UPDATED see end of article.
Ever since Captain Britain turned up in The Avengers Time Runs Out event his fans have been given very few answers about his disheveled, one-eyed, bearded appearance, the possible death of the Captain Britain Corps and how it all will lead into Secret Wars.
Now New Avengers 30 has been released today does it give Cap fans the answers they want as Tom Brevoort promised it would back in November last year; or have the mysteries people are dying to unravel become even more tangled?
Join us on the Captain Blog for a dissection of the issue, but please be aware this article includes spoilers for this week’s New Avengers 30, if you haven’t read the issue yet then do not carry on reading after the picture.
OK let start with the fact that despite the cover Captain Britain and the Corps have very little page time in New Avengers 30, but when they do appear Hickman gives us some answers which die-hard Cap fans might wish to remain ignorant about.
Plot wise the big bad behind Time Runs Out and the destruction of the Marvel Multiverse have been revealed as race of Beyonders also known as the Ivory Kings who we are told can crunch universes with their power. They along with a race known as Mapmakers began to collapse the multiverse but why? Captain Britain found out the terrible answer.
Not looking good for the Corps is it, well sadly their luck doesn’t get any better.
So in four panels we have the loss of Cap’s eye in a fight with the Beyonder’s minions and the total destruction of the Captain Britain Corps along with Saturnyne, but hope isn’t lost as Cap escaped, and if I’m reading the panel correctly he has possibly left with the power to resurrect the Corps.
So where do we start, the Corps are gone but as death in comic books is about as permanent as a spray on tan I can’t really get that upset, Cap has come back from the dead a few times and Meggan his wife once so I’m sure the Corps will reappear after or during Secret Wars. Speaking of Meggan, where is she ? SHIELD don’t seem to have any record of her as I reported here and you’d think as Cap’s wife she might have been involved in his big scrap, but she is sadly absent and hopefully not another casualty.
Hickman is a master of the twisty-turny plot, springing surprises on his readers in whatever title of his you happen to read so I’m sure he still has lots of cards up his sleeve for Time Runs Out. Whether these surprises will reveal more about Cap I’m not sure as the book seems to be approaching end game territory when apart from the end of series explanations the title will probably focus more on fixing the multiverse rather than telling us more secrets. Speaking of secrets with Secret Wars imminent Cap might not be safe even after Time Runs Out finishes and the next big Marvel event starts, who knows?
What are your thoughts on New Avengers 30? Are you angry at the death of the Captain Britain Corps? Where do you think Meggan is? If you have any thoughts on these ideas or more please sound off in the comments below.
UPDATE – following a tip-off in the comments section from Braddock I checked out the epilogue to Spider-Verse in Amazing Spider-Man 15, and there is one survivor of the Captain Britain Corps, Spider-UK.
So did Marvel just recreate the Captain Britain Corps but filled it full of Spider-Men instead?
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well I wouldn’t say it’s a sloppy way to deal with them matter but 4 panels seems really not enough.
On the other side I suggest you check out the epilogue of spider-verse…
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I would have liked to have seen more Cap action as well, have to check out the Spider-verse epilogue cheers for the tip.
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top tip article updated, many thanks
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As I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of Hickman’s writing, and this is another example of yet another American writer not giving Captain Britain the respect he deserves. They treat Captain America like he’s the greatest hero ever, because he’s so pure of heart and embodies the “America dream” and all that rubbish. But Captain Britain… they treat him like some D list character.
Hickman was obviously aware of the Captain Britain Corps and their job as protectors of the Multiverse, but they were just an annoying little bit of Marvel continuity that he felt that he needed to pay a little lip service to before wiping them out (pretty much off panel), so he could carry on with his story.
Hickman’s Avengers run has been pretty mediocre at best and how many issues can it take to tell this bloody thing anyway? This decompressed storytelling bollocks is getting really old now. Back in the day this whole thing would’ve been dealt with in 4-6 issues and we could’ve moved on. I can’t wait for this Secret Wars thing to be over and for the next Avengers creative team to take over.
I wish there was some way to get Alan Davis to come back and fix the mess that other creators have made of Captain Britain through the years, in the same way he came back as artist and writer on his second run in Excalibur. Putting right what once went wrong.
What most creators don’t realise is that part of Captain Britain’s magic, that other Marvel characters don’t have, is a rich mythology, quirky English sense of fun and adventure, and a great supporting cast of characters and villains. It all mixes together to make Captain Britain so unique.
And no one understands this better than the legend that is Alan Davis.
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While I agree and would have liked more Cap pages I just don’t think it was going to happen. The big reveal was all about the Beyonders and Mapmakers, the Captain Britain Corps were just used to show these new enemies couldn’t be defeated. While this isn’t the way I would have liked to see the Corps go out I would stake money on their return after Secret Wars with Hickman’s throw away line that Cap seems to have taken the power to resurrect them with him.
Hickman as a Cap writer is no better or worse than many others who have tackled Cap, he acknowledges Cap’s power, high inteligence and made him a member of the illumianti when the role could have easily gone to another character and then we would have no Cap and probaly not see him in Secret Wars either. At least Hickman hasn’t killed Cap as once happend off panel in Excalibur.
I certainly agree Time Runs Out has not lived up to its name and finished by now but I’m certain it only has two months left to go, I will read the lot and try Secret Wars. Thinking of both these events I can’t really recall when Cap turned up in any recent Marvel event so seeing him in two is good news really, however there could be a backlash if he’s written badly or killed off again.
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On the plus side, as depicted the “destruction” of the Corps is largely unconfirmed. We don’t see the demise of any identifiable individuals, and Brian’s abrupt departure back to 616 leaves him unable to know for sure who might have survived. We already know Spider-UK was absent, which leads to two conclusions – first, the cover depicting him among the fallen isn’t to be taken as a depiction of what actually happened, which means that Captain UK, Hauptmann Englande, Pookie Pendragon and Anglo-Simian are all also off the hook as far as being definitely dead; second, at least some members of the Corps were absent, elsewhere on other pressing business. So in theory any of them could be alive, just cut off from Otherworld and one another. Hence why I put destruction in quotes – they’ve had their numbers diminished, their central gathering point destroyed, their home realities are being destroyed, and they are scattered. But so long as a few members survive, the Corps can be rebuilt, so they are not destroyed.
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Hi there, I’ve recently found ( and joined!) your blog and I’m presently going through all your archives and I was wondering have you ever done a post listing ALL the Captains ( e.g. England, UK, Angleterre, etc.,etc.)?
If not, any chance of one?
Cheers, JP.
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Hi there, I have just recently found ( and joined! ) this blog and I’m presently going through all your archives and I was wondering if you have ever done a post, listing ALL of the Captains ( e.g. England, UK, Angleterre, etc., etc. )?
If not, any chance of doing one?
Cheers,JP.
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Welcome thanks for the post and idea I’ll look into it
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I struggled with this issue as it would never live up to such a wonderful cover.
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Well said
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Odin gave up an eye for knowledge and wisdom… Our good Captain has lost an eye and gained knowledge… and an Odin esq beard…
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Gotta love that beard as for the eye I still think there’s more in it than a lost eye
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