Excalibur #13
Writer: Tini Howard
Art by: R.B. Silva
Cover by: Mahmud Asrar
Variant Cover by: Lee Garbett
Nightcrawler Timeless Variant Cover by: Alex Rossross
The Story:
X of Swords – Chapter 9
Opposition. Despair. The dark night of the soul.
In Stores: October 21, 2020
“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.
45 comments:
Yay more pleasant Betsy 😑 shes so damn unlikable
@Randybear I'll wait to read issue, but I agree somewhat. I like that Tini knows a lot about Betts, but I'm not convinced that she actually knows Betsy yet. Betsy is reminding me of a spoiled brat in these panels (which seems very out of character), but I won't judge until I know the full context of them. However, based on some interviews with Tini (written and audio), I get the impression that she might possibly believe that's who Betsy is and that concerns me (for instance, calling Betts entitled and a Fairy Princess etc etc). Time will tell I guess.
Howard may know Betsys history but shes consistently written Betsy as moody and unpleasant, and it continues here.. Shes rarely ever charming anymore and when she's not angry she's whining about everything.
Id love to see how Hickman or Zeb Wells would write Betsy but apparently only women are allowed to write Betsy these days. Howard and Williams talk about how they are essentially writing "fanfics" for each other as Williams is a huge Excalibur and Howard says she loves XFactor. They literally admitted to approaching their work as fanfic 🤮
I couldn't agree more! They also emasculated Gambit. He's way too soft. I mean, he used to be a badass.
Ikr he follows Rogue around like a puppy dog. He used to be cool and mysterious now he waits for Rogue to give permission to steal
It's a weird scene, indeed. And for more than one reason, I would say: yes, Betsy being so moody for no apparent reason is already strange, but also, wasn't Brian the one who was sullen the last time they talked? Why is he so cheerful and in such a good mood out of a sudden?
And since randybear mentioned Gambit and Rogue, is Howard at least writing Rogue right? After leaving her in a coma for almost the entire first arc, getting good characterization is the least she deserves.
I like how she writes Rogue but she's definitely under utilized IMO. I love Rogue but in Excalibur she's just.. there.
Now I get the Howard interview comment about understanding Betsy as a mean girl. Facepalming my rolled eyes. Save Betsy!
I'm pro female writers if they do their job properly and don't crap on existing work and set characters. To say I'm displeased in a polite way.
Also why Betsy's hair are dirty pink? That poor girl.
I asked both the colorist and the useless assistant editor if they could please make sure her hair is colored purple but both ignored me lol I wasn't rude at all just saids been colored pink lately and to please remember it was purple but they don't care.
Its digitally colored so it could be an easy fix its not like these colorists are actually using real art supplies so they could have easily corrected it before they approved it. Oh well no secret they suck.
I honestly wish Betsy took The Sword of Might. Fits more with her character.
I have zero interest in any animated series for the X-Men. Disney is so stingy have you seen the awful shows they've produced for the Avengers and Spiderman? Not only do they reboot the series multiple times but the art style and art quality is absolute garbage.
Even the 90s Marvel shows looked better than the crap Disney has produced as far as their Marvel animated shows.
If they came up with a good aesthic and decent animation I'd be here for it but its not going to happen.
Well, that was weird...Elizabeth is not that unreasonable. Really hope it's not going the spoiled princess pathway, Betsy is far beyond that.
Tini Howard went over her head with the swords event and drums into our heads this new Betsy but we don't fall head over heels in love with her because Betsy has a good head on her shoulders and we lose our heads to watch editors bury their heads in the sand in front of this weird Betsy and your comments hit the nail on the head.
I love the concept of Betsy being heavily involved with Otherworld and leading Excalibur but im so bored with Howard's rendition of Betsy.
Shes not pleasant, she has done nothing creative at all with her abilities, she yells and screams at Brian, Jamie, Apocalypse (basically any man because men = bad) in near all their encounters. She's done absolutely nothing of interest in the 12 issues if Excalibur so far.
