88-527: Jaspers' Warp , sometimes referred to as Crooked World , is a superhero comic book storyline from the British Captain Britain strip printed across several Marvel UK titles between 1981 and 1984. The story is noted as one of the few Marvel Comics works by writer Alan Moore , and among the earliest works by artist Alan Davis . It has received consistent critical acclaim and been reprinted by Marvel on several occasions. The storyline
176-515: A bank robbery being committed by Mad Jim Jaspers and the Crazy Gang , driving them off. They soon find they are in a Britain where the population are downtrodden and impoverished under the totalitarian British National Party, police are armed and superheroes are banned. Captain Britain successfully saves London from an attack by a strange animated junkyard creature but the feat fails to convince
264-628: A character Moore and Davis were working on in rival publication Warrior ; for copyright reasons the Captain Britain version was renamed "Miracleman", some two years before legal reasons would see Marvelman take on the name. Following the end of The Daredevils , the strip would transfer to the recently rebooted Mighty World of Marvel , where after seven more chapters the story finished - having introduced Meggan and killed off Merlyn . Captain Britain and Jackdaw are transported from Otherworld to Earth-238 by Merlyn, immediately stumbling on
352-627: A conclusive failure for Marvel. As a result they realised that they needed to recruit from the British comic scene, and in August 1978 Stan Lee headhunted Dez Skinn . In what the specialist press called "the Marvel Revolution", Skinn insisted on funds being made available to make homegrown material. Among his efforts was Hulk Comic , a weekly styled like Marvel UK's rivals boys' comics. The title mixed reprints with new material, including
440-576: A fantasy strip starring the Black Knight . The serial was written by Steve Parkhouse , who was deeply interested in Celtic and Arthurian myths, also drawing on the works of Ursula K. Le Guin , Larry Niven and J. R. R. Tolkien . This gave a perfect opportunity to reintroduce Captain Britain, now under a British-based creative team, with veteran John Stokes on art duties, later joined by Paul Neary . Skinn quit Marvel UK, with Neary taking over as
528-411: A flagship title. As Marvel UK itself was effectively a packaging operation at the time with no experienced creative staff the character was devised at Marvel's American headquarters. London -born Chris Claremont - at the time a rising star in the company following his successful work on the revival of X-Men - was one of the few Anglophiles on staff, and was assigned to the title. He came up with
616-399: A front paw raised) while that on the chest of Captain Britain is a "lion rampant" (rearing on the hind legs and pawing the air). In a 1986 article for Amazing Heroes , N.A. Collins named Captain Britain's first costume among the six worst male superhero looks in comic history up to that point, noting the "weird sunroof mask" and the "tacky Avon jewellery". After 39 issues Captain Britain
704-462: A member of S.T.R.I.K.E. 's Psi Division, but it had been infiltrated by agents of Vixen , and now Betsy and her friends are under attack from the hired assassin Slaymaster . Captain Britain is able to defeat Slaymaster after a battle on Denmark Street , and takes Betsy and two other surviving telepaths - her lover Tom Lennox and their friend Alison Double - back to Braddock Manor. Soon after he
792-469: A method whereby he would draw multiple pages in landscape orientation which would then be pasted together to form a single page, allowing considerable detail. While both the strip and publication drew acclaim (including an Eagle Award for 'Best Comic'), The Daredevils would only run for 11 issues before low sales saw it cancelled in November 1983. By then the story had transferred the action - including
880-543: A pathway to Krakoa, bringing an army of Krakoan mutants to fight against Merlyn and Arthur, with Betsy finally executing Merlyn and decreeing that the Corps will not be bound by any one ruler and will instead defend the multiverse on their own terms. During this ordeal, Betsy also cemented her romantic relationship with Rachel Summers, sharing a kiss as Rachel helps the knights overcome the Siege Perilious. Throughout
968-464: A result, in 2002 Moore's part of the run only was collected in a trade paperback simply titled Captain Britain ; however, the volume was missing promising indicia crediting Moore and Davis as creators for certain characters and as a result Moore reaffirmed his vow to never work for Marvel again. In 2010 the complete storyline was split across Panini Comics ' collections of Captain Britain material. Original Captain Britain creator Chris Claremont 's read
SECTION 10
