Captain Britain: The Golden Jubilee!

Coming Soon, Britain's Own!

In MWOM #207 from the week ending 15th September 1976, British Marvel teased a new comic featuring "the world's newest and greatest super-hero", adding that he would be Britain's own. This felt like the UK would finally be getting their own Marvel hero, however the earliest British "super-hero", the Black Knight, Sir Percival of Scandia, created by Stan Lee and Joe Maneely first appeared in the Black Knight issue 1, an Atlas Comic, the forerunner of Marvel Comics, cover dated May 1955, published March 1955. His ancestor Dane Whitman, the modern day version of the Black Knight, this time created by Roy Thomas and John Buscema, made his debut in the Avengers (US edition) #47, cover dated December 1967, published October 1967, in a story that also appeared in the Avengers weekly #60. Both predated this new hero. And anyway this silhouetted figure was no knight, even though he carried his weapon of choice on his back.

The following week in Super Spider-man with the Super-Heroes #189, a slightly different version of the first advert of the silhouetted hero appeared with added text that read, "He's all NEW! He's all DIFFERENT! He's all BRITISH!" But still the mystery remained. Who was he? In the seventh issue of the American Marvel comic The Invaders, cover dated July 1976, published April 1976, Lord James Falsworth made his first appearance as the World War Two super-hero unknown as Union Jack. That story would eventually appear in Super Spider-man and the Titans #210 on the week ending 16th February 1977. But this "all new, all different" hero was not him or his son who latter took the name.

The landscape mags Super Spider-man with the Super-Heroes #190 and The Titans #50 from the week ending 29th September 1976 both featured this promotion that revealed the new hero's name and his splendid costume. Captain Britain smashed his way through a badly drawn wall with his staff, proudly sporting the English lion on his chest with the Union Flag on his wrists and mask. The launch date was also revealed, the 6th of October 1967. In that year patriotism was a double edged sword. Around that time the punk movement, notably designer Vivienne Westwood, would use the Union Flag in the design of clothing in a rebellious way, as worn by the Sex Pistols. In 1977 the Queen would celebrate her Silver Jubilee and patriots would take it back with pride and wave the flag.

With the colour back pages of all the weeklies from the week ending the 6th October 1976 the first full colour image of Captain Britain was seen, splendid against a Union Flag. The full details laid out. Sixteen pages of full colour featuring Captain Britain and Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, plus in "brilliant" black and white the continuing saga of the Fantastic Four. Also a free mask was given away with the first dynamic issue and the promise of another great free gift with issue two. The debut issue would be on sale next week for ten pence. It must have been a sure fire hit with the kids up and down the nation. Micheal Carroll, comic writer famous for his work in 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine as well as many more, wrote in his Rusty Staples blog that "in 1976 an Irish kid living in the suburbs of Dublin was taking a bit of risk buying a comic called Captain Britain." The young Michael hide the comic under his jacket to smuggle it home safely. Reading his post I get the feeling that he felt it was worth it. Let's take a look to see what he got for his 10 pence.

Captain Britain #1

This was the first new weekly comic launched under the editorship of Neil Tennant, who would go on to meet up with Chris Lowe at an electronics shop in King's Road, Chelsea, London, five years later and form the 80's synth-pop duo, the Pet Shop Boys. But Tennant would only hold up the British side of the publication, Stan Lee envisioned a British Marvel mag with the country's own super-hero to which he left most of it's editorial creation to his younger brother Larry Lieber. Lieber designed and pencilled this iconic cover. I have no idea if it was intentional or by coincidence but the image of Captain Britain hitting the villains for six with his staff looks very much like a cricketer striking the ball for six. It's incredibly eye catching. Frank Giacoia inked Larry's pencil work. The original artwork was sold by Heritage Auction on the 10th July 2026 for the incredible sum of $118,750, which is just over £89,815. There must be some incredibly rich British Marvel Comic fans.

