Captain Britain and the growth of Marvel UK

[Rheged]

I'm thinking of editting my first post to add the followups so its all in one easy to find place - will make for a massive post as time goes by though?

Opinions?

Excellent idea, but there's a character limit on a post. You could link the followup posts individually in your first post, which would be very helpful, as CBR forum search still suxs.

[Loki]

The next issue sees Captain Britain visiting Josie and her family. He apologises for being responsible for Micky's death. Mrs Scott invites him in and reassures him that he wasn't to blame. Brian has tea with Josie, her mother and grandfather who all tell him they admire him and that he is being too hard on himself - Micky had fallen in with a bad crowd and put himself in bad situations. His mother fatalistically says it was only a matter of time before something happens. Meggan appears, calm now and regretful but she's forgiven too. Brian invites her to stay at his mansion and offers to help trace her family. Suddenly a bunch of armoured assailants warp in and briefly attack before vanishing.

The Scotts returned later when Alan Davis took over writing Excalibur.
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/scottfamily.htm

This story to me encapsulates on so many levels a true impression of Brian Braddock as a person. He feels responsible for what happened to Micky (though in truth it wasn't entirely his fault - the moon-maddened Meggan had attacked someone, and gave him no choice but to fight, so Micky's death is not really his fault) and tries to make amends, both as a hero, working without a break saving other lives, and as a person, approaching the family to apologise, not really expecting forgiveness and prepared to be the focus of their grief and rage. He's polite and introspective, and Joan Scott has to tell him off for trying to take all the world's problems on his shoulders. This is a man who makes mistakes, is sometimes thoughtless, and who tries too hard; but he's also a man very much with his heart in the right place. And for those who insist he only began to care for Meggan when she became beautiful, this story shows that not to be the case - he might not have expressed romantic interest in her here (and why would he? They'd been foes only an issue before), but he recognises her as frightened and alone, so he invites her into his own home. If he'd had a romantic interest at this point, inviting her to stay would have been creepy; instead, this is a guy showing concern for a fellow human being who he realises has suffered under the Jaspers Warp.

[PhantomReporter]

The Scotts returned later when Alan Davis took over writing Excalibur.
http://www.marvunapp.com/Appendix2/scottfamily.htm

This story to me encapsulates on so many levels a true impression of Brian Braddock as a person. He feels responsible for what happened to Micky (though in truth it wasn't entirely his fault - the moon-maddened Meggan had attacked someone, and gave him no choice but to fight, so Micky's death is not really his fault) and tries to make amends, both as a hero, working without a break saving other lives, and as a person, approaching the family to apologise, not really expecting forgiveness and prepared to be the focus of their grief and rage. He's polite and introspective, and Joan Scott has to tell him off for trying to take all the world's problems on his shoulders. This is a man who makes mistakes, is sometimes thoughtless, and who tries too hard; but he's also a man very much with his heart in the right place. And for those who insist he only began to care for Meggan when she became beautiful, this story shows that not to be the case - he might not have expressed romantic interest in her here (and why would he? They'd been foes only an issue before), but he recognises her as frightened and alone, so he invites her into his own home. If he'd had a romantic interest at this point, inviting her to stay would have been creepy; instead, this is a guy showing concern for a fellow human being who he realises has suffered under the Jaspers Warp.

Very well put. Human interest stories can work well or be overly moralizing but i do feel this one had a particularly British sensibility that enhanced the character of Brian Braddock. It felt very human and not at all preachy.

[PhantomReporter]

THE THIRD ERA OF CAPTAIN BRITAIN: JAMIE DELANO.

Following a month gap, CAPTAIN BRITAIN 1, Jan 1985 kicks off the Jamie Delano run. Like Moore before him, Delano has used the time to prep an issue that uses characters and aspects of Captain Britain's past and overall his style continues to bring that Alan Moore film while making his own unique additions to the mythos.

We start with Dai Thomas investigating Brian Braddock and even get more information about Brian's parents including the fact that no records of them existed prior to the purchase of Braddock Manor in 1945 (that year is now topical of course but we can assume '40 years before now.' Brian was born 11 years later so that makes him and Betsy 29. There is mention of Jamie and his birth date tallies with him being 37). Brian hangs out with his sister at home and recalls his origin and history as Captain Britain so we're treated to some nicely drawn flashbacks between this and Dai Thomas' slideshow to superiors when he proposes his theory that Brian is Captain Britain.

