History ComicBook / CaptainBritain

These were Creator/MarvelUK anthology titles containing ''Captain Britain'' stories. They are listed in chronological order:
* ''ComicBook/CaptainBritainWeekly'' (1976-1977)

* ''The Daredevils'' (Features most of the ''[[Comicbook/CaptainBritainACrookedWorld Crooked World]]'' arc)

* ''ComicBook/CaptainBritainMonthly'' (1985-1986)

* ''Anime/XMen'' anime (2011) (cameo)

* ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' (2012-present): appears as recruitable playable hero.

* TheChosenMany: Captain Britain is part of the multiversal Captain Britain Corps in the ''Comicbook/{{Excalibur}}'' series, where each different Britain in the Marvel multiverse has one to defend the country. Most of them are different versions of Brian Braddock, but this isn't always the case. Since there's one for almost every reality, not every Captain Britain is Caucasian, male, or even good for that matter. There have been at least two Nazis in the role, since they technically represent the ideals of their Britain. Also Captain Granbretan and Captain Angleterre, who come from Britain's that had been conquered by Napoleon. More esoteric Captains Britain have included [[Literature/NineteenEightyFour Captain Airstrip-One]], [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Britanicus Rex]], [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Centurion Britannus]], [[ComicBook/CaptainAmerica Captain Colonies]], [[Comicbook/SpiderMan Spider-UK]], and at least two Skrulls. Oh, and Captain UsefulNotes/{{Wales}}.

* InspectorJavert: British Detective Dai Thomas of ''Captain Britain'', at least in the early stories. He really doesn’t like costumed vigilantes, to the point where not only is he trying to arrest Captain Britain, but he pulls a gun on Captain America. That does not go well.

* ''WesternAnimation/XMen'' (1992-1997) (cameo)

''Captain Britain'' is a superhero created by Creator/ChrisClaremont and Herb Trimpe for the Creator/MarvelUK imprint of Creator/MarvelComics. The title has been used by three major characters, all of [[UsefulNotes/{{Britain}} British]] origin; [[Characters/CaptainBritainBrianBraddock Brian Braddock]], Kelsey Leigh, and [[ComicBook/{{Psylocke}} Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock]].

* DealWithTheDevil: Choosing the Sword of Might has a similar effect like this. The bearer will turn into a ruthless AntiHero at best or a BloodKnight at worse. In Kelsey's case, she also had to keep her identity secret, or else [[AdultFear her children will die horribly]].

* {{Deuteragonist}}: Captain Britain. The series was initially billed as ''The Black Knight'', but starred the duo for most of the run. The title was even changed to ''Captain Britain'' for individual episodes where the Knight wasn't playing a significant role.

Published in the anthology comics ''Mighty World of Marvel'' and ''Captain Britain Monthly''. See [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainJamieDelanoAndAlanDavis here]]

Published in the anthology comics ''Marvel Super-Heroes'', ''The Daredevils'' and ''Mighty World of Marvel''.


See [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainACrookedWorld here]].

Published in the anthology comics ''Mighty World of Marvel'' and ''Captain Britain Monthly''.


See [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainJamieDelanoAndAlanDavis here]]

* Deuteragonist: Captain Britain. The series was initially billed as ''The Black Knight'', but starred the duo for most of the run. The title was even changed to ''Captain Britain'' for individual episodes where the Knight wasn't playing a significant role.

[[folder: ''Captain Britain Weekly'' and ''Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain'']]

[[folder: The "''A Crooked World''" saga]]

[[folder: The Jamie Delano & Alan Davis run]]

[[folder: ''Captain Britain and [=MI13=]'']]

* AlternateHistoryWank: The Captain Britain Corps has a member (Centurion Britannus from Earth-4100) in which '''the Roman Empire''' never fragmented. Separately, it also has a world where '''the Nazis''' won WWII, with Kaptain Briton.
* AmericaIsStillAColony: The Captain Britain Corps has at least two members (Crusader X from Earth 2122 and Captain Colonies ([[Comicbook/CaptainAmerica Steve Rogers]]) from Earth 4103) of realities in which America is still a colony.

