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Captain Britain: Prime Marvel Universe note
Brian Braddock
Dr. Brian Braddock
Notable Aliases: Bee, "Britain", Britannic, Black Bishop, Black Knight, Cap, Captain Britain, Captain Britain-616, Captain Wakanda, C.B., Custodian, Fast Buck, "Jungle Man", King of Otherworld, Lionheart of Avalon, "Lord Fancy-Crack, Ponce Protector Of The Shire", Merlinson, Prince Brian, "Stranger", Squire, The Young Lion Of London, Captain Avalon
Nationality: English
Species: Half-Otherwolder, Half-Human
First Appearance: Captain Britain #1 (October, 1976)
Chosen by Merlyn, Brian Braddock became Captain Britain: protector of Great Britain and the Omniverse. He is a founding member and leader of Excalibur, twin brother of the X-Man Psylocke, and formerly an agent of MI:13. After losing the title of Captain Britain, he is currently serving as Captain Avalon.
- Action Dad: Brian has a daughter with Meggan as of X-Men Gold Annual named Maggie, who is also Brainy Baby as she's able to speak when she's just a few days old.
- Advertised Extra: During Jonathan Hickman's Avengers, he joins the Illuminati during the "Time Runs Out" arc, but contributes next to nothing save for one scene where he tells everyone what happened to the Captain Britain Corps, before disappearing for the rest of the arc.
- The Alcoholic: Brian is one for much of the early series of 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.
- Amplifier Artifact: Brian was originally dependent on the amulet for strength and the scepter for flight. When Merlyn gave Brian a new costume, he integrated those items into the suit. When he later brought Brian Back from the Dead, he remade Brian's body so that the powers were a part of him, but the suit still served as an amplifier, increasing his abilities while he wore it. Brian's powers were also tied to the British Isles and its link to Otherworld, so the suit also allowed him to keep his powers while away from Britain; when the suit was destroyed in Inferno (1988) and he was stranded in New York, his powers waned until he could return home. Eventually, his powers evolved again so that they were dependent on his own confidence, but whatever suit he's wearing still tends to serve as an amplifier/backup power source.
- Animal Motifs: Brian's original red costume featured a golden lion emblem on his chest.
- Back from the Dead: Brian was once killed by the Fury; fortunately for him, Merlyn made sure that didn't stick. He died again in Secret Invasion and Merlyn returned him to life that time as well.
- Big Brother Instinct: To Betsy, to an extent, even though they're twins. However, he mostly shows this to Rachel and Kitty in Excalibur, both of them being teenagers. Even bothering either of them tends to particularly arouse his temper:
- In the very first issue, he looms threateningly over the sleazy Nigel Frobisher when he's refusing to take no for an answer from Rachel ("Your lips are saying that, but -" "So are mine. Go away."), and later, an encounter with an alternate reality Frobisher - who's apparently a creepy perv in every reality - has him initially admonishing Rachel for literally tarring and feathering him after picking up some of his thoughts, as they're guests on that world... then she shows him what Alt!Frobisher was thinking. In the very next panel, the entire team has to hold Brian back to prevent him from tearing Alt!Frobisher limb from limb.
- As for Kitty, he's protective of her too, and her apparent death in the Cross-Time Caper nearly causes him to fall back down the bottle.
- Big Brother Mentor: 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.
- Brother–Sister Team: He and Betsy have fought alongside each other more than once.
- Cain and Abel and Seth: Brian's older brother Jamie is an utterly insane Reality Warper. Although Betsy is not a brother, and not the typical Seth.
- Clothes Make the Superman: When Merlyn initially gave Brian Braddock his first Union Jack-inspired suit, the powers that were initially contained in the Amulet of Right and the Star Scepter were placed in the suit itself. After Merlyn revived Brian and endowed him with the powers directly, the suit became an Amplifier Artifact instead, channelling the energies of the interdimensional link between the British Isles and Otherworld, allowing Brian to use his power beyond those realms. Without the suit, he would lose his powers, as he discovered in the aftermath of Inferno (1988) when he was stuck in New York for a spell without it.
