Time for a new hero from Marvel, but his one didn't come out of the offices in New York...he was produced in jolly old England, the first new hero from Marvel UK....a hero for the times (the mid-1970s, that is)...and he was Captain Britain.
Captain Britain
The story begins in
Captain Britain #1 (October 13, 1976) by
Chris Claremont,
Herb Trimpe and
Fred Kida and a cover by
Larry Leiber and
Frank Giacoia, with Captain Britain (seeming to just getting use to his powers and abilities) fighting the Reaver....
...then, the hero thinks back, to when he was just Brian Braddock, a student intern, working at the Darkmoor Research Centre in the moors, unlocking the secrets of fusion, until the facility was attacked by rouge scientist, Joshua Stagg, who planned on taking those secrets....and making it look like they all died in an unfortunate accident. But, Brian escaped on his motorcycle, forcing Stagg and his troops to pursue. Brian drove off a cliff when confronted by Stagg's airship...and fell into the next issue, which came out a week later.
From The Holocaust...A Hero!
In
Captain Britain #2 (October 20, 1976, by the same creative team), picks up where the last issue left off, with Merlin and Roma offering young Brian Braddock a choice....the sword or the amulet. Brian takes the amulet, and is infused with energy from the cosmos, becoming Captain Britain...to be a force for good to protect the land!
But, Stagg takes his time as well, taking the word to become the Reaver, and the battle between good and evil begins. Brian learns on the go, keeping up the fight (catching up to where readers first met him), and eventually using his abilities to defeat the Reaver, and vows to the spirits that he will be their champion as Captain Britain.
Brian continued that battle for 39 issues....and beyond!