#17327903658791056-512: A returning Stokes. Positive reader response saw a second appearance the following year in Spectacular Spider-Man #133. During the 2019 X-Men franchise relaunch Dawn of X , following Brian's corruption by Morgan le Fey , Betsy Braddock claimed the mantle of Captain Britain in a new volume of Excalibur written by Tini Howard . Leading a new Excalibur roster including Gambit , Rogue , Jubilee , Rictor and Apocalypse ,
1144-553: A whim makes him impossible to fight, and things get worse when the Fury - having escaped the chasm near Braddock Manor - arrives. After trouncing the hero it moves on to Jaspers, who has also created a new Crazy Gang. Realising that the immunity the mutant's Earth-238 version built in does not apply to the Earth-616 version, the Fury attacks Jaspers and a reality-bending battle begins; their duel causes so much damage to reality that Merlyn
1232-479: A year. Neary took over as Marvel UK editor-in-chief and strove to keep new Captain Britain material going. However, budgetary restrictions meant he was only able to afford novices. Editor Dave Thorpe was given the job of writer - his first and, as it would turn out, last professional comics work. He and Neary devised a story span out of the Black Knight strip, featuring Captain Britain on an alternate world in order to allow Thorpe's ambitious plans without disrupting
1320-568: Is abducted by the Special Executive and reluctantly taken to the Dimensional Development Court, where Saturnyne is on trial for her alleged failures on Earth-238. Despite her deserting him he feels compelled to tell the court of Jaspers - but is infuriated when Judge Lord Mandrake simply wipe Earth-238 out of existence, and is able to act as judge and prosecutor at Saturnyne's trial. He comes into conflict with
1408-552: Is also credited with officially coining the designation "Earth-616" in reference to the events of the mainstream shared fictional Marvel Universe . While it was first used in print by Moore in the episode "Rough Justice" (in The Daredevils #7) it is generally agreed to have been devised by the strip's initial writer, Dave Thorpe . Captain Britain had originally been created in 1976 for the British comics market but his original weekly title, created by Marvel's New York staff,
1496-663: Is apparently killed in a duel with Isca the Unbeaten, shattering along with the Starlight Sword. Saturnyne reconstitutes the shards to revive the Captain Britain Corps, but is distraught when the new Captains Britain are variants of Betsy rather than of Brian. After the tournament, Betsy's consciousness becomes lost in the multiverse, returning with the assistance of Kwannon , during which the two begin to come to peace with their complicated relationship. After
1584-525: Is corrupting other parallel worlds. Having seen the miserable people of Earth-238, he agrees to help her with the push. Captain and Britain help the Avant Guard distribute the fluid, which has an immediate effect. However, at the moment of the push itself Jaspers uses his mutant reality-altering power to twist London into a nightmare. Believing Captain Britain is responsible, the Status Crew unleash
1672-488: Is killed. The Fury finally transports Jaspers to un-space, where there is no reality for him to alter, and is able to kill him. Returning to Earth-616 drained, it is attacked by Captain Britain. When the damaged machine fights back Captain UK - snapped out of her malaise by Saturnyne - finishes the Fury off. The crisis is over, and Roma transports Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne to Otherworld to attend Merlyn's funeral with
1760-730: The X-Men: Die by the Sword limited series . Following the Secret Invasion crossover, Brian headlined the 2008 series Captain Britain and MI: 13 , written by Paul Cornell , which included some characters from New Excalibur , as well as members of MI: 13 who appeared in Cornell's Wisdom limited series. The character later appeared as a regular character in the 2010-2013 Secret Avengers series, from issue #22 (April 2012) through its final issue #37 (March 2013), reappearing with
1848-488: The Rachel Summers incarnation of Phoenix . The group initially came together in the lavish Excalibur Special Edition in 1987, and soon became the stars of a regular series, with Captain Britain playing a major role. The success also led to Marvel printing a trade paperback compiling the material Davis had produced for the character after Moore's departure, which was coloured by several artists. Davis would redesign
SECTION 20
#17327903658791936-663: The Avengers as a part of the Time Runs Out storyline. Around the same time the character made his first appearance in a British-made comic since the end of Knights of Pendragon when Panini Comics , who had taken over Marvel UK following the latter's mid-1990s collapse following an ill-advised rapid expansion under Neary, began producing small indigenous strips for the young reader-orientated Spectacular Spider-Man . Captain Britain guest-starred in #114, dated March 2005, and written by Jim Alexander with art by John Haward and
