AiPT!: From Sunfire and Firestar to Thunderbird and Captain Britain, everybody’s getting time to shine in a scrolling format. So, it was only fair that X-Fans got to check in with Steve Orlando and Steve Foxe — along with Phillip Sevy, the artist on several of X-Men Unlimited‘s chapters — and ask about Rictor, Shatterstar, and other fan-favorites.
AIPT: Betsy Braddock came out swinging in X-Men Unlimited with a voice that’s more certain and powerful than we’ve seen recently. Would you say all the events happening in the U.K. and the world have brought out the “gives no *****” Betts? And how much fun is writing her this way?
Orlando: I definitely think the events in the U.K. and the world, in general, have put Betsy in an imperative position. But it’s been a blast to watch her flex her power and agency. And as a special note, it’s been an asset having some fellow X-Writers on speed dial to ensure Betsy’s British lingo is as on-point as possible.
Foxe: I think our Betsy follows pretty closely on the heels of the transformative work Tini Howard did on the character across Excalibur, Knights of X, and Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain. Betsy, in whatever form, has been a nuanced and quite spicy character for decades, and Tini helped establish Betsy as a leading lady for a new era. Fall of X pushed a lot of characters to their limits, and Betsy – who not only has responsibilities toward mutantkind, but to the United Kingdom as a symbolic crusader – really got a raw deal trying to tolerate the antics of Orchis and the British government. She’s been enormous fun to write and a huge asset to the cast dynamic.
AIPT: Phil, I’ve loved your rendition of Betsy Braddock. Not only has that helmet never looked cooler, but I feel like every time we see her, she’s accompanied by crackling psychic energy (whether around her head, fist, or sword.) What do you love about illustrating Betsy?
Sevy: I’ve tried to use the helmet in a way that illustrates her power. When her helmet is off, she’s Betsy and she’s a bit more vulnerable. She’s showing you her face and what she looks like. I draw her a bit more feminine in those scenes. When her helmet is on, it’s go time. I use that as a reason to draw her more aggressive and masculine. She’s in battle and at war.
As a character, I very much connect with how Betsy’s identity is internal, and her external representation isn’t always reflective of who she is — so trying to show different sides of her (feminine, masculine, soft, aggressive, etc.) in how I depict her is the fun challenge. And also, I came into X-Men with the Jim Lee Psylocke design — so it was psychic knives and all that. So when I got a chance to draw her impaling Absalom’s head with her dagger, I was like “9-year-old me is SO happy right now.”
AIPT: Phil, you’re drawing so many different characters throughout this X-Men Unlimited arc. As an artist, is that an exciting challenge? An intimidating one?
Sevy: With this book, since there are so many characters that come at you so fast, I haven’t had as much time — but there are basic shortcuts that you can use to capture a character. Thunderbird — big guy, cocky, aggressive. Shatterstar — lithe, flirty, agile. Betsy — powerful, annoyed, a presence. Etc. Keeping costume details correct when you’re drawing a gaggle of characters can be really hard. Thankfully I have a giant reference folder I have open constantly.
“For so long, my life has been out of control. Chaos and serendipity, wrapped in insanity. I have suffered, I have lost. Not just my life, but my very soul, my self. But no more. Now I know who I am.” – Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, daughter of Otherworld, mutant, telepath, telekinetic, defender of the realm and, above all, X-Man.
16 comments:
So I guess you were right about the masculine thing @Randybear and @Rahsaan.
Its an interesting approach but I don't think he necessarily has to make her physically look masculine to show she's more aggressive etc etc in battle.
I still hope she can get rid of those colors soon and get a whole new outfit our Dissasembled costume back (permanently).
I agree. I know Sevy didn't mean it, but it came across as kind of misogynistic.
Love that AIPT let slide the slight dig at TH's Betsy. lmao
My suspicions were correct. Throughout Excalibur whenever Betsy was in OW (almost no one noticed these details) her armor was slightly different more bulky, larger pieces etc Same for the rest of the team it's the reason Rogue didn't keep that nice black and green look becuase OW would transform her green yellow look into that one etc Anyway my point is when we would see Betsy I'm her OW armor the artist were probably reminded to make Betsy taller than the other women, make her more muscular looking when standing next to characters like Saturyne or Rogue. Go back and look you'll see what I mean. But TH did allow Betsy to look more like herself when she would get to wear and gowns and such on occasion.
@randy good catch. Similar to how Madelyn’s original Inferno altered the X-Men’s look and mindsets,along with Manhattan.
That being said, I actually like the transformation if written intentionally.
@Nate to your point, there is an inference that femininity is not strong or vicious which is far from the case, but I see where he is going and I don’t think his intent was misogyny as testosterone by evolutionary design is meant for these things and all gender and sexes reap those benefits of testosterone-induced masculinity when needed in situations. As we also reap the benefits of our respective levels of estrogen and femininity when needed. We all are various mixture of femininity and masculinity. Both biologically and sociologically. And those aspects when integrated fully serves us well. And when they are not integrated or overly skewed can be detrimental, such as toxic masculinity.
What about toxic femininity? Is there no such thing?
I think the point of Betsy as a character is completely lost ad Captain Britain. She never wanted to be a hero, or the fame. She works under her own conditions and always willing to let herself be sacrificed to save others. Plus the facade the pink outfits and the demeanor intended to fake her opponents into under estimating her. She loses these traits by wearing a superman outfit now and being a public hero may seem organic but it dulls the character completely
I think Captain Britain Betsy failed because she was written in toxic femininity direction.
That too. I mean when the writer blatantly says to the people that she is essentially creating work for are all wrong.. well makes it a hard pill to swallow. But as said before proof is in the numbers her books all tanked with time and worse with each new volume given.
@Psi-Psi, I know someone would reply with a “what about…” Clearly, toxic femininity is a real phenomenon. I know as much from many women of color who have experienced it in the feminist movement. I referenced toxic masculinity as a man who has both perpetuated it and experienced it. Thus, it was what came to mind first from my own experience. Nothing more, nothing less.
*knew
I also expressly asserted that both femininity and masculinity have positive attributes when we embrace all aspects of ourselves. I stand by my whole statement. In fact, that was the main point of my reply when pieces are not selectively parser out of the entire statement.
Facts the Captain Kettle duds gotta have testosterone jabs inside. No way Betsy grows Schwarzenegger just like that.
Psi psi Coward poured her toxic femininity in Betsy to be her loudspeaker spew her nonsense. Tini thought of Betsy as the entitled White rich girl in interviews and wrote her so by refusing to hand back Brian his Amulet of Right. Totally outta char not normal Betsy
Rahsaan you are right men and women got both sides when occasion calls. The bad was Betsy did a 180 and machoed up overnight when before she was glamming up and enjoyed her femininity.
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