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| Image Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
According to a rumor
from Comic Book Cast, someone who
looks like Union Jack may have appeared in the Captain America: Civil War
footage shown at D23. Is this rumor
based on fact? We don’t know right now,
but I suspect it might be an overreaction to another character in a different
costume (or something like that—I also saw a completely different explanation). However, considering how massive this movie
already is, I don’t see why the Russo brothers couldn’t be using it to at least
tease the even larger universe of superheroes which may be necessary for Thanos
to be defeated in their next Marvel movie, the two-part Avengers: Infinity
War. And what better way to do that
than by introducing us to a British equivalent of the Avengers?
In other words, this
article is all about speculation on the Brit-Vengers!
The Team
Marvel has a couple of
options when it comes to a British superhero team (other than “The Brit-Vengers”—but
if Marvel uses that I want a nickel, darn it!).
One option is the mystical “Knights of Pendragon,” a group modeled after
the Knights of the Round Table, whose members are empowered with the spirits of
the original Arthurian knights to battle the mystical forces that are trying to
destroy England. If Marvel wants to
tease the mystical realm before Doctor Strange and Iron Fist
explore it in depth (if we consider Scarlet Witch to be more along the lines of
straight-up magic), they can’t do much better than a team whose members are
given mystical power by the mystical guardian of England. However, when we get into the nitty-gritty,
we’ll see that the “Knights of the Pendragon” isn’t exactly necessary if they
are using this team to tease mysticism.
There is also
Excalibur, the British offshoot of the X-Men which is a team consisting of both
mutants and non-mutants. However, I’m
going to be conservative here (as I usually am when it comes to the FOX/Marvel
deal) and say that Excalibur as a team name belongs to FOX as part of the X-Men
property.
The other two options
I can find in the comics would both be callbacks to Marvel’s history. The first option is the Freedom Five, a team
of Allied superhumans who fought together against the Germans in World War
I. The other option, which may be more appealing,
is the Invaders, the team of Allied superhumans Captain America led during
World War II. While neither of these
teams is initially British, either could be co-opted into becoming a British
hero team. In the comics, the Invaders
continue to fight together off and on after the war ends, and there is
eventually a primarily-British team of New Invaders led by the original Human
Torch. I think this would be a good way
for Captain America: Civil War to flesh out more of Captain America’s
World War II story: Cap was (as in the
comics) the leader of an Allied superhuman team called the Invaders which
included the original Captain Britain (perhaps along with the android Human
Torch and Namor on occasion). They even
hinted at this idea in Avengers: Age of Ultron when Ultron said that
“Invaders beget Avengers.” This would
also make for an interesting dynamic between the original Captain America and
the second or third successor to the mantle of his old war buddy, Captain
Britain. Today there is a new team of
Invaders which serves as the British response to the Avengers under the
auspices of MI: 13.
So who might be on
this team? I came up with six possible
characters:
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| Union JackImage Courtesy en.wikipedia.org |
- Captain Britain – the British counterpart to Captain America, whose abilities come from mystical sources (Merlyn). His abilities are similar to Captain America, but instead of a shield he has a mace which gives him the ability to fly.
- Union Jack (Joseph Chapman) – in contrast to Captain Britain, who is a member of the aristocracy, the third Union Jack is from the working class (making for an interesting dynamic between them). For a time he was given the Pendragon spirit of Sir Lancelot, which gave him super human strength, etc., but otherwise he is a hero along the lines of Iron Man or Batman: he wears a suit which enhances his strength, deflects bullets, etc., and rides a super-awesome motorcycle.
- Spitfire – the daughter of the original Union Jack, Spitfire gained super-speed and enhanced reflexes and the like due to a vampire bite and a blood transfusion from the android Human Torch. She also possesses some vampire abilities, superhuman strength, and accelerated healing. Oh, and she also doesn’t age because of the super-speed (because… why not?). (Note: she may or may not be a mutant, so her rights may be owned by FOX)
- Black Knight (Dane Whitman) – a descendant of the original Black Knight (the villain), Dane Whitman takes up the mantle and becomes a hero. He wields a cursed sword and rides a flying horse. If that doesn’t scream “British Arthurian-legend-inspired superhero,” I don’t know what does!
