BETSY WILFORD
Real Name: Elisabeth "Betsy" Wilford
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Airline stewardess
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Colossus (Peter Rasputin), Nightcrawler (Kurt Wagner), Moira MacTaggert, Amanda Sefton (Jimaine Szardos), Colleen Wing
Enemies: Arcade, Black Tom Cassidy, Mr. Chambers, Juggernaut (Cain Marko), Miss Locke
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: New York
First Appearance: X-Men I#98 (April, 1976)
Powers/Abilities: Betsy possesses no known superhuman abilities. She has all the strength, endurance, stamina and agility of a woman her age who engages in regular, moderate exercise. She is a trained and experienced airline stewardess.
Height: 5'7" (by approximation)
Weight: 115 lbs. (by approximation)
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
History:
(X-Men I#98 - BTS) - Betsy Wilford was working as an airline stewardess when she met and befriended her colleague Amanda Sefton. She was unaware her colleague was in fact a sorceress.
(X-Men I#98) - Betsy and Amanda were in New York on Christmas Eve and decided to visit the tree at Rockefeller Plaza. Unbeknownst to them, they were in the vicinity of the X-Men, Nick Fury and Valentina de la Fontaine. Also: a Doctor Doom impersonator could be seen iceskating on the rink outside 30 Rock. Colossus and Nightcrawler took notice of the two stewardesses, a fact that didn't escape their attention. When Betsy noted she thought they were being followed, Amanda knowingly replied she wasn't screaming for a cop.
(Classic X-Men I#6/1 - BTS) - Colossus and Nightcrawler, using his image inducer to look like Errol Flynn, finally gathered the courage to approach the girls.
(Classic X-Men I#6/1) - Betsy and Amanda took Peter and Kurt for a stroll. At the pier at Manhattan's newly opened South Street Seaport, Betsy told Peter all about her job remarking that while her passengers were doing the flying, she was mostly walking up and down the aisles. However, when the quartet walked past a ballet poster, Colossus was suddenly reminded of his former flame, the Russian Anya Makarova, a ballerina who had defected to the U.S.. When Betsy asked Peter why he looked so sad he told her it was history best forgotten. The group was then suddenly interrupted by the arriving Moira MacTaggert who'd come looking for help because Dr. Steven Lang had employed his Sentinels to abduct the X-Men.
(X-Men I#109 - BTS) - Nightcrawler called Amanda to ask her out to see the new Star Wars movie. Amanda, however told him her best friend Betsy would love to join them if Peter were to come as well. Kurt immediately teleported to Colossus' room to ask if he was interested in a double-date. Somewhat surprised Betsy even remembered him, he declined the offer because he was going on a picnic with Moira and Sean Cassidy.
(Power Man and Iron Fist I#50) - Betsy and Amanda were enjoying a nice day at an indoor swimming-pool. Betsy asked Amanda all about her date with Kurt, who revealed they had a perfectly marvelous time. Their chat was interrupted when the super-hero Iron Fist (Danny Rand) crashed through the roof and landed in the pool. Iron Fist had in fact fallen of a roof after he and Power Man (Luke Cage) were chasing Discus and Stiletto.
(X-Men I#123) - Betsy and Amanda joined Peter and Kurt on a double date to New York's majestic Metropolitan Opera House. Kurt didn't even use his image inducer anymore by this point allowing both Amanda and Betsy to see his true mutant nature. At their arrival the group was greeted by Miss Locke who escorted them to their private box, unaware they were walking right into a trap. Miss Locke was in fact working for the villainous Arcade who in turn had been hired by Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut to kill the X-Men. Once Betsy and the others entered the booth, they realized they were trapped in a steel box after which they were knocked out with sleeping gas. Miss Locke had the cell airlifted away with the four of them inside after which she reported back to Arcade on the heroes' capture.
(X-Men I#123 - BTS) - Betsy and Amanda were imprisoned but held separate from the other X-Men. They were trapped in pink present-like canisters with a large bow, that only left room for their heads to stick out of. The girls were joined by one other prisoner, Colleen Wing who was in fact out on a date with Cyclops when they were captured by Mr. Chambers on Arcade's behalf.
