America and Britain's First Team-Up (Part 1)

[redorion]

I promised to post the first team-up between Captain America and Captain Britain from Captain Britain vol. 1 #16-27 and here is the first part covering #17-20. Sadly due to the Captain Britain issues being so short (most of the content was reprints of old issues from various series) I'm only going to be able to post the cover and 2 and 1/3rd pages from each issue.




Captain Britain #16:


At the end of the previous issue Brian almost had his mask off Dai Thomas. At the beginning of this one Steve interrupts and Brian decides to try and get on the Thomas' good side by fighting him.



After a short cut to Red Skull being a voyeur we're back to the fight:



Steve gets out of trouble by showing Thomas papers saying he's under orders from SHIELD and that the British CID know about it. He also has orders to get Captain Britain's help so Thomas is forced to let both go. Steve is investigating the Braddock manor after the super-computer Mastermind went crazy in a previous issue.



Captain Britain #17:








They get to the bottom of the manor only to be trapped:



Captain Britain #18:





The Captains are knocked out by the gas but wake up later and manage to escape when Brian uses the third button on his staff for the first time. They reach the Red Skull:



While this team-up has been going on Nick Fury has been working with Tod Radcliffe, a member of STRIKE the British equivalent of SHIELD. Right now they're heading towards the Braddock manor in a jet. Radcliffe turns out to be traitor and drops a bomb as the Skull teleports out.




Captain Britain #19:



A couple of days later after a funeral, Nick Fury returns to the Helicarrier:






Captain Britain #20:



The next issue opens with the two Captains walking by the side of the road with no explanation to how they survived. They reach where the Red Skull is keeping Jaime and Betsy:



(They never end up explaining how they survived)



And on that cliffhanger Part 1 is done.

Tags: char: captain america/steve rogers, char: captain britain/brian braddock, char: nick fury, char: red skull/johann schmidt, char: psylocke/betsy braddock, char: jaime braddock, group: nazis, creator: herb trimpe, creator: gary friedrich

Comments

[freezer]

Is there a reason Cap talks like a Brooklyn dockworker here with all the "ain'ts"?

[psychopathicus_rex]

Maybe he's overcompensating for being surrounded by Britishers?

[falseaesop]

I'm sorry but all I can see on the cover of Captain Britain #18's cover is the titular character attacking the Red Skull with his ass.

[hatman]

I'm confused - why is Betsy's hair blonde? And why doesn't she have the powers and skills to escape? Is this before her mutant power first appeared?

For that matter, what about Brian's secret identity? That whole exchange, where Skull knew to kidnap his sibs, they call him by name, and he (in costume) says out loud that they are his sibs. It's like he doesn't have a secret identity at all.

It's a good story, though. A real adventure.

As for their survival - I'd bet on a combination of Brian's force field and Cap's invulnerable shield to survive the initial blast. And then time to dig themselves out.

Anyway, thanks for posting! That was a very enjoyable read! :)

[okkult3000]

Betsy dyed her hair purple later. When she got body-swapped, her hair changed permanently. I don't know when her powers kicked in.

[psychopathicus_rex]

I believe her powers were first revealed during the 'Jaspers Warp' storyline - at any rate, Brian only found out about them at that point. As for his secret identity, it was revealed to his siblings a few issues earlier, and they're still kinda in the 'what?! My brother is a superhero?' phase, so it's not surprising that they're name-dropping. (Anyway, I think all the bad guys are out cold, so it doesn't matter.)

[hatman]

Betsy: Hmm, okay. Thanks for the explanation.

So it's just Red Skull who knows Brian's identity? (And the henchmen just arranged the kidnapping and the video feed and all because the boss said so. Fair enough. And no need to quibble about them having seen his face when he came into the room acting like an escaped lunatic.)

[psychopathicus_rex]

I'm not sure whether that's ever been subsequently addressed or not. I THINK the Skull only knows that Captain Britain MIGHT be one of the Braddocks, but don't quote me on that. Anyway, I think his identity is a matter of public knowledge at this point, so it's somewhat moot.

[hatman]

Skull: Before you knock me out, look at the view screen!

Betsy: Brian! Don't let them kill us!

Brian: OMG! That's my sister!

I think Skull knows.

[psychopathicus_rex]

OK, fine, he knows. But he's never done anything with the information since then, so either he just doesn't care that much, or the writers don't. (Anyway, now that just about EVERYONE knows it, a dramatic 'I knew all along!' reveal is probably not in the cards.)
You'd think, of course, that, considering conquering Britain was one of Nazi Germany's main goals, the Red Skull would be just itching to try for it again - and again - and again. Logically, he should be one of Captain Britain's arch-enemies, but *shrug* I guess Captain America has prior claim. Personally, I'd love to read a story set BEFORE the US entered the war, where Union Jack goes up against the Skull (of course, the shifting timeline might not allow for that, since it may or may not be official at this point that the Skull was created as a response to Cap, but it'd still be cool).

[euthanatos]

what the hell is that stick

[akodo_rokku]

His pimp cane, duh.

[jlroberson]

Normally it rests in the ass of Prince Philip, waiting to be drawn forth by the true spirit of Britain.

[hatman]

The actual explanation is that in his early days, Captain Britain had a staff which enhanced his powers. (Probably in echo of a royal scepter, the symbol of national power and spirit and so on.) The amulet gave him the costume and enhanced strength and agility, but the staff gave him access to further powers - more strength, short-term flight, and a force field. The staff's powers were later incorporated into an updated version of the costume itself.

[halialkers]

I'm wondering what happened to the Red Skull during Operation Paperclip now......

[cricharddavies]

He was underground duirng that period. Literally. While attempting to escape from Berlin during its fall, he and Captain America had a final fight that resulted in him being trapped underground and exposed to a chemical that put him in suspended animation for decades.

[jlroberson]

Colour burns my eyes.

[joysweeper]

Has STRIKE been used since?

[foxhack]

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/313/captainbritain1801.jpg

Captain Britain's secret maneuver: THE BUTT ATTACK

[proteus_lives]

Very awesome.

Brian must cringe at that old costume now!

[psychopathicus_rex]

Why, what's wrong with it? I think it has a certain charm.