Saturday, July 20, 2019

Psylocke is Captain Britain, Leads Excalibur in the 'Dawn of X'


EXCALIBUR #1
Written by Tini Howard
Penciled by Marcus To
Cover by Mahmud Asrar
On sale October 2019

A NEW DAY IS FORGED!
Mutantkind has always been special…as has their relationship with the world—or WORLDS—around them. As this new era dawns, a new connection forms between mutants and the magic of the world… and that of Otherworld! Can the new Captain Britain forge a new way through the chaos with her companions Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee, Rictor…and Apocalypse?!?


Captain Britain - Betsy Braddock
Rogue
Gambit
Jubilee
Rictor
Apocalypse

60 comments:

Deemo Dude said...

Wait WHAT ?!!!!!!

Rahsaan said...

YES!!!!!

Renegade X said...

OMG, this is amazing!!! Finally she's leading again...I never expect this team.

Rahsaan said...

And Kwannon is the new Psylocke in fallen Angels.

Rahsaan said...

And I’m so happy to see Rogue and Jubes with her as she has very special bonds with them. And glad Ric is back in the fold! And Gambit!

What is Pox up to though???

Renegade X said...

If only they would at least gave Kwannon a better costume BUT you know how it is every one want that Asian ninja look but just update it a bit.

Deemo Dude said...

Having Betsy as Captain Britain just made me LOVE that she and Kwanon are separated !

Rahsaan said...


As for Kwannon, maybe Bets gave her the the name since Bets is done taking anything villains gave her. The Psylocke was Mojo’s creation. If “Nothing/Revanche” wants a new beginning with that title, maybe Bets let her have it and moved on to something more fitting and taking back what Slaymaster stole from her. I like her reclamation of Captain Britain.

Rahsaan said...

The more I think about it, the better, Mojo created the Psylocke when Betsy was battered, beaten and defeated and thrust from her Captain Britain role. I’m here for moving on and taking this name back.

randybear said...

Super happy To is on art and Rogue and Jubes are here. I hope we get a better look at this new costume soon im not sold on it yet and I'm super sad the Asrar look is gone already but kinda was expecting this to be the case.

randybear said...

Great observation! And if she ever loses the Cap Brit mantle I hope she goes by Lady Braddock I really liked that codename from Carey's Age of X

Renegade X said...

@randybear you definitely right about that, it slipped my mind but I'm very excited.

X-Man said...

Like this. Hate that Kwannon gets the name Psylocke. That's Betsy's.

Rahsaan said...

@X, consider that perhaps Betsy decided that Mojo’s slave name was no longer needed. 💜💜💜

Rahsaan said...

@randy, thanks. “Psylocke” was a name of subjugation forced on Bets. This is progress. 💜

randybear said...

This is so interesting to think about going forward as far as games and the MCU.

I wonder if Kwannon could be considered a legacy character now? Shes the new Psylocke similar to Carol going from Ms to Captain Marvel

X-Man said...

@Rahsaan True. I think she can change her name or take it back etc. I just don't think Kwannon has earned it lol. I confess I did like Betsy using the name Psylocke and making it her own. Unlike her body, she could have changed that at any time, so I got the impression she was rather fond of the name lol. I hope it's explained logically :)

X-Man said...

@randybear this is indeed interesting. I wonder if we see "asian" Psylocke in games will it be Betsy or Kwannon? lol. We would know for sure if they gave Kwannon her own empathic power set, instead of copying Betsy's abilities and now name. I'll withhold judgment as I am excited Betsy will be leading a team, but not excited with the Kwannon codename news that @Rahsaan shared lol

Jaime Braz said...

I'm worried that the Captain Britain code name for Betsy is a dangerous move. It was her eternal dream but Psylocke has a more unique tone and fits her. The Captain Britain code name can't fit with the X-Men and giving the Psylocke legacy to Kwannon will damage Betsy in the long run of things. We are back to square one with the Psylocke confusion. Couldn't they invent something original for Kwannon?

Jaime Braz said...

