Spoilers: Polaris recalls that Malice had a change of heart after a run-in with Betsy Braddock, Kwannon and Emma Frost.
Monday, July 31, 2023
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
The Hellfire Gala/Fall of X Discussion
The treehouse is under attack, and Cyclops leaves to check it. Irene and Mystique have an argument and leave the party. The Avengers receive an emergency call from Captain America and leave the party. Rogue tags along. Jean announces that she and Scott are leaving the X-Men, and that Synch and Talon are the new leaders. All candidates are elected, but Nimrod descends from the sky, killing everyone except Juggernaut, who is thrown off the building with Jean since she took the blunt.
Iceman faces Nimrod. Illyana tries to teleport everyone out, but her powers fail. Nimrod kills Bobby, and Jean attacks him using Juggernaut as a bullet. The Stark Sentinels arrive. Dr. Stasis and Karima arrive through a gate, revealing that Stasis sabotaged the Krakoan medication. He demonstrates its effects on humans at the gala, causing them to turn against each other, explaining that he wants mutants off the Earth.
Moira arrives and attacks Jean with a blade imbued with Blightswill. Xavier surrenders to them and asks the X-Men to stop attacking. Stasis and Moira reveal that if mutants don't leave, they'll kill one human for each mutant and escalate the numbers until humanity is wiped out. Xavier agrees to send the mutants away from Earth and sends a global message for everyone to enter the gates around the world. However, some mutants with psychic training aren't affected by his message.
Curse is furious with Xavier and Illyana, and a group including Marrow, Mary, Dani, and Dust drag her through the gate. Exodus pushes the Five through another gate. Meanwhile, Mother Righteous is performing a spell to trap one of Krakoa's islands in a magical lantern, seemingly where mutants who passed through the gates are headed.
Dying, Jean talks to Firestar and tells her to be the mutant fighting from within Orchis. They devise a plan for Stasis to believe Firestar was a traitor recruited before joining the X-Men in the last election, and the other mutants will believe it too. Angelica is supposed to save any mutants left around the world. If anything goes wrong, they should blame Beast, and people will believe it automatically.
Jean says her farewells to Scott and asks him to be strong. She says goodbye to Logan and tells him to seek revenge. He kills many Orchis members. Emma Frost and Lourdes make everyone hold hands and teleport to the Hellfire Club NY Chapter. Lourdes has been hit and dies. The gates are hacked and closed for good. Back at the gala, the humans want to leave as news spread that no one survived the event. Stasis orders soldiers to kill them, and they do so in front of Xavier. Moira tries to kill him, but Xavier asks for help, and Rogue arrives and rips Moira in half.
During the escape, Rogue distracts the Sentinels, and Xavier finds out that he can't locate the minds of the mutants he sent through the gates. He had induced them to go to Arakko, but they never arrived; they're dead. He falls to the ground crying, and Rogue is left stunned. Xavier tells her to leave and avenge them. Xavier is now the only mutant left in Krakoa. In the post-credits scene, Emma and Fisk are scheming, and Kitty leans against a gate and crosses to the other side, facing numerous Orchis soldiers.
Note: Betsy Braddock does not appear nor is she mentioned in the "Hellfire Gala" issue. Her whereabouts are unknown. Betsy is merely acknowledged in a promotional image released by Marvel's Twitter, showing that she has a reserved seat at the Summers family table.
Monday, July 24, 2023
X-Men Unlimited Infinity Comic #97 Spoilers & Art
Spoilers: As Malice possesses Dani Moonster and confronts Polaris, Lorna gets visions of Betsy and other people she cares for hating on her.