I'm pretty close to dropping the xmen. No loss for me itll save me a lot of money.
I'm just going to see where they take Betsy after Swords event and make my decision then.
@randybear in the past people commented the writing is trash and now I share the wish somebody else comes to write Excalibur.
Well to be fair, I will say Jamie and "A" kinda deserve being yelled at most of the time haha, and Brian was kinda moody with her as well when she was trying to talk to him before
(I think one time he was even standing in the dark or rain and she sensed he was there, she saw him outside and he didn't talk to her lol). Now he's super chipper for some reason lol.
I actually don't mind her being sharp with them. I mind that they have her reminding me of that spoiled girl in "Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory" smh. She actually has facial expressions that are reminding me of a spoiled child vs a grown woman. It literally looks like she is stomping off like a kid. I rather sarcastic/snippy than this.
That's never been Betsy. Hopefully the issue is actually good.
My point is the fact that among the small handful if characters shes able to interact with in Howard's Excalibur bubble aren't even pleasant interactions.
Id rather see her more involved with more of her better known allies than yelling at her siblings and Apocalypse every other issue.
Ita.
"My point is the fact that among the small handful if characters shes able to interact with in Howard's Excalibur bubble aren't even pleasant interactions."
Which is surprising considering that three of her best friends (Rogue, Gambit and Jubilee) are also in Excalibur.
And that's what bothers me, even before I have any chance of getting to read this book (HoX/PoX will be concluded in my country this month only, and it was already announced that the only Dawn of X titles starting next month will be X-Men, New Mutants and Fallen Angels). Excalibur could have been a light, fun title showing Betsy and her group of friends having some fantastical adventures in Otherworld, then coming home to Krakoa at the end of each arc and enjoying themselves and meeting their friends that are in other groups. You know, kinda like Claremont's Excalibur (which is quite praised even to this day, and even with all the excessive dialogues and thought bubbles he always had in his works).
Instead, from what I read you guys commenting in this blog, and from what I read people commenting on the CBR's X-Books forums, the impression I have is that Howard's Excalibur isn't light and fun at all, with characters often being miserable for no reason. I've also seen people complain that she leaves off-panel much information on what's happening in the story, forcing the reader to try to guess how things advanced from point A to point B. Granted, sometimes this can be okay, but not when it happens too frequently.
Maybe when I finally get the chance to read Excalibur, my opinion will be more positive than yours. But when so many people identify the same problems in the book, it doesn't seem likely that I won't find (and be upset due to) these problems as well...
Shes barely interacted with Rogue and Gambit they all just stand around. She had like 1 page where she interacted with Rogue after she woke up from the coffin and people on twitter acted like they had a whole issue together. They had another small moment around a campfire im Otherworld again maybe 1 page long.
Betsy probably interacts the most with Jubilee but its all melancholy "do you trust me, what should I do, I don't know, we must try" boring dull crap.
yeah Howard's Excalibur contains aspects of the original (featuring a Captain Britain, Otherworld) but theres no charm or fun.
The original run of Excalibur was beaming with charm and energy. It was lighting in a bottle that can't be replicated so people that say Howard's Excalibur is just as good or better are liars who never read the OG run by CC and Davis.
And yes the writing is very disjointed. Aside from issue #10 which 100% takes place in Jamie's reality bubble the issues jump from plot to plot.
I'm sure Howard has a large plot in store but you really need a lot of patience and tolerance for how dislikable her characters are written.
I love how she writes Rogue, she's sassy and has the southern accent but she's severely under utilized.
Rictor has had a few moments but he's boring. Im a gay hispanic but I have zero interest in Rictor he's bland af.
Its also cringe how people imply Apocalypse and Rictor are in love. Can we read an issue of a comic without assuming all the characters want to fuck each other?
It's sad. This roster is possibly the roster in any Dawn of X book that has the biggest potential to provide great stories...