Dai's superiors thank him for his info but say he's to take no action. As he leaves they decide to send the files to RCX, the organization that replaced the now defunct STRIKE. The Crazy Gang drive by in the back of a taxi.

Captain Britain 2, Feb 1985 - The Crazy Gang try robbery but they're not very good at it, blowing cash up. Two RCX agents code named Michael and Gabriel come to see Dai to warn him to steer clear of their operations concerning superhumans. The Crazy Gang advertises for a leader and a disguised Slaymaster takes them up on it - funnily enough for a 1985 Marvel comic he seems to be a Muslim - he swears by Allah but is not blatantly Middle Eastern or any kind of stereotype. His skin tones appear Caucasian and for some reason i always thought he was French. Meanwhile elsewhere the bounty hunters report to a woman who appears to be Saturnyne in militaristic gear who berates them for their failure, sending them to 'the arctic strife zone.' and announcing she is calling in ... THE TECHNET.

Captain Britain responds to a robbery alert and confronts the Crazies and Slaymaster.

Captain Britain 3, March 1985 - The issue opens with Slaymaster turning an unconscious CB over to Vixen and describing their fight in flashback. Vixen seems to want to experiment on Brian to see how his powers work and refuses to turn the CB costume over as Slaymaster requested. As he wants the costume and Vixen's treatment of Cap goes against his code of honour, Saymaster turns on Vixen's minions. He takes the suit, reasoning correctly that it has power in it - the suit amplifies his strength but he wants to know more about how it works so he finds and interrogates Brian who tells him he needs to put on the helmet. Slaymaster does so and beats on Cap for a while but its a trick - as the proper owner of the suit, Captain Britain is able to use it to take control of Slaymaster's body forcing the villain to free him and then fly at a wall. He dresses and attempts to escape but Vixen floods the lower levels forcing him to climb upwards and pop some kind of manhole lid where he sees a misshapen bloblike monster attacking humans. The Technet meanwhile are in between universes trying to get to the right Earth.

Captain Britain 4, April 1985 - We start with a flashback to a man's ruined life which led him to become a tramp before somehow mutating into the misshapen monster - but then we see Roma catching up on Brian's doings and musing if she should assist him - 'The Captain must struggle alone.' Back to the monster and we find out this was a tramp who got attacked by The Fury on panel in the Moore run- the mutation appears to be some kind of delayed infection. Cap fights it but captions tell us its trying to tel him to stop hurting him but doesn't have any voice. Finally its heard in its dying scream shocking Cap as he realises it wasn't malevolent. The police tell him he did a good job but he doesn't look like he agrees.

This reminded me a bit of the Thorpe days and a kind of heavy handed 'hero kills monster whose actions were driven by pain over mistake due to what it looks like.' Not the greatest bit of the run in my eyes but then the Technet arrives. CB mistakes them for the Special Executive but they put him straight and address him as Kaptain Briton.

Captain Britain 5, May 1985 - We open with Captain Britain flying home at supersonic speeds. Inside the house Brian approaches Betsy but suddenly Captain Britain crashes through the window. He unmasks and looks at his mirror image - then the other Brian transforms into Kaptain Briton and a fight errupts. Meggan starts to fly after them when Gatecrasher and the Technet appears and GC stuns her.

Gatecrasher is a big blue female and the leader. With her are Fascination and Thug, brother of Legion. Bonebag is the creature clinging to Gatecrasher and another is called Elmo. Theres a few others including Yap.

They reveal to Betsy and Meggan that they are bounty hunters sent after Kaptain Briton and they encountered Brian before confirming he wasn't their target. The two RCX agents arrive on the scene with another and Dai's there. It's a bit confused, switching between scenes but the fight ends with Captain Britain winning and turning the unconscious Kaptain over to Technet who depart and in the last page Brian holds Betsy in his arms to comfort her ... and then tries to kiss her! She screams in horror.