I'm happy that Betsy still has her best friends Rogue and Jubilee by her side. They have gone through thick and thin together. Rictor is a surprise but the biggest is En Sabah Nur. In case it isn't Evan in disguise.

Lex said...

Excalibur is a sure get & I'll definitely check out Jean's X-Force. I'm interested to see what they're going to do with Kwannon in her book.

X-Man said...

@Jaime Braz I am also disappointed that Kwannon gets that name. She should just use Revanche again lol. She also needs her own original power set imo.

FSaker said...

Ooh, this looks good! But I wonder: why is Rictor in this team? Rogue, Gambit, Jubilee (who seems to be wearing PANTS instead of her stupid shorts, yay!!) and Betsy are all long-time friends; Apocalypse is filling the usual villain-turned-hero quota... but even though I like Rictor, he has pretty much no history with any of these people. Nightcrawler (who surprisingly isn't announced for any of the books) would be a much better choice (then again, he'd be an even better choice for Kitty's pirate crew).

As for Kwannon stealing Betsy's codename, wow, she remains as uninspired as ever. At least people get to have Asian Psylocke back, I guess (even if she's not the real deal).

I read that the main X-Men book, despite its first cover showing the Grey-Summers family (minus Hope - I guess her betrayal in AvX will always prevent her from being fully reintegrated to the X-Men...) and Wolverine, will actually feature the X-Men as a whole with a rotating roster (possibly like Hickman's Avengers book). If that's the case, I hope Betsy can appear there; it's great that she's now Captain Britain and exploring the Otherworld, but she should never get out of the X-Men.

Unknown said...

what a mess. Psylocke should keep her name

randybear said...

I'm also just now realizing..if shes Cap Britain now she will be flying and super strength ughhh

Some dude said...

This feels like a cheap ploy by Marvel, and very reminiscent of when Revanche first showed up, to try and have both versions of Psylocke. It didn’t work then and I’m not really interested now. It’s not additive, it’s just redundant.

Unknown said...

Alright...so I liked where this conversation started off but then some of you got petty again lol.

First off, they revealed the whole new line of X-Men books today at SDCC. Am I the only one who feels like this was too hyped up? The quality of the new books seems decent at most, but it doesn't feel like a lot of thought was put into these new books.

I agree that making Betsy the new Captain Britain and Kwannon the official Psylocke makes the separation storyline more tolerable since each character is more fitted to their new titles. We can debate this, or you old-school Betsy fans can see this as a win and make room for the Kwannon and/or Asian Psylocke fans on this site.

What happend to Betsy's friendship with Storm? That doesn't seem to get anymore attention.
As for Storm....it is VERY disappointing to see that once again she is taking orders from Kitty Pryde. The way Storm was treated during the ResurrXion era was disgusting and it seems like this is a return to that. She deserves to have her own team.

Nate X said...

Holy shit!

Betsy = Carol
Kwannon = Khamala

I hope Brian can be Britanic! This is so good!

Rahsaan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Rahsaan said...

This is a great conversation. Like I said Psylocke was Betsy’s slave name given to her by Mojo, like “Reek”from GoT And “Tobey” from Roots. Those were Theon and Kunta Kinte’s lowest points with both characters taken and held against their wills and made into what others wanted them to be, as was Betsy’s when Mojo kidnapped her blind and broken and christened her “the Psylocke.” Maybe she decided it was time to take back the one superhero name she actually chose for herself and wanted, Captain Britain. I’m completely good with this change. For Kwannon it may be a new start to exploring her nee psychic powers as the new Psylocke, and it’s a step up from Revenge and Nothing as code names, which define her by her trauma and is unfair. Betsy as a captain and leader is what she deserves and is ready for. May be a win for both.

Renegade X said...

Well said @Rahsaan. Its time to explore more of them both individually. Speaking of Fallen Angels, are they the only 3 on the time cause everyone else is more but I'm pretty sure it would be more members on the roster.

PoetryInMotion said...

It's an awful development, no matter how you look at it. Betsy Braddock is and should always be known and made known as Psylocke. I'm not picking up a single Marvel title unless Marvel regret and fix this.

