Captain Britain
Captain Britain is the name used by several characters in the Marvel Universe.
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Captain Britain (Brian Braddock)
- Main Article: Brian Braddock
Brian Braddock
Bleeding to death, Brian was approached by Merlin and his daughter Roma, who told him that he could live if he became Britain's next great champion. They offered Brian a choice: The Amulet of Right representing Life or the Sword of Might representing Death. Being a scholar and not conceiving of himself as a warrior, Brian chose the Amulet. (Marvel Team-Up v1 #65)
While visiting Avalon in Otherworld, Captain Britain was infected by Morgan Le Fay's magic becoming her dark champion and giving up the Amulet of Right to his sister, Betsy Braddock, who donned the Amulet to become the new Captain Britain. (Excalibur v4 #1)
Captain Britain (Elizabeth Braddock)
- Main Article: Betsy Braddock
Elizabeth Braddock
After being targeted for assassination and imprisoned in a concentration camp by Mad Jim Jaspers, Betsy received aid from Victoria Bentley, who helped Betsy use the trauma to focus and strengthen her growing psychic powers. Following Brian's defeat at the hands of his counterpart from another reality, the sadistic Kaptain Briton, Betsy was able to kill the villain, and was convinced by her old flame Gabriel to replace Brian as a new Captain Britain until being blinded in a confrontation with Slaymaster. (Captain Britain v2 #13)
Much radically changed for Braddock with the establishment of the mutant nation on the island of Krakoa, where all mutants were granted citizenship. Eventually, she decided to move to the island, after a period living with her family at the Braddock Academy. Since Braddock learned Kwannon returned to her original body, she gave up her Psylocke identity, as it had been attached to the image of the woman whose body she had worn. Kwannon's return was not the only one that shocked Braddock: through Krakoan Resurrection Protocols, her older brother Jamie also came back to the living. Another shadow from the past was Apocalypse, a member of the Krakoan government, who had a special interest in accessing the Otherworld and sought for Braddock's help. Simultaneously, Captain Britain, who was aware that the Otherworld faced a crisis, was contacted. The Braddock twins traveled to Avalon, where they were attacked by Morgan Le Fay. Brian fell under Morgan's control, and Betsy Braddock reassumed the mantle of Captain Britain after claiming her brother's Amulet of Power. (Excalibur v4 #1)
Captain Britain (Kelsey Leigh Kirkland)
- Main Article: Lionheart
Kelsey Leigh Kirkland was a single mother with two young children who lived in Ipswich in East Anglia, England. She was a schoolteacher who taught English literature and history. Back when she was married, thugs invaded her home. One of them attempted to rape her: she fought back, hurting him somehow and he cut her face with a broken bottle in revenge, scarring her permanently. Meanwhile, her husband, Richard, was too paralyzed with fear to help her. His guilt over that incident led to the dissolution of their marriage. (Avengers v3 #81)
Later, Kelsey awoke to find herself in a ring of standing stones, where she was met by a vision of the former Captain Britain Brian Braddock who was currently the ruler of Otherworld, and his wife, the elemental shapeshifter Meggan. To save Britain from the evil Morgan Le Fay, he passed the mantle of Captain Britain to Kelsey. Her heroic act of bravery earned her a second chance to live and to defend her home. Given the choice between the Sword of Might and the Amulet of Right, Kelsey, desperate to see her children again, and not seeing how a necklace could defend anything, chose the sword, the path of violence. Instantly, she was transformed into the new Captain Britain, only to discover that her decision meant that if she ever revealed who she was to her children, it would cost them their lives. (Avengers v3 #80)
Overview
In some cases, Captain Britain was able to naturally soak up inter-dimensional energies that powered his costume, giving him the power of Captain Britain even out of uniform. The uniform still had an independent force field for further protection, and enhanced Brian's ability to harness the energies properly. (Daredevils v1 #1)
Two items linked to the mantle of Captain Britain were the Amulet of Right and the Sword of Might. The choosing of each relic affected the general powers of the champion. (Captain Britain v1 #1)
Originally, the Captain Britain uniform was originally linked to the Amulet of Right, worn around the wearer's neck. Touching the amulet would summon their uniform and bestow the power of Captain Britain upon him. (Captain Britain v1 #1) After a time, Merlyn altered the uniform again, incorporating the mystical circuitry of the Sceptre into the costume, costing the Captain his weapon but also allowing him to fly hands free. (Marvel Super-Heroes UK v1 #37)
At first, Captain Britain wielded a Quarterstaff that magically appeared strapped to their back. It appeared to be simply a wooden rod decorated with red, white and blue stripes, but was quickly discovered that pressing one of the four buttons on the shaft would cause it to extend itself into a javelin or even a vaulting pole. (Captain Britain v1 #2)
The quarterstaff that originally came with the uniform was upgraded by Merlyn into a Star Sceptre, containing mystical circuitry that enabled the bearer to fly. The Sceptre could also generate the same protective force field which the staff had formerly projected. When Captain Britain's powers were later upgraded by Merlyn, the Star Sceptre vanished and its properties were seemingly transferred to Captain Britain's power enhancing uniform. (Captain Britain v1 #36)
Notes
- The concept of Captain Britain was created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe where it made its first appearance in Captain Britain v1 #1 (October, 1976).
Alternate Versions
- In Ultimate X-Men v1 #19 (2002), an alternate version of Captain Britain appeared in the Ultimate Marvel reality designated as Earth-1610 in the Multiverse. It was the result of work done for the European Defense Initiative were Sir James Braddock and his son Brian Braddock designed the Braddock Exo-suit. It allowed the wearer enhanced strength, force field protection, and flight. Initially designed with a British flag motif, subsequent versions of the suit were redesigned to represent other EU members such as Captain Spain, Captain France, and Captain Italy.
Appearances
- Captain Britain v1: (1976)
- Captain Britain v2:
- Avengers v3:
- Excalibur v4:
External Links
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