To give this new comic the maximum amount of shelve appeal the top banner listed the Captain's co-stars. The very popular Fantastic Four had left The Titans after issue 52, which had been published in the same week as this very issue, meaning that they appear in two weeklies at the same time. The other strip listed on the banner is Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD, a strip also from The Titans, but had left two weeks earlier finishing in issue 50. The iconic Captain Britain flag logo declared that he was "the newest..and greatest..Super-hero of all!" Quite a bold statement. He certainly was the newest, but was he the greatest? That could be a stretch, but he did become one of my absolute favourites. Above the logo another statement filled with hyperbole, "In full colour!" it read but only the Captain Britain and Nick Fury strips where in full colour. With sixteen of its thirty-two pages, the first eight and the final eight being in colour, the FF had to make do with being in black and white. Still colour in the British Marvel comics hadn't been seen since the early days of the Mighty World of Marvel, even then it was a mix of full colour, black and white with tinted green and plain black and white pages. Also boosting the hype, a text circle informs the reader that this mag was a "Special origin issue!"

As with many first issues in the UK some sort of promotion gift was added. The cover told the readers that "Free inside: Captain Britain mask!" could be found adding to the need for young readers to buy this mag. At the time British Marvel comics' other weeklies, Mighty World of Marvel, Super Spider-man with the Super-Heroes, Planet of the Apes with Dracula Lives and The Titans, all featured glossy covers, yet this new comic returned to the old newsprint paper covers, which begs the question of why the Captain Britain comic cost a penny more that it's shelf mates at ten pence. I guest that's the price you pay for "two thirds" colour.      

Captain Britain

Writer: Chris Claremont

Artist: Herb Trimpe

Inker: Fred Kida

Colourist: Marie Severin

Originally published in Captain Britain #1

Cover date 13rd October 1976

(Published in 6th October 1976)

Every hero's story must start somewhere, so Chris Claremont starts his in the remote wilderness of the Cheviot Hills, just south of the Scottish border. Straight from the first panel the reader sees Britain's newest hero in costume as the strip jumps right into the action without any opening splash page or heavy explanation, a clever plot driver to get the readers straight to the nitty-gritty by Claremont. However this might have been out of necessity. The eight colour pages allotted to the Captain Britain strip did not take into account that the front cover of the comic would be one of those pages. It looks like the opening splash page was removed and the credits were added to the first opening panel. More on that theory later.

The good Captain is seen battling a group of villains, clad in armour that looks very natural for 16th century Britain while also carrying a futuristic look, with weapons to match. Our hero defeats the evil knights but must face their leader, a knight in golden armour. The Captain's mind wonders back to the hours before this battle of death takes place. At the Darkmoor Research Centre, half hidden on the lonely Moor is a secret Nuclear complex seated in the ancient land, a place of fairy rings, old gods, spirits, elves and legends, yet inside this modern structure a young Brian Braddock is introduced to Doctor Travis, the research plant's head scientist, who has agreed to have Brian as his temporary assistant before his new term begins at Thames University. Darkmoor was chosen as the site for the Nuclear complex because of its remoteness, just in case anything were to go wrong with their experiments and also to stop any unwanted intruders. In the dark star lit sky a strange craft approaches the centre carrying some unwanted guests. The intruder makes his entrance by smashing through the walls in his assault walker as his armoured soldiers spread out to round up the scientists. His name is Joshua Stragg, the Reaver!

Doctor Travis is shot by one of the Reaver's men, thankfully he's only stunned, but Brian flees amongst the chaos. Stragg notices young Braddock escaping and orders his men to go after him. The Reaver's plan is to kidnap all the scientists, its success relies on everyone believing that all of the Darkmoor staff had died in a reactor accident, if one person escapes to tell the authorities the truth that plan would fail. Brian quickly finds a motorbike and races away on it. Braddock thinks he's got away, there's no sign of anyone following him. That is until he rounds a bend in the country road and is blocked off by the Reaver's hovercraft. With no way round the speeding bike flies off the cliff into the valley below. Hitting the ground and exploding into a ball of flames. 

