Daredevils #5

"Executive Action"
Published May 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
A group of mercenaries, the Special Executive, have been hired to bring Captain Britain somewhere.  They successfully execute a plan to breach the highly defended Braddock Manor, neutralize the psychics that are currently living there, and confront Captain Britain while he is in bed.  A fight ensues, but only because the Special Executive didn't explain the matter properly; they have been hired by Saturnyne to bring him as a witness for her trial defense.  Of course, Saturnyne is the one who left him stranded in an alternate reality to face certain death, so Cap isn't too keen on helping her cause.  That doesn't stop the Special Executive, though...

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Betsy Braddock is apparently romantically involved with her fellow psychic, Thomas Lennox.  Personality goes a long way, I guess, but the pairing of a fashion model with a guy who looks like this feels like a fanboy fantasy.

- Heeey, looks like we haven't left the dimension-hopping reality-bending from the previous volume of CapBrit stories.  The return of Saturnyne means the return of alternate Earths, which will probably lead to the return of the Fury.

- According to Special Executive member Cobweb, their leader, Wardog, seems to be getting the group some lousy jobs.

Writing!
The idea behind this story is a pretty simple one, but I like the way it's presented.  It could have been a few scenes of Wardog giving exposition, followed by several pages of his plan being enacted.  Moore spiced the story up by using Wardog's exposition to explain the plan while it was in action.  It's a simple device, but it worked very well here.  I'm a little surprised to see Moore returning to the more cosmic themes of the Fury storyline already, having spent the last few issues establishing a new status quo for the Captain.  There's nothing wrong with that, of course, it just seems like Moore is changing directions at this point.  I guess we'll see how the story progresses. 

Art!
As the artist introducing the Special Executive to the story and (probably) to the reader, Alan Davis is tasked with showcasing the abilities of the team members.  This group has some members with unusual superpowers, and Davis does a pretty great job illustrating them.  It's got to be tough to visually explain the concept of Fascination's power set...

...and that pales in comparison to a convincing image of Cobweb being psychically in tune with all her future and past selves.  I like it when Davis is given the chance to get creative like this.

Retroactively Amusing:
- The Special Executive first appeared in 1981's Dr. Who #51, and some of its members are from Gallifrey.  That means that, licensing issues or not, the Doctor Who Universe is the Marvel Universe.  That is very cool.

- I'm not judging, but it's interesting that Brian and Betsy Braddock both sleep naked, especially since the British are supposedly the more conservative audience.

Meanwhile, American audiences are treated to a lot of pajamas in the X-Men books.