Geoffrey Thorne, writer of the most recent X-Force run, shared his final thoughts and detailed annotations on what he had planned for the book before its cancellation. Among the most intriguing revelations was what he intended for Betsy Braddock in future arcs.
For Betsy fans, this was especially bittersweet — Thorne outlined an entire storyline centering on her, which unfortunately we may never get to see. Below is his full commentary regarding Betsy’s planned arc:
“The following arc would have been Betsy-centric, dealing with denizens of Otherworld doing some unpleasant things on 616 Earth, garnering Betsy’s attention forcing her to step in. We would have learned why she’s reluctant to access her Captain Britain abilities and not return to Otherworld.
Obviously, the other members of X-Force would have been pulled into this mess (except Forge at first who is being a dick about it) and would have culminated with at least one massive change to Betsy’s status quo. As with the notions about Piotr, my thoughts about what can and probably should be done with Betsy have been expressed to the Powers That Be. presumably they’re noodling it. If they reject it, I’ll sketch out the bones here for those that are interested in such things. There would have been magic (Sage’s bane), and there would have been at least two universe-shifting revelations.”
It’s clear Thorne had big plans for Betsy, involving Otherworld, magic, and significant changes to her status quo. Whether Marvel decides to pick up his pitch or let him reveal it in full remains to be seen.
🔎 Other Highlights from Thorne’s Notes:
- He developed deep empathy for Colossus and planned to give him a vacation from the endless mutant conflicts, with a new take on his character.
- The full X-Force story was planned as a 15-issue arc divided into 3 parts, but it was truncated due to cancellation and crossover demands.
- Planned spotlights included Sage’s backstory and mental health struggles, Rachel’s liberation from the Phoenix legacy, and more nuanced dynamics between Sage and Forge.
- A key reveal would have shown why Rachel and Betsy were holed up in the Braddock estate (Rachel mind-wiping a whole town) and that Tank’s true identity was Colossus.
- The Solution — the antagonist group — was conceived as a terrifying, decentralized ideology rather than a traditional villainous organization, echoing real-world terror networks.
- Deadpool was slated to make at least one more chaotic appearance, targeting Forge.
Thorne closed his notes by expressing gratitude to the fans who supported the book and leaving open the possibility that his pitches might still be used someday.
Whatever comes next, it’s clear that he put a lot of thought into giving each character depth, especially Betsy. Fingers crossed that his ideas for her eventually see the light of day.
“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.
8 comments:
I’m hoping his pitch after XForce was cancelled wasn’t rejected. I’m sure by now he would have mentioned it, I wonder if it’s slated for after the upcoming crossover
How convenient eh. Cebullskit blew Thorne's joint cause he wants Betsy stuck as Captain Kettle and Revanche keep mooching off Betsy's Psylocke to Kingdom Come.
The idea that Betsy was "reluctant to use her Captain Britain powers" is intriguing because it reframes what often felt like underpowered writing (talking about Howards writing) as possibly a character choice. Was that reluctance ever fully textually supported? Howard wrote her with discomfort and insecurity , but I did not notice a narrative arc showing Betsy consciously holding back her CB powers, but I may have missed that as I admit to not reading any of that too closely. So, for me, it often just came off as her being oddly nerfed. Between her telepathy, telekinesis, combat training, and the Captain Britain powers (which include dimensional awareness, enhanced strength, flight, magic-adjacent abilities via Otherworld), she should’ve been operating at Omega level.
Agreed. She’s a captain Britain with powerful telepathy and telekinesis plus combat etc but yet she just swings around that useless psysword most of the time
I do really hope that he gets a chance to write these stories in the future, especially for Betsy and Colossus, they've been the most mistreated characters by the X-Office
@randybear I agree Howard’s run often had Betsy fighting with psychic swords and standard mutant abilities, rarely pushing the Captain Britain side in inventive or overwhelming ways. That made it harder to see her as someone empowered by both legacies — mutant and magical — despite having the raw potential to be one of the most formidable characters on the board.
And that’s where the idea of “reluctance” gets interesting. If it were a character choice, it would be more surprising and revealing to have Betsy say something like when facing a overwhelmigly powerful opponent, “There was a time when I craved the hand-to-hand combat — I was an action junkie. But I forgot that I could just as easily end this from a distance.” And then she just psy-blasts them and walk away, Indiana Jones–style — like when Indy shoots that giant sword-wielding guy because he’s just over the theatrics. That moment would not only highlight her evolution, but finally acknowledge the full range of her powers — and that she doesn’t have to constantly prove herself through brute force. She can win smarter, with style and power — and with the confidence of someone who’s learned she doesn’t need to fight like someone else anymore.
We were robbed
I think he meant she was unwilling during his series, not TH's, and he would explain why in that arc.
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