Captain Britain 6, June 1985 - Brian wakes up in the Kaptain Briton costume on an alternate Earth. He meets
what he thinks is Saturnyne who drugs him and ... erhem well he wakes up naked in her bed where an alien servant tells him that the Empress Opal Luna Sat-yr-nin is off conducting imperial business but he seems to be too groggy to take it in as when he goes to the 'celebrations and kombats' in his honour he's still addressing her as Saturnyne. When he sees cheering crowdsv and effigies of Kaptain Briton and she addresses him as her consort, he suddenly gets it! She thinks he is her Bryon Bra-dhok - he runs and finds Gatecrasher and convinces her and the Technet they got the wrong Captain. They fight by his side and escape.

Back home Betsy fights off the attempted rape and the trauma allows her to amp up her powers - she kills Bra-dhok with a burst of psi power.

Captain Britain 7, July 1985 - Down below Braddock Manor it appears that the Mastermind computer has regained its freewill and its solid hologram form appears just after Brian returns home to discover his sister has killed the alternate him. Mastermind takes control and then reveals that Sir James Braddock came from Otherworld, sent by Merlyn in order to sire a champion. Mastermind offers to take a more direct role in advising Brian and changes his form to the disguise of a butler named Jeeves.

Meanwhile RCX is holding over a hundred warpies - children who gained powers as the result of the Jaspers warp. They appear to be giving them costumes and code names and using the most pliable and the RCX agents also recruit Captain UK to help enlist Captain Britain as the nation, after its recent traumas 'needs a symbol. Needs a patriot.' Brian is talking to Meggan on the roof of the Manor when Jeeves appears to warn about intruders. The super duo are both in the mood for a fight.

Concluded next post with Captain Britain 8 to 14 and then after that other Marvel UK heroes in brief and then THE EXCALIBUR YEARS

[Willow616]

This is by far my favorite era of Brian Braddock. He really copmes into his own here. We get the impression from this that he is a respected (by some) professional superhero but he's not in any way perfect. He tries hard to live up to the high bar he has set himself and occasionally stumbles along the way but still he tries.

For me, no other superhero, Marvel or otherwise, ever came close to the humanity expressed by Braddock in these adventures....and yes I'd include Peter parker in that. Brian isn't perfect, he's a flawed human being, but a good one trying to be better than the limitations that beset us all. Just like a Brit - when he clocks off - he has a swift drink. This doesn't make him evil or an alcoholic just culturally spot-on. Later - lazy writing using this everyday vice as an over-arching character flaw.

Having a drink after work isn't evil. I've done it lots and I've never wanted to take over the world and subjugate the populace.

Alan Davis art never looked better to me, I know his work became a lot slicker and he is a master storyteller but here....MAN.....it's edgy and brutal and beautiful and smooth all at once.

The disturbing scenes between Betsy and Bryon Bra-dhok shocked me but it's here that we see Betsy's character grow more than I believe she ever did under the 'X'. Likewise Brian's drugging by Opal Luna Sat-yr-nin certainly brings into question his consent. the images that Betsy shows us in Kaptain Briton's mind really nails the corrupted nature of his world in just one panel.

Of course it was the latter half of this series that really shaped my comic reading.....I look forward to 'It's Hard To Be A Hero'. Possibly my most favourite Marvel story of all time.

[PhantomReporter]

It was a great era although a tad more clunkers in my eyes than Moore's run - Baba Yaga for instance was not my fave story.

In terms of character growth though, yes it was of a high level indeed.

I always wandered what sort of Corpsmen a corrupt or fascistic world produced. I'm guessing on his world Kaptain Briton was more a symbol of the tyranny slash regime enforcer ... which reminds me i believe a later shown member called Enforcer Capone had a unique take. On his mafia influenced world, murder of rivals/troublemakers was a legitimate act.

Captain Airstrip One was the Corpsman in a Big Brother-like society and preserved the status quo and Kommandant Englander was from a Nazi world.

It struck me that them also being Corpsmen alongside heroes from other less fascist realities would be kind of a culture shock. How for instance do you come from worlds where murder, racism and corruption are the norm and then function as protectors alongside team-mates who on your world you might consider inferior or the enemy? I guess most of the Corps didn't give a damn about anything other than defending on a cosmic scale and their Otherworld duties.