2024-608: The British Isles in unusual quantity and proximity; members are tasked with safeguarding the gateways between dimensions and being the highest champion of each earth's respective morality codes. In addition to the Captains themselves, the organization has included administrators such as Merlyn, Roma, and Saturnyne. Merlyn and Roma had arranged for each chosen member of the Corps to gain superpowers, often using unscrupulous means. Following Merlyn's funeral, Roma took control over
2112-638: The Conqueror , Duggary meets with the other members of the Council and suggests that they should divide the North American Union among themselves, redistributing it. When Iron Lad leads Doom , Thor , and Sif to Latveria to raid the Maker's repository, he attacks them, wounding Thor with a magic blade before being hit in the left eye by Iron Lad. Henri informs the rest of Council, bitter as
2200-678: The Corps take up refuge with Merlyn's daughter and former magistrix Roma , rescuing mutants facing danger in Otherworld. Refusing Betsy's request for an army, Roma instead sends her on a quest for the Siege Perilous alongside Gambit, Rachel Summers , Bei the Blood Moon, Gloriana , Kylun, Rictor, Shatterstar , Shogo Lee, and Arthur's mutant son Mordred . After being tested by the Siege Perilous, Betsy and her knights forge
2288-646: The Crazy Gang and Saturnyne would reappear both in Captain Britain's solo adventures and in Excalibur , which would also feature the Warpies - a group of children mutated by the effects of Jasper's powers. Thorpe devised the term "Earth-616" as a narrative device to differentiate between the two Earths featured in the storyline. He intended it as a reference to the number of the beast , and to refer to
2376-612: The Dawn of X and subsequent stories, Betsy had been contending with an increasingly-fraught political situation at home, with forces within the British government and populace opposing the legitimacy of a mutant holding the role of their champion. This conflict worsens in Howard's series Captain Britain: Betsy Braddock , which features Betsy's further conflicts with Morgan le Fey as the villain attempts to conquer Britain with
2464-818: The Executive are killed, leader Wardog has his cybernetic arm torn off and further casualties are only avoided when the Fury is briefly unable to register Zeitgeist, giving Captain Britain and Fascination the chance to bury the machine. At Zeitgeist's insistence Wardog then reluctantly orders the Special Executive to leave. Jaspers meanwhile has rapidly seized control of Britain, with S.T.R.I.K.E. having rounded up anyone with any hints superhuman talents into concentration camps. Captain Britain and his remaining allies head to London to help but are largely forced underground, with Jasper's warping abilities causing problems for Allison and Betsy, and Linda still traumatised by
2552-521: The Fury - to Captain Britain's home dimension; reintroduced original series characters Betsy Braddock , Dai Thomas , Mastermind and Slaymaster ; featured a guest appearance from Moore's Doctor Who Weekly creations the Special Executive , their line-up expanded by Davis creations; and introduced the multiversal Captain Britain Corps , female crime lord Vixen and Linda McQuillan, the fugitive Captain Britain analogue Captain UK, originally from
2640-523: The Fury obliterates him. Merlyn and Roma recover his remains and rebuild him in Otherworld and return him to Darkmoor on Earth-616, unaware of his death and resurrection. He returns to Braddock Manor and finds it has been rebuilt by Mastermind ; after the computer attempts to talk him into suicide he is able to reprogramme it to be more benevolent. Soon after he receives a phone call from his sister Betsy in London. She has put her telepathic abilities to use as
2728-522: The Fury was instead filled by new character Nimrod . Some of the planned storylines would later be used for the X-Men arcs " Mutant Massacre " and " Fall of the Mutants ". Claremont's desire to work with the characters was fulfilled when he co-created Excalibur with Davis in 1987. Instead in 2007 a sequel to the story was told in the X-Men: Die by the Sword series, which brought the death of Roma and
Jaspers' Warp - Misplaced Pages Continue
2816-402: The Fury, a bio-mechanoid that had previously purged Earth-238 of superhumans. Saturnyne and the Avant Guard abandon them and Jackdaw is killed. The Fury is impervious to Captain Britain's furious attacks and easily breaks his arm. After a surreal encounter with the Fury's creator Jaspers he finds himself in a graveyard for the Fury's victims and berates Merlyn for sending him to such a place before
2904-600: The Starlight Citadel, destroying the entire Corps. Saturnyne is able to teleport Brian Braddock to safety, leaving him as the Corps' only survivor. The Captain Britain Corps spans the multiverse; the exact number of members is unclear. Many members are simply named Captain Britain, while some others use names such as Captain U.K. or Lady London or names reflective of the specific characteristics of their respective universes (such as Hauptmann Englande or The Violet Swan) or individual circumstances (such as Spider-UK). Of
