Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #13

"A Funeral on Otherworld"
Published June 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The battle-weary Captains Britain and UK find themselves teleported to Otherworld, just in time to witness the funeral of Merlin.  Afterwards, Roma promises to not interfere further in their lives; Captain Britain and Captain UK are no longer pieces on Merlin's chess board.  They return to Earth-616 and go their separate ways,

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Captain Britain is surprised to find himself a celebrity among the Captain Britain Corps, considering the last time he met a multiversal counterpart, they were busy punching him in the face.

- Saturnyne is is reinstated as a Majestrix and given a full pardon by Mandragon when she threatens to release a Jim Jaspers clone on his homeworld.  Saturnyne scraped some cell samples from Jaspers' corpse, with presumably this threat in mind.  Roma makes sure that this is only a threat; unbeknownst to Saturnyne or Mandragon, Roma killed the cells, making them un-clonable.

- Earth-616 will recover from Jim Jaspers' reality warping, but it doesn't mean that Jaspers' time in power has been erased.  Tom is still dead, and Elizabeth Braddock will still mourn him; per Roma, a woman named Victoria Bentley will help her recover.

- Merlin has taken many shapes over many dimensions over many years,  His reasoning for doing this to manipulate his chosen champions will remain unexplained, until he is less dead.

- Captain UK plans to stay on Earth-616, since her home dimension was destroyed.

Writing!
Some writers excel at the "quiet" issues, the falling action issues that wrap up long storylines.  Alan Moore might not be one of those writers.  This isn't a bad issue by any means, but it is easily the least interesting one of this run.  I liked that Moore went out of his way to add to the Merlin mythos, and I thought it was interesting that he didn't hit a "reset" button to erase the Jaspers concentration camps, but other than those small moments of interest, this issue could have been summed up in a single panel that read "The End."

Art!
In an otherwise dull visual issue, Davis had fun with the Captain Britain Corps.  Not much action, but some interesting costume designs being used here.

Worth Noting:
- This issue wraps up Alan Moore's run on Captain Britain and his relationship with Marvel Comics in general.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #12

"Endgame"
Published May 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The battle between The Fury and Mad Jim Jaspers continues, and they seem evenly matched.  Finally, The Fury realizes that Jaspers warps reality around him; if he is in a void, like what was left of The Fury's original dimension, there would be nothing to warp.  The Fury transports them both there and executes Jim Jaspers with extreme prejudice. 

Seeing that The Fury has been weakened, Captain Britain attacks, but either The Fury is too strong still, or CapBrit is too weak from the Jaspers-and-Fury beating he recently took.  Watching Cap falling to The Fury triggers some repressed rage in Captain UK, who takes up the battle and beats The Fury into a purple puddle.  The Fury is finally dead.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The Crazy Gang, created by Jaspers last issue, escapes to parts unknown after the Jaspers/Fury battle ends.

- Saturnyne takes a blood sample of the dead Jim Jaspers for unstated, but probably not altruistic, reasons.

- After The Fury is defeated, Captain Britain, Captain UK and Saturnyne find themselves teleported to Otherworld for Merlin's funeral.

Writing!
It's another issue mainly devoted to fight scenes, but I have to admit it's well done.  Moore has been building up to this battle for so long that it is cathartic to see the finale of the Jaspers/Fury fight AND the Captain Britain/UK fight vs. The Fury.  I had wondered after previous issues how CapBrit could stand up to either Jaspers or The Fury, given their power, but Moore did a fantastic job making the final conflict plausible; the ending was not obvious (to me, anyway), but still felt true to the known limits of these characters.  One of my favorite bits was how we followed The Fury's logic during the battle with Jaspers, as it prepared for the coup de grace. 

Art!
More great work from the "other" Alan on this title.  While there could be some improvement in the coloring department (a common complaint for this era), Davis' action scenes are consistently great.  Even the challenging design of Captain Britain's torn mask/flowing hair combo looked good here, to say nothing of the very cool Jaspers/Fury fight and the dismembering of The Fury. 

I've been a fan of Davis' graceful action scenes for many years, but this is a great example of how well he can do "savage."