They certainly seemed quite cold and inflexible as a body. It makes you wonder if Brian had been recruited earlier and indoctrinated in the ethos of the Corps would he have stood by like Captain England and Captain Albion and let tyrants like Mandragon destroy an entire universe without protest - would he have acted as an unquestioning enforcer for anyone who objected to any orders by Roma or Saturnyne? I like to think not. I also like to think a good segment of the Corps while not actively intervening would have some issues with Otherworld policy and maybe keep their interactions to a minimum, staying on their own worlds and only coming to Otherworld as their duties required.

I would love to see more exploration of the Corpsmen and their worlds.

[Willow616]

It was a great era although a tad more clunkers in my eyes than Moore's run - Baba Yaga for instance was not my fave story.

In terms of character growth though, yes it was of a high level indeed.

Aye granted Baba Yaga wasn't great, and possibly why it remains solidly in my mindscape is because as a kid it was more understandable than the genius of Moore.

I always wandered what sort of Corpsmen a corrupt or fascistic world produced. I'm guessing on his world Kaptain Briton was more a symbol of the tyranny slash regime enforcer ... which reminds me i believe a later shown member called Enforcer Capone had a unique take. On his mafia influenced world, murder of rivals/troublemakers was a legitimate act.

Captain Airstrip One was the Corpsman in a Big Brother-like society and preserved the status quo and Kommandant Englander was from a Nazi world.

It struck me that them also being Corpsmen alongside heroes from other less fascist realities would be kind of a culture shock. How for instance do you come from worlds where murder, racism and corruption are the norm and then function as protectors alongside team-mates who on your world you might consider inferior or the enemy? I guess most of the Corps didn't give a damn about anything other than defending on a cosmic scale and their Otherworld duties.

Which essentially is how I saw it. "If Hitler invaded hell I would make at least a favorable reference to the devil in the House of Commons." etc.

The bigger picture of the Omniverse is greater than the cultures of the realities that make it.

They certainly seemed quite cold and inflexible as a body. It makes you wonder if Brian had been recruited earlier and indoctrinated in the ethos of the Corps would he have stood by like Captain England and Captain Albion and let tyrants like Mandragon destroy an entire universe without protest - would he have acted as an unquestioning enforcer for anyone who objected to any orders by Roma or Saturnyne? I like to think not. I also like to think a good segment of the Corps while not actively intervening would have some issues with Otherworld policy and maybe keep their interactions to a minimum, staying on their own worlds and only coming to Otherworld as their duties required.

I would love to see more exploration of the Corpsmen and their worlds.

They are indeed a cool concept but one I also think hamstrings Brian. 'Captain Britain & MI13' went some way to divorcing Brian from it, I think casual readers find it confusing and lessens Braddock in a way. The inflexibility and bureaucracy of the Corps system seems to be at odds with everything that Brian stands for. Later writers make him more complicit with that system and it really doesn't fit the character. This is when I believe that the misconception of Brian Braddock as pomous and arrogant partly stem from.

The worst part being Brian condoning capital punishment in Rick Remenders run on Uncanny X-Force. A practice that would have been abohrant to Braddocks mentality.

Brians own experince with the Corps (initially) was that of total confusion. So there maybe members out there who know nothing of the wider Corps.

One thing that has always struck me as unexplored and ripe for chasing is Brian role as the protector of this 'reality'. Not just Earth......does this mean he is responsible for other worlds too? Or is his role simply to protect the Earth as the gateway to Otherworld. If Britain is the home of magic...is that just Earth or for all of our reality? Do alien mages make a pilgramage to the Starlight Citadel from other galaxies?

[PhantomReporter]

That's an interesting premise. I do think that Captain Britain should be a bit more cosmic, even if just in general respects. He should also be someone that's called into the big boy room for massive events - along with Quasar as Protector of the Universe. After all his Corps connection gives him a sort of status as equivilant to Dr Strange being Sorcerer Supreme or Reed Richards being biggest super brain or Black Bolt being Monarch of the Inhumans etc.

I believe Brian was on a parallel Illuminati - that actually makes sense. In fact there are two guys in the UK who should be called in on the global big stuff - CB and Pete Wisdom.