By the way, today I bought and read the last part of HoX/PoX (these miniseries were published here in four editions, each of them collecting some of the issues of these miniseries). Great ending, even if a bit bittersweet, as it indicates that the prosperity of the Krakoan society will eventually be over and mutantkind will lose again, like they did in every life Moira had.
But what got me thinking is that, in the end, there is a gallery with variant covers and one of them shows Cylobel (that telepath from one of the bad futures) - but her eyes and her uniform aren't in the colors from her appearance in the story, they're lavender. I recall someone said in the comments from another article in this blog that Cylobel could have been created from Betsy's DNA - and looking at that art, I can see why that person would think that.
Which reminds me that few days ago, we were discussing whether Betsy should reclaim the Psylocke codename or not, in case she loses the CB mantle (and most of you considered she shouldn't, as Kwannon has already tainted it). In that case, would Cylobel be a good choice for a new codename?
Hey I just noticed that Jamie is wearing Sinister's cape that he "traded" Princess Silkmane for in Hellions #5...Hilarious.
She could always use Lady Braddock as a codename as thats what she was called in Casey's Age of X.
I'd be find if she just used her name Betsy Braddock ala Emma Frost/Jean Grey/Rachel Summers etc
It's a struggle to give the Psylocke and the butterfly to Kwannon because Psylocke is written in British. They wanted to separate the two on their cultures one British and one Asian. The British is knights and Avalon and the other ninjas and the Hand. Makes no sense to have a ninja with a British name and a butterfly symbol of England. I entered purple butterfly and it has one myth of a fairy queen, native purple butterflies in the UK and that the English people believe dead babies turn to butterflies.
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/insects-invertebrates/facts-about-purple-emperor-butterflies/
https://books.google.gr/books?id=rUqpAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA153&lpg=PA153&dq=purple+butterfly+english+lore&source=bl&ots=PQVYW6jNGB&sig=ACfU3U0FHvtsO7ZLM7kq2gmcZ0s8jLXz0g&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi9-eD57r3sAhWDsaQKHSmjCaAQ6AEwGnoECAEQAg#v=onepage&q=purple%20butterfly%20english%20lore&f=false
https://www.giveitlove.com/the-meaning-behind-purple-butterfly-stickers-in-hospitals/?view-all&firefox=1
Lady Braddock... you're right, it does sound great!
Psylocke can be cleaned easy when Betsy takes it back. There is history with Betsy adventuring as Psylocke and once the kooky times end it'll be back. Nothing compares.
As much as I gripe about Howard I applaud her idea of Swords. I love the glow up shes giving Saturyne and I love the prophecy aspect, the tournament the special swords its all very cool
Rosenberg rubbed me the wrong way by applauding only Hickman and Jordan White for the Swords event. Everyone knows that Howard is the big mastermind here and his excuse was he didn't forget he was just "eating a peanut butter sandwich" at the time he tweeted. Oh nice save.. 🙄
I called his ass out. Credit is due where its due and that was some weak excuse for excluding Howard. While I dont care for how she's written Betsy so far she seems like a nice person from her interviews and she engages a lot of fans tweets
And I refuse to believe that lazy POS Jordan White deserves to be applauded before Howard does in regards to Swords.
Anyway ill be buying tomorrow's Excalibur first thing in the morning. Im excited to finally see where the Brian subplot will be going plus art by RB Silva?? Yes please! I'm curious to see how Howards scripts are interpreted by Silvas art style. While I love To's style he has a way of not being able to convey some moments very well IMO. For instance the fight between Betsy and Brian back in #6 fell so flat with how To drew it.
Jesus i can't with autocorrect lol
The only thing at this point that would upset me is if she lost ANY of the following: her purple hair, telepathy, psionic weapons
Or if they kill her and remake her as a more masculine type character.
I'm hoping that if she is killed, its only so that Merlin and Roma may approach her officially to offer her the choice ala Brian years ago.
