Comics Official CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI:13 Discussion Thread

[The Englishman]

What team lineups would people like to see in Excalibur??

 

[Havok83]

What team lineups would people like to see in Excalibur??

Id rather see teh book cancelled and the team disbanded. It really hasnt served a purpose since it was created and doesnt have a signifcant place in the X-universe. I find it funny how back in the beginning of the decade, they cancelled a good amount of X-books bc they felt there were too many of them and that they were pointless and now years later, we are once again littered with X-books, possibly more than before. Out of the ones out there, New Excalibur is the least important and the one Id cut first

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Is this book scheduled to come back?

 

[chris moore]

I thought it was. I'd prefer it if it took advantage of the "there are no more x-men" statement of Cyke after Charles was shot. That way it'd be more like the original series where they thought the X-Men dead, so continued the dream overseas. No government ties though. Run out of Muir as a kind of safe haven for mutants as well as a research center. Cap in it of course (otherwise why Excalibur), and accompanied by Black Knight as a fellow scientist and Camelotean. Having it not be strictly for mutants, it allows for establishing more solid relationships with non-mutant superteams and representatives. Not an initiative, and not a team that can be ordered by SHIELD or the EU to go on a mission. But a group of people who American teams can call on for overseas aid. It could be tied into the initiative sure, and the precedent was set back in the Civil War X-Men tie in where foreign x-affiliated heroes joined the US in tracking down the 198.

It'd make Captain Britain more of a figurehead and the hero for Britain rather than just a strong bloke who flies and happens to be draped in the Union Jack. He should stand for what Britain is in the same way Rogers did for the US. Not for the government of course, but for the people.

Roster:
Captain Britain
Black Knight
Forge
Maybe Iceman and Archangel for some originals and the chance for some focus on Bobby as he'll probably be left out of the new main team line-ups and for Warren to help fund
Meggan (for god's sake bring her back - no rhyme or reason for her 'dissappearing' and Brian never really bothering with it)
Darwin because of his training having been with Moira and therefore he wishes to help keep her side of the dream alive on her homeground (as it were)
Psylocke - wasted in Exiles
Amada Sefton - Old School Excalibur

 

[Valechan]

Amada Sefton - Old School Excalibur

Old School Excalibur? She joined around 75 and left in 107, and she was way in the back burner, there were tons of issues where she didn't even appear... she was barely a member of the team and she must have helped in what... two missions? She isn't old school excalibur RAchel is, or Kurt or Kitty, but not Ms Sefton (or Szardos whichever you want to use :P)

The Excalibur team I kinda want to see right now:

Cap Britain
Lionheart (possible romantically involved with Cap)
Pete Wisdom (I hat him but he's funny)
Black Knight (he's not doing anything really at the moment)
Margali Szardos (villainess or hero? She's been on both sides and called Earth's Sorceress Supreme once... she should on this team)
Juggernaut (somehow it felt he belonged with this team)
Cerize (I just miss her )
Micromax (he should've seen more action than he has)

 

[chris moore]

Good catch with the non-so-old-school Amanda thing. But Cap and Lionheart romantically involved? Are you serious? They may not have bothered looking into Meggans disappearance in the title thus far, but the guy still only just lost his wife to who knows what, and then had his sister return AGAIN after up and disappearing only to go again five minutes later cos she thinks the Exiles are a more worthy cause than the survival of her species with the X-Men.
Plus, Margali is not the kind of one youd have in combat. She's more an Agatha Harkness go to for tips mage. Juggernaut was just a similarly powered Cap, but couldnt fly, so he had no real 'place' other than it followed through with the redemption. And I dont know about Cerise - she just go back to the Shiar or something?

 

[Valechan]

Cerise was appointed as Lilandra's bodyguard, but then she joined Gamora's Graces, and was never seen again, she's probabnly on some forgotten Kree world right now...

And Margali... read FF v3 20, she could be great in a fight. And also, not every story has to be about fighting, isn't it :P?

Meggan bored me to death when they gave her too much power, she was far cooler as an empathic metamorph. And Cap should move on, and Lionheart needs to be loved, they'd make a cute couple

 

[OutcryX]

damn. forgot this book was still being published

 

[Colossal Spoons]

It's not lol

 

[chris moore]

The decisions at the end of Die by the Sword made absolutley no sense really now I think about it (like any of the story did - point of rogue mort? her being able to critically wound brian? jeez...)

Satyrnyne says Brian cant lead the corps and that she wants Albion to cos he's a tougher warrior: Ahem, wasnt it Albion who was gettig his arse handed to him by the Fury and Brian who did the most Damage? And who is she to tell the King of freakin' Otherworld where he has to go? This Brian is THE Brian. The one who was sired to be the champion and leader of all the corps.

Dazzler about to kill herself cos Longshot has amnesia: What? she didnt seem too suicidal about him being presumed dead in the first place.

Sage going with the Exiles: If Roma downloaded all she knows to Sage, then isnt Sage crucial in maintaining the ways of Otherworld and the starlight citadel? Isnt she supposed to BE the next Roma on account of that?