[Willow616]

I believe Brian was on a parallel Illuminati - that actually makes sense. In fact there are two guys in the UK who should be called in on the global big stuff - CB and Pete Wisdom.

Agreed with Brian. His status as this realities protector is too often overlooked.

As for Pete....he probably wouldn't care if it didn't affect Britain - ''Skrulls? Oh they ignite this close to Southampton docks, let the rest of the world deal with 'em. We've sorted our pest control''

[PhantomReporter]

To finish the Marvel UK era of Captain Britain.

Captain Britain 8, Aug 1985 - Despite his assertion about being ready to fight, when the RCX agents breach the hologrammatic field and ring the doorbell, Brian greets than civilly in civvies and is reunited with Linda. Betsy is suprised to see Agent Gabriel who she apparently used to know as Matthew when they were in STRIKE together. The RCX agents give Brian their recruitment pitch but he refuses. Michael tells him he means to have the computer and manor at least for national security and will take them by force if need be.

Meanwhile Meggan's empathy enables her to sense the nearby Cherubim/Warpies in a locked van. She flashes back to her childhood as a gypsy when she was locked in a van out of sight and opens the van - the Cherubim attack and this causes Meggan to flashback to a conversation she had about her power potential with Alison Double when Alison told her she is shaped by her surroundings and people's perceptions but she can change herself like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. She didn't understand then but somehow the present occurances give her the understanding and she becomes a beautiful woman.

Captain Britain 9, Sept 1985 - The Cherubim, who appear to be a sub team of the warpies, older and with more developed powers are attacking but Captain Britain, Captain UK and Betsy defeat them. Another group of what looks like ... well Beak and Angel's children from years later in New X Men are causing more trouble/some kind of warpie hurricane but Meggan takes them out non fatally and everything goes back to normal.

RCX and Brian seem to come to an accord although the agents scheme with Jeeves to make Betsy who has offered sanctuary to the Warpies over Brian's objections, their new patriotic hero. Meggan alerts Brian to news on the tv that his brother Jamie is missing in the African nation of Mbangawi. Then Jamie himself calls to beg for help as he is being held by sinister looking Africans.

It appears that Jeeves/Mastermind is manipulating the situation. I had to read twice to see why Brian didn't just chuck the RCX agents out after what happened but it does appear that despite threats and an argument, the Warpies attack wasn't RCX sanctioned and once the situation was calmed down no blame was portioned out - RCX were jerks but didn't go beyond mouthing off and the warpies were confused kids.

Captain Britain 10, Oct 1985 - We start with Meggan and Brian up a tree overlooking the African compound of ... Doctor Crocodile, ruler of Mbangawi. Meggan has discovered a new power - she can understand foreign languages. She advises caution but as usual Brian flies off and smashes his way in but its a trap and the duo get gassed - the gas allows Brian to see stuff that happened to others - it turns out Joshua N'dingi was an RCX agent before he was Dr Crocodile. An exploding baby warpie left him scarred with prosthetics - i.e what if Cyborg from the Teen Titans looked like he had crocodile skin. Brian also sees that his brother Jamie has become a slave trader and this is why Crocodile captured him and thought Brian complicit. He realises thats a mistaken assumption when Brian comes to and immediately attacks his brother calling him an animal, knocking 9 bells out of him 'Save you? I'm going to kill you!' Crocodile prevents this and tells Brian that justice is his to serve. Brian and Meggan leave Jamie and depart.

Captain Britain 11, Nov 1985 - In my opinion the worst of the run and i can sum it up briefly. Brian and Meggan appear to be on some kind of winter camping excursion allowing Meggan to shift and run with wolves - they then find a house in the middle of nowhere ... the House of Baba Yaga from Russian myth. Baba wants Meggan to join her 'sisters' and to ... kill or eat Brian. They both fight - house burns down and thats it ... except at the end they're teleported to what appears to be an Inca or Aztec city.

One positive is that the last two issues have shown Brian and Meggan's growing attraction to each other without supporting cast around to clutter things up.

