‘Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain’ #2 uses multiversal shorthand to build its own mythology

Continues to establish a foothold unique amongst its X-Peers and multiverse trends.

March 29, 2023

One of the most compelling aspects of the classic Captain Britain stories – the call of the multiverse, the concept of alternate selves – is, by now, not only old hat but approaching oversaturation. Perhaps no better shorthand for the concept exists than our dear Captain Carter, a character so synonymous with the modern Marvel multiverse that her inclusion in Multiverse of Madness felt like a necessity.

In Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2, writer Tini Howard and artist Vasco Georgiev make quick, effective use of Carter’s particular shorthand, slotting the variant quickly and neatly into what promises to be a much deeper, much more effecting (and, perhaps, casual) incorporation of the larger concept. Never one to capitulate to quick trends, Howard seems more inclined to invest time into Betsy and Rachel rather than overhyping the very multiverse Captain Britain named back in 1983.

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Carter stands in as the issue’s quick conflict, the punch-up amid the larger narrative. The primary Big Bad is our girl Morgan Le Fey, whose continuing efforts to undermine not only Betsy but the entire Captain Britain Corps merely takes a quick jaunt into Carter’s universe. Looking for a Betsy who has not yet fallen into her esteemed role, we’re treated to a look at a world where her brief stint in espionage was never derailed by X-Men or Slaymasters.

The book continues its hard work of establishing its own rules and parameters not by diving directly into the home team established in the first issue, but by building up the opposite number. This is an issue establishing the workings of the enemy, illustrating the brutal blood magic by which Le Fey manipulates the multiverse. A hero cannot grow on their journey without escalating odds, after all.

The prime badass moment of the issue (frustratingly spoiled on Twitter) is rightfully given to our heroine, whose predilection toward using the focused totality of her powers is reintroduced, returning a fan-favorite move set to her arsenal. More than being an incredibly cool moment, the use of the psychic knife (and the butterfly projection, here over Captain Carter’s face rather than Betsy’s own) hint at potential explorations into powers that have been in question since her separation from Kwannon at the dawn of Krakoa.

Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain #2 is a quick, punchy issue, one disinterested in being bogged down by exposition in favor of subtly deepening its own mythology. In doing so, it continues to establish a foothold unique amongst its X-Peers, and among the continuing ever-presence of multiverse content.