Captain Britain: Bio, Origin, Powers & History

Real Name: Brian Braddock

First Appearance: Captain Britain #1 (October, 1976)

Powers: Captain Britain has many superpowers. He possesses superhuman speed, durability, reflexes, endurance, strength, and agility. He is also able to fly and can project force fields. 

Affiliation: Excalibur, Secret Avengers, Knights of Pendragon, Illuminati, and the Captain Britain Corps. 

Did You Know? Captain Britain is the brother of the X-Men’s Psylocke. 

A Little History

The origin of Captain Britain is pretty straightforward. 

First appearing in Captain Britain Comics #1, Captain Britain is the creation of Chris Claremont and Herb Trempe. 

Brian Braddock grew up in Maldon, Essex, with his twin Elizabeth and brother Jamie. Brian was a shy child from an aristocratic family and spent most of his time in his studies. Sadly, his family lost some of their wealth and, as a result, could no longer associate with people of a higher class. This led Brian to further his obsession with his studies, particularly physics. 

Shortly after the tragic death of his parents, Brian took up study at the Darkmoor Nuclear Research Center. When the facility was attacked, Brian jumped on his motorcycle and gave chase to the attacker. By all accounts, he should’ve caught the criminal. Instead, however, he crashed his motorcycle and was left severely injured. Luckily, just after he crashed, the magician Merlyn and his daughter Roma appeared by his side.

The two offer the wounded Brian a chance to be something greater. They gave him a choice. He could A) choose the Amulet of Right or B) the Sword of Might. Considering himself anything but a hero, Brian chose the Amulet of Right. Upon his acceptance of the Amulet, Brian was transformed into the mighty Captain Britain. 

Eventually, it’s revealed that Brian is just one of many Captain Britain’s spread over the Multiverse. Each version of Earth has its own Captain Britain that’s been sworn to protect Britain. Together, the group is known as the Captain Britain Corps.

What kind of powers and abilities does Captain Britain Have?

Captain Britain has superhuman strength, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, senses intelligence & he can fly. Captain Britain possesses abilities that draw power from interdimensional energies concentrated in the British Isles and Otherworld. If he ventures too far from these areas without his power-enhancing costume, his abilities gradually diminish.

His costume acts as an antenna and battery, allowing him to retain his powers wherever he goes, but the destruction of the Otherworld energy matrix eliminates his ability to retain power in the UK without the costume. Recently, Brian has gained the ability to use his powers without the suit, with their strength depending on his confidence level.

Captain Britain’s powers were originally tied to the Amulet of Right and the Star Scepter. However, Merlyn later changed his costume and made his powers innate, with the costume serving as a “battery” and amplifier. Captain Britain’s powers are sustained by his confidence and heritage, with greater confidence granting him stronger abilities.

How strong is Captain Britain?

Captain Britain is capable of lifting anywhere between 75 and 100 tons, which puts him right up top when it comes to physically strongest characters in Marvel Comics Universe. When it comes to speed, Captain Brittain is capable of reaching speeds up to Mach-1 while on Earth. Due to the invisible force field that surrounds him, Captain Britain is also highly resistant to most forms of physical damage.

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