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The scene that triggers Captain UK into action is a panel similar to --- but not an exact copy of --- the scene back in Daredevils #7 where Captain UK's lover is murdered by the Fury.  It's interesting that Alan Davis chose not to just photocopy the old art for this scene.  Maybe that wasn't a thing back in '84?

Here's the original scene, from Daredevils #7.  They are certainly similar, but definitely different.

Worth Noting:
- The Fury and Jim Jaspers both die in this issue.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #11

"Foolsmate"
Published April 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis


What's Going On?
The Fury finally catches up with Captain Britain and starts attacking him.  Cap doesn't have much fight left in him after the whooping he took from Jim Jaspers last issue, so he essentially plays the part of a rag doll here.  In the process of beating the life out of the good Captain, The Fury accidentally runs into Jaspers.  Jaspers doesn't like The Fury because he didn't create it, and The Fury doesn't like Jaspers because it struggled against its original programming (which kept it from killing the Jim Jaspers of Earth 238). 

The two near-omnipotent villains begin to battle.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Jim Jaspers, playing the part of a bored godling, decides to create life from dirt.  The end result is the Crazy Gang.

- Saturnyne and Captain UK arrive on the scene, just in time to witness the Jaspers/Fury fight and take cover.

- Meanwhile, while overseeing the battle, Roma despairs, thinking that the multiverse is doomed.  When she tries to get her father to explain things to her, Merlin falls dead.

Writing!
This is essentially an extended fight scene, so there isn't a whole lot of "writing" to look at in this issue.  That's not a knock; Moore has clearly been building to this since he started his run, and it's pretty satisfying to see it come to fruition.  I am starting to realize that we won't be seeing the traditional heroic ending to this story.  Captain Britain seems almost incidental to the overarching plot of Jaspers v. Fury, and it seems unlikely that he will be the deciding factor in a story that is ostensibly about him.

Art!
Alan Davis clearly enjoys the reality-defying possibilities of the Jaspers/Fury fight, and that is fun to see on the page.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Here's an evocative and bizarre set of captions that would never get past the editor nowadays:

Worth Noting:
- This is the first appearance of the Earth 616 version of the Crazy Gang.  Since my only exposure to them had been through Davis' Excalibur runs, I never realized what a batshit crazy origin they actually have.  I mean, they're Alice in Wonderland-themed villains, so I didn't think their origin would be "forced into a life of crime" or anything like that, but geez...

- Saturnyne uses the name of Mitras as a blasphemous expletive.  So what?  Well, Mitras is one of the various gods mentioned in old Conan comics, set in the Hyborean Age.  I'm pretty sure that Conan (being a licensed character and all) was not set in the Earth 616 Marvel Universe, so the existence of one of the Hyborean gods on an alternate Earth (Saturnyne is from Earth 9) is a cool little Easter egg for an alternate reality that Alan Moore (and no one else, really) ever chose to explain fully.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #10

"Anarchy in the UK"
Published March 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciler: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
It is finally time to confront Jim Jaspers, and it turns out that Captain Britain is sorely outmatched.  It seems as though his only strategy is to punch things, and (being the reality warper that he is) Jaspers does not sit still for him.  Instead, Jaspers plays with reality, making the Captain question where and who he is, until he leaves a battered Captain for dead.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Continuing her effort to prepare Captain UK to do something worthwhile in the upcoming battle, Saturnyne has Captain UK take off her civilian clothes and don her Captain Britain Corps uniform.

- The Fury has finally caught up with Captain Britain again in the last panel of this issue

Writing!
Moore's entire run has been leading this, the resolution of the Jim Jaspers and Fury plots.  Now that we're here, I find myself wondering what the hell is Captain Britain doing in this fight.   This seems like a horrible mismatch, and not in a "the hero is the underdog" sort of way; this feels closer to Spider-Man vs. Galactus.  I mean, come on...CapBrit is just trying to punch Jim Jaspers to death?  That is as far as his planning got?  Well, whatever.  I am very curious to see if the resolution feels like forced bullshit or if it is satisfying.  This issue did make me wonder exactly what made Merlin choose Captain Britain as his champion in this battle.  Is the difference between CapBrit here and in the beginning of Moore's run just that he's going to try harder? 