2992-400: The apparent moment of salvation for Earth-238 being instantly turned into its downfall. Christian Holub of Entertainment Weekly would refer to the storyline as a "classic". Comic Book Resources would later identify the impact it had on subsequent X-Men comics. Despite his subsequent enmity towards Marvel Comics, Moore still thinks positively of the storyline, calling it "fun" and feeling it
3080-576: The assistance of Doctor Doom . Betsy is assisted in this series by Rachel, Brian, and Meggan (now going by the monikers of Askani, Captain Avalon, and Gloriana, respectively), as well as revived members of Pete Wisdom and the S.T.R.I.K.E. PSI Division, together defeating le Fey by forging a true respectful connection between le Fey and the land. As Brian reconstitutes the Braddock Academy, Betsy continues on with her responsibilities to Britain and
3168-494: The authorities, particularly the brutal armed paramilitary Status Crew, of his good motives. He finds a mysterious liquid that has created an intelligent rat called Algernon, and traces the source to Majestrix Saturnyne of the Dimensional Development Council. She and her agents the Avant Guard are attempting to use life-enhancing fluid to advance the development of Earth-238, which is so regressive it
3256-474: The battle saw Roma dead, along with most of the Corps along with her. Saturnyne appointed Albion the new leader as they rebuilt the corps once again. Later, the Captain Britain Corps investigate universal Incursions which are causing the destruction of various realities, and the deaths of twenty Corpsmen. After the members of the Corps capture a Mapmaker, the Ivory Kings send their entire forces to overrun
3344-558: The blow with another free gift - Captain Britain's lesser-spotted 'Superjet'. Alan Davis would also recall that - unknown to the American creative team - the 'lion mark' had previously been used by the Egg Marketing Board to denote the quality of eggs, leading to many jokes at the character's expense (which is likely a bit of nonsense on Davis' part, as the lion on the eggs was an Heraldic "lion passant" (on three legs with
3432-506: The brawl disfigured his face. He gets some sympathy from Hulk as the group takes advantage of the situation, making use of a Stark/Stane satellite to attack Stark Tower in a false flag attack, causing thousands of casualties. Months later, Henri Duggary is in charge of the East Coast and meets with the appointed Shadow Governor of New York, Wilson Fisk , who informs him about Spider-Man and Green Goblin . Henri advises Fisk to use
3520-507: The character's costume again for Excalibur #13; previously it had largely been depicted in black-and-white, with Davis himself colouring the colour cover appearances. However, he found the American colourists were frequently making mistakes and so simplified it. Parallel to these storylines the character also appeared in new British material, featuring as a supporting character in Marvel UK's Knights of Pendragon series. Captain Britain
3608-431: The character. Sales were falling and the title was cancelled in 1998, ending with Brian returning to marry Meggan. Captain Britain then spent several years without a regular title, though in 2001 Raab wrote the four-issue Excalibur limited series that involved the Captain Britain Corps and ended with Braddock as King of Otherworld. Brian was later featured as the team leader of New Excalibur in 2005, culminating with
Jaspers' Warp - Misplaced Pages Continue
3696-456: The characters travel to Northern Ireland and resolve the Troubles . Davis felt this was crass, and after Thorpe made what he saw as a disingenuous modification to the story took the dispute to Neary. The editor sided with the artist and Thorpe left. As an interim measure a fill-in story set before the events of the first chapter, written by Neary and Davis, would follow. Thorpe's replacement
3784-491: The corps first appeared in The Daredevils #6 (June 1983). Founded by Merlyn , his daughter Roma and Sir James Braddock, the organization is tasked with defending the multiverse. The power wielded by members of the corps is derived from absorbing and metabolizing energy generated by the matrix of "exotic particles" naturally occurring at weak points between dimensions, which are present at each dimension's equivalent of
3872-478: The corps members depicted in publication, most, but not all, have been alternate versions of Brian or Betsy Braddock . A number of individuals are known in-story to have been members of the Captain Britain Corps at some point in their fictional portrayals. In the unified Marvel 2099 reality of Earth-2099, an unidentified Captain Britain appears as a member of the 2099 version of the New Avengers . In
3960-537: The corps, making Saturnyne her subordinate and bringing Corps members to the Starlight Citadel for training. Roma also tasked Corps members to take turns in defending Otherworld. Corps members would continue to gather in for important occasions. The corps rarely fought as a unit in these stories, with an exception occurring when Roma dispatched them against Franklin Richards and the Fantastic Four . The Corps
