EW: Writer Tini Howard shares her thoughts on her uninspired, bland version of Betsy Braddock and her uneventful book "Knights of X".
On Captain Britain
Tini Howard: For me, the most interesting thing about this character has always been that they're not a nationalist hero, they're a magical hero who defends the idea of story and legend. I like looking at those legends and talking about what kind of people are allowed to have these victory stories. What kind of people are allowed to be heroes?
On Brian and Betsy Braddock
Tini Howard: The biggest difference between Betsy and Brian is that Betsy is too smart to trust the narratives because she understands they weren't written for her. They were written for people like Brian. The fact that she knows that, and isn't afraid to change the story, is what scares the people in power. If you're Brian Braddock and you are a straight white man that lives in England, and a magical man appears to you and says, 'I have a quest for you,' you're more likely to trust that. But if you are a queer woman and mutant, and a man appears to you and tells you that he has something for you to do, that carries a different charge and a different level of trust.
On Betsy and Rachel
Tini Howard: One of the most exciting and affirming moments I can remember as a comics reader was reading Peter David and Valentine De Landro's X-Factor #45, turning the page and being completely surprised by a kiss between Rictor and Shatterstar. It was just such an incredible thing, how it was treated like any other awesome surprise kiss, and so exciting. Also, I think kissing is very important to good X-Men stories. There's such a thrill when two characters you like kiss, it's like winning the Super Bowl...I imagine. I've spent three years working behind the scenes to create that feeling for others that I so loved myself. That's what making art is all about, to me.
On archetypes
Tini Howard: I have a real love for the sorceress and the knight. From Final Fantasy to Geralt and Yennefer in The Witcher, I love a sword-wielder and their more magical partner who is equally powerful and tough. That dynamic lets the characters react to the expectation that one of you defends the other or something; instead they can show how partnerships actually work and how people actually love each other.
On Knights of X #5
Tini Howard: In Knights of X #5, we'll learn a bit more specifically about the power and potential that the connection between Rachel and Betsy is capable of. Rachel's past taught her to claim space for herself outside of the desires of others, and she's going to be in a role to help Betsy to learn this as well.
“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.
28 comments:
I know you all will discuss Howard's thoughts on Betsy and Rachel, and I'll probably join you later as well... but for now, what really annoys me is that she's just KILLED Gambit, one of the most famous X-Men (mind you, he was killed in Otherworld, which would basically mean that he died FOR REAL)... and she didn't even bother to mention him in this article.
I guess the fact that Betsy's team went through Siege Perilous with his corpse and that it disappeared right afterwards could be an indication that he'll somehow be resurrected in the next issue. I really, REALLY hope that's the case.
Not surprising. She doesn't care about the cast. They're all props to Betsy. Even Rachel is only relegated as Betsy's lover. What was the point of bringing Kylun and Bei the Blood Moon? They've done nothing.
Each time she says something turns everything more crapier
Effin stop her. Marvel pays Claremont to keep away from writing and wastes money on her. For real?!
Like she cares for Betsy? As if. She called Betsy a mean filthy rich White girl has Betsy insecure and afraid of her shadow. Pshh she only cares for lamo larping fanfic.
Don't really care for this interview. Seems kinda silly to me tbh.
Tini Howard cannot write Betsy Braddock to save her life (much like how Jonathan Hickman cannot write Jean Grey to save his life)!!! She's been writing Betsy for more than three years and we haven't seen any layers to her character nor any amazing feats she can do.
Tini can't even write nor portray Meggan well!
I'm convinced he and she are trolling. LMAO: https://twitter.com/cerebrocast/status/1550281439798652928?s=27&t=m1SXFQWzI_qRn6IcrJT8cg
The sooner Tini and Cerebro Podcast guy are gone the better. I honestly think Tinis Betsy wouldn’t suck so much if stopped listening to her friend Cerebrocast. She literally writes everything this guys wants for Betsy.
Awful, just awful. I'm gay af, but reading this gives me a headache. It seems like the story does not have the highest priority for Howard. The most important thing for her is political activism. I'm not sure if I want to read uninspired stuff like that. Zeb Wells, for instance, is also very keen on politics, but this doesn't seem to affect his work. Hellions was brilliant. I wish he had written Betsy.
Nothing in the Oct solicits regarding Betsy. I guess November. Sucks Howard's next Betsy book will be delayed just want that garbage to start so we can get through it. I would be amazed if she got a 4th book with Betsy
Thankfully, Tini's books sell like shit, so the new book won't get past 5 issues again. Y'all better no buy it. Let it flop. Read on piracy websites.
The most vocal people on twitter who essentially shape the comics dont even buy them lmao they cater to pirate readers but whatever
Are they dumb? Must be to buy this. The writing the tone the crap everything. Krakoa is a sex show who fs who. I'm done with the X-Men they suck how they become. It's monsters like Howard who destroy the fun in comics.
