Captain Britain #36
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeCaptain Britain #36 marks the debut of Nykonn, the demonic extra-dimensional sorcerer who serves as the antagonist for Captain Britain's climactic astral confrontation with Merlyn and Roma in Otherworld — making it the first-appearance issue for one of the title's most overtly cosmic early villains. The issue also concludes a four-part revised origin arc (#33–36) in which Gary Friedrich restructured Brian Braddock's mythos, deepening the Arthurian and interdimensional scaffolding that later writers, most famously Alan Moore, would build upon extensively. As one of the final issues written by Friedrich before the series' cancellation with #39, it represents a last attempt to give the Otherworld concept genuine weight before the weekly was folded into Super Spider-Man. That Otherworld mythology — Merlyn, Roma, and the mystic hierarchy around Captain Britain — would eventually underpin the entire Captain Britain Corps and the concept of Earth-616 itself.
In "Masquerade!", Nick Fury finds himself ensnared in a deadly game when the ESP Division detects a threat, leading him straight into a trap set by the elusive Scorpio. Trapped in a series of lethal ambushes, Fury narrowly escapes each one only to confront his masked assailant—only for the enemy to peel back the disguise and reveal a shocking truth before being felled by SHIELD gunfire. Left alone on a dock, Fury stares out over the water, haunted by the question of whether the man who tried to kill him is truly gone.
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By issue #36, the Captain Britain weekly had been running in black-and-white since #24, a cost-cutting measure Marvel UK adopted as sales declined. Gary Friedrich, who had taken over writing duties from Chris Claremont after issue #10 and was best known in the U.S. for his role in creating Ghost Rider, plotted the story, with Larry Lieber — the series' editor throughout its run — credited on the script side and also serving as overall editorial supervisor. Ron Wilson handled interior pencils, Fred Kida provided inks, and Pablo Marcos supplied the cover art. The anthology format characteristic of the British weekly market meant the eight-page Captain Britain lead strip was padded out with black-and-white reprints from Fantastic Four #126, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5, and Marvel Team-Up #13.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Nykonn, described in-story as a demon of darkness and long-standing enemy of Merlyn, whose warrior army Captain Britain battles on the astral plane while his physical body lies dying on Earth.
- Written by Gary Friedrich (plot) and Larry Lieber (script/editor); interior art by penciler Ron Wilson and inker Fred Kida; cover art by Pablo Marcos; lettering by Irving Watanabe.
- Published by Marvel Comics International Ltd. (Marvel UK) on or around June 8, 1977, with a June 1977 cover date; priced at 10p.
- Issue #36 falls within the black-and-white era of the series, which began with #24 as a direct cost-reduction measure by Marvel UK.
- The story is the concluding chapter of a revised origin arc spanning issues #33–36, in which Friedrich revisited and expanded upon Brian Braddock's transformation into Captain Britain and his relationship with Merlyn and Roma.
- Merlyn gifts Captain Britain the Star Sceptre in this issue — a new weapon that enables flight and energy projection — replacing the original quarterstaff; Courtney Ross appears only as a conjured vision used by Merlyn to demonstrate the Sceptre's capabilities.
- The story was partially reprinted, with alterations, in Hulk Comic #35 and Hulk Comic #36; it also appears in the 2011 Marvel trade paperback Captain Britain Vol. 1: Birth of a Legend and in the 2021 Captain Britain Omnibus.
- The series concluded just three issues later with #39 (July 1977), after which the Captain Britain strip transferred to Super Spider-Man & Captain Britain, beginning with issue #231.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD #5 (1968), Fantastic Four #126 (1972), Marvel Team-Up #13 (1973)
Reprinted in Captain Britain Summer Special #1980 (1980), Captain Britain #1 (2011), Captain Britain Omnibus #[nn] (2021)
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