Benjamin Hutton said...

I'm fine with Betsy now being Captain Britain, but I'm not interested in her having a Captain britain powerset (which I'd say is doubtful, as they have put Rogue in the book and she will fulfill that role).

I just hope we don't lose any of what was great about Psylocke's rebirth in the last twelve months. And I also hope that this being the 'magic' book doesn't mean it will get disconnected from the rest of the X-Men books and ultimately marginalised.

What a shame Asrar is only doing covers. Such beautiful art.

You all know I stan Kwannon, so I think it's great for her to get a starring role. I don't know how I feel about her taking Psylocke like it's a legacy codename... I can't see any other way than Psylocke passing it to her, which is great.

It's the coming together and making peace between the two women that I wanted to see.

Isn't this a win for everyone? Don't we all now get a version of Psylocke/Betsy/Kwannon that we like?

(And in my case I get TWO! :))

PoetryInMotion said...

Well, how about Betsy Braddock being Psylocke the psychic ninja and sister to Captain Britain in either body? Did Marvel consider that option at all?

I hope and think that eventually Marvel rethink this. There is no way in hell this bodes well for Psylocke's future.

Benjamin Hutton said...

LOL

Also the steadfast refusal to cover any news having to do with Kwannon here cracks me up.

X-Man said...

Eh I'm not sure this will differentiate them though. If Kwannon had an original costume and powerset, I would be more at ease with this. At this point, it looks like she is still copying Betsy to me. Some fans might assume she actually is still Betsy lol. I'm still holding out hope that her telepathic powers leave and her empathic powers kick in. I don't want to see her using the butterfly effect either lol.

FSaker said...

It just occurred to me now: if Betsy now is Captain Britain, what will happen to Brian? Will he change his codename? Will there be two people named Captain Britain walking around? Or is he retiring from superhero life?

Toffnut said...

There really is no way of fixing the cultural appropriation issue while maintaining both characters without being messy, but I do feel like in time it should sort itself out.

While I think that Kwannon deserves to be her own character, I definitely think that, from a business standpoint, Kwannon taking the Psylocke moniker makes the most sense, because for better or for worse, the vast majority of casual (and some hardcore) comic book fans associate the "Psylocke" name with the asian ninja version.

I am personally quite happy with this as an asian comic book fan. I finally get to have my favorite character represented correctly in Kwannon, and Betsy's character has finally evolved into her true self and is where she finally belongs.

This will sort itself out and many people will come to accept Kwannon as Psylocke, and Betsy as Captain Britain. Of course you cannot please everyone.

PoetryInMotion said...

And why not give Psylocke the chance to be her classic iteration in her original body instead of transferring 30 years of continuity into Kwannon?Asian Psylocke showed multiple times that she can still be faithful to her Otherworld origins,given her guest appearances in Excalibur and the Uncanny X-Force arc.

Sorry,there is simply no way I will accept this.

randybear said...

If you're in Twitter please let Jordan White know (@cracksh0t)

Rahsaan said...

Also... Brian never wanted the mantle and she always did. That is canon.

randybear said...

Is Tini Howard any good? I'm not familiar with them.

Benjamin Hutton said...

Exactly. This is literally what Betsy always dreamed of and yearned for.

Congratulations on achieving your dream Betsy. Few people do.

I'll really miss her Asrar costume though. :(

Renegade X said...

If I had to choose a costume for Kwannon this probably the MARVEL NOW or ALL NEW, ALL DIFFERENT look with her hair tied up or in a ponytail. Now IF should would join the MARAUDERS I guess the NEW EXILES updated look lol.

Rahsaan said...

Benjamin, right on! Let’s all raise our swords to Captain Britain!!

randybear said...

Agreed. This is my biggest disappointment the Asrar design already trashed

randybear said...

Betsy is getting the shaft in video games going forward. Developers will want to use Psylocke not Captain Britain lol they will want to use the ninja so Kwannon has greatly leveled up thanks to Betsy

Rahsaan said...