4048-499: The crooked world. Another sequence saw the heroes of Captain UK's Earth massacred by the Fury in flashback; rather than using alternate versions of Marvel characters Moore and Davis used renamed versions of classic British comic characters, including Tom Rosetta (Tim Kelly from Kelly's Eye ), Robot Andy ( Robot Archie ), Gaath ( Garth ), the Arachnid ( The Spider ) and Roy Risk ( Dan Dare ). It also included an analogue of Marvelman ,
4136-408: The dimension's version of Sir James Jaspers is espousing exactly the same firebrand anti-hero rhetoric that led to the purge in her home dimension. However, it is soon revealed that something else escaped the destruction of Earth-238 - the Fury. It attacks Linda, who is saved by Merlyn's intervention, then aided by Captain Britain and the Special Executive. However, in the resulting battle two members of
4224-583: The end of the New Excalibur title. Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics , commonly in association with Excalibur . The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in Captain Britain #1 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe , and is currently held by Brian's twin sister, Betsy Braddock . The designation of
4312-747: The first story in any issue, Captain Britain continued the " Jaspers' Warp " storyline from Marvel Super-Heroes , which Alan Moore had recently taken over writing with Alan Davis as artist. The strip would be continued in The Mighty World of Marvel after The Daredevils was cancelled. Issues from Frank Miller 's Daredevil run were reprinted in black and white, giving the series its title. The stories were originally printed in Daredevil (Vol. 1) #159-170. Black-and-white reprints of Stan Lee and John Romita material, continued from Marvel UK's Spider-Man Pocketbook series. This feature
4400-788: The growing reputation of its creators (Moore having swiftly found wider acclaim on DC Comics ' Swamp Thing and Davis on Batman and the Outsiders ), Marvel UK's parent company wanted to print the stories in Marvel Premiere . However, Marvel UK contracts and British copyright law required creators to sign off on any reprints of their work. Moore, whose earlier grievance had been compounded by this permission having been bypassed for some of his Doctor Who Weekly material and what he perceived as bullying tactics by Marvel in their legal action over Marvelman's name, refused - much to Davis' chagrin. Moore would eventually consent to reprinting of
4488-559: The hands of the Ultimates. He offers Fisk a team of his agents, but Fisk refuses, stating he has six alternative plans . The Daredevils The Daredevils was a comics magazine and anthology published by Marvel UK in 1983 . Aimed for a more sophisticated audience than typical light superhero adventures, The Daredevils featured Captain Britain stories by Alan Moore and Alan Davis paired with reprints of Frank Miller 's Daredevil stories. It has been speculated this
SECTION 50
#17327903658794576-461: The hellish alternate dimension. However, when Moore used it in print the definition referred to the characters' "home" reality. The term was subsequently used in Excalibur and has since been picked up intermittently by other Marvel publications and media. Both Joe Quesada and Tom Brevoort have since gone on the record to state they dislike the term. Due to both the story's critical success and
4664-409: The hero-slaying cybiote Fury , killed off Jackdaw and saw the injured superhero executed by the Fury. Captain Britain would instead be resurrected the following month in a new Marvel UK anthology , The Daredevils - so called for the magazine also featuring reprints of Frank Miller 's award-winning Daredevil run. This new home saw Captain Britain expanded to eight pages, while Davis introduced
4752-641: The idea of sending the character to a parallel Earth when Davis came onboard. Davis was tasked with redesigning the lead character's costume with the stipulation to lose the clumsy sceptre, with the artist taking a cues from military uniforms in the new look and bulk out his physique. His unused concepts for the character would later be used for some of the Captain Britain Corps. The new team debuted in Marvel Super-Heroes #377, in September 1981; it had initially been advertised as appearing in #375, but
4840-601: The main Marvel Universe. Neary also decided that the character's Star Sceptre needed to go, and instead the character's source of power was internalised in his revised suit, which was designed by Alan Davis . The latter had begun professional comics work only a short while before, and the work on Captain Britain would be his first regular, ongoing serial. The new Captain Britain feature debuted in Marvel Superheroes #379 in September 1981, and initially
