The Otherworld Saga is a Black Knight and Captain Britain storyline published in the British Anthology Comic Hulk Comic (later renamed to The Incredible Hulk Weekly and then The Incredible Hulk) released by the Marvel UK imprint of Marvel Comics.
The series was written by Steve Parkhouse and illustrated in black and white by Paul Neary and John Stokes. Neary left the creative team towards the end of the run, at which point Parkhouse also started to work with Stokes on the art. Initially billed as a solo Black Knight story, its first chapter introduces an amnesiac stranger who's quickly revealed to be Captain Britain - and then becomes the second lead character for the rest of the story.
Reflecting the shift from a solo series to co-stars, later issues sometimes rename the series from The Black Knight to Captain Britain when Captain Britain is the focus of a particular chapter.
The saga immerses the two heroes in British mythology, alongside Arthurian figures and other legendary characters, as they try to defend Merlyn and Camelot.
The first chapter, in Hulk Comic #1, was published in March 1979. The last part, in Incredible Hulk #63, was published in May 1980.
Tropes appearing in the Otherworld Saga:
- Adaptational Heroism: History and Arthurian myth are very negative about King Vortigern, who gets accused of various forms of treachery and cowardice. This version is the heroic leader of the Proud Walkers.
- An Arm and a Leg: The Black Knight cuts off Cormac's right hand.
- Back for the Finale: Vortigern leaves the plot for a long time after the Iron Ogre breaks his staff, crafting a new one just in time to reunite with the other Proud Walkers and take part in the final battle.
- Backup Bluff: A villainous example. The Six, the fallen walkers, appear outside the gates of Camelot, in full health and ready for battle. But at least two of them shouldn't be there - Cormac's recently lost a hand to the Black Knight and Modred was aged and withered by his own reflected power. Moondog realises that they're all just an illusion meant to intimidate Camelot's defenders.
- Big Bad: Necromon, lord of the nethergods, who is determined to kill Merlyn and forever extinguish the light of Camelot.
- Bloody Murder: Modred's Hellravens have acidic blood.
- Chain Pain: The Iron Ogre wears manacles with a long chain between them, which he also uses as a weapon.
- Collateral Damage: The dragon Kharad Dur takes an arrow to the eye while fighting and accidentally turns its fiery breath on its master, Karadoc the Dragonlord, and his mount.
- David Versus Goliath: Played very straight with the tiny elf Moondog versus the brutish Iron Ogre, who's easily beating Captain Britain, Vortigern and the Black Knight. One well aimed shot finds a gap in his armor and brings him down, at which point he topples into a fire.
- Deuteragonist: Captain Britain. The series was initially billed as The Black Knight, but starred both characters. The title was even changed to Captain Britain for individual chapters where the Knight wasn't playing a significant role.
- Door Fu: In the final battle, the mortally wounded Big Bad Necromon tears the castle portcullis from its gateway and uses it as a missile, shattering the bridge to Camelot and collapsing the whole castle into the abyss.
- Fish out of Temporal Water: Vortigern hasn't interacted with the mundane human world for a very long time. He's startled by a milk float and complains about the change in customs and hospitality.
- Flaming Sword: Gagol wields a flaming blade. Like the troll himself, it doesn’t really cope with being thrown into a stream.
- Forced Transformation: Initially played straight, with Modred transforming benevolent witch Sarah Mumford into a tree when she aids the heroes. Then exploited, as Sarah's tree grows an enchanted fruit which heals Valinor.
- Forgot the Call: The Stranger is an amnesiac Captain Britain, now a solitary hermit living by the sea.
- Funetik Aksent: The Stenleigh milkman who first encounters Vortigern and Captain Britain is written with a strong accent.Ernie the milkman: Oi doan't know 'bout give... oi could sell you some eggs. Got any money 'ave you?
- Giant Flyer: The Hellravens, huge birds with acidic blood, apparently capable of bringing down a fighter jet.
