Wednesday, January 10, 2018

The Braddock Family Tree – Welcome Maggie Braddock!

Today we welcome Maggie Braddock to the world, the daughter of Brian and Meggan Braddock and Psylocke’s niece in X-Men Gold Annual #1 written by Leah Williams, Marc Guggenheim and penciled by Alitha Martinez. Let’s take a trip to the past and delve a bit further into the Braddock family tree, a family rooted in two realms: the wealthy aristocrats of Earth-616 and the powerful and magical beings of Otherworld.
The Braddock Family Tree
* The images representing General Braddock and Sir James' Mother are merely illustrative.
They were never shown on panel.

Braddock Manor, located in the small town of Maldon, Essex, was built on land that’s been part of the Braddock heritage since before the Romans invaded Britain. Based on this information, we can infer that the Braddocks are distant descendants from the Britons, the Celtic people who lived in Great Britain. The territory that now corresponds to Essex was inhabited by the Trinovantes, one of the Celtic tribes of pre-Roman Britain. They were considered the most powerful tribe, and their capital, Camulodunum (modern Colchester), was one proposed site of the legendary Camelot. [Captain Britain v1 #9 / Celtic Britons / Trinovantes]

In the 17th Century, a victorious General coming home from the European Wars built Braddock Manor in 1685. Based on the timeline and conflicts involving England at the time, it’s possible that General Braddock fought in the Dutch-Franco War (1672-1678). [Captain Britain v1 #9 / Mighty World of Marvel v2 #16 / List of wars involving England]

Lord Braddock, a descendant of General Braddock, lived in the 19th century. A wealthy and powerful man, he was a member of the English branch of the Hellfire Club. In 1859, when En Sabah Nur and scientist Nathaniel Essex attempted to forge an alliance with the Hellfire Club, Lord Braddock dismissed Apocalypse as a lunatic and was viciously killed. [Further Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix v1 #2]

John Braddock, a possible grandson of Lord Braddock, was initiated in the Hellfire Club by the White King, Edward Buckman. John’s achievements set him above the rank and file of common society. He assumed his place among the world’s elite and declared his undying fealty to the Hellfire Club, becoming one of the architects of the new world. [X-Men: Hellfire Club v1 #4]

If the Braddock family goes all the way back to pre-Roman Britain, how does Otherworld enter the picture?

Theory 1: Merlyn sent a female from Otherworld to Earth-616 to sire a champion and selected a compatible mate for her – John Braddock. Once the maiden got pregnant, she returned to Otherworld and gave birth to Sir James Braddock. Through their Otherworld line, the Braddocks descend from the warrior caste of Otherworld. [Excalibur v1 #55]

Theory 2: The Otherworlder Sir James Braddock simply took the place of his deceased Earth-616 counterpart, the son of John Braddock, and attached himself to an existing family. [Marvel Atlas v1 #1]

In any case, Sir James Braddock would have inherited the titles and properties from his father, John Braddock. It’s possible that as a result of financial setbacks, John Braddock had sold off Braddock Manor during the war. Sir James Braddock bought it back when he arrived from Otherworld. [Captain Britain v2 #1]

As a member of the Captain Britain Corps, James Braddock was tasked by Merlyn to sire a savior. A genetically-compatible mate, Lady Elizabeth, was selected for him from Earth-616. The couple’s first son, Jamie Braddock, was born a mutant with no trace of Otherworld heritage. Ten years later, Lady Elizabeth gave birth to twins, Betsy and Brian. Both would inherit the Otherworld genes from their father, but only Betsy was born a mutant as well. [Captain Britain v2 #7 / Excalibur v2 #3]

Jamie grew up to be a very powerful, but unstable mutant with reality-warping powers. Betsy became Psylocke, a strong telepath and dedicated her life to protect mutants from a world that hates and fears them as valuable member of the X-Men. And Brian was tasked to be Britain’s champion and protector of the Omniverse as Captain Britain.

Brian eventually married Meggan Puceanu, the daughter of William Puceanu and Mrs. Puceanu. Her parents were romanichals and belonged to an old race of travelers. Meggan is a mutant empath, metamorph and elemental of great power, but it has also been implied that she descends from the faery folk. [Captain Britain v2 #8 / Excalibur v1 #12]

After years of marriage, Brian and Meggan welcomed to the world their first daughter: Maggie Braddock. Despite being only a three-month old baby, she is rather smart and articulate, perhaps due to her magical heritage. Nevertheless, Maggie is a Braddock and as such, we can expect her to become a remarkable young woman. [X-Men Gold v1 Annual #1]


Kat Nisaá said...

