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?

Daredevils #9

"Waiting For the End of the World"
Published September 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis


What's Going On?
Jim Jaspers makes a televised speech that portrays super-heroes as dangers to the world at large; Linda (Captain UK of Earth 238) explains that he made the exact same speech on her world as a precursor to the wholesale slaughter of all superhumans.  Captain Britain tries to console her and convince her that this world will not suffer the same fate, but she doesn't believe him (in part, perhaps, because Betsy Braddock has a premonition of the impending slaughter) and leaves Braddock Manor...only to come face-to-face with the Fury.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- Merlin and Roma are playing a chess game, with the major characters in this story acting as the chess pieces.  It turns out that the Fury is not on the game board, though, so events may not turn out as Merlin has planned...

- Jim Jaspers takes a moment to change his white wine to red, indicating that he has the same reality-altering powers as his Earth 238 counterpart.

- There are tensions brewing within the Special Executive.  While Wardog is concerned with a possible superhero holocaust, Zeitgeist is only interested in getting a paycheck.

- Betsy Braddock's boyfriend, Tom, is still urging her to abandon her brother and go somewhere less violent.  Since we know that Betsy eventually joins the X-Men as Psylocke and I've never heard of Tom in any X-title, I'm going to make a wild guess and say Tom won't have a happy ending here.

Writing!
This is yet another issue where Alan Moore manages to do a lot with only a little space.  I thought that the Merlin chess scenes were trying to be a little too clever, but Moore balanced that out by having the Fury throw a monkey wrench in that game.  Other than that, we see progression with Linda, the growing conflict within the Special Executive, the growing danger from Jaspers, and a cliffhanger with the Fury.  That's a lot for one half-issue!

Art!
I liked how Alan Davis chose to handle Jim Jasper's reality manipulation with the wine.  It's simple, but it's just another example of how well he works with subtle facials expressions.  And that last page...considering that neither character is exactly iconic, it's a damn nice panel.  I think the best example of Davis' work on this issue, though, is Betsy's premonition.  It's nothing huge or splashy, but showing her premonition within the silhouette of her profile is a very nice touch.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- It looks like Merlin and Roma are hanging out in a cosmic jacuzzi during the chess game.  I guess you can play chess wherever you want to, but it does look strange that the father (Merlin) is at least partially unclothed and the daughter (Roma) appears to be jacuzzi-ing with her normal outfit on, right?

Worth Noting:
- Jim Jaspers specifically mentions the Presidential pardon from Incredible Hulk #278, and Henry Peter Gyrich and Sebastian Shaw both make cameos.  This is the first evidence that A) ties Captain Britain to the X-Men titles and B) Marvel UK/Earth 616 is still the same as the prime Marvel universe; yes, CapBrit had made some appearances in the Marvel Universe before (Contest of Champions, Marvel Team Up) and his original self-titled comic did have a few American heroes guest-star, but Alan Moore could have easily changed what reality Marvel UK inhabited when Merlin brought CapBrit back from the dead and returned him home.  So, now we have proof that these stories can impact the Marvel Universe as a whole, and an indication that Alan Moore liked Chris Claremont's Uncanny X-Men run.

- While she has been mentioned earlier, this is the first appearance of Vixen.  It turns out that she's a woman, which will surprise Captain Britain and his friends, who somehow concluded that someone named "Vixen" had to be male.

Daredevils #8

"Arrivals"
Published August 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
The big fight from last issue continues for a bit before the Special Executive decide to escape with Captain Britain and Saturnyne.  They return to Braddock Manor just in time for Captain UK (the cowardly Linda from last issue) to arrive and imply that the fate of Earth 238 --- the reality where all the superheroes have been hunted down and murdered --- is impending for this  reality, too.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The Fury has reached Earth 616 (barely) and has tracked down Captain UK.  Luckily for her, she has the good sense to follow her own instincts and go to Braddock Manor for help.  Meanwhile, the Fury is repairing itself until it is strong enough to continue its mission to kill Captain Britain (and, presumably, all the other super heroes).

- Lord Mandragon is not at all upset that Saturnyne has escaped.  In fact, her escape makes him the default successor to her title of Omniversal Somethingorother.  His plan to secure his position is to determine what reality she has escaped to and then destroy that entire universe.

