(Strand)om Stories: Captain Britain: Legacy of a Legend Review
This volume provides a solid, if incomplete, overview of an original superhero defending somewhere other than American shores
—by Nathan on August 31, 2025—
This review is gonna be a bit different, innit?
So there's this guy you may have heard of, a blond superhero with a full-body costume and a special weapon who fights for the protection of his home country. Oh, and he's got a "Captain" in his moniker, followed by the name of his home country.
None of you are fooled by that attempt at subterfuge, but in case you missed the title and the cover photo, I'm not talking about Steve bloody Rogers today.
I enjoy myself some Captain America comics now and again. He's a patriot, and though his patriotism can be misguided depending on who's writing his narratives, he's intended to be a protector. He's a staunch defender of those same principles a certain Man of Steel upholds: truth and justice…and though Supes' moniker has changed in the last few years, and though Captain America has fought for freedom elsewhere, Steve still battles for a certain American way. But we're not focusing on those exact principles today, let alone the same country.
Our focus today takes us across the Atlantic Ocean, mostly, far from the U.S.A., to a place where that "S.A." is replaced with a "K." Welcome to the monarchy, ladies and gentlemen. Here we'll meet a man who, like Steve Rogers, fights for his homeland, the United Kingdom. I've touched on a few narratives about the U.K. previously, such as Camelot 3000, V for Vendetta, and a volume of Judge Dredd comics. Here, we have some stories that, like V for Vendetta and the Judge Dredd issues, were originally published by a few British periodicals, contained in a collection which, as you'll see, has one other connection to the vigilante in the Guy Fawkes mask.
Captain Britain: Legacy of a Legend
Writers: Chris Claremont, Steve Parkhouse, David Thorpe, Alan Moore, and Jamie Delano
Pencilers: Herb Trimpe, John Byrne, John Stokes, and Alan Davis
Inkers: Fred Kida, Dave Hunt, John Stokes, Alan Davis, and Mark Farmer
Colorists: Marie Severin, Dave Hunt, Helen Nally, Andy Seddon, and Steve White
Letterers: Irving Watanabe, Dave Hunt, Elitta Fell, Jenny O'Connor, John Aldrich, Steve Craddock, Annie Parkhouse
Issues Collected: Captain Britain (1976) #1-2, Marvel Team-Up #65-66, and material from Hulk Comic #1 and #3, Incredible Hulk Weekly #57-59, Marvel Super-Heroes (UK) #377-384 and #386, Daredevils #3-4, Mighty World of Marvel (1983) #8-12, and Captain Britain (1985) #14
Volume Publication Date: November 2016
Issue Publication Dates: October 1976, January 1978-February 1978, March 1979, April 1980, September 1981-April 1982, June 1982, March 1983-April 1983, January 1984-May 1984, February 1986
I'll begin this review with a warning: this volume is not for the completionist. A Captain Britain omnibus collects a good deal more than this collection, as do some trade paperbacks published by Panini. There is a whole lotta Captain Britain glossed over here, including a good chunk of his original series as well as several other appearances in the publications listed in credits, such as further issues of the British publication Hulk Comic. I picked this volume up because I wanted a fairly cheap "primer" on Captain Britain, a quick look at the earliest stories about Brian Braddock. I'd perhaps not go so far as to call this collection a "Greatest Hits," because I don't have much to compare this to. Honestly, I read this volume to prepare myself for other volumes containing more complete runs on the character by Alan Moore and Jamie Delano, snatches of which are reprinted here. As I said in the intro, this review is gonna be a little different.
The best material presented here is the work by Moore, which I will go into more depth in a future review. All I'll really say here is that, if you decide not to read Moore's complete run, pick up this volume just for his work alone. The same creative spirit which infuses Watchmen and V for Vendetta is present here, and when paired with Alan Davis, Moore generates strong contributions for our UK-carrying captain. If you appreciate how Moore juggled multiple characters in Swamp Thing, making supporting cast members as important as Alec Holland himself, you'll enjoy how he populates Brian Braddock's world with engaging characters, including Brian's sister Betsy, whose strong personality is a good match for Brian's own heroic sensibilities.