Art!
I liked the idea of the Captain tearing away Jasper's reality like paper.  I think it would work better if Jaspers was an illusionist rather than a reality warper, but it's still a cool visual.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The last time Courtney Ross made an appearance was in 1978 (Marvel Team-Up #65-66), and she was a plain-looking brunette at the time.  It is interesting to see Alan Davis drawing her both off-model here and obviously not similar to Saturnyne.  I'm assuming that she is supposed to be older in this scene --- that would explain the white hair --- but Brian does not look older, which is odd.  As for Saturnyne, Alan Davis and Chris Claremont eventually reveal (in the pages of Excalibur) that Ross and Saturnyne are alternate reality doppelgangers; Davis is clearly not modeling Ross after Saturnyne here, so it's going to be interesting to see just when that plot started.

Worth Noting:
- Captain Britain has no qualms about killing Jim Jaspers.  Unusual for a superhero at the time, and (as far as I can recall) not terribly typical of his character.

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #9

"Among These Dark, Satanic Mills"
Published February 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Captain Britain makes his way through the surreal world that is Jim Jasper's London on his way to confront the villain.  Meanwhile, his friends fall under attack from Jaspers' Beetle enforcers, despite their best efforts.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Despite his wounded hands (from protecting Captain UK in Daredevils #10), Merlin refuses to quit his chess game.  Roma comments that it looks inevitable that he will lose.  Since Captain Britain is Merlin's chosen champion, that bodes poorly for his upcoming battle.

- Elizabeth Braddock and Alison Double are captured by the Beetles

- On the run from the Beetles, Saturnyne harasses Captain UK until she responds with violence.  Saturnyne seems to think this will lead to UK doing more than whining in the battle to come.

Writing!
While I can't say that nothing happens in this issue, it felt a little like Moore was treading water here.  It was nice to see Captain UK take her first step toward redemption, and Tom Lennox's death may have repercussions (or maybe not), but the main story did not progress.  Captain Britain went from leaving to confront Jaspers to...continuing on his way to confront Jaspers.  

Art!
For an issue where it felt like not much was happening, Alan Davis had a few pretty cool panels.  I especially liked how he indicated Elizabeth's premonition. 

Nothing spectacular, but I like how the blending of panels implied a connection.  He also did a pretty good job with the last panel.  Davis is so good when he gets to have fun with the characters.  Also, what artist chooses to draw feet?

Retrospectively Amusing:
-Despite all the craziness swirling around him, Jim Jaspers is still found in his office.

- I find it astonishing that none of the events in this title are ever recapped when Psylocke reflects on her history.  Her lover was murdered!  And yet, I am fairly certain that his name never comes up in any of Claremont's 80's or 90's issues.

Worth Noting:
- The title of this issue is taken from a poem by William Blake.  Since the mills in the poem seem (to me; I'm not a poetry major) to reference the industrial revolution, I'm not entirely sure what the relevance is here.

- Thomas Lennox dies in this issue.  Despite having died in the middle of a story with reality being warped, Lennox has never come back to life.  (Yet.)

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #8

"The Twisted World (Reprise)"
Published January 1984
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Captain Britain and his friends have managed to stay out of the superhero concentration camps, but the Captain and Saturnyne agree that their current situation mirrors that of Mad Jim Jaspers' reality, just before it went completely off the rails.  CapBrit does not have much faith in his supporting cast (especially Saturnyne), but he steels himself for battle anyway.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- It was unclear how much time had passed between Daredevils #11 and Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #7, but that (sort of) gets resolved in this issue.  Multiple characters note how difficult it has been to track time since Jim Jaspers came to power.  Jaspers' reality warping powers allowed him to alter reality to suit his fancy, and it is implied that very little time has passed, rather than the several months that a normal despot would have needed to gain absolute power in England.

- The last we saw of Jim Jaspers in this reality, he was changing things in relatively small ways (like changing white wine into red).  He is now basically living in a Salvador Dali painting now, with change constantly swirling around him.  He appears to have achieved the same level of power/madness as his alternate reality version.

