In an exclusive interview with AiPT!, the senior editor of the X-Men line finally admitted defeat and acknowledged that Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain was cancelled after just 5 issues due to abysmal sales. What is unsettling is his decision to go public and state that there are still no plans for Betsy, when any reasonable person knew this book was dead on arrival, especially after the poor sales of Knights of X. Marvel's blind faith in Tini Howard and this direction for Betsy once again proved to be a mistake, further evidence the incompetence of those in charge.
Jordan: I can’t give you too much right now, unfortunately. That was a book that I’m sad to say is ending at issue 5. We had hoped that it would continue and unfortunately it was not able to. So as a result, things that we had hoped to have happen with her in that book are off the table for now. I’m confident she will pop back up. We will weave her through our plans, but I have nothing I can reveal at this time, unfortunately.
“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.
18 comments:
I hope she pops back up with a new writer smh and more grounded stuff, less magic D&D type of stories. I'd love Remender or Yost to write her again. I need a break from Howard.
It kinda sounded like they may have possible plans for Rachel though when I read the interview.
Maybe @Rahsaan is correct at Betsy and Rachel possibly breaking up then? I'm only guessing this if we might possibly be seeing Rachel and not Betsy, but Jordan didn't even seem sure about that.
I'm also hoping somehow she is done being CB. Time will tell.
Good f*cking riddance. How can he say they had hopes it would survive, when they did absolutely nothing to change the formula?
Whoddya think you fooling White not me not anybody. Betsy as Captain Britain won't sell a tampon in commercials. You killed a heroine without a sorry come out your greasy lips. Attempt the same on Ororo and Jean and see what's coming after you. Brotherhood and the X-men shown bits of shakeup so watch out your hide.
The disappointment is strong with Jordan White's reply.
It's understandable the high execs never admit defeat and rarely take responsibility for their wrong choices. Betsy's Disassembled and Age of X-Man era was the path they should have stayed on.
Stripping a character off the identity previously occupied for many years alienates old fans. It works as a deterrent for new fans to support said character. The reason being lack of faith on behalf of the company handling the fictional entity.
All in all Betsy has been demoted to a D-lister super hero and despite the efforts to accumulate many powers onto her she stays unattractive to readers for not being her regular self.
@poetryinmotion his replies are riddled with denial and a overblown ego to hide the stubbornness of remaining on a course to train wreck.
The real victim of the whole company's ostrichism is Betsy. They could care less for they have a substitute Psylocke in the form of Kwannon, therefore they easily sacrifice Betsy on the experimentation table. Only that the end product is a Frankenstein they now cannot hide from public scrutiny.
Well, at least he was honest and straightforward. The book got canceled due to poor sales and lack of interest. Now Tini Howard's apologists won't be able to save face with flimsy excuses. What shocks me is a Senior Editor being naive enough to believe that this would last more than five issues, considering the failure of Knights of X. A bunch of incompetents in this office.
Comic book limbo, here we go.
@Jaime In this case, I'm going to have to agree with Nate's take and argue that White isn't saying any of the above out of wounded pride, but because he genuinely believes in TH's potential (still does) and was shocked to discover that sales hit newer lows. It is indeed unique that he answered in an honest and straightforward manner, as he's usually known to be cryptic and vague when answering questions. Having said that, it surely sounds like he's repudiating responsibility for the fact that there will be no Betsy content in the coming months by once again pointing the finger at the low number of pre-orders.
There's a lot of gatekeepers who disputed my claim that the X-Men line is having a crisis of management and not of low talent, when it's teeming with terribly misdone series, like Rogue & Gambit, or projects that make no sense, like Uncanny Spider-Man. Hope they enjoy limbo!
Oh yes about time
Kitty Red Queen pirate flopped Marvel quickly shifts to ole good Shadowcat. Do the same for Betsy right now
I mean, they stole her identity again, so they could keep the hot ninja chick. So of course they want to shove the original into a deep hole somewhere. I like Kwannon, and not against her existing, because the same company didn't value her life previously. But now they have stuck the actual Psylocke into limbo, who knows what happens from now on.
This right here!
Marvel sh@t on Revanche and take turn on Betsy's face. Dug themselves a hole and I'm living for it.
Don't stand Revanche moaning reparations cuz this beech dug a hole for her @ss when she laid with the Hand and snitched on Yakuza.
Reminds me of losers playing the victim card to benefit for screwing big time.
It’s interesting that AiPT told him on the record that they got a ton of Elizabeth questions. I wonder if they actually shared the questions with him off the record. I am sure that many of them expressed concerns and disappointment with the writing for Bets. I wonder if he will take the feedback as a constructive call to redirect and change the writing for this character that the audience is clamoring for.
It would be really nonsensical to send her to editorial limbo unless it is a chance to regroup and figure out how to correct Bets’ trajectory. If so, then I welcome her going to limbo and them taking their time versus throwing her into the hands of another writer who doesn’t do her justice.
The good thing is, maybe (and hopefully) Betsy will be finally free from the terrible direction Marvel has been giving her for these years. The bad thing is, she's been so devalued with these runs that it may take a long, long time until another writer ever feels interested in using her again (and even then, we don't even know if it'll be a GOOD writer with a GOOD idea).
As for the theory about Betsy and Rachel breaking up, I'm okay with them either continuing as a couple or going separate ways - I just hope that, in the latter scenario, they could end their relationship on friendly terms. One of the few things Claremont did right during his Reload run was establishing their friendship, and it would be sad if their time as a couple ended up with them feeling bitter towards each other.
I don't know if anyone here watches Schmigadoon, but this song and dance number makes me think of how Howard and the editorial team think. "im into boys and girls does that just blow your mind!" no, so stop making Rachel and Betsy try to happen, still not having it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGWDTG5jgqI
When I think of the most daring and unexpected relationship Betsy had, it was with Blob, because that was dealing with the very real stigma and stereotype of body size, and really well written. Making a character that was a "walking fat joke" into a character with emotion and depth. This article touches on it. And showing that really kind and empathic side of Betsy that is part of her.
https://wmqcomics.com/reviews/what-about-blob-thoughts-on-williams-and-jeantys-x-tremists-2/
Anyway, I for one am happy that Betsy has been freed from all of this otherworld nonsense, and am hopeful that she goes into a hiatus for a while as a spy again. Maybe when she emerges, their will be massive change in editorial and she can re-enter, without fancy armor and even X costumes, kind of like Lizzi Braddock, and then she can get built back up to an an X hero again.
The SNAFU that is Krakoa era Betsy amazes me. It began shaky and ended in pieces.
@Banquo I find it offensive to draw parallels or even compare Schmigadoon with Tini Howard's writing. Schmigadoon is compelling and entertaining to a degree.
Blob was Leah Williams' original idea which proves that she is above Howard writing skills considered. Leah cares and allows the characters to be and act as themselves without killing them to tell her story.
Having addressed their differences Blob and Betsy looked awful at first glance but with a closer look and observation they made sense and Leah brought chemistry into their equation.
This bloody simp could never say no to Tini Howard and it was only repeated failure that could put a stop to his idiocy.
Post a Comment