Moore's work, however, is constructed upon the backs of others, and it's largely Steven Parkhouse and David Thorpe who must receive the bulk of the credit for developing the character. Parkhouse delves into the captain's mythic side in a series of black-and-white strips, pairing him with the Black Knight and a little elf whose role is compounded by Thorpe's work. The strips are enhanced by John Stokes, who allows us all manner of fun Arthurian imagery, from monsters, to flying horses, to the Lion of Britain himself. This narrative is largely about the Black Knight, with Parkhouse creating in the hero a staunch defender and wrapping around Brian a bit of wandering listlessness.
Thorpe, with Davis, constructs the narratives leading into Moore's run, and he transports Brian to an alternate England that feels, at times, outlandishly dystopian. The imagery reins supreme here, as Davis is tasked with developing a sentient trash robot, mercenaries in suits and bowler hats, and a Captain Britain temporarily devolved into an ape. This is where, I would argue, the best examples of Brian's character are found: here he is, lost in a different version of the country he calls home, forced to defend people he doesn't know. Thorpe extracts several heroic moments from the character, as he not just punches his way through foes but genuinely aids the people of this world. Brian's lost, he seems stuck, yet he chooses to pull people up out of their misery instead of wallowing in his.
The piecemeal nature of the volume makes it a strange read, but there's also a sense that the writers aren't exactly sure what to do with Brian as a character. Arthurian legend lies at the heart of his story, from an origin created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, to the black-and-white strips by Parkhouse and Thorpe which include King Arthur and Mordred (yet I'd also offer the argument that Parkhouse and Thorpe's work is a tad tongue-in-cheek, as Brian is presented as this wanderer, without a purpose). Likewise, in Claremont's origin and the Marvel Team-Up issues, Brian is a college-aged fellow, temporarily bunking with Peter Parker in the latter narratives as a foreign exchange student. Yet the second half of the volume does away with both of these ideas, toying with alternate dimensions and more modern British notions and depicting Brian as a full-grown man (which, admittedly, may have occurred naturally–I already noted the missing issues in this volume, so maybe Brian aged during the years not collected here). Perhaps "British" is the true center of the character and this volume, not just mystical legends. It doesn't matter if Brian encounters a madman trying to destabilize a British nuclear complex, the evil Mordred, mercenaries with bowler hats, or a gang of criminals which look like they leapt straight out of Alice in Wonderland…they threaten England, regardless of what reality it exists in, and so he'll give 'em the old what-for.
Combined, the material here feels like a cobbled-together casserole, but on their own, each piece works fairly well. Claremont, especially when teamed with Uncanny X-Men and Iron Fist collaborator John Byrne, injects enough of a youthful spirit into Brian–the uncertainty of having power and shouldering responsibility–to make it seem we're receiving Britain's answer to Spider-Man (and you couldn't convince me "Brian Braddock" isn't an intentional attempt to ape the spirit of Stan Lee's classic naming conventions). Thorpe creates a whirlwind of bizarre adventures, harping on that heroic spirit with the Captain which encourages him to defend his home; he and Davis should also be credited with redesigning the character, changing him from an earlier suit into the classic outfit readers are most likely more familiar with. And Moore doubles down on the absurdity, painting our staunch captain against the strangest backdrops he possibly can. A sinister darkness lurks within Moore's work (but when doesn't it?), giving the weirdness Thorpe and Davis develop a more grim, lethal edge that only causes Brian to dig deeper into himself.
If you're fine with missing material, pick this up. It is, by far, the cheapest option to get an overview of Captain Britain. Yes, you're forgoing a lot of material found in the Panini volumes and the omnibus, but if you're looking for a decent summary, give this volume a try. You'll be introduced to important characters and plot developments, an alternate England Brian is forced to defend, some grim enemies he must face, and a few friends he can rely on. I am looking forward to more complete collections, such as the volumes I own of Moore and Delano's runs, and through them, I hope to find more character-defining moments to connect with and elaborate on for a few more reviews. There's some interesting, strong stuff, but as I said, the pieces are more interesting to read than the puzzle they fit into…primarily because it's a partially completed puzzle, with several pieces only available in other collections.