- The Fury has predictably survived the beatdown it received in Daredevils #11, and has survived thus far in Jim Jaspers' new twisted reality.  I'm not 100% sure about this, but it looks like The Fury may have absorbed part of the living computer in the caves beneath Braddock Manor.

- Vixen tries to assassinate Jim Jaspers, but he is already too powerful for her to handle.  He transforms her into a fox.

Writing!
Alan Moore manages to fit a lot into these eight pages - the Fury returns, Jaspers neutralizes Vixen, and Captain Britain and pals talk about the need to stop Jaspers.  Any one of those plots could have easily taken eight pages in a regular comic, but Moore continues to keep things moving swiftly.  Last issue was a bit dull, but it set the stage well for this story, and it looks like we are going to have the big Jaspers battle at long last.

Art!
It has been a while since Alan Davis has had a chance to let loose with Jim Jaspers (Marvel Super Heroes #388), and he has grown quite a bit in the meantime --- his inks are much, much cleaner here.  One of the things I like about how he draws Jaspers is the fact that his hats change in every panel.  It's not really subtle, but I still like it.  I also like that plaid + polka dots = crazy.  

Retrospectively Amusing:
- So is Braddock Manor in ruins or not?  It was seen whole as recently as Daredevils #10, and Captain UK did not have any problem knocking on its door, so it seemed as though the hologram that made the manor appear ruined to passersby was no longer working.  However, this issue opens with STRIKE Beetles walking through the rubble of the mansion.  Maybe this is due to Jaspers warping reality?  I guess?

- Alison Double, one of the few STRIKE psychics that Slaymaster did not get around to killing, has developed a serious fever and requires medical attention.  I don't think we've seen her since a crowd scene in Daredevils #4, but I guess the implication is that she's been living in Braddock Manor with everybody, ever since Slaymaster was defeated.  She must be a pretty worthless psychic, because she was not included in the battle against the Fury and the Special Executive did not mention her as a possible threat.

Worth Noting:
- The STRIKE Beetles mention the capture of a Lady Farnsworth.  That is the civilian identity of Spitfire, a member of the Invaders, a World War II superhero team.

X-Men in 1983: Whatever Happened to...?

I just finished reviewing the last X-title for the year of 1983 and felt that this is a good time to reflect on what has passed so far.  With the line expanding beyond Uncanny X-Men to include New Mutants and there being the occasional limited series (Wolverine (Vol. 1) in 1982 and Magik in 1983-84), not to mention the still peripheral Alans (Davis & Moore) stories of Captain Britain for Marvel UK, logic would dictate that there would be fewer plot threads left dangling because there are more comic pages to address the stories.  Logic would be very, very wrong in this instance.  Since I love columns like CBR's "Abandoned and Forsaked," I thought it would be fun (for me, at least) to review some of the dangling plot threads from each year of X-titles, as I review them.  So whatever happened to...
 
...the subplots in Captain Britain (Daredevils #1-11 and Mighty World of Marvel #7)?  On the whole, Alan Moore and Alan Davis did a pretty good job keeping the story self-contained and resolving their plots (or at least promising to) in '83.  There were a few threads left, though.
- Vixen: this crime lord's identity, her infiltration of STRIKE (the UK equivalent to SHIELD), and her hiring of Arcade to kill Captain Britain were all but forgotten plot seeds as the story barreled toward CapBrit's inevitable fight with The Fury and Jim Jaspers.  The good news is that Cap eventually has to take a break from fighting multidimensional threats, so I am actually confident that this will be resolved.  Maybe not by Alan Moore, but maybe by the next writer.
- Elizabeth Braddock: she has not played a major part in the title so far --- I would argue that even Wardog has been spotlighted more --- but since I know that she eventually becomes Psylocke, I am intrigued by the fact that her power set does not match the character I grew up reading in the pages of X-Men.  When did she stop having precognitive visions and just become a high-level telepath?

