way and is soaking wet. "Krakoan gate in the courtyard. Under an overhang in case of rain." "No one told me!" Haha. Before Wisdom explains why he's there Betsy tells him that she needs STRIKE, the best psi division there is and the only people she trusts to do this task. Perfect, because Wisdom is there to tell her that he and STRIKE have been looking for something to do about everything that's happened in Britain. Betsy explains that the Furies are starting trouble with her Corps and believes they're taking orders from someone in 616 UK. She needs Wisdom and STRIKE to find out who is dealing directly with them and tells him to start with Coven Akkaba. He agrees and yawns, asking if they can start working on it tomorrow. She says yes and tells him to pick a wing of the manor, that it's STRIKE's to set up in as long as they like. Tom and Alison living in the manor again, amazing!

Betsy and Rachel are getting ready for bed, Betsy with a lot on her mind. She's contemplating and strategizing while completing her beauty regimen, wondering if maybe they should move STRIKE, among lots of other things.



Rachel is half listening while playing Nintendo Switch. Once Betsy's face cream is applied Rachel tosses the game and they cuddle up. They get flirty and when Betsy mentions she has a lot on her mind, Rachel offers to distract her. Sexy time as the lights go off. What's amazing is Rachel is wearing a Summers Family Reuinon t-shirt. Lmao!

The next day in London Pete enters a cafe to meet with Faiza Hussain! This is SUCH a cute scene.



She says yes, a fan of "one of the greatest covert super-human organizations in intelligence history." She's very excited and thanks Pete for allowing her to meet them, saying she's been really stressed over the Captain Britain mess. She mentions a shop nearby that sells really clever pro-Betsy pins. Pete is like we're actually here on business. She sits down and asks if it's about said Captain Britain mess to which Pete affirms and says is also about her sword, Excalibur. He wanted to check on her because those he's investigating are attempting to find a symbol of Britain which Excalibur of course is. She says those type of people tend to be close-minded and don't exactly think she represents Britain either. Pete agrees and says in a crazy way maybe their idiot bigotry will keep her safe from their interests. She says that doesn't mean though that they won't try to take her out. The STRIKE members place their hands on top of hers in a very "go team!" moment and tell her they will not let that happen. She asks them to hold that pose so she can take a picture.

Morgan is casting a spell, having used a drop of Micromax's mutant blood. She is looking at another Captain's reality and sends a Fury to attack. Betsy immediately sits up in bed and wakes Rachel, telling her one of the Corps is in danger.

We meet Captain Pretani of Earth-5411 and she's amazing. A more primitive world, Pretani is fighting off the Fury with a spear and a shield. She has a cool headband and belted toga-like costume. Rachel handles crowd control while Betsy helps Pretani fight. The Fury tells Pretani it has an offer for her, that if she surrenders it will spare her reality. She is to no longer serve "this false Captain Britain, Betsy Braddock, and her Corps of pretenders." Pretani literally laughs at it. More Furies arrive and Askani starts summoning more Phoenix fire. Pretani continues to fight, saying they will die like warriors. Betsy is like no, we're not going to die even though we are at a terrible disadvantage. Askani is becoming fatigued and is about to pass out from producing more fire but she's able to send up a multiversal flare and is caught before falling from the sky...

[JB]

Morgan is watching and finally shows herself.

[JB]

I thoroughly enjoyed this and that's probably not a surprise. Betsy displayed leadership and confidence, utilizing and coordinating her allies to make preemptive moves. I'm happy she's with her family and that STRIKE will actually be staying at the manor for now as well.

Loved the multiple multiversal feats for Rachel and Jamie moving the entire manor from Essex, England to Cornwall was dope.

[danielsan52]

Ugh, why did this writer have to go and make Micromax an asshole. This is completely out of character for him. Glad I didn't buy this.

[JB]

Ugh, why did this writer have to go and make Micromax an asshole. This is completely out of character for him. Glad I didn't buy this.

He seems to be leaning wherever the wind is blowing. He has a popular podcast and seems most interested in getting subscribers but he'll probably end up helping defeat Morgan as his ass is in a jar right now.

[Nicoclaws]

This sounds actually really exciting.

[Kingdom X]

Other than being a bit dialogue heavy I thought this issue was pretty good! I was surprised how much focus Otherworld and the Multiverse was getting, since that was pretty heavily covered in Excalibur and KoX. Speaking of, I’m kind of sad the KoX cast has mostly been dropped since this really is a direct continuation of what came before. Other than Gambit the others weren’t being treated badly and currently don’t have books.