Her input on Betsy and Brian is so nauseating that it gives Comicsgate nuts a reason to exist...
A fourth book ... That means at least another year of this. It's so disappointing.
Scroll down toward the comment section of that EW article, guys, I am living for that dragging she gets in the comments. Happy to see there's still some sanity left in this world.
Because Brian is a white straight male hes stupid? She needs to go man, shes a complete hack.
I'd rather Betsy was dead than written by her.
No offense to Tini, but she mentions Peter David's run of X-Factor as her inspiration. I get that as his moment with Ric and Shatterstar is iconic. However, if memory serves he did a really great job building on their relationship. Also, their relationship also had many building blocks during Loeb's run, which David built further with nuance. Despite what is being said, Betsy and Rachel during Claremont's Uncanny reload and during Woods' all-women X-Men never at all felt remotely romantic or sexual.
Nothing about Tini's writing has been nuanced during the Krakoan era and the dialogue in her books has been very wooden (It has gotten tons better in KoX, but still...)
Maybe there is still time for Rachel and Bets to be done right if Marvel does plan to make them a great love story. It may just have to be another writer writing them.
Peter David writes all his characters really well with clearly defined and distinct and interesting personalities in his ensemble books. I have yet to see Tini Howard do this in her X books. She has gotten better though. I pray this third installment post Knights that she writes better dialogue, better power usage scenes, and better characterizations of her whole cast versus marginalizing most of the characters in books that feature them.
Right. I can't recall any meaningful conversation between the characters. Even Gambit/Rogue conversations always fell flat. You're too optimistic. We've been doing this dance for 3 years now. Her writing will not get any better. My only hope is that this new book ends soon.
I was hopeful Claremont would cherry pick Betsy for his X-Treme X-Men revival and save her along Rogue and Gambit. However to no avail and I'm afraid Betsy will continue to be defecated upon by more unispiring writing.
@Jaime Braz, I'm still confused by his X-Treme X-Men revival... I mean, the original run wasn't terrible (but it wasn't great, either), but was there any demand from readers to have more stories taking place right after that run, rather than the present time?
It's also not very promising when we remember the last time Claremont decided to write an X-book taking place after an old story with X-Men Forever...
I am sorry, FSaker (I dont know if you remind me, but I know you for years - since orkut community to be more specific lol), but the death of boring undeveloped useless (lets be honest) Gambit its the least important thing here... Tini Howard is using Betsy, Rachek Rictor and Meggan (which are amazing and powerful characters) on a filler book. Yes filler! Cuz this useless book is a wanna be dungeon and dragons + thr lord of the rings mutant reductive try. I really hate her job as writter.
preach, girl. this woman is garbage
Marvel Comics: please fire this woman!!!! She is horrible as a writter. She has in hands one of the most interesting and diverse characters with an amazing magic Lord of The Rings/DungeonNDragon background and still doing NOTHING relevant or worse: nothing really interesting.
This the one right here:
Ralph • 6 hours ago
It hurts me to the bone that this article came after one specific issue with a gay kiss which might mislead readers that the bashing is in fact covert homophobia. But truth is Tini poor understanding of betsy character and what has granted her popularity has been a huge concern against betsy braddock’s fandom since the first issues of Excalibur. Reading that tini is in fact projecting her inner struggles in the character as a scapegoat for such de-characterization also bugs me. While I do love the fact we have real women behind marvel titles and thus we have real life parallels with the difficulties women face in real life, I feel that Tini’s execution makes us read betsy as an entirely new character. Despite the over sexualization of the character in her ninja days, which is thankfully far gone, betsy has always carried many possible and inherent ways to explore and discuss gender pressures, but insecurity, body issues, excessive guilt are in the extreme opposite of the betsy Braddock we grew to love. And no, we had no mary sue, betsy had many flaws to be explored if the writer wanted to keep her alway from being mrs perfection. Aside of betsy poor take, the story overall feels dragged, the dialogue is cringe worthy, the connections with the excalibur, x-men and the braddock’s lore are limited and uninspired. Betsy and rachel romance came out of nowhere, displaced, with no true building, it felt empty leading to no emotion… as for establishing betsy as bi, I love it. But her t betsy’s often depicted intense and pragmatic sexual energy toward men was an interesting aspect of her character because back in the 90’s society, this was a badass inversion of gender roles. When betsy first came out as bi with cluster, I remember getting a bit upset concerned how a lasting relationship with another woman would keep her from displaying this recurring trait of her personality. I mean it was amazing to see an alpha male stereotype like cyclops gasping with betsy’s flirtations, betsy’s alleging that her first night with phantomex was to simply satisfy her curiosity. I personally like when straight guys don’t get the upperhand in their relationships with women. Perhaps I read it as reparation. Well I hope we don’t get to see any bi-erasure for betsy and we get to see her in the full totality of her sexuality
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