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Monday, July 17, 2023
Sunday, July 9, 2023
June 2023 Sales Ranking: Tini Howard Goes Out With a Whimper
"Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #5" landed at #136 in the June sales ranking, marking the end of Tini Howard's long reign as the lead writer for Betsy Braddock, and the sole steward of the character since October 2019. The latest release failed to make much impact among the general audience and only garnered attention among Betsy Braddock fans. This comes as no surprise, given that the character's stagnation under Howard's pen had been showing signs of weariness since the second year of Excalibur. While the rest of the X-line underwent numerous twists, events, and storylines, Betsy Braddock remained stuck in the same narrative since Excalibur #1. This undoubtedly alienated readers from both the character and Howard's comics. It's unfortunate that Howard, her associates, and her most devoted defenders on Twitter resorted to gaslighting, dismissing any critique of her work and the characterization of Betsy Braddock as trolling, even when the criticisms were valid and well-articulated. Let's hope for better years ahead for Betsy Braddock. Long may she reign.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #5 Spoilers
Spoilers: In Braddock Manor, Captain Britain and S.T.R.I.K.E. gather and recruit the help of Faiza Hussain. Betsy explains that as the wielder of Excalibur, Faiza has a sacred connection to the British lands. The S.T.R.I.K.E. members then go over their plan to invade Morgan Le Fay's Castle.In the pocket dimension, Brian confronts the Fury and is stopped from killing him by Rachel. Rachel states that they still need Fury. Brian and Rachel return to Braddock Manor and join the others.
S.T.R.I.K.E. puts their plan into action, with each member being responsible for a different part of the plan. Tom and Vicki face off against the Akkaba Coven's acolytes, Kevin rescues Micromax, and Wisdom and Alison are tasked with spying on Morgan. Wisdom loses his temper and gets a bit violent with the Coven's operatives. Betsy coordinates everyone telepathically, while Rachel embarks on her own mission with Brian and Meggan. As the S.T.R.I.K.E. members complete their missions, Betsy decides to confront Morgan Le Fay directly. Morgan's servants trap Betsy with power-suppressing collars infused with Blightswill. Betsy tries to convince Morgan to give up a war on British soil, as it would only harm the land.
Meanwhile, Rachel, Brian, and Meggan visit Infuri the Everforge and make a proposition to the Furies: to give them the war that Morgan couldn't provide, thus having the Furies fight the Doombots sent by Dr. Doom to protect Morgan.
Betsy reveals to Morgan that Blightswill can suppress her mutant powers, but not her powers as Captain Britain: strength, speed, and the Starlight sword. Betsy manages to free herself and asks Morgan once again if she truly wants to be connected to Britain, to which Morgan agrees. At that moment, Faiza uses Excalibur to reconnect Morgan to British soil. Morgan appears ecstatic to be able to hear the land once again.
The next day, Betsy, Rachel, and the rest of the family attend an interest fair at Braddock Academy, which has been reopened by Brian. Betsy receives a call from Tony Stark and explains what happened with the Doombots and Morgan. The family gathers, and Brian explains that he will dedicate himself to Braddock Academy now. Eventually, Betsy receives a call for help from the Captain Britain Corps and sets off to assist them with Rachel by her side, reaffirming her role as Captain Britain.
The final page is a letter written by Betsy, reflecting on her entire journey as Captain Britain, which reads more like a farewell letter from Tini Howard.
Some loose ends remain: Did the British people finally accept Betsy as Captain Britain? Is Lizzie Braddock still in a coma? What happened with the Sacred Timeline plot that didn't go anywhere?
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #5 Preview
Writer: Tini Howard
Art by: Vasco Georgiev
Cover by: Erica D'urso
The Story: EARTH’S MOST FURIOUS HEROES UNITE! And the villains alike! Morgan Le Fay has saddled up with her old lover, none other than Doctor Doom! And that can’t mean good things for the old country. But Betsy Braddock has a plan up her sleeve, and a multiverse of allies even Morgan can’t magic-wand away. The fight for Britain, for Betsy, for Captains everywhere comes to a head!
In Stores: June 21, 2023
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
May 2023 Sales Ranking: Avengers Can't Save "Captain Britain"
"Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #4" landed at #198 in the sales ranking for May, barely holding on to the Top 200. According to Senior Editor Jordan D. White's remarks, the lackluster sales of Captain Britain came as a surprise, which is quite perplexing considering the previous failure of Knights of X. It became clear that placing another bet on a third relaunch, with Tini Howard once again as the writer, turned out to be a misfire that will have serious consequences for Betsy Braddock in the long term.
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“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.