4928-478: The members of the Captain Britain Corps acting as bailiffs, leading to the Special Executive coming to his aid and helping to evacuate the hero and Saturnyne back to Braddock Manor. There they are visited by Linda McQuillan - formerly Captain UK, the equivalent to Captain Britain of Earth-238 and now sole human survivor of the planet. She was sent to Earth-616 by her late lover and is alarmed to find
5016-747: The multiverse as Captain Britain and leader of the Corps. In the main continuity of Marvel Comics , three characters have used the Captain Britain title in regular publication. Modred the Mystic briefly assumed the mantle of Captain Britain by syphoning off Braddock's energies in an effort to defeat Merlyn. The Captain Britain Corps is a fictional league of super-heroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics . The characters are all known as, or appear as an alternative version of, Captain Britain, each coming from an alternative reality . Created by writer Alan Moore and artist Alan Davis,
5104-789: The name, origin and cast for the new title, Captain Britain . Art duties went to experienced Incredible Hulk artist Herb Trimpe , who lived in Cornwall at the time and would recall the 8-page strips typically only took him a couple of days to draw. The designer of the character's patriotic costume, complete with Heraldic lion rampant , is unknown; Trimpe has speculated it was John Romita . The Captain Britain title launched with some fanfare, even garnering reviews (albeit negative ones) in The Financial Times and The Daily Record . Captain Britain #8 would introduce Brian's twin sister, model Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock , who
5192-411: The offshoot's editor-in-chief. Neary paused commissioning covers to free up resources to make a new Captain Britain feature for flagship anthology Marvel Superheroes . Even then he was only able to hire newcomers and turned to editor Dave Thorpe , who had never written before, and Alan Davis , an acquaintance of Neary's who had only recently turned professional. Thorpe and Neary had already devised
5280-457: The original Captain Britain series, would continue to play a large part in subsequent stories, even briefly taking on the mantle of Captain Britain herself before going on to cross over with a major role in the best-selling Uncanny X-Men . Having made a brief introductory cameo in the "Jaspers' Warp" story, Meggan was given a large supporting role and would go on to be Captain Britain's partner for much of his subsequent fictional adventures. Both
5368-556: The pages of " Ultimate Invasion ", Maker traveled to Earth-6160 and remade it into his own image. A French nobleman named Henri Duggary is this world's Captain Britain, ruling over the European Coalition and being one of the members of the Maker's Council . It's implied he took the mantle by force and is keen on suppressing Britain's culture and its symbols. After the Maker was locked into The City with Iron Man and Kang
SECTION 60
#17327903658795456-450: The plot line of Charles Xavier 's exile to the Shi'ar Empire intended to serve as a catalyst. However, Claremont was then made aware of the dispute then in progress between Alan Moore and Marvel, and with the publisher wary of litigation the storyline was retooled. The Jaspers cameo - during which the character had not demonstrated his powers - was not followed up on, while the role intended for
5544-540: The publisher's primary continuity as Earth-616 originated in Dave Thorpe , Alan Davis and Alan Moore 's Marvel UK Captain Britain stories. The strip also established the multiversal Captain Britain Corps , members of which act as the champions of their own respective versions of the British Isles, which act as a nexus point between dimensions via Otherworld . Marvel UK , the British wing of Marvel Comics, had been established in 1972. In order to fit in with
5632-705: The resources that they gave him. When interrogated by Green Goblin, Bullseye states to him that the loyalty that he and his siblings share was enough that they tore out one of their eyes the day when Henri's eye was wounded. At the time when the Ultimates confront exterminators Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne , Henri Duggary attacks with his Black Crusade and an army of Giants. Wasp accepts her gifts and helps to fight Duggary's forces. After some convincing from Captain America, Hank Pym becomes Giant-Man and grows large enough to step on Dugarry's soldiers. Since Duggary's body
5720-414: The rest of the Captain Britain Corps. After the ceremony she reveals to Captain Britain that Earth-616 is already rapidly healing from Jasper's warp, and that Saturnyne has returned to the Dimensional Development Council, rapidly blackmailing her way back into power. She then returns Brian and Linda to Darkmoor, where they briefly kiss before parting. Jackson Ayres praised Moore's impact on the strip, noting
5808-399: The return of the Fury. Vixen meanwhile attempts to assassinate Jaspers before he attracts the attention of The Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. , but he is too powerful and simply turns her into a docile animal. Captain Britain sets off to confront him but Jaspers' enforcers kill Tom before capturing Betsy and Alison. Despite his best efforts, Captain Britain finds Jaspers' ability to change reality on