@randy, great point. I also agree with Hickman in that comic book writers should be writing the characters and stories for the evolution of that lore and not trying to anticipate how that will translated into licensing usage in games, film, toys as the comic books are the originators of these characters and you, I, and so many appreciate the literature.

randybear said...

Oh yeah def just making an observation. And as a huge gamer I'm just saying I'll miss seeing Betsy in video games anymore.

FSaker said...

Well, MUA3 came out one day before the new X-books were announced, so the Psylocke in that game is definitely Betsy, not Kwannon (not to mention that her game model doesn't look Asian at all - and MUA3's developers do have experience in modeling Asian characters).

As for future games, who knows? Maybe Captain Britain will become very popular in comics and motivate game developers to add Betsy in their projects. I mean, Carol Danvers didn't get excluded when Kamala became the new Ms. Marvel (yes, Carol is in the MCU movies, but she appeared on some video games as Captain Marvel before her film was even announced). Let's hope Excalibur is a big hit (and also that Betsy can get considerable panel time in the main X-Men book).

Rahsaan said...

@Unknown, I agree regarding Storm. What the entire fuck is the X-Office doing with one of the X-Men’s two greatest leaders??? Why is she once again subordinate to Sprite/Shadowcat on any team?

Renegade X said...

@Rahsaan I would had either Storm or Kurt being captain or co-captains then Pryde seriously.

Unknown said...

The fact that they are using old costumes in these new titles is an issue. Why sell this as a new-dawn but use old costumes that ignore the changes that characters have gone through over the years?
This will create an issue for Psylocke. At the same time, it seems like Betsy and Kwannon each leading their own title is the only fresh change about this new line of books.

I am glad that they are using Storm's most recent costume, but yes @Rahsaan she deserves so much more. Even a solo book.

Also, where is Nightcrawler and Monet?

Unknown said...

This is just cover art people we dont know what they will look like when the issues come out. I've seen covers where the inside has nothing to do with what was portrayed on the cover.

randybear said...

I'm still not vibing the new look for Betsy. It's so clunky and masculine. It hella reminds me of the Netflix She Ra redesign lol she is going to lose her femininity oh well. It's a shame that god forbid a woman be feminine in a comic because the SJW come out in full force "I'm triggered it's not realistic! Betsy doesnt have a sagging fat ass like me!!" Lmao I'm hyperbolic but you get my point

Rahsaan said...

@randy, this is one shot from one angle. The uniform might look feminine from other angles. I dig it. She looks like a knight, which is awesome. Also, the author or the artist or someone said to expect a rotation of uniforms from Bets in this title. To me, this better than at least half the uniforms this character has had. Especially, the really crappy ones during reload and Exiles.

randybear said...

Really?? Can you source it? This is really exciting to hear! Maybe her Asrar design isnt lost just yet!

I was concerned cause I've already seen the SJW fans on Tumblr draw Cap Brit Betsy and good God she hardly resembles a female. They are going to try hard to claim her as this woke masc hero

Rahsaan said...

@randy, fan art is merely that. I enjoy some of it, but don't take most of it seriously, and almost none of them will be drawing for Marvel. I wouldn't worry too much. LOL. Though I wouldn't mind a gender non-conforming character, like Pitrichor in Saga, which is far better than any Marvel stuff I have ever read to date. And the GNC people I know in real life tend to be more real and braver than most folks I know who aren't them. But, yes, Betsy is a feminine cis woman, so changing her would not be my first choice. LOL. Anyway, this is one official image... I wouldn't fret. This book is going to be dope, I think. Let me see if I can find that Marcus To comment about her outfits for you.

randybear said...

Also I dont know anything about Tini Howard or their writing style so hopefully they deliver some good stories.

Also am I the only one who was hoping Alan Davis on covers or AT LEAST a fucking variant cover? Do any of the gears in these editors heads ever churn?

Anonymous said...

I am sure he is King of Otherworld....and a father. He can't travel around like he used to as King....so Betts takes up the mantle.