Brian crawls from the wreckage, hearing a voice. "I who am the reality of the green Earth and the white moon amongst the stars and the mystery of the waters and the desire of the heart of man, I call unto thy soul to arise and come to me... For I am the Soul of nature who giveth life to the universe. From me all things proceed...And all things must return." The image of a man and woman fill the night sky above an ancient circle of stones. The man bids Brian Braddock welcome to the"Siege Perilous", welcoming him to his home. The ancient man asks Brian to make a choice in the Circle of Power, to be judged on the peril of his immortal soul. He must choose between an Amulet or a Sword, for his very life and that of the world's. On that note this week's episode ends, leaving the young readers with more questions than answers. Certainly enough reasons to pick up issue two to find out how Brian Braddock connects to the red, white and blue clad hero. To discover who the Godlike man and woman are and the significance of the Amulet and Sword. Hindsight tells us that Brian choses the Amulet of Right over the Sword of Might and becomes Merlyn's champion.

It had to happen!

It wasn't unusual that Stan Lee, or some editor pretending to be Stan, wrote an introductory piece for a new comic. Normally it would have been place on the inside front page, but here due to the need to have the Captain Britain strip in full colour it was placed on page nine. Before the pages of the comic were stapled together the printers printed the first eight pages together with the last eight, which includes the front and back covers in colour. Then the middle sixteen pages, printed in black and white, were added later, so the Captain Britain strip had to run right from the start. A colour page wasn't necessary for this piece. "Stan" declares that "even through Marvel's heroes are the world's most popular comic book characters, the time has come for a new superhero, one who will be Britain's own!" Of course he says with all ironic hyperbole because "Comicdom" demanded it Marvel delivered it. "Never before printed in any other magazine! With indescribable pride we have presented, for the first time anywhere, Britain's greatest superhero, defender of the weak and oppressed, destroyer of evil and injustice, the mightiest, most mysterious man on Earth, the one and only- Captain Britain!" "Stan" goes on to mention the thrill of the colour strip and thanks Chris Claremont, Herb Trimpe and editor Larry Lieber as well as the entire staff of "Marvel Comics London", Neil Tennant, Alan Murray and George Mina for their magnificent work on the new weekly. He finishes by saying the best is yet to come.

Any new comic needs a little help getting off the ground, especially one with colour pages. The start up cost must have been massive. It's no wonder that this comic seems to have more than its fair share of paid for advertisements, such like this Atlantic Models advert. It features its new range of scale models from World War Two battlefields. Easily clicked together with no need to glue and ready to paint. Featured in this series are. Pack #51 Panzer Grenadiers, Pack #52 US Marines, Pack #53 Royal Fusiliers, Pack #54 Red Army, Pack #55 Sendal Japanese troops, all at 20 pence each, Pack #611 Flak Batteries and tractor, Pack #612 2 Ontos 6 x106 and Pack #610 BMW motorbikes and sidecars plus amphibian jeep all at 59 pence each. The following page features a Fun and Jokes advert and a stamp collector advert. 

In amongst two pages of adverts, for Atlantic models and joke toys, comes this promotion telling readers that Stan Lee will be making a public appearance at the "Words and Music" shop on Charing Cross Road in London to launch Captain Britain and promote the publication of his latest book "Bring on the Bad Guys," giving fans a chance to buy the book and have him sign it, turning it and the Captain Britain weekly into an instant collector's item. The date of the appearance would be on the 14th October 1976, the release day of Captain Britain issue two by the way. 

The Fantastic Four “One from four leaves three!”

Writer: Stan Lee

Artist: John Romita Sr.

Inker: Joe Sinnott

Originally published in The Fantastic Four #110

Cover date May 1971

(Published in February 1971)

Continuing from The Titans #52, also on sale in the same week as Captain Britain #1, Reed finds himself trapped in the Negative Zone, between the annihilation zone and Annihilus himself. Fearing Annihilus following him to Earth, Mister Fantastic recalls how he had become trapped in the Negative Zone after trying to help Richard Janus, who had come to this negative universe in an insane quest to seize the power of the Negative Zone, only to perish. The rest of the Fantastic Four watch in horror unable to help.

John Buscema tries his hand at a pen and ink artwork/photograph collage page, which was something that Jack Kirby had used from time to time during his run on the comic strip. Sue and Johnny watch horrified as the events unfold, while Ben is very unperturbed by the proceedings, suggesting that Reed shouldn't have gone after Janus just because he had to be the hero. Meanwhile in the Negative Zone Annihilus watches on with his minions, gloating that if Richards doesn't die in the Anti-matter Zone he will have to face death at his hands and his amassing forces. Ben has become increasingly unstable and self-centred, even beginning to plot to usurping leadership of the team. All of which could be a side-effect of the "cure" Reed Richard had perfected, which allowed the Thing to change into the human form of Ben Grimm. Ben's plotting is interrupted when the Baxter Building door buzzer alerts him to Agatha Harkness and Franklin's presents. Ben admits them inside. Sue explains the grave situation, to which Agatha agrees to take the child back.