- Cool Sword: He's wielded Excalibur itself in the past, and most recently (and somewhat reluctantly), the Sword of Might.
- Cowboy Cop: 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.
- Double Standard Rape: Female on Male: Brian has been raped or assaulted by female villains several times. None of the encounters was treated as "okay", but they 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. The Dragon, his old foe Slaymaster, disapproved but simply dismissed it as a dishonourable way to treat a Worthy Opponent.
- In Captain Britain Monthly, after his Evil Doppelgänger Kaptain Briton pulls a Twin Switch, Brian is captured by the Kaptain's pursuers and wakes up in another world, where he ends up, seemingly intoxicated by incense, in bed with the Kaptain's jilted ex-lover, the fascist ruler Sat-Yr-Nin. This one is more of a Bed Trick, as both Brian and Sat-Yr-Nin are mistaken about the other person's identity.
- 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 Sex Slave. She makes him walk around in a 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 a jealous henchman of Sat-Yr-9's attempted to kill him in this vulnerable state while he's unconscious.
- All of this adds context to his action in X of Swords, where it's clear that a different alternate Saturnyne wants Brian (who's now married to Meggan) in her bed, and Wolverine harshly criticises him for not letting her have her way (which might have given the Swordbearers some way to influence or outsmart her).
- Double Standard: Rape, Sci-Fi: As mentioned above, Sat-Yr-9 brainwashed Brian to be her Sex Slave for one instance in Excalibur.
- Drowning My Sorrows: 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.
- He hits the bottle a fair amount in his own series, too. As in Excalibur, he ultimately chucks it.
- 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".
- Fisher King: The exact nature and extent of Captain Britain's ties to Britain vary with the writer. When Brian is (temporarily) killed during Secret Invasion, it's said that everyone in Britain felt it.
- Flying Brick: One of Marvel's older examples, this is his basic power-set, with the added ability to manifest a forcefield capable of standing off the Phoenix and interacting with spells. Since the power level has been known to fluctuate based on magical power available and self-confidence, his strength has fluctuated significantly. Fluctuations aside, though, he's gone from roughly on par with Spider-Man to one of Marvel's heavyweights, going toe to toe with the likes of the Hulk, Doctor Doom, Binary (Carol Danvers with Silver Surfer levels of power), X-Man, and the Phoenix Force itself.
- Genius Bruiser: Not often shown, and he unhappily lampshades how it had fallen by the wayside in Excalibur in favour of leading with his fists. However, Brian has a doctorate in physics and he is as happy in a lab as on a battlefield.
- The Good Captain: Usually Brian if he leads a team, like Excalibur.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Brian, since his father is an Otherworlder. Betsy is this even more so than Brian, as the human side is Mutant for added measure.
- Happily Married: To Meggan Puceanu.
- The Hero: Brian's role in Excalibur, New Excalibur, and Captain Britain and MI-13.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: 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.
- Ineffectual Loner: Justified for Brian; for about half of Excalibur there was a spell on him to screw him up if he took independent action.
- The Lancer: Brian's role in Secret Avengers vol. 1, shared with Ant-Man, Black Widow, and Moon Knight.
- Magic Feather: 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 Another Dimension, so powers kinda run in the family). Later, he was able to do without.
- The Mentor: Uniquely, he was mentored simultaneously by both Peter Parker and Spider-Man (not knowing they were one and the same), when he was studying at ESU. Spidey taught him a lot about superheroics, taking him on patrol and showing him the ropes (they even had scheduled lessons), while Peter gave him some valuable life advice as his roommate and chucked him out because of his drinking. Brian considered both to be very valuable learning experiences, taking the latter in particular as a landmark incident, and followed the advice until Betsy's apparent death made him fall down the bottle.
- Mind Rape: 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.
- Mushroom Samba: When Brian 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 Jamie Braddock.