* CaptainPatriotic: Both captains stand for all values of England, and most of their alternate counterparts do the same.

"''A Crooked World''" ran through several different titles - starting with ''Marvel Superheroes'', continuing through ''The Daredevils'' and finishing in ''Mighty World of Marvel''.

For tropes specific to this storyline, see [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainACrookedWorld here]].

* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: When one is chosen to become Captain Britain, they are offered two items: the Sword of Might or the Amulet of Right. The original protagonist, Brian Braddock, chose the latter; his successor Kelsey Leigh, being more practically-minded and not understanding the significance of the items, chose the former.

* DroppedABridgeOnHer: Kelsey is savagely knocked out by the BrainwashedAndCrazy ComicBook/SheHulk in ''Avengers Disassembled''. She's not dead, but she spent the remainder of the unfolding events in hospital, her status was critical. In ''Avengers Finale'', Kelsey left the disbanding Avengers, returning home to England fully recovered.

* FashionableAsymmetry: Kelsey's shoulder armour is only on her right shoulder.

* GoodScarsEvilScars: Kelsey had a long scar running down the side of her face, from the middle of her forehead down the left side of her nose and mouth, and onto her chin.

* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Kelsey is a secondary antagonist in ''New Excalibur'' as TheDragon for Albion, an alternate reality counterpart of Brian, who had a dispute with Brian and many other members of the Captain Britain Corps at the time, and [[UnholyMatrimony whom Kelsey appears to be in relationship with]]. Kelsey eventually learned the error of her ways and helped Excalibur to defeat Albion and Shadow-X (an evil team of the original five ComicBook/XMen and Charles Xavier from an alternate reality who were brainwashed by Shadow King).

* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: Once she's resurrected, received the powers of Captain Britain, and returned to Earth, Kelsey avenged her own previous 'death' by impaling Thunderball with her Sword of Might.

* MistakenIdentity: Object example. Kelsey referred to the Sword of Might as Excalibur. The ''real'' Excalibur itself ends up being held by [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainAndMI13 another British superhero, Faiza Hussain]].* MostCommonSuperpower: Kelsey's bust is emphasized in her costume.

* RapeAsBackstory: Kelsey. Back when she was married, she was sexually assaulted by thugs who invaded her home. The incident caused her to divorce her husband (as he was too paralyzed with fear to help her) and take sole custody of their two children.

* ShouldersOfDoom: Kelsey wears a small and practical variant on her right shoulder.

** TookALevelInBadass: Kelsey was mostly UnskilledButStrong when she got her powers, which is understandable since she was never a fighter before. She's a better fighter after Albion trained her.
* TroubledFetalPosition: Kelsey did this on her bed after she, as Captain Britain, finished checking up her mother and children in Avengers Mansion without revealing her secret to them.

* UnholyMatrimony: Briefly, Kelsey with Albion in ''New Excalibur'', although it doesn't last.

* ActionDad: Brian has a daughter with Meggan as of ''X-Men Gold Annual'' named Maggie, who is also BrainyBaby as she's able to speak when she's just a few days old.

* TheAlcoholic: Brian is one for much of the early series of ''{{ComicBook/Excalibur}}'' - while he drank a fair bit before, the apparent death of his sister Betsy, along with the X-Men, led to him falling down the bottle in a big way - which leads him into several poor decisions. He eventually gets sober, though Kitty's apparent death during the ''Cross Time Caper'' almost causes him to fall back down it again.

* AnimalMotifs: Brian's original red costume featured a golden lion emblem on his chest.