...the subplots in New Mutants (#1-10)?  Well, Claremont was definitely not at his best in this series, with the best example being the nearly incomprehensible Team America crossover.  My biggest problems come from the substantial subplots that were left unresolved with no indication that he would be resolving them soon.
- Legion: Xavier has a powerful, autistic, mutant son, and Moira MacTaggert and Illyana Rasputin know about it.  This is mentioned in #1, but not brought up again in 1983.  This will be addressed, eventually, when Legion makes his first appearance in New Mutants #25...in 1985. 

- Romance: There are hints of a blooming flirtation between Sunspot and Wolfsbane before the Team America crossover.  After that?  Never mentioned again (unless I'm horribly wrong).  In retrospect, this is kind of a weird idea, with Rahne being introverted and Roberto being an extroverted flirt that has just had his last girlfriend murdered before his very eyes.  Forgetting these early hints at romance would probably be for the best.

- Sebastian Shaw: Shaw sics the Sentinels on the New Mutants as part of a plot to frighten them enough to come to the Hellfire Club for protection.  As part of this plan, he tries to help Emmanuel DaCosta sabotage his wife's (and the New Mutant's) plan to explore the Amazon River.  When that doesn't work, he doesn't seem to care when Emmanuel risks the lives of the mutants for his own gain.  I don't mind Shaw being a sneaky bastard, but I would at least like him to be consistent in his machinations.  The way Claremont writes him in this title, the man seems to operate without logic or long-term memory.
- Xavier attacked: In issue #6, Xavier suffers a debilitating psychic attack.  While this could have been used to tie into the Mastermind plot over in Uncanny, Xavier specifically hypothesizes that it felt like it was coming from a newly manifested mutant.  But who?  Is this an early reference to Legion?  Or maybe Xavier was wrong about how new the mutant was, and this was a reference to Shadow King returning to the physical plane?  Whatever it was supposed to be, it was not mentioned again in '83.  UPDATE 05/25/2016: Apparently, as I detailed in an update to New Mutants #6, the behind the scenes explanation is that the mutant Xavier detected was going to be an enemy in a second New Mutants graphic novel that never got published (or, as far as I can tell, officially announced) and the plot thread is never mentioned again. 
- Karma: Poor, poor Karma.  She was presumed dead by the New Mutants after she disappeared, following an explosion.  Before she disappeared, a telepath (or some other type of psionic) threatened to possess her, body and soul.  While Xavier implied to the kids that Karma had died, he told the X-Men that she was alive; he would have felt her death through the telepathic link he shares with his students.  Instead, Xavier suspects that a maleficent psychic is hiding her from his scans.  No serious attempts are made to locate Karma by the X-Men or New Mutants.
- Training: The New Mutants was initially supposed to be a book about mutants learnign how to control their powers.  Aside from Cannonball having trouble for a few issues with his mid-air turns, and Psyche complaining about how useless her powers are, there is little to no development or teaching shown.  The team was supposed to stay out of combat situations, but that is almost exclusively what they have spent their time with.  Sunspot and Wolfsbane show zero progression with their abilities, Psyche shows some control but no struggle to learn, Cannonball had problems for a few issues but then resolved them, and Karma seemed to just get more powerful (before she vanished).  So...school's out, I guess?

...the subplots in Uncanny X-Men (#165-176, Annual 7, Marvel Graphic Novel 5: X-Men - God Loves, Man Kills)?  This was a great year for Uncanny, arguably the best single year on the title that did not feature John Byrne.  That doesn't mean that Chris Claremont wrapped up all his plot threads neatly, though.
- Mystique: Before Rogue goes rogue and quits the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants to join the X-Men, Mystique has a nightmare featuring Jason Wygarde.  Her BFF (because they could not explicitly be lovers in 1983) Destiny tells her that the party responsible for the nightmare "operates on fundamental levels of space and time."  That seems like a vastly overblown view of Mastermind --- who would be the only person who might plant an image of Jason Wygarde in anyone's mind --- but the reasons for this "attack" are never revealed.  Apparently, they were supposed to have been chronicled in Ms. Marvel's series at the time, but the title was cancelled.