 

[Valechan]

More than valid points you present Mr Moore... but it really seems as if they were trying to completely obliterate the whole Otherworld. Without a "Roma", without Cap Brit related to them, there's no real reason for Otherworld/Saturnyne/Albion to ever return... which is EXTREMELY sad, I always loved the lore of Otherworld and its corp of Captains...

Anyways, seems Excalibur isn't Excalibur anymore

CAPTAIN BRITAIN AND MI: 13 #1
Written by PAUL CORNELL
Penciled by LEONARD KIRK
Cover by BRYAN HITCH
SECRET INVASION TIE-IN!
The Skrull Invasion isn’t restricted to the US. When the Skrull Invasion hits England, only Captain Britain and MI: 13 stand in their way. Can they find out what the Skrulls are after before it’s too late?
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

 

[cerealkiller182]

Is that a Skrull-y John Lennon

 

[Valechan]

All the Beatles were Skrulls, except for Ringo who was in fact a Kree

 

[Specter313]

Is that a Skrull-y John Lennon

It's probably the Skrull John Lennon from Cornell's Paul Wisdom MAS series. I hope they bring back more characters from that.

 

[Specter313]

Britain is no stranger to invasions. In 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada --one of the most impressive naval fleets in the world-- the British people stood tall, fought back and won. During World War II, faced by the might of the Nazi war machine, UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill proudly declared the British people would fight their enemies anywhere and never surrender. Given this history, when the shape shifting Skrulls’ “Secret Invasion” of Earth hits the England of the Marvel Universe, they should expect a fight.


That struggle begins this May with the launch of “Captain Britain and MI:13,” a new ongoing series by writer Paul Cornell and artist Leonard Kirk. CBR News spoke with Cornell and his editor Nick Lowe about the series, which finds some of the Marvel U’s most popular British heroes coming together to fight the Skrull invaders.

“Captain Britain and MI:13” has been in the works for a while now, and has undergone a number of permutations. “It was all Nick Lowe's idea, I think. He first proposed it to me last summer, and I started throwing pitches at him which covered, in the end, every possible approach,” said Paul Cornell, who also writes the MAX miniseries “Wisdom.” “[‘Captain Britain and MI: 13’] was nearly a musical, but [Lowe] displayed his skills with the editing and knowing the market and all that, and we finally agreed on who should be in the team, what their raison d'etre should be, etc.”

“I loved working with Paul on ‘Wisdom’ and wanted to expose more readers to his writing,” Nick Lowe told CBR News. “So we'd talked about doing a new ‘Excalibur’ series (and it was announced, in fact) but for various reasons (one being the fact that two ‘Excalibur’ series have been launched since I've been here) we wanted to go in a different direction. So, here we are!”

MI:13 figures prominently in Cornell’s ‘Wisdom’ miniseries, and is a familiar organization to fans of that book. British readers can probably guess what the organization is and how it operates, but the abbreviation MI:13 and the group behind it may seem arcane to some Americans. Explained Cornell, “MI stands for military intelligence, and applies to two out of the four departments of British Intelligence, MI5 (intelligence officers operating in Britain) and MI6 (abroad). The other two, should you be interested, are GCHQ (communications) and DIS (defense intelligence staff, the ones with the guns).

“In the Marvel Universe, they're joined by MI13, who've wrapped up all the previous British Marvel spy, superhero and supernatural stuff into one bundle. MI13's job is to deal with the weird stuff, using occult, alien or superhero methods.”

The inaugural story in “Captain Britain and MI: 13” unfolds over the course of the series’ first four issues. “It's about bare survival for Britain and the team, out of which Pete Wisdom and Captain Britain, in their different ways, manage to conjure up what the major, ongoing situation for our heroes is,” Cornell stated. “There's a big point to what they do and why they do it, and why they'll stay together. They're not just a random super team; they're here to do a job. This isn't 'that British book', it's a book that uses certain things about Britain to its advantage, but we might well take these British heroes off to the States in a later story.”

English cities like London and Northumbria are the central locales for Captain Britain and company’s battle against the Skrulls but the impact of the series opening arc will be felt around the world. “This story has very intense Marvel U consequences involved in it,” Nick Lowe remarked. “The thing I love best about Paul's story here is how big it feels. It feels important and that is rare in comics today. The last time I felt this so strongly was starting ‘Ultimates.’”

Some super teams like the Avengers are brought together by fate, while others, like the X-Men, find each other by virtue of their shared genetic traits. It’s the fires of war that forge the latest incarnation of MI:13. “Our lot is thrown together as a result of the Skrull ‘Secret Invasion,’ Cornell said. “The series spins right off from it; we begin in the thick of that action. Britain's at war as we start.”

England’s state of war means the cast of “Captain Britain and MI:13” will work closely with the British government. “They are, mostly, pressed into service in dire circumstances as actual intelligence officers in MI-13, and will continue in that fashion,” Cornell stated. “Though not everyone will remain calm about that. I'm taking my cue from that very cool use of Spitfire and Union Jack in Brubaker's Captain America.”