* BigBrotherInstinct: Brian for his sister, Betsy (Psylocke). When she briefly replaced him as Captain Britain for the first time, she's injured by Slaymaster and Brian has to rescue her.
** To a slightly lesser extent, he also applies this to Kitty and Rachel in ''Excalibur'', being decidedly protective of both of them. While Rachel can generally look after herself, being the most powerful member of the team (though she sometimes gets hit with the SquishyWizard problem), as early as the first issue he ominously looms over the eternally creepy Nigel Frobisher and tells him in no uncertain terms to leave her alone or suffer. As for Kitty, her apparent death in the ''Cross Time Caper'' leads to him nearly falling back down the bottle again, and being deeply depressed for a long time afterwards.
* BigBrotherMentor: Spider-Man served as this when Brian was just starting as Captain Britain and was studying in New York, to the point where Spidey actually arranged superhero lessons for him. While Spider-Man was about the same age as Brian, he was a good deal more experienced (Spidey got his powers at 15, while Brian was a researcher and graduate student, albeit an unusually young one, when he got his), and Brian held him in high esteem - and, separately, Peter Parker, who he was rooming with (no, he never worked it out), because Peter was the first one to confront him about his drinking problem and not let him just brush it off with his brains or money.

* BritishStuffiness: Invoked in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance''. Captain Britain is stuffed full of British cliches in the names of his passives and attacks.
* BrotherSisterTeam: Brian and Psylocke in ''Excalibur''.
* CainAndAbel: Brian's older brother Jamie is an [[AxCrazy utterly insane]] RealityWarper.

** This is how his ComicBook/UltimateMarvel incarnation's powers have worked from the start. Along with Captain France, Captain Spain, and various other European {{Captain Geographic}}s, Captain Britain is the product of an EU super-soldier program headed by his father, who designed a series of powered "exo-suits".
** His sister, [[Characters/MarvelComicsPsylocke Psylocke]], already has her own superpowers. But when she wears Captain Britain's costume, it grants her superhuman physical attributes, ability to fly, and a personal force field.
* ComboPlatterPowers: Betsy Braddock, who spent most of her superhero career as ComicBook/{{Psylocke}}, would become the next Captain Britain in 2019. The original is her twin brother Brian, who unlike her, isn't a mutant, and thus had no innate superpowers before being empowered by the Amulet of Right to become a [[SupermanSubstitute Superman-esque]] FlyingBrick. Betsy on the other hand, ''does'', and she retains them fully. Add the magical Amulet on top of that, and you've essentially got someone who has two distinct power sources at once with her innate mutant abilities and her magical empowerment. For the former, she's the third most powerful {{telepath}} in the world, can create powerful forcefields, psionic weapons, read minds, control minds, and use a variety of special TK-based abilities. For the latter, she can [[{{Flight}} fly]] at [[SuperSpeed vastly superhuman speeds]], [[SuperStrength benchpress over 500 tons]], is practically {{Nigh Invulnerab|ility}}le to most forms of normal damage, and can [[BarrierWarrior manipulate a nigh-indestructible forcefield]] for both offence and defense.

* CowboyCop: Compared to the other corpsmen, Brian is oblivious of their regulations and is more focused on doing what's right. This has naturally led to a lot of friction between him and the more rules-conscious members of the Corps.

* DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale: Brian has been raped by female villains at least three times. None of the encounters was treated as "okay", but they are brushed off as more an occupational hazard than a violation, and were never brought up much afterwards:
** Once, in his own series, he's captured by an elderly female crime lord who called herself Vixen and is next seen suspended naked in a device intended to facilitate her using him for sex. It's dismissed it as a dishonourable way to treat a WorthyOpponent, but no mainstream comic would dare depict a female heroine in a similar state back in the heyday of the Comics Code Authority (they might dare today, but it would be treated as a major, possibly life-altering trauma, and the writers would be roundly castigated as crossing a line in a cheap attempt to be edgy).
** In his own series again, when his evil inter-dimensional counterpart Kaptain Briton switched places with Brian and he ended up in villainess Sat-Yr-9's chamber, Sat-Yr-9 gave him a sedative to knock him out, after which he awoke naked and in bed with her gone. The scene is juxtaposed with Kaptain Briton's extremely nightmarish AttemptedRape of his AU-sister, Betsy (Psylocke), who was forced to kill him thinking she was being assaulted by her own brother, played as deadly serious and traumatic as one would expect.
** The other time, done by Sat-Yr-9 (again), was an issue of ''Excalibur'' - the team is captured by Sat-Yr-9, who hands all of them over to another villain except for Cap, whom she keeps as a mind-controlled SexSlave. She makes him walk around in a [[GoGoEnslavement Chippendale's dancer-inspired]] version of what her henchmen wear, and he's seen passed out naked in her bed. It's treated as significantly less severe a fate than whatever was happening to the other members of the team, and the possibility that it could have any greater psychological effect on Brian than any other random defeat by a villain isn't even paid lip service. Not to mention [[SubordinateExcuse a jealous henchman]] of Sat-Yr-9's attempted to kill him in this vulnerable state while he's unconscious.
* DoubleStandardRapeSciFi: As mentioned above, Sat-Yr-9 brainwashed Brian to be her SexSlave for one instance in ''Excalibur''.

* DrowningMySorrows: Brian in ''Excalibur''. This was a major subplot for a large part of early ''Excalibur''. Notably, he refers back to his drinking in the past as why Peter Parker chucked them out of their shared dorm when he was studying in the States.
** He hits the bottle a fair amount in his own series, too. As in ''Excalibur'', he ultimately chucks it.
--->'''Meggan:''' What do we do now, Captain?
--->'''Captain Britain:''' Well first I'm going to have a stiff drink. Then, since I seem to have run out of enemies to fight, I think I'll have another.

* ExpandedStatesOfAmerica: In ''Paper Empire'', a quasi-official (Creator/AlanMoore approved it, and Marvel later confirmed its version of Captain Empire's real name) ''Captain Britain'' fan comic, Captain Empire's home reality of Earth-741 has a United American Republics, which seems to include at ''least'' the USA and unspecified chunks of South America (but not Canada, which is still part of the British Empire).

* {{Expy}}: Brian was originally an Expy of Captain America, although his personal situation in the original ''Captain Britain Weekly'' series was closer to Spider-Man. This was {{deconstructed}} in ''Captain Britain and MI-13'' where Captain Britain says how much he admires Captain America and how he would like to be a patriotic symbol just like Captain America, but there are a lot of things in the way. Later, he is resurrected by Merlin, who knits together a multitude of Union Jacks into a human body - making the Captain, like the flag he wears and the country he represents, a single being made of multiple parts; "One Thing That Contains Many".

* FormFittingWardrobe: Both of their costumes. Brian's costume is emphasized in ''VideoGame/MarvelAvengersAlliance'' which features a rather [[FemaleGaze noticeable]] bulge where one would expect a man wearing a skin-tight outfit to have.
* GeniusBruiser: Not often shown (and he unhappily lampshades how it had fallen by the wayside in ''{{ComicBook/Excalibur}}'' in favour of leading with his fists), but Brian has a doctorate in physics and he is as happy in a lab as on a battlefield.
* TheGoodCaptain: Usually Brian if he leads a team, like Excalibur.
* TheGoodKing: Brian becomes King of the United Kingdom in the ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' reality.

* HalfHumanHybrid: Brian, since his father is an Otherworlder. Betsy is this even more so than Brian, as the human side is {{Mutant}} for added measure.

* TheHero: Brian's role in ''Excalibur'', ''New Excalibur'', and ''Captain Britain and MI-13''.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: When Brian came to America on a study abroad program, he ended up rooming with Peter Parker a.k.a. Spider-Man at Empire State University (who chucked him out because of his drinking and told him to get a hold of himself and take some responsibility - which, in fairness, he did, until he fell down the bottle after Betsy's apparent death - and he looks back on it as a landmark incident). Also, Brian with Nightcrawler in ''Excalibur'' and Pete Wisdom in later years.