- Out-of-Character Moment: 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.
- Psychoactive Powers: 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.
- Ruling Couple: Brian and his wife Meggan are King and Queen of the United Kingdom in House of M reality, and were rulers of Otherworld for a while.
- Secret Legacy: Downplayed, but he's not initially aware that his father came to Earth from Otherworld as an agent of Merlin.
- Smooch of Victory: 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.
- Stiff Upper Lip: Brian in Paul Cornell's Captain Britain and MI13, such as when Britain is 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. - Team Dad: 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.
- Telescoping Staff: A telescoping staff was one of the original weapons of Brian's incarnation of Captain Britain.
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Brian in Deadpool Team-Up, after a culture-swap machine gave him and Deadpool (a Canadian) each other's nationality.
- Token Human: The only Swordbearer of Krakoa who is not a mutant, even if he's also part Otherworlder.
- Willfully Weak: Brian 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).
Kelsey Leigh
Kelsey Leigh
Notable Aliases: Captain Britain, Lionheart of Avalon, Patient 4758686
Nationality: English
Species: Human
First Appearance: Avengers Vol 3 #77 (March, 2004)
Kelsey was killed by Thunderball and resurrected by Captain Britain. She then had a brief stint with the Avengers.
- Action Mom: Kelsey is a single mom of two children.
- Anti-Hero Substitute: By choosing Sword of Might rather than the Amulet of Right, Kelsey is proven to be more ruthless in battle than her predecessor.
- Attending Your Own Funeral: Kelsey attended her own funeral to maintain her secret identity as Captain Britain.
- Contrasting Sequel Main Character: 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.
- Cool Sword: Kelsey's Sword of Might, which she previously mistook as the legendary Excalibur, as quoted above.
- Dropped a Bridge on Her: Kelsey is savagely knocked out by the Brainwashed and Crazy She-Hulk 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.
- Fashionable Asymmetry: Kelsey's shoulder armour is only on her right shoulder as pictured.
- Going Commando: Apparently doesn't wear anything underneath her costume.
- Good Scars, Evil Scars: 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.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Kelsey is a secondary antagonist in New Excalibur as The Dragon 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 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 X-Men and Charles Xavier from an alternate reality who were brainwashed by Shadow King).
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Once she's resurrected, got Captain Britain power, and returned to Earth, Kelsey avenged her own previous 'death' by impaling Thunderball with her Sword of Might.
- Mistaken Identity: Object example. Kelsey referred to the Sword of Might as Excalibur. The real Excalibur itself ends up being held by another British superhero, Faiza Hussain.
- Most Common Superpower: Kelsey's bust is emphasized in her costume.
- Rape as Backstory: 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.
- Shoulders of Doom: Kelsey wears a small and practical variant on her right shoulder.
- Took a Level in Badass: Kelsey was mostly Unskilled, but Strong when she got her powers, which is understandable since she was never a fighter before. She's a better fighter after Albion trained her.
- Troubled Fetal Position: 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.
- Unholy Matrimony: Briefly, Kelsey with Albion in New Excalibur, although it doesn't last.
Betsy Braddock
Betsy Braddock
Alter Ego: Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock
Notable Aliases: Bets, Betts, Elisabeth/Elisabetta, Death, Kwannon, Lady Briton, Lady Mandarin, Psylocke, Lady Britain, "Bee"
Nationality: English
Species: Half-Otherworlder, Half-Human Mutant
First Appearance: Captain Britain #8 note ; Captain Britain Vol 2 #12 note ; New Mutants Annual #2 note
See Betsy Braddock
The Captain Britain Corps
Captain Britain's equivalents from other universes, an Alliance of Alternates who interact with the Prime Marvel Universe note characters. In General
- Alliance of Alternates: The Corps are the mystically powered protectors of the multiverse - usually under the direction of Merlin, Roma or Opal Luna Saturnyne. When they first appear many of them are alternate versions of Brian Braddock. When the Corps is reformed in X of Swords, they're mostly alternate versions of the new Earth-616 Captain Britain, Betsy Braddock.