- Tom, Betsy Braddock's boyfriend, doesn't want to live in Braddock Manor any more.  It's just too weird and dangerous for him.

- Captain Britain seems to be getting tired of his hectic and dangerous lifestyle.  I don't know if this will come up again later, but it's an interesting plot seed.

Writing!
Like last issue, Alan Moore distracts from the (relatively) slow pace by punching up the humor.  The Wardog joke was okay:

...and the Cobweb gag was a little better:

...but I genuinely enjoyed this moment of clarity by Captain Britain:

Aside from the humor, I think it is worth mentioning that Alan Moore has established three very credible imminent threats in this issue.  There is the impending doom that may be set into motion by the Jim Jaspers of Earth 616, the dimension-destroying ambition of Lord Mandragon, and the viciousness of the Fury.  This is all building to a head quite nicely.

Art!
Most of the issue shows off Alan Davis' talent for capturing humor, which is an uncommon talent in the industry.  In what is quickly becoming typical for this run, he balances that character-based work with a good dose of action. 

Retrospectively Amusing:

- Remember that sophisticated hologram to convince people that Braddock Manor is rubble?  Apparently, that didn't give Captain UK a problem when she came to visit.  I also like that the doorbell ringing didn't surprise anyone, despite the whole hologram thing.  I wonder if that detail is going to be dropped now?

Daredevils #7

"Rough Justice"
Published July 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
At her trial, Saturnyne explains what happened on Jim Jaspers' world (Earth 238), and justifies her abandonment of Captain Britain in that warped reality; she saw that the Fury was indestructible, so she retreated and saved as many lives as she could.  This explanation is not good enough for the judge, Mandragon, though.  Unfortunately for Saturnyne, he has prevented her Avant Guard underlings from testifying.  That leaves only Captain Britain to corroborate her story; Mandragon discredits him by suggesting that Saturnyne and CapBrit are lovers and that he will lie to save her life.  Predictably, this leads to Captain Britain punching things, and the trial gets out of hand from there; Mandragon sentences Saturnyne to death, while the Special Executive decide to help Captain Britain brawl with the bailiffs.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- We are finally treated to the story behind the mysterious woman from issue #2.  Her name is Linda, and she is from Earth 238, like Jim Jaspers and the Fury; she was that world's version of Captain Britain.  During a nightmare/flashback sequence, we see the Fury massacre her world's superheroes in quick succession.  Linda was spared at the last moment by her boyfriend, who managed to transport her to our reality.  I suppose watching one Captain Britain escape him at the last moment might help explain why the Fury has such a boner for hunting and killing our CapBrit.

- Captain Britain's reality (Earth 616) has a Jim Jaspers in it, and he is calling for superhero legislation, just like his counterpart did on Earth 238.  Uh-oh.

Writing!
The further I get into this run, the more I find myself enjoying it.  This is another issue that could have felt like the plot was only inching along, but it is just varied (and fun) enough for that not to matter.  At a glance, the intentionally one-sided trial of Sautrnyne is not very interesting, but balancing that obviousness with a massive brawl and the reluctance of Wardog to participate was a nice choice. 

Even better was the wholesale slaughter of the superheroes of Earth 238.  These throwaway characters could have just been analogues to more famous characters (and, okay, some of them definitely were), but they were colorful and odd.  Something about those characters --- particularly the robot, Andy --- just makes me smile and piques my interest.  Too bad they're all dead now.


Art!
Given how good Alan Moore is with facial expressions and comedic moments, I sometimes forget how effective his action scenes can be.  The Fury's attack really gives him an opportunity to flex his violent creativity.  Here we have three different deaths on a single page, all different from each other:

  

I like Davis' choice to keep the figure of the Fury ill-defined in this sequence.  The character has been seen clearly a number of times by now, but shrouding it in these panels places the focus more on the horror of the deaths than the empowerment of the killer.  It may seem like a small choice, but I think it pays huge dividends.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- In case you were wondering, the trial announcer was a reference to British television host Terry Wogan.  I don't know much about him, but let's just assume he's analogous to Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest, which makes him being squished by a giant robot foot far more amusing.

- I love how cowardly Linda is as her dimension's Captain Britain.  I imagine that this is to give her a redemption character arc, but she is hilariously useless and whiny in this issue's flashback.