Captain Britain 12, Dec 1985 - It appears the Technet transported Brian and Meggan to an Incan city 700 years in their past for assistance. Gatecrasher tells a convuluted story about the Technet's adventures and split since they last saw Captain Britain, leaving Just her, Fascination and Bodybag on this mission when they tried to acquire an artifact by tricking the Incans into thinking they were sky gods. However the tables were turned as Gatecrasher was tricked into eating eggs filled with parasites. The High Priest informs her they won't hatch as long as she stays under a waterfall - hence the need of rescue. Cap goes off to find the remedy and fights giant birds - its appears this was all a put on by the future version of the mercenaries, the Special Executive to try to force Fascination into joining them 3 centuries ahead of time. Cap and Meggan return home in time to see TWO female Captain Britains flying into the sky - Linda and Betsy. Realising RCX has convinced Betsy to become their patriotic symbol, Brian angrily crushes his helmet and quits.

Captain Britain 13, Jan 1986 - We flashback to see RCX convince Betsy to don the uniform of Kaptain Briton and become Captain Britain. Linda offers to be her partner for a few months until she grows into the role. Reluctantly Betsy lets herself be talked into it but alters the uniform. Flashforward a few months and Linda departs. A short while later RCX alerts Betsy that Vixen has kidnapped some of their agents and a truckload of warpies and has called her out. When Betsy arrives she encounters Vixen and Slaymaster (in a new costume which amplifies his abilities). Slaymaster easily beats Betsy and blinds her. Meanwhile a retired Brian is frolicking with Meggan by the coast - they now live in a lighthouse he bought. Alerted to Betsy's distress by a psi flash Brian flies to the rescue but his powers are reduced as he is out of costume. Nether-the-less he finds the strength to avenge Betsy by pulping Slaymaster's head beneath a huge rock. Returning Betsy to the manor for RCX to give her medical aid, he then returns to the lighthouse and suits up telling Meggan he can't shirk his responsibilities 'I am Captain Britain.'

Captain Britain 14, Feb 1986 - As Brian and Meggan snuggle up to a fire in the lighthouse on Xmas eve, Dai Thomas arrives to beg Captain Britain's help - Brian attempts briefly to deny his identity - a series of brutal murders perhaps involving superhumans and beyond the ability of the police are occuring in Glasgow.

At Darkmoor Captain UK waits for Roma after receiving a summons. Roma tells Linda she is an anomoly on this earth and her presence has prevented the world from healing from the Jaspers Warp - more Warpies continue to be born and the Crazy Gang is at large still. Roma takes her to Otherworld.

Brian and a disguised Meggan go to Glasgow to investigate and at the Manor a recovering Betsy plays with the warpie children while Mastermind and the RCX discuss the warpies - Mastermind is aware no more will be born.

On Otherworld Roma reaches back through time and brings Linda's husband Rick back alive for a joyous reunion. Cap encounters the monster who is behind the killings in Glasgow - it transforms from human into something ressembling Ogun's mask stuck on top of hundreds of confetti like claw tendrils. Brian literally punches it to bits.

On the final page we see a montage - Linda and Rick have been sent to Sar yr Nin's world where they topple her tyranny. Betsy continues to recover. Mastermind and RCX look after the warpies and finally Brian and Meggan relaxing together.

I will continue periodically into the Excalibur Years and the expansion of Marvel UK

[Willow616]

'It's Hard To Be A Hero' from Captain Britain # 13 is probably the most influential comic strip of my life. I've never read anything before or since that affected me so much.

The brutality of what happens to Betsy followed by the very human response of Brian is pure genius. Some of this now is over-used cliche but reading that for the first time I'd never seen a superhero so emotionally vunerable and flawed. Just when you think that CB will relent and be 'the better man' he strikes. The image of him walking away from Slaymaster - whose head is now a rock - stuck with me forever.

[PhantomReporter]

'It's Hard To Be A Hero' from Captain Britain # 13 is probably the most influential comic strip of my life. I've never read anything before or since that affected me so much.

The brutality of what happens to Betsy followed by the very human response of Brian is pure genius. Some of this now is over-used cliche but reading that for the first time I'd never seen a superhero so emotionally vunerable and flawed. Just when you think that CB will relent and be 'the better man' he strikes. The image of him walking away from Slaymaster - whose head is now a rock - stuck with me forever.