5896-405: The revival of Morgan le Fey, Betsy leads Excalibur against Merlyn and King Arthur. As Avalon falls to Merlyn and Arthur, the mutants escape to Earth, severing the connection to otherworld, while uses the Starlight Sword to return to the fight herself, knowing she will be trapped without the protection of Krakoan resurrection. In the follow-up series Knights of X , also written by Howard, Betsy and
5984-550: The series, which would continue in The Mighty World of Marvel before becoming the lead strip of a new monthly Captain Britain magazine in January 1985. Despite a fictional conceit where few were left with detailed memories of the events, subsequent storylines would follow up on several ideas developed for the "Jaspers' Warp" storyline. The storyline's return to Betsy Braddock, previously a minor supporting character in
6072-545: The storyline, and was impressed with the development of the characters and immediately planned a sequel to "Jasper's Warp" featuring Jaspers, the Fury and the rest of the Captain Britain cast that would be a major X-Men plot arc. Betsy was featured in New Mutants Annual #2 in 1986, soon joining the X-Men as Psylocke , while Jaspers made what was planned to be a teaser appearance in Uncanny X-Men #200, with
6160-419: The style of British weeklies, titles such as The Mighty World of Marvel consisted of reprinted Marvel material in an anthology magazine format, with much of the colour removed. However, these failed to make a major impression on the market, which was dominated by titles of original British material from Fleetway Publications and DC Thomson . In response, Marvel decided the line needed a British character as
6248-613: The superhero genre and was also finding his own time to be taken up by a lucrative role as artist for Captain Britain meanwhile would appear as a guest character in Captain America #305-306, with art from Neary. When Claremont read the reinvigorated Captain Britain stories he was impressed with the development of the characters The result was Claremont and Davis creating the super-team Excalibur, picking up Captain Britain and Meggan from where Captain Britain had left them and adding X-Men refugees Nightcrawler , Shadowcat and
6336-409: The team comes into conflict with Morgan le Fey and the anti-mutant Coven Akkaba, as well as Saturnyne , who had usurped the role of omniversal magisitrix and refuses to accept Betsy as Captain Britain. During X of Swords , in which Apocalypse's secret plans of reuniting Krakoa with Arakko come to fruition, leading Saturnyne to arrange a tournament between both sides to avoid a war in Otherworld, Betsy
6424-494: The title - originally created as to tie in with the 1980 Summer Olympics - held back until 1982. Davis would briefly take over writing the story himself until being joined by Jamie Delano , an up-and-coming writer recommended by Moore, and Meggan was incorporated as a major supporting character. In January 1985 the serial was transferred back to a new Captain Britain monthly series. Sales were initially respectable but began to fall, while Davis felt Delano wasn't interested in
6512-422: The unstoppable hero-killing cybiote The Fury . Jackdaw was killed off, and in Marvel Super-Heroes #388 Captain Britain seemed to join him. This allowed the strip to cover the character's resurrection and history in a new title, The Daredevils , in January 1983. Despite both the new title and the ongoing strip receiving good notices, including an Eagle Award , The Daredevils was a sales disappointment and
6600-482: The work some years after the event, in what he has referred to as a conciliatory gesture towards Davis. As a result, the stories - including Thorpe's run - were repackaged as a seven-issue deluxe mini-series called X-Men Archives featuring Captain Britain from 1995 to 1996; these colour versions of the story would effectively become the masters for future reprints. In 2001, Joe Quesada would enter discussions with Moore in an attempt to persuade him to return to Marvel. As
6688-477: Was Alan Moore, had contributed short stories to Marvel UK's Doctor Who Weekly and Star Wars Weekly , as well as well-received material for the Tharg's Future Shocks feature in 2000 AD . Moore rewrote the final page of Thorpe's final completed chapter, retconning Crazy Gang leader Mad Jim Jaspers into a powerful reality-warping mutant who turned the world upside down. In two short episodes Moore introduced
6776-538: Was a failure. The character was resurrected by Dez Skinn in 1979 as a guest star in The Black Knight , a serial in Hulk Comic , with the story now created in-house by Marvel UK , written by Steve Parkhouse with art from John Stokes and Paul Neary . While well received by readers, Hulk Weekly and other parts of Skinn's "Marvel Revolution" were not a sales success, and he left the company after only
