Britain’s Greatest Superheroes’ 50th Anniversary: Celebrating Captain Britain
David Brazier looks back over 50 years of Captain Britain, ahead of the celebrations for the characters debut in Marvel UK’s weekly title Captain Britain, including an all-new Captain Marvel’s Special…
Let the National Anthem play – It’s the 50th Anniversary of Britain’s greatest superhero – no, not Union Jack; I am talking about Captain Britain, and specifically Brian Braddock.
1976 was the year when the first issue of Captain Britain was published in Britain, the first issue cover dated 13th October. I was eleven years old, and had just started senior school, overcome with excitement that we would at last have our own British superhero. 1976 was the year that Concorde cut the flight time between New York and London to three hours, and my Dad said its sonic boom caused the paint to come off our garage wall, as we lived under the flight path in Berkshire. 1976 was also my first year at senior school, the dreaded Garth Hill in Bracknell New Town, the worst school in Europe.
More than anything, I needed a hero to follow. I loved those reprints of American Marvel strips in The Mighty World of Marveland Spider-man Weekly. But then I saw it advertised in Spider-man Weekly – “Captain Britain”.
Indeed, I was so excited that I couldn’t wait to get home and pick up my issue, which mum had kindly asked the newsagent to reserve for me, so at school I made myself ill, and my mum had to get a taxi (she couldn’t drive) and pick me up at lunchtime. Once home, the ‘poorly’ me retreated to my room to devour this new comic character. I can still recall the smell of the paper, and how I delicately turned the pages as if it were a valuable manuscript. It even had a gift, a Captain Britain mask, which I duly put on and sat reading the comic.
I want to evoke a little context. British Comics rarely focused superheroes (Professor Chris Murray has documented our home grown creations, however, in The British Superhero); these were, to me, an American idea. But we had warriors, space men daring as they could be, historical figures and sportsmen. But as mentioned earlier, we did have the American reprints, featuring three of four strips. The British wartime hero, Union Jack, had been introduced in “The Invaders” a Marvel wartime comic, in Super Spider-Man with the Super-Heroes #186, published in September 1976.
Captain Britain was conceived in America. The comic script was produced out of Marvel UK’s New York offices, the creation of two creators who had vague connections to Britain: writer Chris Claremont (who subsequently went on to glory with the new X-Men), who had emigrated to America as a youngster, and artist Herb Trimpe, who happened to be living in Cornwall at the time.
The good Captain, at this point, proved to be a terrible amalgam of Spider-Man and Captain America. He seemed as British as Dick Van Dyke’s accent in Mary Poppins. But I did like the fact that his origin seemed to be connected in some way to Arthurian Mythology, which has always been an interest of mine. Brian Braddock (Marvel loved alliterative names) was a physics student from Thames University. He was getting some work experience at a secret laboratory on Darkmoor, and he smoked a pipe, which was rather antiquated, and odd.
So far, so good; then all hell broke loose, and the base was under attack from Joshua Stragg, the Reaver. A one-off villain we never heard of again.
Our hero, Brian, escapes on a motorbike and is intercepted by Stragg’s strange UFO-like aircraft from The X-Files and forced off the road. He awakens sometime later and finds himself in an ancient stone circle, overlooked by Merlin and the Lady of the Northern Skies, who offer him a desperate choice of either the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Rejecting the sword as a symbol of violence, Brian chooses the amulet and is transformed into… Captain Britain!
This breakneck adventure was manna from heaven to my young imagination. I must have read it hundreds of times. As each weekly instalment was delivered, I would read back again and retrace the story.
The good Captain had a staff as a weapon with three mysterious buttons on the handle. Many evenings, I lay in bed wondering what they did. The Reaver chose the sword when he arrived, but Captain Britain defeated him! This all took place in 14 pages, some even in colour! At this point in his early evolution, Captain Britain lacked a nemesis and villains of the week like Hurricane, the Highwayman and some old guy with a mechanical hawk were easily forgotten.
Not even an inevitable crossover with Captain America and his archenemy, the Red Skull, could save the good captain. Eventually, his comic was amalgamated with the weekly Spider-Man after 39 issues. Disappointed, I still retained some love for the character in my childish heart, storing and re-reading my back issues, but now I was reading American Comics, crudely pegged on a washing line, that I bought haphazardly from a market stall in Bracknell.