Real-life British Prime Minister Gordon Brown appears in “Captain Britain and MI:13” to make the decree that gives birth to the team and its group dynamic. “Pete Wisdom is in charge, and, as he's grown up a bit (though he's still everything that makes him my particular hero), that doesn't rankle so much, at least with his initial team,” Cornell explained. “At the start, our heroes are just doing what must be done--only then Pete goes and screws up a bit, but, as always, with the best of intentions.”

Pete Wisdom, fellow MI: 13 operative John the Skrull (also from the ‘Wisdom’ series), and the titular Captain Britain are the initial members of the new MI:13. “The team isn't quite all there in the first issue,” Cornell remarked. “There's a certain degree of fluidity, and one big British character, who various editors have been mentioning without naming, joins in as late as issue #5.”

The cast of “Captain Britain and MI:13” are all government spies, but that doesn’t mean they’ll behave like secret agents instead of superheroes. “They won't be seeking publicity, but you can't stop [Captain Britain] from running into a burning building, and nor would Pete want to,” Cornell explained. “They'll be going up against a particular brand of bad guys, the genre being espionage vs.--something else. I think we'd all be bored if they took on terrorists.

“Yes, we'll be talking morally grey areas and character conflict,” Cornell continued. “But this isn't ‘Checkmate’ (much as I love it). This is an out and out Marvel super team book, with a twist. And one thing I should really emphasize--we're bringing hero back. That was Nick's phrase, and I've taken it to heart. If this lot, particularly Captain Britain, haven't made you punch the air and cheer or weep man tears like I do in every Spider-Man movie (you know, when that passer by yells 'go Spidey go!' or when the crowd put his mask back on?) then I've failed to accomplish what I'm after. They're heroes. They will be heroic.”

“Captain Britain and MI:13” will have a supporting cast of familiar faces assisting them in their heroic missions. “Alistaire Stuart, from ‘Excalibur’, is back as the team’s scientific advisor,” Cornell confirmed. “Others from ‘Wisdom’ may be back as well. And I'm looking forward to plundering Marvel Britain for cast members on a regular basis.”

The Skrulls are just the baptism of fire for “Captain Britain and MI:13.” Cornell already has his cast’s next big adventure lined up. “It's to do with a natural resource that Britain is the world leader in, if we're talking about the Marvel Universe,” Cornell stated.

The writer has to remain cryptic about his cast’s future missions, but Cornell promises one thing: Captain Britain and company will always go into battle armed with potent weapons, their senses of humor. “I've absolutely made a point of keeping the jokes,” Cornell said. “Just about everyone in the book has their own particular sense of humor, and quipping in the face of national destruction is absolutely the British thing to do. Loads of John Skrull sarkiness in the first issue, and a very typical Pete scene. He hasn't got to shag anyone or anything yet, I must sort that out.”

Cornell is excited to have Leonard Kirk depicting all the humor, passion, and high stakes action of “Captain Britain and MI:13.” “I haven't seen any of his pages yet, but I loved his work on ‘Agents of Atlas’ and can't wait to see what he brings to this,” the writer remarked. “Issue one especially is action, emotion, action, emotion, action action action boom! I think he's the artist for the job.”

Working on “Captain Britain and MI:13” has been a blast for Cornell, and the writer made sure he’s crafted a book everyone can enjoy. “We're taking these characters forward. I love continuity, and we're going to visit lots of well-loved people and places, but a reader new to the entire universe of Marvel Comics could, I think, pick up issue #1 and be certain about what was going on and who these people are straight away,” the writer said. “And start to be on their side right away too, I hope.

“And the characters all sound different,” Nick Lowe added. “That's another of Paul's strengths. To be completely honest, I will be shocked if anyone who reads this first issue isn't dying to see what happens next. Paul's a new voice in comics. New, I say!”
CBR News’ spotlight on “Captain Britain and MI:13” continues all next week as Cornell joins us to profile the individual team members.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=13031

 

[OutcryX]

its gonna get cancelled...but before it does..anyone know the lineup?

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Juggernaut was the only reason I read New Excalibur. Guess I won't be buying this book.

 

[The Englishman]

Whos this big British character that eveyones mentioned without actually naming????

 

[Valechan]

Black Knight?

 

[The Englishman]

Not British..........

 

[chris moore]

Maybe Micromax. He's big (if he chooses to be) and British. A bit lame, but I think thats just because he never got a shot; much like Kylun really.

 

[Valechan]

Dane Withman isn't british? Wasn't his castle in Britain??? Nephew of Nathan Garret himself??? I always thought he was british... I kow... to the handbooks!

 

[Valechan]

Bloody Hell Black Knight isn't in any of the handbooks I've got, he must be in Avengers 2005 or Teams 2005 which are the only ones I don't have... damn

 

[Harlekin]

Excalibur and MI-13 actually looks interesting. Might pick it up.

 

[The Englishman]

I want Chamber!!!

Can anyone list all the British Heroes in the marvel universe, mutant and non-mutant heroes??