AIPT!: This week’s X-Men Monday returns in a big way, welcoming Marvel’s own X-architect, Tom Brevoort, for a wide-ranging conversation on the past, present, and future of the X-Men.
Tom: Betsy turns 50 along with Captain Britain, so we’ll definitely be doing something for Captain Britain’s 50th, and Betsy will definitely be a part of that. Beyond that, it’s kind of wait and see.
Everybody was well-intentioned throughout all of her storytelling, but that whole thing is a mess. And in coming to the table where it was set when I got here, I made what, to me, felt like the only choice I could make at that point, which is, Kwannon is Psylocke, that’s the state of play. That’s what we’re going to commit to. Psylocke is Kwannon, and she’s in X-Men. Betsy is Captain Britain, she’s with Rachel Summers, and she’ll be in X-Force.
And X-Force ran its course, but it’s not as simple as just putting Betsy in the other book, or the name is really hers, and the Psylocke history is really hers. It kind of is, but 30, 40, 50 years later, here’s where we are now.
And the other problem is, even among the Betsy fans, when you actually listen to what they say, they’re all over the road, too. We want her back, but we want her back in this iteration, and we want her back, but not like this. So even they’re trying to figure out what’s the right thing for the character and the story. What’s the story that somebody walks into my office, shows up in my email, or calls me on the phone and pitches me about Betsy Braddock that makes me go, “That’s a great story. I want to see that. I want to make that.” There’s no point in just bringing her back into a book if she’s going to be furniture.
So it’s kind of all of that, which again, is cold comfort and no comfort to people who love that character or any of the characters that haven’t gotten as much spotlight as we’d like. Over the churn of history, every character gets their day or gets their moment. So it’s not that there isn’t a genuine effort, it’s just that the genuine effort isn’t necessarily dedicated to just that one character, but to all the characters that people like or have ideas with.
He need to not listen to twitter feedback. They’re mostly just CB and only want her with Rachel Stan’s.
ReplyDeleteTom doesn’t understand doesn’t have to be CB and he can find a place for her. Teams always need a telepath and she has history with a lot of XMen. This isn’t hard the xoffice is just clouded by too many fans requesting this and that and not asking for what what realistically will keep her relevant. I fear her fans are her biggest enemy
Fuck that Shitkoa era. Tini Howard and Jordan D. White left us with their mess.
ReplyDeleteKrakoa started out really great with House of X and Powers of Ten. Inferno was pretty good too. I thiink Krakoa went to hell once Hickman left.
DeleteI actually feel like this return to wash, rinse, repeat pre-Krakoa feels like shit. Yet anothet dystopian future crossover and mutants in the present begging for crumbs from non-mutants again… It’s all so tedious and tiresome.
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DeleteYeah, the era did not end (or even middle) well and has certainly brought Psylocke/Betsy to a new low.
DeleteBetsy was Captain Britain for the first time before she ever used the name Psylocke. She clearly never had a problem with it, but I believe that name was invented by Mojo. I liked the handling of her character throughout Krakoa. X-Force was sort of meh. I would like her to remain Captain Britain. She and Rachel alone fairly well represent the essence of Excalibur. They should publish an all new series mostly removed from other X books set in the UK and in other dimensions with some comedy.
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree; Betsy and Rachel belong to the X-Men and should definitely be part of an X-book. TH already tried to remove them from other X-books and it was a disaster (and even devalued both characters, as we can see now with most writers not being interested in using them, either in X books or in other parts of the Marvel universe).
DeleteIs there really anybody who likes Betsy as Captain Britain? Captain Britain is and always will be Brian Braddock. The worst part about the Captain Britain mantle is that it's not compatible with an X team. It feels weird to put such a name on any roster. It would only work on an Avenger's team. When Betsy joined X-Force the first thing they did was removing the armor. Just bring back Disassembled Betsy and put her on an X team. It can't be that hard. Besides, there are so many messed up character stories in the Marvel universe. Good writers find a way to fix them.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't mind Betsy being Captain Britain, as long as the mantle isn't what defines her as a character. Thorne showed that she can be CB and still be part of an X-team and be the Betsy Braddock we all know and love. She also doesn't need to wear an armor; this blog showed some weeks ago an art drawn by Luciano Vecchio where her uniform looks perfect for a X-Woman - the Union Jack symbol even forms an "X" covering her chest.
DeleteThen again, as long as Betsy is written well, I don't care whether she appears as CB, Psylocke, Revanche, Lady Mandarin or whatever other codename Marvel gives her.
I don't like the idea that they ditched Betsy's history as Pyslocke for 3 decades and why in the why does Psylocke should exclusively be Kwannon? Kwannon, being an asian ninja assasin could use any codename. She even chose/had one before and its called Revanche.
ReplyDeleteMarvel's marketing department decided that the asian one should be called Psylocke, because that was the most popular presentation of Psylocke. It's just about the brand. Editors are trying to find excuses for that decision. I don't think anyone who is really invested in the character Psylocke would say that this codename rightfully belongs to Kwannon.
DeleteThere’s literally no reason Kwannon should even be around. It’s so monumentally dumb.
DeleteI would really like Betsy appearing in any book as Betsy Braddock and using her Captain Britain role when necessary, transitioning between her pink and purple uniform and the blue and red of her Captain's armor.
ReplyDeleteThorne has shown us that it's possible for Betsy to be on an X-Team using her knowledge and magical powers when needed, so I can't swallow this idea that "she's too complicated."