Per the Marvel Atlas #1, the Otherworldly Sir James Braddock replaced his deceased counterpart shortly after WWII. In Captain Britain II #1, it's mentioned that Sir James purchased Braddock Manor in the 1940s, and Inspector Dai Thomas mentions that no documentation existed for him prior to the end of the war, which kinda conflicts with the original Captain Britain series, as in Captain Britain Weekly #9, Braddock Manor is stated to have been built a 'quarter millenium ago' on land that's been part of the Braddock heritage since before the Romans came. This suggests that the Braddock family does back way before the arrival of Sir James from Otherworld--he seems to have attached himself to an existing family, and it's possible that the manor was sold off during or before the war, like so many stately homes were when family finances took a hit (possible during the Great Depression?). Sir James (the Otherworlder) could've bought it back when he arrived from Otherowlrd. It's also odd that Merlyn couldn't (or didn't) fake docs for him, so perhaps the 'destroyed in the War' excuse was actually the truth? OTOH, given the proliferation of Brians through out the Captain Britain Corps, , it's possible that Sir James (the Earthly one) could've died during WWII, and needing to have a Sir James on Earth 616, Merlyn 'fixed' things by sending the one from Otherworld to fill in the gap and sire the children. That would cover the ancestry, the 'in the family for generations' and the 'Black Bishop of the London Hellfire Club' and other bits n' bobs....

Personal speculation: I've sometimes wondered if Jamie (the reality warper) was the son of the "Earthly" Sir James and might not have been half-Otherworlder at all, given the vast age difference...? He's supposedly at least 10-12 years older than the twins, Elisabeth and Brian, and he would've been born in 1945-ish. Sir James (the Otherworlder) didn't show up on British documents until the Harrow (census) of 1947, according to Dai Thomas.... Just some food for thought! :)

Alias27 said...

@Kat that would've certainly been a twist. They really need to address how Sir James was born.

I personally like the idea that he had a human father (John) and an Otherworlder mother. It's simple and it ties up everything nicely.

By the way, I am furious that Psylocke wasn't even mentioned in regards to her niece. Can't believe Meggan and Brian chose three people they've barely interacted with in the past 20 years to be her godparents over Betsy!

Kat Nisaá said...

I was kinda surprised at that, too! That just ain't right...and I doubt they're going to revisit Sir James (the Otherworlder) anymore than Elisabeth's going to get her original, British body back...

Alias27 said...

It's a pity indeed because the Braddock heritage is fascinating. Imagine descending from celts, druids and magical sorcerers from Otherworld. Marvel could come up with such a big fantasy epic tale. But the reality is they wouldn't even bother bringing Betsy to meet her niece.

Kat Nisaá said...

Yep. Bloody disappointing, too. :( Maybe somebody'll fan-fic it?

Tazirai said...

How the Hell is Psylocke not in this? She's the freakin Aunt fro cryin out loud. His twin Sister. Meggans Sister in Law. Kurt bestie, Rachels Mentor, and almost molested Kitty's friend Doug.. Where is she?

Rahsaan Chisolm said...


I'm still smarting over the fact that Douglas and Elizabeth have not hung out at all even platonically now that he is alive again and a full grown man. No respect for history.

Rahsaan Chisolm said...

For instance, I'd love to see his reaction to Betsy looking like a different person now that she has a different body. And a conversation about their feelings for one another now and how their friendship should go. To be honest, while completely inappropriate back then, I always felt she had more of a genuine-seeming bond with Doug then with Warren. Maybe that was due to Claremont's writing. Her relationship with Warren was begat by Lobdell or Nicieza, right? Both of whom were not good at writing the X-Men and she and Warren have always felt forced to me.

Psyloco said...

Things between Brian and Betsy are not very well after Jamie's death, but it doesn't excuses she'd been ignored here.

Finn said...

I ship Doug and Betsy.

Anonymous said...

Seriously great work here on the heritage of the family OP, props. Regards the question, why isn't Betsy mentioned in relation to Maggie? Knowing that Betsy was in London for unknown purposes from issue one of Astonishing X-Men. I take the approach that she's been back in the UK for some time since the end of Cullen Bunn's run on Uncanny X-Men knowing that Meggan was expecting, she's been helping them in the run up to the birth and it's simply not been mentioned to avoid ruining the surprise of X-Men Gold annual.