Worth Noting:
- This issue slyly references Marvelman (which Alan Moore was writing at the time, and which Alan Davis was drawing around this period), which was under legal dispute with Marvel Comics at the time, regarding the character's name.  This is the first time the character was referred to as "Miracleman."

And while he is not specifically named, Linda's boyfriend, Rick, is definitely wearing Kid Miracleman's costume. 

- This is the first reference to the Marvel Universe as "Earth 616."  It's not a huge deal, since it is primarily used online to differentiate between alternate reality versions of characters and in comics where the characters visit multiple realities, but I've always liked the term.  I just think it's clever to give the "prime" reality a number that implies that it is inconsequential in the larger scheme of things.  I suppose it was originally just intended for the Marvel UK Universe, but when that started being assimilated into American comics (mostly by Chris Claremont), I guess it was broadened to mean all of Marvel comics.

Daredevils #6

"Judgement Day"
Published June 1983
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Alan Davis
Inker: Alan Davis

What's Going On?
After being kidnapped by the Special Executive last issue, Captain Britain resigns himself to the fact that he has been taken to an alternate dimension to testify on behalf of Saturnyne.  And by "resigns," I of course mean "punches people until he gets tired."

When he arrives at the Supreme Omniversal Tribunal, Cap is surprised to meet Captain England (of that Earth) and Captain Albion (of the "Earth next door"), both with themed costumes like his own.  Exhausted, Cap agrees to speak with Saturnyne, and is shocked to find her filthy and in shackles; she is on trial for the ruin of the alternate Earth that Mad Jim Jaspers warped.  While he doesn't like her, CapBrit won't let her be punished for something she is innocent of.  Unfortunately, the head of the tribunal is Saturnyne's replacement, Lord Mandragon, who has a vested interest in keeping Saturnyne from resuming her post.  Before the trial begins, Mandragon chooses to destroy the entire universe containing Mad Jim Jaspers' Earth; he argues that it is to keep Jasper's reality warp from affecting other alternate Earths, but it also serves to eliminate any evidence that the defense might have been counting on.

Sub-Plots, oh the Sub-Plots!
- The Fury, the last sane creature on its alternate Earth, has come to the conclusion that its most recent prey, Captain Britain, may have escaped to another dimension.  It naturally concludes that it must visit alternate dimensions to track him down and kill him. 

Thanks to this decision, it is able to alter itself enough to survive the destruction of its universe.

- The alternate Earth where Mad Jim Jaspers reigned supreme has apparently become entirely enveloped in a reality warp, driving all the inhabitants insane.  This isn't terribly important to the main story, but it does establish the destructive scope of Mad Jim Jaspers' powers.

Writing!
The more I read of this run, the more impressed I am with how much Alan Moore fits into such a compact space.  This is, essentially, a pretty dull issue --- it is a lead-in to a trial --- but there are so many ideas being thrown around that it's easy to overlook the lack of action.  In this issue, we have Saturnyne partially de-villainized,  the introduction of the Captain Britain role as a constant throughout multiple dimensions, and a governing body that has the power and right to destroy entire universes with the flick of a switch.  That's some heavy stuff!  And yet, Moore keeps things pretty light, making small jokes here and there and using the Special Executive as light comedy relief.
Honestly, I'm surprised at how funny this series is turning out to be.  It's not "bwa-ha-ha" funny, but it is getting a little funnier each issue.  I especially liked the concept of "universe lag" for trans-dimensional travelers.  I wasn't so sure about Moore's choice to return to the multiverse after effectively rebooting the character, but I'm really liking where the series is going right now.

Art!
This is not the juiciest script Alan Davis has had to draw in this series, but he makes the most of his opportunities.  The all-out brawl between Captain Britain and the Special Executive was fun, but brief.  He clearly had fun creating the cast of thousands in attendance at Saturnyne's trial.  I think his most impressive work, though, was in designing the alternate Captain Britain characters.  Little is explained about them, but Davis does a great job conveying the variations on a theme that was required for the characters.

Retrospectively Amusing:
- The unifying theme of Captain Britain uniforms is apparently thigh-high boots.

Worth Noting:
- This issue marks the debut of the concept of the Captain Britain Corps, which becomes a large part of the Captain Britain mythos.

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.