- Starjammers: While Cyclops eventually chose to stay on Earth with his new wife instead of becoming a space pirate with his father, the membership and roles of others were not so clear cut.  After Carol Danvers became Binary, she decided to leave Earth with the Starjammers when the X-Men opted to let Rogue join them.  That makes sense, right?  Kind of?  Okay.  Meanwhile, Xavier's girlfriend, Lilandra, is also supposed to be joining the Starjammers to fight for her rightful spot as the leader of the Shi'ar empire.  But...maybe she wants to hang out on Earth and help Xavier recover the use of his legs.  So what's going on?  Are the Starjammers actually leaving, or not?  What is their deadline?
- Lilandra, part 2: Lilandra threatens the Fantastic Four (in Uncanny #167) for saving the life of Galactus.  This is not addressed in Uncanny, although is does become the plot for Fantastic Four #262), ten months later.
- Kitty: To save the X-Men, Kitty Pryde promises to essentially become the Morlock Caliban's bride in  Uncanny #170.  She does not stay with him.  There is a hint in #176 that this will be resolved soon.
- Kitty, part 2: Kitty hates being compared to the kids on the New Mutants team.  Even after she earns her permanent place on the X-Men team, she keeps referring to the younger kids as X-Babies.  Some people cannot win gracefully.

- Xavier walks: Xavier can walk in his newly cloned body!  Or not.  Most of the year is spent with Xavier trying to walk and failing, with theories ranging from it being a psychosomatic pain to it being a physical (and less interesting) issue.
- White Queen: Emma Frost is left comatose after a psychic attack.  Initially, Sebastian Shaw stats that only Xavier could have committed the offense, although he doubted that Xavier would have.  Mastermind is later revealed as the attacker --- so Mastermind is on Xavier's level in some respects?!? --- even though she is still comatose, as of Annual #7.

That's pretty much it for 1983.  Let's see what 1984 has in store...

Mighty World of Marvel (Vol. 2) #7

"The Candlelight Dialogues"
Published December 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The story picks up an unspecified amount of time after Daredevils #11, after Jim Jaspers has taken control over England and super-powered people are placed in concentration camps. 

Two women, Sue and Meggan, trade campfire stories they have heard about Captain Britain fighting their oppressors and winning, remaining free.  

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The events hinted at in the alternate Earth of Mad Jim Jaspers and The Fury have finally become reality for Earth 616.

Writing!
This is an interesting transition issue for Alan Moore.  While it has become obvious that Captain Britain and friends will need to battle Jim Jaspers eventually, it was an odd choice to leave off last issue with the group going to confront Jaspers and then jumping forward to a world where they have already lost the battle.  However, since Jim Jaspers can warp reality, I suppose there is no need for Moore to bother with the build up to their confrontation; with Jaspers' abilities, Moore is able to immediately raise the stakes and skip the less interesting buildup scenes.  Very clever, Mr. Moore.

That said, this may be my least favorite issues so far in this storyline.  I think I get what Moore is aiming for --- he's raising the stakes by jumping to a dire situation, and he's building the mythology of Captain Britain at the same time.  Sadly, though, that means that this issue feels a bit like filler.  None of the characters we have been following for months accomplish anything, and in a title that has managed to squeeze in a lot of progress in a small number of pages, this feels like treading water.

On the other hand, this issue's format may be a result of a publishing switch.  This issue kind of serves as an introduction to Captain Britain, and since this is the first issue of the storyline published in  Mighty World of Marvel, it makes some sense to reintroduce the character to the (potentially) new readers.  That doesn't make it any more interesting to read, but I suppose I can follow that logic.

Art!
Alan Davis flexes some new artistic muscles with this chapter, playing with extreme close-ups and shadows.  Honestly, he doesn't have a whole lot to work with in this story.  He has CapBrit kicking some ass, and the rest of this issue features people being inactive.  One of the nice things about an Alan Davis-drawn issue, though, is his ability to make characters look good, even if they are doing nothing.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- Look!  Sympathetic characters (without healing factors) smoking!

Worth Noting:
- You might have noticed that this Captain Britain story, which is clearly picking up after the events of Daredevils #11, is not the next issue of Daredevils.  That title was cancelled, but the original stories that were being published in Daredevils were adopted by Might World of Marvel.  They were both anthology titles, mostly comprised of reprinted stories from the American Marvel line, with the occasional original story from British creators.