(X-Men I#123) - Still trapped in the pink "presents", Betsy and the girls were forced to watch Arcade put the X-Men through the deadly gauntlet of his Murderworld.
(X-Men I#124) - Disgusted by Arcade's joy over potentially murdering the X-Men, Colleen Wing challenged Arcade, calling on him to at least have the decency to make their deaths quick. Arcade walked towards the girls, reasoning decency was dull, calling himself a loon since now the X-Men at least stood a chance. He then grabbed the helpless girl and kissed her on the lips. Colleen then threatened to do something far worse than kissing if her hands were free. Arcade then went on and recounted his troubled origins to the girls, even revealing Black Tom Cassidy and the Juggernaut had hired him. Not much later Cyclops and Nightcrawler managed to escape into Murderworld's inner workings from which they easily located the other X-Men. Nightcrawler found Arcade (and the girls), but although he managed to hit Miss Locke with a mean hook he was quickly taken out with gas after which Arcade ordered Miss Locke to also trap the mutant in the pink "present" canister. Realizing he'd about lost his game Arcade shot the girls and Nightcrawler out of the building like fireworks. The presents were equipped with parachutes, allowing for a relatively smooth landing. When the other X-Men found them, they released Betsy and the others. She quickly sought comfort in Colossus' armored arms.
(Dazzler I#1 - BTS) - Colossus, Nightcrawler, Storm and Wolverine were hard at working during one of the X-Men's training exercises in the Danger Room when they suddenly received a phone call. Convinced it was a call from Betsy, Colossus pushed the others out of the way to reach the telephone. Reasoning he'd promised to take Betsy out to dinner and a movie that night he failed to realize he almost shoved Wolverine with his extended claws through Nightcrawler. As the three men stumbled into one big pile Storm was the first to reach the telephone, learning the caller was in fact Dazzler who was still doubting whether of not to join the X-Men.
Comments: Created by Chris Claremont (writer), Dave Cockrum (pencils), Sam Grainger (inks).
Betsy was first called Elisabeth in X-Men I#109. Betsy Wilford was featured in the X-Men's supporting cast profile in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Master Edition#30, there she was erroneously called EliZabeth instead of EliSabeth.
Profile by MarvellousLuke
CLARIFICATIONS:
Betsy Wilford has no known connections to
images: (without ads)
X-Men I#98, p2, pan3 (main image)
X-Men I#98, p2, pan4 (closeup)
Classic X-Men I#6, p13, pan1 (socializing with Colossus)
X-Men I#123, p4, pan5,6&7 (captured by Miss Locke)
X-Men I#123, p17, pan2 (trapped inside a pink present)
Appearances:
X-Men I#98 (April, 1976) - Chris Claremont (writer), Dave Cockrum (pencils), Sam Grainger (inks), Marv Wolfman (editor)
X-Men I#109 (February, 1978) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Archie Goodwin (editor)
Power Man and Iron Fist I#50 (April, 1978) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Dave Cockrum, Dan Green (inkers), Archie Goodwin (editor)
X-Men I#123 (July, 1979) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Roger Stern (editor)
X-Men I#124 (August, 1979) - Chris Claremont (writer), John Byrne (writer, pencils), Terry Austin (inks), Roger Stern (editor)
Dazzler I#1 (March, 1981) - Tom DeFalco (writer), John Romita Jr., John Romita, John Buscema (pencillers), Alfredo Alcala, Bob McLeod, John Romita (inkers), Louise Jones (editor)
Classic X-Men I#6/1 (February, 1987) - Chris Claremont (writer), Dave Cockrum, James Fry (pencillers), Sam Grainger, Jack Abel, Mike Esposito (inkers), Marv Wolfman, Ann Nocenti, Terry Kavanagh (editors)
First Posted: 07/22/2018
Last Updated: 07/22/2018
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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