Kwannon is Psylocke and Betsy, for now, is Captain Britain. There's nothing complicated about that.
If the problem is Brian, the mantle can be shared and it would even be better, leaving most of the responsibility with him while Betsy only uses it when required. Just return the Amulet of Right to him (making him the true Captain) and give the Sword of Power to Betsy (as the "Knight Errant").
That's... a great idea, actually. And yes, Brian and Betsy could share the CB mantle - after all, there is an entire Captain Britain Corps, and considering how Earth-616 is always in trouble, it would make sense to have two CBs to take care of it.
DeleteOf course, I would prefer Betsy to be Psylocke again, but unfortunately Marvel seems adamant on pushing Kwannon as Psylocke to the readers.
@FSaker In my opinion, the problem isn't even Kwannon anymore. From the moment Sai and Kanon were created, one gaining popularity in Rivals and the other in the Ultimate Universe, it no longer made Betsy's return as Psylocke possible. The name Psylocke is no longer linked solely to Kwannon's "look" but to Sai and Kanon as well.
DeleteBetsy is a captivating character with years of history, both within and outside of the X-Men. Even as Captain Britain, she has gained a fanbase (and non-fans) who see her in the mantle. Regardless of the codename she has, she manages to remain popular. The problem so far has been the writing and the choices made.
I think they should destroy the Starlight Sword and disband the Captain Britain Corps consisting only of Betsy variants, restore the power of Starlight Citadel and the Amulet of Right.
Betsy and Brian should go through the test, with Brian choosing the Amulet of Right and Betsy the Sword of Might.
Let Brian return to being Captain Britain and Betsy can keep the same name or receive a new one, like Captain Avalon, Lady Braddock, or anything else.
Brian moves with his family to Starlight Citadel and Betsy stays at Braddock Manor.
If they restore the Captain Britain Corps, let it be variants not only of Betsy but also of Brian, but not limited to that, including different individuals as well.
Make the most beloved Betsys (like Elspeth, Queen Elizabeth III, etc.) Captains through the Amulet or Sword.
Let Betsy return to using purple and pink, only using her Captain powers and armor when necessary (just like in X-Force).
Make her Otherworldly side be like Darkchild is to Magik, a part of her.
Put her on a team with Warren and Rachel to create the drama everyone's been wanting to see.
She doesn't need to be near Kwannon or have her past relived or explained again to stay relevant.
She just needs to be herself, have multiple covers showcasing her original looks. People need to see what she was like before Kwannon.
I disagree. Betsy Braddock is Psylocke. Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Steve Rogers is captain America. And no amount of trying to give the name away is going to changes that, it just drives people away.
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ReplyDeleteYou’re confusing him with Jordan White, Jordan is the one who let TH do whatever with Betsy and almost let her lose the butterfly too. Brevoort only came on after Krakoa ended. Jordan also is the one who let his little minion hack writers decide to continue milking Krakoa with crappy titles and that’s why Hickman didn’t finish his vision,
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DeleteYeah, you’re right randybear, I guess x-editorial has been a $ħ!+ show for a while.
DeleteBut most of what I said about Betsy/Psylocke still stands. Psylocke is Betsy Braddock. And Brevoort only perpetuates the biggest “mess” the character has ever faced. She was a popular character for 30 years. And when they tried to wipe that history out, look what happened. Not even in the x-books. And sounds like Brevoort has no plans to change that. F$&@ him.
Yeah there’s no hope for Betsy at this point, I bet if we hadn’t flooded their inbox reminding them of her 50th it would have came and went without anything.
DeleteI don’t see Betsy ever recovering from losing her rich history, she’s no been reduced to a lame tumblr OC by TH that caters to “omg she’s GAY” weirdos on twitter that sexualize everything
1000%.
DeleteI don't mind the relationship or the mantle as long as she's written properly, as Foxe and Thorne did.
ReplyDeleteBeing CB shouldn't have to take away from her being a top tier psychic, that was shown when she first was CB and still psycho blasted everyone. I think Thorne struck a good balance there, having her mainly use her psi powers and her extra CB abilities only when necessary.
As to her relationship with Rachel, it's far from her worst, it just needs to a)not be the sole focus of her story arc, and b) be written well, as a normal couple. Again, Thorne struck a better balance on that regard, when the relationship was the focus of the storyline, why he made that choicemade sense.
TH did so much damage to Betsy, the worst part is that the idea wasn't bad, but the execution was a mess. The only good part was To drawing her, one of my top Betsy artists.
Betsy is a special character and must be treated as it is. Her return for her original british body (destroying saphire styx and rebuilting her body molecule by molecule) was as iconic feat for someone as powerhouse as she is. She should be like this: anthological, almost mytical.
ReplyDeleteIt was bafflingly illogical, trite, and buried in a mini that spent most of its time ignoring Betsy. It’s been more of disaster than iconic for poor Betsy.
DeleteIt's such unfortunate that they only set out one rule: Kwannon is Psylocke but forget the other one: Betsy's existence in the X-men is not to be replaced by Kwannon.
ReplyDeleteInstead they relegated/redefined her to a far less popular brand and when it's not working.. don't know what to do with her. A character worth 50 years history! Shame on them.
Complicated = lazyness of editor and specially writers. Whats thy could do it´s simply erase all that TH did, write it. Create a timeline and simply put is all to a pasta erased. And restore her to disassembled era. but the worst is that "relacion" with Rahcle take from nowhere and the CB thing.
ReplyDelete