Ben begins to chastise Sue for getting emotional over Reed's impending doom, telling her that this is what they signed up for. In response, she slaps him across the face. Angered, Ben transforms back into the Thing, almost attacking Sue with rage until he backs down saying if she wasn't a woman. Johnny nearly steps in but Sue calms him down. Johnny realises that Reed's plight is more important. The Thing storms off before a fight breaks out. Using his flame powers, Johnny plans to encase one of the auto-gyros in a fire ball and sends it into the Negative Zone in the hope that Reed sees it and can use it as a beacon to get back home. Johnny wants Sue to protect him as he enters the Negative Zone with her invisible force field. The Thing re-enters offering to help, anchoring them down so that they avoid being sucked back into the anti-matter universe themselves. With Ben holding onto Sue's legs and her onto Johnny's, the Torch enters the Negative Zone, ready to throw the auto-gyros. This story also continues in issue two of Captain Britain.

In amongst the black and white Fantastic Four strip page seventeen and eighteen are used for advertisements. The first is a full page in-house advert for British Marvel's other four weekly mags. With simplicity it uses the logo heads from Super Spider-man with the Super-Heroes #192, from the week ending 13th October 1976, with Planet of the Apes and Dracula Lives #101, from the week ending 22rd September 1976, as well as The Titans #53, from the week ending 20th October 1976 and finally the Mighty World of Marvel #205, from the week ending the 1st September 1976. To promote next week's issue of Captain Britain the fifth part of the page shows Captain Britain tossing a boomerang towards the readers, demonstrating next weeks free gift.

More paid for adverts help keep the initial costs of the new mag down. The first one on this page is from Meccano asking the readers have they got a Meccano tank, plane, horse, jeep, submarine, skyscraper motorboat, showboat, windmill, cable car set? That's one big set. 

Under that is a Marvel T-shirt offer. Originally on sale in America, but by popular demand the same offer is presented in the United Kingdom. The six T-shirts on offer feature the Marvel "Bicentennial" calendar image, the Incredible Hulk, the Amazing Spider-man, the Marvel Double Feature cover from issue 8, cover dated February 1975, published November 1974, Captain Marvel # 35, cover dated November 1974, published August 1974 and the Captain America "Constitution" artwork from the July page of the 1976 "Bicentennial" calendar. The sizes for children are small, medium and large as well as adult sizes small, medium, large and extra-large. Children's are £1.95 each with adults at £2.50 each, plus 15 pence postage and packaging for each T-shirt. 

Captain Britain Fun Page

Stan Lee presents Captain Britain's Fun Page. Not a page you imagine would regularly appear in an American comic, it's more the sort of thing that is more likely to appear in a young kids British comic. However it was created by Owen McCarron, a member of the American Bullpen. Owen McCarron was born in 1929 in Halifax, Nova, Scotia Canada. He was famous for Captain Canuck in his native Canada, but pitched the concept of fun original puzzles to his friend Stan Lee. He would eventually become the driving force behind the Fun and Games Magazine for Marvel with his cover artwork featuring on issue 1, cover dated September 1979, published June 1979. His Captain Britain Fun Page featured in 38 of the 39 issues of Captain Britain weekly, only missing in issue 16. This week's "Fun Page" features three puzzles, the first was for readers to help Mister Fantastic navigate a "4" maze. Then the readers had to find the total number of Ben Grimm's there are in the second teaser and the third made you look for the most number of works you can find in the word "Fantastic". All the answers would be printed in Captain Britain issue two.

 The twenty-sixth page was the first colour page after the black and white middle pages and what better way to jump back into full colour than this fantastic Nick Fury, agent of SHIELD Marvel Masterwork Pin-up, fantastically drawn beautifully by Jim Steranko. Originally the artwork came from the cover of Strange Tales #167, cover dated April 1968, published January 1968, that showcased Fury leading the charge of SHIELD agents, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, Clay Quartermain, "Dum Dum" Dugan, a generic SHIELD agent and agent Sidney Levine, known affectionately as "the Gaffer". 

Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD “From hell.. Fury!”

Writer: Jim Steranko

Artist: Jim Steranko

Inker: Jim Steranko

Colourist: Jim Steranko

Originally published in Strange Tales #159

Cover date August 1967

(Published in August 1967)

This story follows on from the Nick Fury strip printed in The Titans #50, week ending 29th September 1976, which depicted the conclusion to the battle between Fury and Baron Strucker at the Hydra Island. It was great to see Steranko's gorgeous artwork in full colour, just as it should be. One off-putting side effect of the colour is the way that people of colour were depicted. The colourist just couldn't get the correct skin tone for Gabe Jones. He looks a shade of muddy purple/grey. I don't think it was just the British version, I'm pretty sure the original US comic had him more grey than purple. 

Not much happens in this strip. The original US strip would have only been ten pages long, with only eight colour pages at the back of the UK comic, of which a Nick Fury and a Captain Britain poster appeared and with the back page being used for an advert only five pages were left. all of which featured Nick Fury chilling out with his colleagues. There's virtually no action, save for a single flashback scene, it feels like a waste of colour. Still as this panel shows, Steranko's art is beautiful in colour. Next week readers get to see some real action as Nick Fury has to go back to "Spy School!" Not really school, but that was the original story title for this tale. 

The inside back page features this Marvel Masterwork Pin-up of Captain Britain, penciled by Herb Trimpe and inked by Fred Kida. There's a very strong chance that this "Pin-up" was actually the original splash page for this first issue's Captain Britain strip. It was pencilled and inked by the strips artists. I could easily see it as fitting on page two of this comic with "Captain Britain!" being both strip title and story title. The text could easily have been the original text and the story credits could have been removed. If this pin-up was to have been left at the beginning of this week's Captain Britain strip, the eighth page of this week's story would have had to be printed in black and white, like it would be in issues two and three. There the editors cleverly added the text at the top of the page which read, "Special Bonus This week: A Captain Britain Do-it-yourself colour page!" 

The final page features a colour advert for Kellogg's Rice Krispies cereal, although at first look you might not think so, as the three trucks catches the eye. The headline fills the reader in when it offers the readers a chance to win one of these three great Mogul toys. There's not just one toy to win but there are 555 sets of these Mogul Steel Toys from Meccano to be won.

All a kid had to do for a chance to win one of them was to enter the "Famous Firsts" Competition on the back of any of the special Kellogg's Rice Krispies packs. The Models shown are a Fire Engine, actual size 390 mm, Tractor Digger, actual size 303 mm or Breakdown Truck, actual size 268mm. 

What happens next?

Well that was a taster for readers in 1976 and unless you followed the Good Captain's 50 year history you might be wondering what all the fuss was about. The original story continues in issue 2, that offered readers not just the continued adventures of Captain Britain, the Fantastic Four and Nick Fury, but your very own Captain Britain Boomerang. Most of you reading this already know that Brian Braddock chooses the "Amulet of Right" and is transformed into Merlyn's champion. His first challenge is to face Joshua Stragg, the Reaver who claims the Sword of Might and is transformed into a powerful knight. The first two Captain Britain strips reappeared in the Captain Britain Annual 1978, published in Autumn 1977 with Cap's strips from issues 3 to issue 7 of his comic. An edited version of Captain Britain's origin story reappears in three years time in Marvel UK's Hulk Comic issues 31 and 32 from the weeks ending 3rd October 1979 and 10th October 1979. Two years later the original two strips were split into three parts and appeared as a back up strip in Marvel Tales starring Spider-man issues 131 to 133, covered dated September 1981 to November 1981, published June 1981 to August 1981. It has since been reprinted in Captain Britain Birth of a Legend in 2011, Marvel's First in 2012, The Ultimate Graphic Novels Collection from Hachette Partworks, #18 - Marvel Origins: The 70s from March 2016,  Excalibur Epic Collection The Sword Is Drawn in 2017 and the Captain Britain Omnibus 2021.

The Legend Continues!