I keep wondering if people who wanted Betsy's original body restored think this asset-stripping of her character was all worth it now, if it meant doing away with the Asian ninja chick theme. Asian Psylocke still felt more of a natural progression of her 70's and 80's form compared to what they're doing.
Well playing devil's advocate some could say was wanting her in someone else's body so badly worth it lol?
If any stripping has happened imo it is because of Kwannon coming back on the scene and taking/getting things like her powers and codename, and Kwannon is on the scene (again just imo) due to the fact that Marvel thinks people want to see the Asian form. So one could deduce that the stripping isn't so much due to people wanting her in the original body, but more so to appease the need for people who desperately wanted to see an Asian Psylocke (which we now indeed have). I say this because I doubt anyone was really shouting from the rooftops asking for the return of specifically Kwannon (but they were asking for Asian Psylocke).
That said, I don't think either group is really "at fault" besides Marvel. It's not like they both weren't ninja's when Kwannon was in Betsy's body, they could have just done that again with them in their proper bodies.
Anyway for me. I definitely wanted her in her original body, because her controlling a minority's body was too similar to the "Get Out" movie concept, in addition to that, she was taunted cruelly all the time about it and did not want to be stuck inside someone else's body (despite current writers trying to hint otherwise).
I've never championed for a character I really liked to continuenly suffer lol. She honestly never even looked Asian to me 97 percent of the time (and more like a white woman) which made the taunting ever more annoying lol.
I also think Tini is writing a watered down version of everyone currently. Not just Betsy.
I loved the combat tactics she applied at the end of "Hunt For Wolverine" when she first got her body back and definitely loved her in Disassembled. So we've seen that she can be handled well with the right writer (just like Kwannon is much better in Hellions than in that imo crappy Fallen Angels)
I hope that Tini either steps up with her writing (as I do think she has potential, but I think she is too focused on magic/d&d like stuff first, then characters) or we have to wait until we get another writer. We shall see.
@X-Man, to your first question; if it means respecting linearity and staying true to her characterisation, then yes, it is. Practically every post-Claremont era writer did, other than some cringey Asian themes (mostly aesthetic in nature).
Maybe I should have clarified what I asked, as in whether reverting Betsy to her original body at the cost of transferring a huge amount of her characterisation to someone else, who'll never live up to the quality of the original, was worth it.
If they can let Psylocke be Psylocke irrespective of how her face looks like, then go for it. But that's not the direction they want for her, and I just can't get behind the Captain Britain mantle at all.
Thanks for your very civil and thoughtful answer!
No problem :) Like I said neither group is at fault imo. Marvel is just not always smart lol.
We really could have just had 2 ninjas like before who could have teamed up and went after Spiral or something lol.
Btw I myself would rather she not be Captain Britain as well.
Especially when all we see are redundant psionic skills anyway nothing really psychically creative so far (and nothing that screams having a Captain Britain powerset). I rather she really stand on her own 2 feet or have gotten the Sword of Might (creating her own original name and not taking a mantle held by Brian so long).
I actually have the same issue with Kwannon. I like her better on Hellions that FA, but she was reliant on Empath to alter people's moods in just the last issue. They literally could have just given her the empathic powers she was already supposed to have and written her powers as creatively as they write his. Instead she has the same powerset as Betsy, but at a lower power level (aaaaaaaaaaaah lol). Different power sets would have further differentiated the two women and give them stand alone identities. Smh lol.
Hopefully this event steers everything/everyone in a better character driven direction :)
"The only thing at this point that would upset me is if she lost ANY of the following: her purple hair, telepathy, psionic weapons"
That reminds me, wasn't she bald in Paradise X? And she looked very cool in that story.
Then again, she also had a HUGE psychic butterfly around her head, and thanks to White not wanting her to have this signature anymore, a bald Betsy could end up looking too similar to Moondragon (and thus lacking a distinctive visual signature).
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