Captain Britain #8 Introduced a Pivotal X-Man and Proved the Skill of Their Greatest Writer

Marvel Comics was able to take over the world of superhero comics in the 1960s, at the height of the United States’ imperial power. American servicemen were all around the world and they brought certain things with them, including superhero comics. They ended up introducing their Marvel and DC favorites to the British and soon their comic scene changed to take advantage of that. Marvel would eventually start publishing books in the UK in 1972, collecting black and white reprints, leading to the introduction of original characters. One of the most of popular of the Marvel UK books would prove to be Captain Britain. Brian Braddock first appeared in the book’s first issue in 1976, introducing one of the most interesting parts of the Marvel Universe you know nothing about.

While Marvel UK in the ’80s would use stories from UK creators, this first book was made in the US by two Marvel greats, one of whom was on the rise – Hulk artist Herb Trimpe and writer Chris Claremont, the man who was at the time remaking the X-Men into superstars. Captain Britain under Claremont was an interesting series, one that laid the basics of the character, which would be greatly changed in the years to come, becoming a personal favorite part of the Marvel Universe. Issue #8 is an example of what the book did best, all while introducing a future superstar of the ’90s X-books, also giving readers some awesome Silver Age Fantastic Four from Stan Lee and John Buscema and Nick Fury from the legendary Jim Steranko.

The History of Captain Britain Will Always Link Him to the X-Men

I was first introduced to Captain Britain, like many new ’90s readers, by Excalibur. At this point, Captain Britain was a multiversal champion, empowered by the magics of Merlyn to protect the United Kingdom. They were based in Otherworld, working under the auspices of the British wizard’s daughter Roma. He was big and strong and flew, and had a very cool Union Jack costume, in a relationship with a shapeshifter Meggan (with Nightcrawler hitting on her constantly when I started reading). The version of the character that I first saw was one that had been completely changed in the ’80s by Alan Moore and Alan Davis, adding in the multiverse concept, his girlfriend’s strangely British origin, and the transformation of twin sister Elizabeth Braddock into Psylocke.

This was a modification on the original version of the character. Chris Claremont was on the rise in the ’70s. He had taken his place as writer of the X-Men in 1975, having worked on characters like Iron Fist, Ms. Marvel, and Spider-Woman. This was years before Claremont’s X-Men masterpieces, but all of the pieces were there. Claremont is an American, but he was born in London, so he was always something of an Anglophile, which made him perfect for this book. He brought that love of British culture to this book, creating a hero that Britain could call its own, much like Steve Rogers was to America.

Brian Braddock was the twin son of Lord James and Lady Elizabeth Braddock. He was chosen for greatness by Merlyn and would grow up to become a handsome, intelligent young man, a scholar with a proclivity towards physics. An terrible accident saw him being made to choose between the Amulet of Right and the Sword of Might. He chose the Amulet and became the new Captain Britain, working under the auspices of Merlyn and Roma to protect the United Kingdom as its very own superhero. Claremont would be joined by Herb Trimpe, who had proven to be one of the best action pencilers of all time on The Incredible Hulk, and they gave readers some awesome stories.

Issue #8 is no different, as it introduces the one character in the Captain Britain mythos who will play a big role in the Marvel Universe – his sister Elizabeth “Betsy” Braddock. Betsy is best known as the X-Men’s Psylocke, the British girl whose mind was put into the body of ninja assassin Kwannon. She joined the X-Men before this moment, becoming one of their chief telepaths in the mid to late ’80s, before she was made into a Japanese beauty. In this issue, she’s still the cheery blonde twin sister, the beginning of a road that will make her a supermodel, a secret agent, and finally a mutant superhero. I love Brian, but he quickly became an also-ran compared to his sister. She was A-list at times, and he was rarely more than C-list. Today, she’s back in her old body and now Captain Britain, on something of a hiatus while Marvel decides where to take her next.

Claremont and Psylocke Would Both Have Their Day

Chris Claremont is widely considered the greatest writer in X-Men history. He built his craft over the years on Marvel’s lower-level titles, taking a dead team, injecting it with sci-fi, soap opera dynamics, civil rights themes, queer themes, and everything else you can think of. Claremont’s X-Men is an example of a creator unleashing their whole imagination on a property and creating an entire universe. While he’s most known for his work on the mutants, comics like Captain Britain #8 show that he had the superhero goods the whole time. The story is full of thrills and action, but also digs into several characters, and drops readers into a colorful, interesting world that will draw you in immediately. On top of being a great comic from two masters, it also introduces one of the coolest X-Men ever.

Psylocke made a whole generation of boys go through puberty early and has played a huge role in the evolution of the X-Men. The British telepath became the British girl in a Japanese ninja assassin’s body, becoming one of the most popular X-Men of the ’90s. She’s since faded in popularity a lot from her height, but she’s also become greater than anyone ever would have guessed, leading superhero teams and helping save the multiverse both as Psylocke and Captain Britain.

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