- Given Name Reveal: The Walker the heroes initially meet is eventually revealed to be King Vortigern.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Goblins have red eyes that glow like hot coals. Also an Informed Attribute, as the art is black and white.
- Killed Mid-Sentence: Sundog the elf is abruptly killed by a goblin sniper's arrow midway through a grand speech to his village.
- Kill It with Water: The troll champion Gagol, a creature of fire, is swiftly reduced to a skeleton after the Black Knight throws him into a stream.
- Last Grasp at Life: Mandrac's hand is the only thing left above ground level when Merlyn's magic imprisons him in the earth
- Legendary Weapon: After the Ebony Blade is shattered, the Black Knight ends up wielding Excalibur for a while. At least until he wakes King Arthur, at which point he returns it to him.
- Mercy Kill: The dragon Ashtoroth asks its opponent the Black Knight to end its suffering after crashing to the ground with a broken wing. After some hesitation, the Knight obliges.
- Minor Major Character: Vortigern's five comrades in the Proud Walkers. Each is supposed to be a great hero, but they get very little to do. Herne gets a page of conversation with Vortigern, but the others (Gwent, Gamael, Bran and Gael) get a single panel of introduction with no dialogue of their own. Their six evil counterparts are far more prominent, with several of them directly facing the heroes during the saga.
- My Nayme Is: The Otherworld Saga introduced the "Merlyn" spelling, replacing the more usual "Merlin" of Captain Britain and other earlier stories. It quickly became Marvel's standard spelling for the character's name.
- No-Sell: Captain Britain, who has some level of Super-Strength, punches the Ancient One in the face. The only effect is that he injures his hand.
- Only Mostly Dead: Captain Britain is struck down by White Rider of Death. Merlyn and the Black Knight manage to bring him back, but only by recovering his body from Mandrac and his soul from the demon Galgoth.
- Pegasus: The Black Knight rides his winged horse Valinor.
- Put on a Bus: Despite the dark forces allied against them, the resurrected King Arthur promptly sends Captain Britain home (accompanied by Jackdaw the elf) before the final battle - which leads directly into the A Crooked World arc of his new Captain Britain solo series. As a consequence, for the final three chapters, the Otherworld story becomes a Black Knight solo series again.
- Quicksand Sucks: A variant. The immensely heavy giant known as the Ancient One is swallowed by the sand of an English beach.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Mandrac's fate. Merlyn can't kill a nethergod, so he's swallowed by the earth and magically imprisoned, buried alive. As of 2022, he hasn't escaped to appear in another story yet, so it seems to have worked.
- Taking You with Me:
- Gafael, guardian of Camelot, uses the last of his strength to charge the demonic Gog, pushing both of them over the edge of the castle's bridge and into the abyss.
- Big Bad Necromon manages to take Camelot with him. Mortally wounded by King Arthur and the Black Knight, he uses the castle's portcullis for Door Fu and shatters the castle's bridge, tearing it free from the cliffs supporting it and tipping Camelot (and himself) into the abyss. Arthur and the Black Knight escape via the Knight's flying horse, though.
- Tae Kwon Door: In the final battle the Black Knight drops Camelot's heavy portcullis on Big Bad Necromon. The nethergod is strong and fast enough to catch it - but that leaves his hands full, so King Arthur stabs him with Excalibur while the Black Knight stabs him with the Ebony Blade. He retaliates by ripping the portcullis loose and trying some Door Fu.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: After the heroes reach Camelot, Merlyn gets Weyland the Smith to reforge the Ebony Blade.
- The Unfought: Gurien, the Lord of Stones, is introduced along with the rest of the fallen walkers, but never faces the heroes and plays no part in the final battle.
- Downplayed with two of the other walkers - Scartac the Warlord and Balor the Warrior never face the Black Knight or Captain Britain, but that's because Vortigern deals with them himself.
- Wrecked Weapon: The Iron Ogre breaks both Vortigern's rowan staff and the Black Knight's ebony blade, leaving the two heroes dispirited and unable to continue with their quest.