I only recently read the actual story but i'd known about it in vague terms since reading my first X Men comics circa 1987 when of course Betsy/Psylocke was part of the very first line up i encountered. Brian killing Slaymaster was powerful - it was almost like a Batman kills the Joker scene - i can imagine how unexpected it was at the time.

In more recent years when Betsy was with the Exiles, i enjoyed seeing her confront an alt universe Slaymaster and get over her last lingering fears. Betsy Braddock has come a long way in the years between. Back in the day and when she donned the Captain Britain outfit she realy did exude a 'talented amateur' feel - someone who could function until they met a serious foe and their luck ran out - which of course it did. At the time one purpose of the story might have been to show that not just anyone can don a costume and be a hero. The fact is that Betsy today is a character that didn't just fall into heroics and have it easy - she went through the heroes crucible and her experiences, not her powers, made her into the hero/warrior she is today.

I do wish though that rather than getting lost in an army of X characters, Psylocke could be part of a new iteration of Excalibur (sort of the main public team under the auspices of MI13) along with Brian and Meggan. I would throw in Kurt and Rachel too. The former because he felt like he was more at home in Europe somehow and could shine more and Rachel because she was never used as effectively as when she was in Excalibur. I wouldn't mind Kitty either but she feels like the most American/X character to me.

[Loki]

Another group of what looks like ... well Beak and Angel's children from years later in New X Men are causing more trouble/some kind of warpie hurricane but Meggan takes them out non fatally and everything goes back to normal.

Significant correction here - Meggan kills the Cheribum Whirlwind. It's unintentional on her part, but non fatal is not accurate.

Cap encounters the monster who is behind the killings in Glasgow - it transforms from human into something ressembling Ogun's mask stuck on top of hundreds of confetti like claw tendrils. Brian literally punches it to bits.

Silver Death doesn't transform from human form - he's permanently in his monstrous state.

[Willow616]

I only recently read the actual story but i'd known about it in vague terms since reading my first X Men comics circa 1987 when of course Betsy/Psylocke was part of the very first line up i encountered. Brian killing Slaymaster was powerful - it was almost like a Batman kills the Joker scene - i can imagine how unexpected it was at the time.

It certainly was! It's a real defining moment for me as a fan that cemented my support of the character. You just couldn't have imagined Spider-Man or Captain America doing that kind of thing. On the flipside characters like the Punisher or Wolverine wouldn't have even hesitated. It made Brian 'more' for me.

In more recent years when Betsy was with the Exiles, i enjoyed seeing her confront an alt universe Slaymaster and get over her last lingering fears.

While I'd agree it's a great concept I was not a fan of the Exiles at this point. Chris Claremont is an exceptional writer but his understanding of the characters he created is vastly different from what they've become. There also seems to be a passion from Mr Claremont to revisit the era that he didn't write and bring back the big bads from then. Which I feel is a huge detriment to the characters. the Fury, Jim Jaspers and Slaymaster were all perfect and had their endings.....the more we see of them returning the more the original premise of their threat is lessened to me.

A new Slaymaster taking up the mantle however I did think was a good idea. Only two appearances I can think of at present though. I would like to see Betsy's reaction to him.

I do wish though that rather than getting lost in an army of X characters, Psylocke could be part of a new iteration of Excalibur (sort of the main public team under the auspices of MI13) along with Brian and Meggan. I would throw in Kurt and Rachel too. The former because he felt like he was more at home in Europe somehow and could shine more and Rachel because she was never used as effectively as when she was in Excalibur. I wouldn't mind Kitty either but she feels like the most American/X character to me.

A Excalibur reunion is long overdue and I think would potentially do quite well but it needs to be the originals to work properly.............and I can't see the X letting go of Kitty. She, Kurt and Rachel had far more development in that series than they have had since.

I would also dearly like to see Betsy back in her original body....but then that, it seems, will only ever be a carrot dangled/plot device.

[PhantomReporter]

Significant correction here - Meggan kills the Cheribum Whirlwind. It's unintentional on her part, but non fatal is not accurate.




Silver Death doesn't transform from human form - he's permanently in his monstrous state.

Noted for both on a further reading. At first i didn't realise the tramp releases Silver Death - thought he was it. Where did the name come from? Can't recall it in the text - another thing i missed?