- Blade – did you know that Blade is British? If they want to get him into the MCU, they could probably do worse than this!
- Albion – A bit out of left field, Albion is the leader of the Knights of Pendragon. His powers of flight and pyrokinesis (and decelerated rate of aging) come from the Pendragon spirit he has held since World War I.
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| Captain BritainImage Courtesy marvel.wikia.com |
As you can see, all of
these characters (except Union Jack) receive their abilities by some form of
mystical or supernatural means. Three
receive their abilities either from a mystic or from mystical artifacts. One was bitten by a vampire; another is an
actual semi-vampire (“Day-Walker”). Even
the lone hold-out, Union Jack, has mystical connections through the Knights of
Pendragon. This stands in sharp contrast
to the Avengers, of whom only a single member (Scarlet Witch) has powers
without a scientific explanation.
Introducing some or all of these mystically-based heroes would help to
pave the way for a fuller exploration of mysticism, magic, and the supernatural
in Doctor Strange and Iron Fist.
Captain America:
Civil War
So how would these
guys fit into the already-crowded Captain America: Civil War?
Here’s my idea:
These characters will
only have two scenes in the movie. Their
first scene will come in the course of the U.N. deliberations about superhuman
registration and accountability (“The Accords”). In support of U.N. calls for accountability,
the British government holds a press conference at which they reveal the Invaders
(Captain Britain, Union Jack, Spitfire, and Black Knight), a team of
superheroes working directly for the British government under the auspices of
MI-13 (the British equivalent of S.H.I.E.L.D. from the comics). The head of MI-13 announces that the Invaders
are being loaned to the U.N. to help enforce the newly-adopted “Accords,” a
task in which they will join Iron Man and his pro-registration heroes. However, we will discover in another scene
that MI-13 was also infiltrated by Hydra, as the head of MI-13 is working directly
with Baron Zemo.
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| SpitfireImage Courtesy marvel.wikia.com |
The second scene will
be the final climactic battle between the anti-registration heroes and
pro-registration heroes. At the
beginning of the battle the Invaders are preparing with the other
pro-registration heroes when two members, Union Jack and Spitfire, defect from
the pro-registration forces and go over to Cap’s side, declaring that it is not
right to force heroes to work for a government in which they do not
believe. At the end of the battle the
Invaders are scattered like the Avengers, with some of their members joining
the remnants of the pro-registration side as the “Mighty Avengers” (or
something) and some joining the remnants of the anti-registration side as the “Secret
Avengers” (or something).
This really would not
distract from the main plots very much and would not extend the movie’s runtime
by much. If this seems like too little
involvement, it would also be possible to add another scene in which the
Invaders are discussing the “Accords” with Stark and his team.
Post-Civil War
After the Civil War,
some of the Invaders might appear in other Phase 3 movies such as Black
Panther (there is something of a connection between England and Africa, so…
why not?). However, they will all be
back together for Avengers: Infinity War Part 2 in 2019. During the Infinity War, every hero in the
MCU will be involved in some capacity, with many dying or disappearing to be
replaced with new heroes.
Their arc in Infinity
War will set the Invaders up to receive their own movie in Phase 4, which
will further explore the mystical elements of the British heroes as well as the
international nature of superheroics.
Conclusion
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| Black KnightImage Courtesy marvel.wikia.com |
Even though all of
this is pure speculation and it is extremely likely that none of it is going to
happen, I really hope you gained something from this article. I really think Civil War is an
excellent opportunity for the MCU to expand its roster of heroes by introducing
international heroes who are now falling in line with the “Accords.” And what better way for them to do this than
with the Invaders, a team with a rich history that is closely connected to that
of the movie’s eponymous protagonist?
Do you want to see
international heroes in the MCU (other than Black Panther, that is?)? What heroes would you like to see on a
British superhero team? How can you see
Union Jack, Captain Britain, and the rest fitting into Captain America:
Civil War? Let me know in the
comments!
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