- Alternate History: Many of them hail from Earths where this trope was in effect. There's Captain Colonies, who also acts as a Captain America, from an Earth where the colonies never achieved independence from British rule. There's Captain Granbretan, from a Britain conquered by Napoléon Bonaparte. There's also Captain Empire, who seems to come from a Britain that never stopped being an empire.
- Captain Geographic: Of Great Britain, England, the United Kingdom or whatever nation or region is their home reality's equivalent.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Despite being a superhero team, it accepts all Captains Britain, and thus several of its members and their Earths are of unsavory character, such as Hauptmann Englande or Captain Airstrip One.
- Istanbul (Not Constantinople): Several of them have alternate names, some archaic, for Britain as what they are Captain of, like England, UK, or Albion.
Brother Brit-Man
Gilles Weill / Brother Brit-Man
Nationality: English (Earth-65)
Species: Human
First Appearance: Excalibur #44 (November, 1991)
Earth-65's Captain Britain. A resident of the then-unestablished Earth-65, a tidbit that has remained canon even after the world was chosen as Spider-Gwen's reality.
Caledonia
Brigider Alysande Stuart / Caledonia
Notable Aliases: Sandy
Nationality: Scottish (Earth-9809)
Species: Human Mutate
First Appearance: Fantastic Four Vol. 3 #9 (July, 1998)
Captain Albion
Katherine Huggen / Captain Albion
Nationality: English (Earth-523)
First Appearance: Daredevils #6 (June, 1983)
- One-Steve Limit: There's an evil version of Brian who took the name of Albion. Brian Braddock would take her codename when he became one of the Swordbearers of Krakoa. She hasn't returned yet, so there was no confusion.
Captain UK
Linda McQuillan / Captain UK
Nationality: English (Earth-238)
Species: Human
First Appearance: Marvel Super-Heroes (UK) #388 (August, 1982)
Centurion Britannus
Thracius Scipio Magnus / Centurion Britannus
Nationality: English (Earth-4100)
First Appearance: Excalibur #24 (July, 1990)
Crusader X
Bran Braddock / Crusader X
Nationality: English (Earth-2122)
Species: Human
First Appearance: Excalibur #21 (April, 1990)
Hauptmann Englande
Brian Braddock / Hauptmann Englande
Nationality: English (Earth-597)
Species: Human
First Appearance: Excalibur #9 (June, 1989)
Sister Gaia
Serena Foster / Sister Gaia
Nationality: English (Earth-9111)
Species: Human
First Appearance: Excalibur #44 (November, 1991)
Sister Gaia is a member of the Captain Britain Corps and hails from a world in which the mere act of picking a flower is considered gross brutality.
Spider-UK
William Braddock / Spider-UK
Notable Aliases: British Braddock, Spider-Man, Spider-U.K.
Nationality: English (Earth-833)
Species: Human Mutate
First Appearance: Edge of Spider-Verse #2 (September, 2014)
Former Captain Britain Corps member, originating from Earth-833. After the Captain Britain Corps was seemingly lost and his universe wiped out by an incursion, Spider-UK created the multiverse travelling group known as the Web-Warriors and is its leader.
See Spider-Verse
Captain Airstrip One
George Smith / Captain Airstrip One
Nationality: English (Earth-744)
Species: Human
First Appearance: The Mighty World of Marvel #13 (June, 1984)
A member of the Captain Britain Corps from a world where George Orwell's worst nightmare seemingly became reality, Captain Airstrip One speaks exclusively in Newspeak.
- All in the Manual: His real name is only given in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, not the comics themselves.
- Meaningful Name: He's a Shout-Out to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. The protagonist of that novel is Winston Smith. As 'George Smith' he's named after both the author and the character.
- Newspeak: All of his dialogue is in newspeak.
- Shout-Out: To Nineteen Eighty-Four, where Britain became Airstrip One and the Party communicated in Newspeak.