Eventually, my red, white and blue hero ended up in comics limbo, with his own weekly comic cancelled. It was not until 1979 that our erstwhile hero surfaced again, but in the most unlikely way.
On our television in the late 1970s, the surprise hit was The Hulk – a live-action series telling the story of Bruce Banner, who transforms into the green Hulk. This was rather exciting, as even my parents liked this (sort of). Marvel UK decided to cash in on this surprise hit with a weekly Hulk Comic. I don’t know what it says about me that I have kept all these things from my childhood!
The person in charge of Marvel UK was Dez Skinn, who realised that England had never had a strong tradition of superheroes as the USA (many created by displaced Jewish comic writers). Our native comic tradition was war stories or humour. (I should point out that I read all these; I loved the medium: I was both a Warlord Agent and a member of the Dennis the Menace Fan Club).
Dez decided to fill Hulk Weekly with British-as even advertised on TV and contained an original “Hulk” strip that took its vibe from the TV series, a delightful prohibition gangster/revenge strip called “Night Raven”, a “Nick Fury Secret Agent” story and an original sword and sorcery/Tolkien-esque “Black Knight” Strip
The Black Knight, as an idea, has a long literary history; strangely, he had been used in the American The Avengerscomic, but he always seemed out of place flying his winged horse, Valinor, around New York! The writer for this new Black Knight strip was Steve Parkhouse, who loved Celtic Mythology and ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The real stroke of genius was the choice of artist, John Stokes and, later, Paul Neary, inked by Stokes, both experienced masters of their art. This really is a lovely strip, most recently collected in the 2022 Captain Britain Omnibus, and well worth seeking out.
But what of Captain Britain, I hear you say?
Well, here’s the twist: both the Black Knight’s mentor and Captain Britain’s mentor is Merlin/Merlyn, although a slightly different spelling. Dez Skinn thus decided to subtly work Captain Britain in as a mysterious rain-coated amnesiac on the Cornish Coast in Issue 2, who the Black Knight encounters and who seems the locus of attention for elves, dwarves, evil wizards and dragons. I loved this, and it connected with me as our annual holiday was to Cornwall each year. Thus begins the Otherworld Quest and the hunt to resurrect King Arthur.
It is not until Issue 4 that the amnesiac is revealed as Captain Britain. So that is where Captain Britain remained as a character in the “Black Knight” strip until Issue 63, when Hulk Comic was also cancelled.
The third part of this curious history will be complete as I write about one of the greatest and most controversial comic creators of all time, Alan Moore, and my favourite artist, Alan Davis, when Captain Britain finally becomes a hero to make everyone in Blighty proud!
The good Captain lay moribund in comics limbo for several years until Paul Neary, still working for Marvel UK, whose headquarters was a rickety-floored flat above a cobbler’s flat in London, grasped the nettle. Marvel now had some Marvel Superheroes monthlies coming out, and they were keen to relaunch Captain Britain. The writer was to be David Thorpe, who had just finished his degree in surrealism and Dadaism. He was to be teamed up with new artist Alan Davis.
Now this was an important moment for any comic book aficionados, as Alan Davis became the Captain Britain Artist supreme, and one of my favourites. I have met Alan David three times, and he has always been delightful. Paul Ware, in his delightful fanzine special edition, Captain Britain: A Past Perfect Annual, describes Davis as the “Patron Saint of Captain Britain”, and I would concur.
At this time, Alan Davis was working in a warehouse and drawing part-time. In Modern Masters Volume 1: Alan Davis, Alan talks at length about how he got the job by attending a comic con in London where he met Paul Neary, the editor-in-chief at Marvel UK. Davis redesigned the good captain’s look; he made Brian look like one of his favourite characters, the Daily Mirror’s Garth, making him “Michelangelo’s David on steroids”. Brian Braddock looks like the perfect superhero but, as Davis recounts, was “Pretty useless in fact.” His uniform was modelled on the guardsmen outside Buckingham Palace and gained a mask that was more like a helmet. Davis goes on to say that he deliberately designed the new Captain Britain to be the opposite of Captain America. They both wear the flag, and they are both patriotic heroes, but England’s champion is “rigid”, “humourless” and “not competent for the jobs he has been chosen to do.” This is all very British and makes the good Captain unique. We like our heroes with feet of clay, and we like to cut those getting beyond themselves down to size!
The new “Captain Britain” strip eventually appeared in Marvel Superheroes 377 and was designed to fit the modern Britain of the time.
The vibe the writer David Thorpe went for channelled a peculiar brand of British surreality, with references to Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, HG Wells, Charles Dickens, John Wyndham and Doctor Who. These were all writers and things I liked, and that fitted my own likes. This was never a strip that Americans would enjoy. Thorpe set up some fascinating new supporting characters like the Avant-Garde, the Crazy Gang and Mad Jim Jaspers, who became part of the Mythos which is still being used today.
Captain Britain himself was portrayed by Thorpe as an upper-class class muscle-bound twit who was a bit clumsy, far from the heroic American heroes across the pond, and it fitted perfectly with Davis’ new visual. Thorpe’s run ended in controversy as he submitted a Northern Ireland story when the IRA were bombing mainland Britain, which Marvel refused to publish, and Davis refused to draw. James Bacon, in his excellent book, Irish Conflict in Comics in the 20th Century, discusses this in Chapter 11. Thorpe really did define the idea of the multiverse, so beloved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Earth-616! Before he passed in 2024, he wrote about this at length in his autobiography, The Secret Origin of Earth 616, which is well worth a read.
Alan Davis remained on the strip as Alan Moore became the writer. Moore is perhaps the greatest modern comics scribe, the writer of Swamp Thing, Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and a host of other things. Moore took the whole of Captain Britain’s history and moulded it into something exciting and fresh. Moore is also British, as is Alan Davis, and they show an amazing understanding of this character and his supporting cast, although it is Thorpe’s mythos and ideas that remain central. This story moved from Marvel Superheroes to The Daredevils, which featured colour covers but a black-and-white strip.
In the first issue, our hero is annihilated by a fearsome creature called The Fury. Merlyn and Roma from his origin tale then rebuild him from a few bones and remains. This death and resurrection both humble the character and provides an emotional resonance that continues in later stories and his time with Excalibur. After being rebuilt and resurrected, Captain Britain is then returned to his own reality, and what follows is truly an epic, that culminates in a final battle between our hero, the Fury and Jasper’s Warp. It is heady stuff, superbly written and beautifully drawn. I particularly love that final panel with Merlyn’s funeral and the Black Knight in attendance.
Captain Britain was then given his own comic Subsequent stories after this introduce new variant Captain Britains and characters like the Special Executive and the Jasper’s Warp
Years later, in 1987, Chris Claremont and Alan Davis teamed up for Marvel’s Excalibur, Alan becoming the writer and artist from #42 , a team book featuring Captain Britain and some displaced X-Men. These comics are beautifully drawn and have a lovely blend of humour and adventure. It references the ideas that previous writers developed and creates something highly imaginative and British in sensibility. They are available as Epic Collections from Amazon. In these, he completes Captain Britain’s story and also develops a fantastic array of supporting characters. The dynamic with the X-Men characters also plays out nicely.
Marvel is owned by Disney now, and there are careful metrics applied to publishing comics, so Captain Britain only occasionally features. There was a nice run a few years ago called Captain Britain and MI-13, written by a former Doctor Who writer, Paul Cornell. Initially, I was so hopeful, but again it did not last. Recently, Brian’s sister, Betty Braddock, has been made a female Captain Britain, and Brian has been made into a character called Captain Albion.
I am heartened that in October Marvel isissuing a Captain Britain 50th Anniversary comic with a lovely cover by Alan Davis and a story inside, as well as other new material. There is also a Betsy Braddock alternative cover by the sublime David Mack.
Finally, let’s raise a glass to Brian Braddock, the true Captain Britain, his strange and curious history and the eclectic creators who brought him into being. Thank you for the pleasure you’ve given me. I hope you return to your former glory soon.
David Brazier is a retired teacher and award-winning Headmaster who began reading comics after his parents left a gang of bikers to babysit him, and they gave him a bag of Marvel Comics to keep him occupied. He continued to read and collect comics and write and think about them. “Comics got me reading and were the first step to Shakespeare and poetry, but I never lost the love,” he says. David currently lives in Dorset and volunteers for a charity called The Bank of Dreams and Nightmares, where they have just run a comic club in a primary school. The comic will be published as a graphic novel and sold at GOSH! Comics.
Head downthetubes for…
• In Memoriam: Herb Trimpe, co-creator of Captain Britain
• Alan Davis – Official Website
• David Thorpe (2nd December 1954 to 25th April 2024) – Official Site
• In Memoriam: Comic Artist, Writer, Inspiration: Paul Neary
• Remembering David Thorpe, Creator of Marvel’s Earth 616
• In Review: The Secret Origin of Earth 616 by David Thorpe
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Captain Britain Collected
Collects the Captain Britain related stories from Captain Britain (1976) #1-39, Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain #231-247, Hulk Comic #1 And #3-46, Incredible Hulk Weekly #47-55 And #57-63, Marvel Super-Heroes (1972) #377-388, Daredevils #1-11, Mighty World Of Marvel (1983) #7-16, Captain Britain (1985) #1-14 And Marvel Tales (1964) #131-133 – Plus Marvel Team-Up (1972) #65-66, New Mutants Annual #2 And X-Men Annual (1970) #11.
Follow the United Kingdom’s greatest champion from the streets of London to the mystic realm of Otherworld! Brian Braddock, hand-picked for greatness by the sorcerer Merlyn, has made the fateful choice between the sword of might and the amulet of right – and become a hero! Now, thrill to a complete collection of Captain Britain’s iconic UK adventures – from questing alongside the Black Knight to battling Jim Jaspers and the Fury to prevent Earth from becoming a crooked world! But when Brian suffers a crisis of faith, will his sister Betsy inherit the mantle? Featuring the Special Executive, the Warpies, the Captain Britain Corps, Meggan and more.
The Excalibur Epic Collection series from Marvel Comics chronologically collects the complete Excalibur (1988) ongoing series, related miniseries, and key crossover issues. Links are AmazonUK Affiliates, some to digital editions
• Retro Review: Excalibur by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer
Luke Williams dives back into an often under appreciated Marvel Comic title
Collects Captain Britain (1976) #1-2; Excalibur (1988) #1-11, Special Edition, Mojo Mayhem and material from Mighty World of Marvel #7, 14-15; Marvel Comics Presents(1988) #31-38
Collects Excalibur (1988) #12-30
Collects Excalibur (1988) #31-41; Excalibur: Weird War III, The Possession And Air Apparent; Sensational She-Hulk #26 and material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #75
Collects Excalibur (1988) #42-58, Excalibur: XX Crossing (1992) #1, material from Marvel Comics Presents(1988) #110
Collects Excalibur (1988) #59-75 and Annual #1
Volume 6: The Douglock Chronicles
Out 6th October 2026, Collects: Excalibur (1988) #76-87, Excalibur Annual(1993) #2, X-Factor (1986) #106, X-Force (1991) #38, material from Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #174
Volume 7: (Not Yet Officially Solicited)
Based on Marvel’s sequential mapping of the series by Crushing Krisis, Volume 7 is expected to collect Excalibur (1988) #88–103, Pryde & Wisdom (1996) #1–3, and material from X-Men Prime (1995) andX-Man (1995) #12.
Volume 8: The Battle for Britain (Not Yet Officially Solicited)
Based on Marvel’s sequential mapping of the series by Crushing Krisis, Volume 8 is expected to collect: Excalibur (1988) #104–115 and #-1; Colossus (1997) #1; Kitty Pryde: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (1997) #1–3; and New Mutants: Truth or Death (1997) #1–3.
Volume 9: You Are Cordially Invited (Not Yet Officially Solicited)
Based on Marvel’s sequential mapping of the series by Crushing Krisis, Volume 7 is expected to collect: Excalibur (1988) #116–125, X-Men Unlimited(1993) #19, X-Men: True Friends (1999) #1–3, and Excalibur (2001) #1–4
- About the Author
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who MagazineandOverkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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