Captain Britain and MI-13 #1 (Secret Invasion) – Review

Paul Cornell (writer), Leonard Kirk (penciler), Jesse Delperdang (inker), and Brian Reber (colorist)

I’ve never liked Captain Britain.

Captain America, I get. Everything that’s important about America revolves around a handful of ideals that can be, more or less, successfully embodied in one man. But Britain is such an older and more complex country. Which one person could truly represent it? King Arthur? James Bond? Sid Vicious? Jeeves? Whoever it might be, it’s sure not bland, boring Brian Braddock.

So it was with some trepidation that I picked up CB&MI13, especially when I heard that one of the key characters was a Skrull disguised as John Lennon. (Beatlemania was thirty years ago, guys. Get over it.) But the book leaves behind the goofiness of old Captain Britain tales, instead tying into the ongoing Secret Invasion story line, and is much better for it.

The story begins in the midst of a Skrull attack on London. There’s a Skrull with all the powers of the Champions, another that combines the Squadron Sinister, and (my favorite) a mash-up of Morbius, Frankenstein, and the Werewolf by Night. The Skrulls have taken a special interest in England because of its history of ancient, powerful magics. Standing in their way are Captain Britain, the Black Knight, MI-13, and Spitfire (She’s a vampire now. When did that happen?). They’ve all had to make sacrifices in defense of the realm, but Captain Britain may end up making the greatest sacrifice of all.

Of course, with the relaxed pace of comics these days, all we really get in this one issue is a prelude of things to come, but the writing is good and the art is beautiful. And the wanna-Beatle? He’s actually my favorite character. He never pretends to be the real John Lennon — who could be a selfish prick at times — but instead tries to represent all the good things John stood for, in sharp contrast to the “fundamentalist” Skrull invaders.

Good show, chaps. Carry on. (Grade: A)

– Andrew C. Murphy

A Second Opinion

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with Andrew on this one, as I found this comic hard to decipher. I’m not a huge Captain Britain fan, either. The extent of my knowledge is derived from the early ’90’s Excalibur series. With that said, I wasn’t expecting Captain Britain to be idolizing Captain America so much throughout the book. Braddock talks for maybe half a page, and it seems like the typical rhetoric of a hero trying to do more. I mean, he flat out says he wants to be the Captain America of the U.K. It’s a great concept to push Braddock back into the spotlight, yet it feels forced in this book.

The writing itself is confusing mess. With a giant “1st Issue” slapped on the cover, I was expecting some sort of premise and a who’s who. But, none of this happens as the reader is thrown in the middle of a Skrull invasion in Britain. The best character that is written isn’t even Captain Britain, it’s Black Knight. The Knight is paired up with a female field medic during a Skrull attack and Paul Cornell gives him some much needed depth. A lot of his persona and motives are displayed here and it’s quite involving. Every other character feels slapped ionto the pages for no real reason other than to give this book “numbers” to repel the attack.

Overall, a very confusing read. Yet, I’m intersted to see a more modern perspective on the superheroes of the U.K., so I’ll give this book another shot. (Grade: C-)

– Robert Hyland