* IneffectualLoner: Justified for Brian; for about half of ''Excalibur'' there was a spell on him to screw him up if he took independent action.

* TheLancer: Brian's role in ''Secret Avengers'' vol. 1, shared with ComicBook/AntMan, ComicBook/BlackWidow, and ComicBook/MoonKnight.
* MagicFeather: Captain Britain used a costume and staff which he believed was the source of his powers, but merely focused his innate powers (his daddy was from AnotherDimension, so powers kinda [[SuperPowerfulGenetics run in the family]]). Later, he was able to do without.
* MindRape: Brian is on the receiving end of this in ''Uncanny X-Force'' vol. 1 by his sister, Psylocke, when he's reluctant to kill their older brother, Jamie.

* MushroomSamba: When Captain Britain encounters Doctor Crocodile, Crocodile douses him with a gas that makes him see surreal hallucinations of Africa, Crocodile's own history, and the monstrous crimes of [[spoiler:Jamie Braddock]].

* OutOfCharacterMoment: Brian in ''Uncanny X-Force'' vol. 1, in a massive way. From wanting to wipe someone from existence (though granted, he had a reason for that) to completely forgiving his slave-trading older brother, you have to wonder if the writer knows the character is one of the good guys. However, he did soften a bit towards the end of that arc.

* PoliticianGuestStar: ''Captain Britain'' had Gordon Brown in it once, which naturally amused the UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers immensely: [[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2066678/Flash-Gordon-Brown-Space-Warrior.html Telegraph]], [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1023597/Have-fear-SuperGordon-help-save-world--new-comic-book-Captain-Britain.html Mail]], [[http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1237452.ece Sun]]. (Clue: that looks nothing like him.)
* PsychoactivePowers: Brian's powers in ''Captain Britain and MI-13'' are depicted as working like this, as they had in the early parts of ''Excalibur''; super strength and durability in proportion to his confidence and emotional stability.

* RulingCouple: Brian and his wife Meggan are King and Queen of the United Kingdom in ''House of M'' reality.

* SmoochOfVictory: In ''Captain Britain and MI-13'', Brian gets not only one, but two with his long-lost wife Meggan. Once when he thinks he's rescued her from Plokta, and once when he actually has rescued both of them from Lilith.
* StiffUpperLip: Brian in Creator/PaulCornell's ''ComicBook/CaptainBritainAndMI13'', such as when Britain is [[ComicBook/SecretInvasion invaded by Skrulls]]:
-->'''Skrull''': You think that is bravery? Tiny things! Within the Skrull Empire you will know grandeur. You will know pride and determination and... \
'''Captain Britain''': I think you'll find we know already. We just don't like to make a fuss.

* TeamDad: Brian served as this for Excalibur, after he stopped drinking, and even before, being particularly protective of the teenagers, Kitty and Rachel, two stand-out incidents involving the latter and two versions of Nigel Frobisher.
** In the first issue, 616!Frobisher was hitting on Rachel, pulling out the classic creepy response to being told to go away, "yours lip are saying that, darling, but -" and Brian immediately looms up behind him and stonily says, "So are mine. Go away."
** The second was during the ''Cross-Time Caper'' when Rachel had responded to the disgustingly creepy thoughts of the local version of Nigel Frobisher (who was apparently a multiversal creep) by telekinetically transmuting his clothes to tar and feathers with a large sign saying 'Pig!' stuck to his chest. Brian initially reprimanded her for acting out when they were guests in that world... then Rachel showed him just what that version of Frobisher was thinking. It isn't shown what exactly that was, but Brian had a shocked expression on his face, and in the very next panel it took the entire team to stop Brian from tearing alt!Frobisher limb from limb.
* TelescopingStaff: A telescoping staff was one of the original weapons of Brian's incarnation of Captain Britain.
* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: Brian in ''Deadpool Team-Up'', after a culture-swap machine gave him and ComicBook/{{Deadpool}} (a Canadian) each other's nationality.