- This is the first appearance of Meggan, Captain Britain's eventual wife.  Her feral-like appearance is a far cry from the blonde bombshell look she sported in Excalibur (Vol. 1).  It will be interesting seeing how she develops, to see how natural her transformation is.

Daredevils #11

"But They Never Really Die"
Published November 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
Captain Britain and the Special Executive fight The Fury.  It does not go well at first; Cap and Fascination only give it pause, while Special Executive member Oxo was casually killed by The Fury.  When Zeitgeist finally joins the fight (against his better judgement), the tables turn, and the good guys are able to bury The Fury under tons of rocks beneath Braddock Manor...for now.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!

- The issue ends with CapBrit, Betsy, Tom, Saturnyne, and a traumatized Captain UK deciding to investigate Jim Jaspers, presumably because The Fury came from the reality that Mad Jim Jaspers had ruined.

- Zeitgeist's issues with Wardog's leadership come to a head.  The team has battled The Fury, with Oxo and (eventually) Legion dying, and they were not even paid.  With this battle over (at least temporarily), the Special Executive decides to cut their losses and retreat.  They will not be joining the fight against Jaspers.

Writing!
I am always a fan of when a writer surprises me with a fight scene.  While Moore has shown several instances of each character doing their thing and showing off their powers already, I did not expect Zeitgeist to pose such a credible threat to The Fury.  Well done.

Art!
I thought Davis did a great job showing The Fury's mind being impacted by Fascination, and its subsequent recovery.  There are a lot of ways to indicate disorientation, but I thought this was a cool and creative way to show it visually.

Worth Noting:
- Special Executive member Oxo is killed by The Fury.  Is that worth noting?  Did Oxo ever have any lines?

Daredevils #10

"The Sound and the Fury"
Published October 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis


What's Going On?
Picking up at last issue's cliffhanger ending, The Fury attacks Captain UK.  After some intervention from Merlin (see the Sub-Plots), Captain Britain comes joins in the fray, along with members of the Special Executive.  They don't stack up well against The Fury.  Wardog is immediately crippled; The Fury tears off his cybernetic arm. 

Legion, whose ability is to summon future versions of himself from his own timeline, has one of his future selves murdered.  Captain Britain survives a beating, but only because The Fury directed its attention to the others.  Things don't look good; Cobweb announces that the future of the multiverse has been cancelled.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Merlin and Roma continue their game of chess.  The appearance of The Fury on the game board takes them by surprise and, when he senses The Fury's imminent attack, Merlin protects Captain UK's real body by shielding her chess piece with his hands.  She survived a deadly blast unscathed, and Merlin's hands were badly burned as a result.

- Cobweb, the precognitive member of the Special Executive, starts seizing and foaming at the mouth as The Fury begins to attack.  She repeats "I didn't see it coming," over and over again.

- Zeitgeist refuses to join the battle because he was not hired to fight.

Writing!
The Merlin/Roma metafictional subplot is interesting, but I'm not really getting much enjoyment out of it.  I get it, Merlin is playing chess with human lives; making it a literal game for him is clever, but I don't think it really adds much to the story. Aside from that, Moore does a great job cranking up the tension.  One of the hardest things for a comic writer to do is to make the hero look hopelessly outmatched, and Moore makes it look like CapBrit ans co. are about to die.

Art!
Alan Davis keeps getting better, month after month.  Here, he gets to flex his experimental muscles a bit with Cobweb's monologue and it is pretty great.  

 (Note: two-page spreads are hard to scan properly)  Not only is the recurring Fury face repeating across this scene interesting, the 90-degree rotation of Cobweb's head along with the action of the scene was very cool.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The revelation that Legion and Cobweb are lovers seemed a little out of left field.  Since neither character made the transition to Excalibur as part of the Executive Elite, I wonder if this is ever mentioned again.

Worth Noting:
- This is the first time we see Merlin and Roma's chess game directly impacting reality.

- The future version of Legion was killed by The Fury, but the current version lived.  The implication of this is that one day soon, current Legion will become future Legion and blink out of existence, which is a cool idea, right?