In 1976 readers wanted a British super-hero, with some suggesting that British creators could create their own Marvel strips when the British reprinted strips caught up with their American issues. Dez Skinn was the driving force who finally made good on that idea with the Marvel Revolution in 1979. But in 1976 Stan Lee's choices for Captain Britain were American with a slightly Anglophile twist. Chris Claremont was born in London on the 25th November 1950, only moving to the United States with his family at the age of three. Herb Trimpe moved to Cornwall in England with his second wife, comic writer Linda Fite, for a couple of year in the early 70's. These reasons were enough for Stan, but did the two creators get Britain and what a British hero looks and acts like. Well Trimpe wasn't the best artist to portray Britain in 1976 and its people. His replacement John Buscema was far better at it. But in a strange way Claremont might have discovered by accident or design, just what a British hero should be. An upper class hero with roots in the lower classes, who stands for authority but rebels against those in power. Just think of Tarzan, son of a lord, now lord of the jungle. Robin Hood, who robbed from the rich and give to the poor, but may have been an aristocrat. James Bond, an ex-commander now super spy who falls out with his superiors. Sherlock Holmes, the eccentric detective who winds up the stupid authority figures. The Doctor from Doctor Who, particularly Jon Pertwee, who looks like a member of the elite class but fights on moral grounds and ridicules those in power. All my kind of heroes.

The early years might have laid out a strong outline for the good Captain, but it was later creative teams that really fleshed out the character. Chris Claremont was pretty strong, although Brian Braddock felt like a Peter Parker clone and Captain Britain obviously looked like a cross between Daredevil and Captain America. Claremont was replaced by Gary Friedrich who kept the strip on a steady course. John Buscema's art was an English country mile a head of Trimpe's version. The creative team of Steve Parkhouse, John Stokes and Paul Neary lifted the Captain to fantastic heights with the Black Knight strip in the Hulk Comic. Soon the Britain's number one super-hero got his own strip again, steered by the capable hands of Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes. Our hero was reborn with the writing of Alan Moore, who with Davis lifted the strip into this world's and Otherworld's best super-hero comic strip. Even after Moore left Davis produced the goods month in and month out, sometimes writing and drawing the strip, sometimes with help from Jamir Delano. Eventually those heavenly days came to an end. The Captain flew back into the hands of American Marvel comics as Chris Claremont brought Braddock and his sister into the X-Men universe and into Excalibur. The Americans didn't always get him. There were lots of hick-ups with the character. Only the British writer Paul Cornell in his Captain Britain and MI13 series got just how good the character could be.

To comic fans of a certain age Captain Britain is the greatest. He is to me, but the reason why, more than others I can't truthfully say. In truth I think that Spider-man is my favourite, yet there's something super special about Captain Britain, something that speaks to the Britishness in me. Patriotism these days seems a dirty word, stolen and abused by others for their own agenda. Yet it should be with pride that we celebrate it. I'm reminded of the words that a certain Scouse German said not long ago in his first press conference as his nation's national team manager. "I would like to reclaim the flag for myself or for us... I want it to be that, when you wave it, nobody thinks: 'What's wrong with you?'" He added "Can you be proud to be German and still be open, diverse, nice and friendly, can you still show compassion?" I'm not suggesting that we rename him "Kapitän Deutschland!" For Germany think Britain. But we can all be a little more Klopp and be proud of the good things that represent our nation, like the noble and heroic Captain Britain. US Marvel are commemorating Captain Britain's golden jubilee with a one off special in which Chris Claremont and Paul Davidson weave a tale of Brian’s earliest days defending the nation! Alan Davis returns with a bang to Brian Braddock! And Dan Abnett & Kelsey Ramsay pit his sister Betty against the forces of Otherworld. You can order a copy at Forbidden Planet if you like, to read it with a cup of tea while surrounded by the union bunting. Who knows if enough copies are sold could a series follow?

If you want to read more about Captain Britain check out the Power of the Beesting's blog, For Queen, Country and Otherworld. The "Week Ending..." blogs are still resting for a while. Thanks for all the kind comments about my decision to take a break. It will return, but before it does hopefully a special will appear before Christmas. But till then...

Keep calm and read comics.

Make Mine Marvel.