* WillfullyWeak: Captain Britain learned all about this while teaming up with Spider-Man. Half-canine criminals don't deserve a max-power punch in the snout (Doggy-girl survived, her bills paid by the Cap).

The first Captain Britain, introduced in 1976 as the lead of a new AnthologyComic, the eponymous ComicBook/''CaptainBritainWeekly'', was Brian Braddock. A studious youth from a wealthy, aristocratic family, Brian was a promising physicist who took a fellowship at a nuclear research centre. When the facility was attacked by villain Joshua Stragg, Brian tried to find help - but was nearly killed when his motorbike went off the road during a chase.

The first Captain Britain, introduced in 1976 as the lead of a new AnthologyComic, the eponymous ComicBook/CaptainBritainWeekly, was Brian Braddock. A studious youth from a wealthy, aristocratic family, Brian was a promising physicist who took a fellowship at a nuclear research centre. When the facility was attacked by villain Joshua Stragg, Brian tried to find help - but was nearly killed when his motorbike went off the road during a chase.

Around this time, Captain Britain's creator Chris Claremont, who was then writing the ''ComicBook/XMen'', started to use Brian and Betsy in those comics, raising the characters’ profile for Marvel readers outside the UK. Betsy, as ComicBook/{{Psylocke}}, became long-serving member of the X-Men and Brian became a founding member of new X-team ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}''.

Around this time, Captain Britain's creator Chris Claremont, who was then writing ''ComicBook/TheXMen'', started to use Brian and Betsy in those comics, raising the characters’ profile for Marvel readers outside the UK. Betsy, as ComicBook/{{Psylocke}}, became long-serving member of the X-Men and Brian became a founding member of new X-team ''ComicBook/{{Excalibur}}''.

The first Captain Britain, introduced as the lead of new AnthologyComic ComicBook/CaptainBritainWeekly, in 1976, was Brian Braddock. A studious youth from a wealthy, aristocratic family, Brian was a promising physicist who took a fellowship at a nuclear research centre. When the facility was attacked by villain Joshua Stragg, Brian tried to find help - but was nearly killed when his motorbike went off the road during a chase.

The first Captain Britain, introduced as the star of his [[ComicBook/CaptainBritainWeekly eponymous series]] in 1976, was Brian Braddock. A studious youth from a wealthy, aristocratic family, Brian was a promising physicist who took a fellowship at a nuclear research centre. When the facility was attacked by villain Joshua Stragg, Brian tried to find help - but was nearly killed when his motorbike went off the road during a chase.

For tropes specific to this storyline, see [[ComicBook/ACrookedWorld here]].

* TunelessSongOfMadness: In ''Captain Britain: ComicBook/ACrookedWorld'', the main-universe counterpart of [[BigBad Mad Jim Jaspers]] spends most of his tenure appearing ''relatively'' sane; he's got the same [[RealityWarper powers]] and [[ToCreateAPlaygroundForEvil goals]], but prefers to play at being [[PresidentEvil prime minister]] for the time being. However, as his abilities grow, so does his insanity, eventually resulting in a scene in which he gleefully unleashes his true power on Downing Street and everyone in it, ultimately transforming [[TheDragon the Vixen]] [[BalefulPolymorph into a fox]] while singing "A Four-Legged Friend."

After ''Captain Britain Weekly'' ended, Brian’s adventures continued in solo Captain Britain stories within several different Marvel UK anthology titles. Most notably, Creator/AlanMoore wrote most of a long arc (''ComicBook/ACrookedWorld'') that was serialised in ''Marvel Super-Heroes'', ''The Daredevils'' and ''Mighty World of Marvel''.

* ''The Daredevils'' (Features most of the ''[[Comicbook/ACrookedWorld Crooked World]]'' arc)

* CrushBlush: While ''Captain Britain'' recounted some transdimensional adventures, he mentioned a woman. The children listening tease him about how he blushes.