What happens to a hero whose country doesn’t want them? It sounds almost unfathomable to believe such a thing would happen to anyone who helped defend their nation. The thing is, that is exactly what happens to many Veterans when they come home. It is even worse for anyone of color who is a Veteran, as there are countless accounts of history which shows the deep rooted hate towards Black veterans who came home from wars, only to be reminded of how much worst it was back home.

I have had family members on both sides of my family who have told me about how they were treated as if they were not heroes. They told me how it made them question why they served in the first place. Which brings to question, how one defends someone or people who don’t even see you as a person, much less a revered warfighter?  In the debut issue of Betsy Braddock Captain Britain, we find Captain Britain coming back home to a nation who does not see her as a hero but a mutant menace.

We are taken to a tv show where Betsy is being interviewed , one which tries to besmirch her existence, but before they can make a mockery of her, she gets a psychic call from a member of the Captain Britain Corps .She gets called to Otherworld, with Askani, where they find a regiment of Furies, and demolish them, but something seems off, despite the victory. As her siblings try to figure out what happened, they realize that the Furies have been modified, as a new threat awaits. We soon find out that the recent rash of Mutant hate speak was riled by Morgan Le Fey, as she seeks to install a Captain Britain she can control. Betsy and Askani find out after a meeting with the Forgemaster of the Furies, that someone has manipulated the Furies into starting trouble with the Corps, which propels her to reach out to Pete Wisdom to find out exactly who it would be. By the issue’s end,  Betsy finally gets Morgan to reveal herself, but it may cost her more than she knows.

Overall, Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #1 is a fun story that shows why everyone loves Betsy Braddock. The story by Howard is wonderful. The art by the creative team is gorgeous. Altogether, a story that shows off a different side of the X-Men’s world that has endured for decades.

Story: Tini Howard Art: Vasco Georgiev 
Colors: Erick Arcienega Letters: Ariana Maher
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

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

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Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle