How do you define the essence of Captain Britain a hero who has been around nearly forty years ? What are the stories that made him a great hero and make him such a fan favorite?
Well I’m going to attempt to pick five defining moments from the good Captain’s many stories that to me make him my favorite super hero, read on and see if you agree or disagree.
Number 5, Captain Britain’s origin.
There is something so British about the Captain’s origin with Stonehenge, Merlin, the sword in the stone and villains who resemble ancient knights all playing a part. To the modern reader all that is missing is perhaps a cup of tea but daftness aside a lot of super heroes have had worse origins and the start of Captain Britain’s crime fighting career told in two seven-page comics is a lot tighter than any modern heroes origin. I always say if you like a hero but don’t like their origin then you need to start looking elsewhere for your comic book fix, Captain Britain is a great hero with great origin, nuff said.
Number 4, Captain Britain marries Megan.
The course of super hero romance never runs straight and for the Captain and his long-suffering love Megan this was certainly true. However they finally tied the knot in the last issue of Excalibur ( number 125 ) and to me it was the perfect end to all the troubles they had been through. Even though super hero marriages run less smoothly than their relationships and Cap and Megan were to be no exception to this rule I still think this is a great moment in Captain Britain’s life.
Number 3, Captain Britain attacks the Queen.
Ah the old hypnotized super hero on a rampage story it never gets old as far as writers are concerned and Captain Britain was to be the victim of such an attack in issue 39 of his first series. What I love about this story is that first of all the Captain goes straight after the Queen no messing around with him attacking lesser characters and secondly the plot is so bizarre and involves a brain-washed Queen launching the Royal Navy against a fictional African nation. Of course it all ends well but the sheer audacity of having Captain Britain target the Queen and the great cover image of him doing so make it one of my favorite Cap stories.
Number 2, Captain Britain forms Excalibur.
All good super heroes need a team and Captain Britain was no exception when he, Megan and a bunch of ex X-Men got together and formed Excalibur. To me this is a no-brainer great Cap moment simply because he’s being recognized as a leader and getting the role he has deserved, that of team captain. Of course sometimes he seemed to play second fiddle to Nightcrawler and despite it being the resources of his secret identity Brian Braddock that funded the team often it seemed he didn’t get the respect he deserved. Still for a moment he was a hero in his natural role making it one of my favorites for that reason.
Number 1, Captain Britain joins the Avengers.
Seeing Captain Britain finally take his well deserved place in the roster of Marvel’s greatest team is like seeing your son or daughter graduate university. Yes after all his hard work saving the world time and time again finally the good Captain gets the recognition he deserves, I’m so proud despite it being a probable contributing factor to his recent death.
The Captain Britain fans' page and blog. 