6864-551: Was cancelled after 11 issues in November 1983, with Captain Britain transferring back to the relaunched Mighty World of Marvel . Following the conclusion of the "Jaspers' Warp" storyline in June 1984, Moore left the series. Meanwhile the character was also selected for a sizeable role in Marvel Super Hero Contest of Champions , a crossover limited series published by Marvel UK's parent company. However, delays saw
6952-592: Was dropped after four issues. Reprints of Moore's Doctor Who Monthly strips that introduced the Special Executive , running in #5-7. One-off Daredevil spoof by Moore and Mike Collins featured in #8. It was Collins' first professional work. One-off humour strip by Davis and Paul Neary featured in #9. Originally printed in Hulk reprint title Rampage Monthly #41 in 1981, this was Davis' first published professional work. An occasional three-panel humour strip by Tim Quinn and Dicky Howett. New stories featuring
7040-472: Was hit by delays. Thorpe would fall out with Davis and Marvel after only a few months when he wrote a story featuring Captain Britain resolving the Troubles in Northern Ireland . Neary backed the artist, leading to Thorpe leaving the strip. His replacement was Alan Moore . The new team moved the strip in a darker tone, reconfiguring Jaspers as a powerful reality-warping mutant and introducing
7128-489: Was in response to Dez Skinn 's new anthology Warrior . Editor Bernie Jaye gave writer Alan Moore and artist Alan Davis , rising stars in the comics industry at the time, considerable freedom in terms of the material they produced. Aside from the occasional pull-out posters, all contents were printed in black-and-white, not colour. The magazine had a circulation of around 25,000 copies, and lasted eleven issues before merging with The Mighty World of Marvel . Always
7216-424: Was lost in the time-steam off-panel before Excalibur #68, and when he did return was rechristened Britannic , with a redesigned costume. Warren Ellis became writer for the title in 1994, and one of his storylines involved revitalising Brian, who reclaimed the identity and costume of Captain Britain in Excalibur #100. However, Ellis would leave the series soon afterwards and his successor Ben Raab swiftly wrote
7304-460: Was merged with Marvel UK's Spider-Man reprint title, at the time called Super Spider-Man . Meanwhile Captain Britain had already appeared alongside Spider-Man in America. Claremont was working on Marvel Team-Up with John Byrne and decided to use the format as an introduction for Braddock via the device of him briefly rooming with Peter Parker. The two-issue storyline also saw the debut of Arcade and his Murderworld . The character had been
7392-733: Was nearly wiped out by Mastermind, a villainous computer belonging to Brian Braddock, and a group of mutated children known as the Warpies , who were once the wards of Captain UK. Roma stepped down as omniversal guardian, giving the title to Brian Braddock, who became King of Otherworld and rebuilt the Corps. Another wave of destruction tore through Otherworld due to Wanda Maximoff 's alterations to reality in House of M , which nearly led to Roma and Saturnyne erasing that universe. It once again it came under attack, this time from Mad Jim Jaspers and Corps members which he began to turn into Furys . The end of
7480-438: Was nowhere to be found among the corpses, the Ultimates assumed that he got away, leaving his wherabouts unknown. Later, Duggary meets with Wilson Fisk at a secure building, being briefed on Bullseye's disappearance as Fisk mentions that he never met the Maker. He admits Fisk was right about the vigilante problem and seems convinced that it has grown into a larger threat to the Maker's Council and their system since his defeat in
7568-612: Was only five black-and-white pages per monthly instalment. Thorpe introduced some concepts that would run in Captain Britain-related titles such as Excalibur for years to come - the Alice's Adventures in Wonderland -influenced Crazy Gang and amoral Saturnyne , who was visually modelled on actress Lauren Bacall . However, the team only lasted nine months before a disagreement broke out when Thorpe planned to have
7656-541: Was overshadowed at the time by his work on Marvelman and V for Vendetta . The conclusion of the story would be Moore's last work on both the character and for Marvel UK. Differing reasons have been given for his departure; in 2001, Moore himself recalled he was unhappy with the firing of Daredevils editor Bernie Jaye . However, in 2007 Davis attributed it to a payment dispute and recalled Jaye had chosen to resign some months previously. Davis would take over as writer himself briefly before being joined by Jamie Delano on
7744-404: Was revealed to have psychic powers, with the following issue debuting Jamie Braddock , their playboy racing-car-driving older brother. However, Claremont left the title after the tenth issue. His replacement was Gary Friedrich , best known for his role in the creation of Ghost Rider . Sales were moribund, and Captain Britain went to black-and-white from #24 to cut costs, attempting to soften
#878121