[Rnap22]

Everything with Betsy and Rachel felt forced to me. I don’t buy the relationship and don’t want to see this book become a romance comic. I didn’t like the entire scene with Faiza.. it was too much fangirling over the STRIKE psi’s just to introduce them.

My usual TH complaints. She hasn’t improved.

[davetvs]

I liked this issue more than I thought I would, so that's something. A bit too exposition heavy in parts (forgivable for a first issue, to be fair) and I'm in the camp that isn't buying Betsy/Rachel so their scenes fell flat for me but I did ultimately enjoy the book.

[pkingdom]

IRL British media is pretty horrendous, so on one hand its par the course. But it felt a bit like strawmanning at the same time, especially since we've been doing the "people don't think Betsy should be Captain Britain" thing since the start. There's some pretty legit reasons to be mad at Betsy and dismissing them as right wing tabloid chuds is kind of childish. I still can't believe that 'Braddock isle' wasn't an act of war.

They remembered Morgan got vivisected, huh. But there's this weird disconnect between how dangerous the Furies are in the text and how easily they're being clowned onscreen.

Last thing, is STRIKE really a big deal? I never read their stories, but when I tried to check wikis and stuff a while back all I could find was "they existed and then all died".

[Krakoa]

IRL British media is pretty horrendous, so on one hand its par the course. But it felt a bit like strawmanning at the same time, especially since we've been doing the "people don't think Betsy should be Captain Britain" thing since the start. There's some pretty legit reasons to be mad at Betsy and dismissing them as right wing tabloid chuds is kind of childish. I still can't believe that 'Braddock isle' wasn't an act of war.

They remembered Morgan got vivisected, huh. But there's this weird disconnect between how dangerous the Furies are in the text and how easily they're being clowned onscreen.

Last thing, is STRIKE really a big deal? I never read their stories, but when I tried to check wikis and stuff a while back all I could find was "they existed and then all died".

What are the legit reasons?

[JB]

This sounds actually really exciting.

I went in feeling good about it and I liked it even more than I thought I would! The tighter plot really helps.

Other than being a bit dialogue heavy I thought this issue was pretty good! I was surprised how much focus Otherworld and the Multiverse was getting, since that was pretty heavily covered in Excalibur and KoX. Speaking of, I’m kind of sad the KoX cast has mostly been dropped since this really is a direct continuation of what came before. Other than Gambit the others weren’t being treated badly and currently don’t have books.

It goes without saying how much I miss Rictor, but I'm holding on to hope that he'll show up!

I like that this time around the Otherworld parts are directly linked with what's happening in Britain with Morgan responsible for the Fury attacks. It felt disjointed in the past so I like that there's a thread there. Plus I can't get enough of Betsy's "sisters".

After digesting the issue some more I really like what's being done with Askani regarding her powers. Howard is leaning into how the Starlight Citadel and an Omniversal Majestrix are not necessary. They can pop in and out of Otherworld and then to other realities very quickly. Her detecting that the flag in Infuri didn't belong to their reality was neat and I looooove the multiversal flare. Usually the Captains have to go through the Citadel first before going into other realities. So the idea that she sent up a flare that rang out to all their timelines AND guided them to where the trouble was is amazing shit.

[Devaishwarya]

Morgan, sweetie...those flats and fishnet socks do Not! go with that outfit. I have no issues with you wanting to conquer Britain and ruling Clan Twats but let's start by getting some fashionable shoes, please.

[JB]

IRL British media is pretty horrendous, so on one hand its par the course. But it felt a bit like strawmanning at the same time, especially since we've been doing the "people don't think Betsy should be Captain Britain" thing since the start. There's some pretty legit reasons to be mad at Betsy and dismissing them as right wing tabloid chuds is kind of childish. I still can't believe that 'Braddock isle' wasn't an act of war.

They remembered Morgan got vivisected, huh. But there's this weird disconnect between how dangerous the Furies are in the text and how easily they're being clowned onscreen.

Last thing, is STRIKE really a big deal? I never read their stories, but when I tried to check wikis and stuff a while back all I could find was "they existed and then all died".

So in Faiza's first appearance in CB & MI:13 we learn that she's a big fan of British superheroes. She references Brian's "top ten battles" to a random paramedic and he's like uhh what? So it's more about her than it is about STRIKE. That being said, Slaymaster very publicly killed a bunch of them in a very crowded area so the news about them surely got out and being a fan of British heroes, Faiza probably researched them.

Morgan, sweetie...those flats and fishnet socks do Not! go with that outfit. I have no issues with you wanting to conquer Britain and ruling Clan Twats but let's start by getting some fashionable shoes, please.

LMAO!