Tini Howard has crafted a course-correcting (In the whole white woman in an Asian woman’s body situation), character defining arc for Betsy Braddock throughout Excalibur, X of Swords, and Knights of X so it’s fitting she gets her own multiverse-spanning solo title in Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1. This comic follows Braddock and her girlfriend Askani (Earth 811 Rachel Summers) as they protect the multiverse from the villainous Furies and also deal with the negative PR of a Krakoan mutant taking up the mantle of Captain Britain instead of the more John Bull-ish Brian Braddock. For the most part, Howard and artists Vasco Georgiev and Erick Arcienega balance the interpersonal shenanigans with the large scale fight scenes although the same can’t be said about Betsy Braddock, who is drawing up battle plans while making out in one particularly on-brand panel.
Although Excalibur and Knights of X were definitely Anglo-centric X-books with the latter featuring King Arthur, Mordred, and Merlin as supporting characters/antagonists, true to its title, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 is almost completely UK-centric whether that’s Earth-616 or an alternative Earth where a T. Rex is Captain Britain. Pete Wisdom, STRIKE, and most importantly, Faiza Hussain make appearances and join the book’s extended supporting cast as Betsy needs allies in both protecting the multiverse, keeping Otherworld peaceful, and figuring why a cannon fodder baddie like the Furies. (That Alan Davis design is timeless though.) Hussain’s sense of humor, connection to Arthurian lore, and perspective as a Pakistani-British woman in a story that is definitely using things like Otherworld and the mutant metaphor to explore bigotry and xenophobia in the United Kingdom are a huge asset to the book, and I grinned every time the former codename Excalibur appeared on-panel. (Or was quoted in a data page.) She also is a character to root for in a narrative that is quite complex drawing on Howard’s previous two X-Books plus classic Captain Britain comics.
Visually, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 is classic superhero dynamism with a pinch of bisexual lighting any time Betsy and Askani interact courtesy of colorist Arciniega. This softness goes away when Betsy and Askani visit the home realm of the Furies, which is lots of blacks and shadow in a soul-crushing, authoritarian way not a cool Goth or noir one. But Georgiev has solid action chops that he demonstrates in a pre-title fight scene where Betsy Braddock and Askani team-up with the aforementioned dinosaur Captain Britain, Britannic Rex. For example, his smaller inset panels showcase particularly cool moves or blows like when Askani uses her Phoenix powers to dispatch a Fury. The insets also come in handy for the flashes of humor in Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 like British soldiers’ reaction to the manner in which Jamie Braddock helps transport the Braddock ancestral dwelling to its original spot. (Hint: it’s not a Uhaul.) Vasco Georgiev is also fantastic at crowd scenes giving each face (Or lack of one in the Furies’ case) a moment to react to the on or off panel action, which is a necessary skill for a book with such a large cast.
Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 is a love letter to the badass, queer psychic superhero that Tini Howard has nurtured for the past 3+ years while also shows the strain that taking on the role of Captain Britain, protecting the multiverse, and dealing with Otherworld has taken on her. The comic is a meditation on burnout and being spread too thin, but with killer robots, evil plans, and shrinking Tory-friendly podcasters. Captain Britain #1 is definitely a more rewarding reading if you’ve been following Betsy’s journey throughout Excalibur and Knights of X, but has enough widescreen action (Thanks to Georgiev and Arciniega), smooching, and prestige television style backstabbing for new fans who are curious about the only side of the Marvel Universe that the Original Writer had a hand in shaping, or what’s the deal with the UK’s answer to Captain America.
Story: Tini Howard Art: Vasco Georgiev
Colors: Erick Arcienega Letters: Ariana Maher
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.3 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Pre-order: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle
Source: Graphic Policy
