Extra-dimensional Monarch. Omniversal guardian. Brian Braddock is Excalibur, the mythical Sword of Might. Once a reluctant hero, Braddock found it difficult to reconcile the magical nature of his superhuman powers with his ordered understanding of the world. Now, the on-again, off-again adventurer accepts both disciplines -- harnessing their complimentary strengths for the greater good of Otherworld and the infinite realities. Long live Captain Britain! Long live the king!

Real name: Brian Braddock
Occupation: Monarch of Otherworld, Omniversal protector
Group affiliation: Excalibur
Base of operations: Otherworld
First appearance: Captain Britain Weekly #1 (1976)
First American appearance: Marvel Team-Up #65 (1978)

Height: 5'11''
Weight: 180 lbs.
Eye color: Blue
Hair color: Blond

Powers: Brian Braddock's mystical armaments amplify his strength, stamina and reflexes; permit him to fly; and enable him to generate a protective forcefield.

Weapons: Captain Britain wields Excalibur, the Sword of Might, forged in the fires of creation and tempered by the power of the universe. United with the Amulet of Right, Excalibur possesses the capacity to remake the cosmos. Both talismans of power formerly belonged to the god-wizard Merlin.

History: Brian Braddock was a student assistant at Darkmoor Research Center when the psychotic criminal called the Reaver attacked the facility to steal its secrets. Attempting to escape, Brian ran his motorcycle off a cliff and lay near death. In a vision, the spirits of the god-wizard Merlin and the goddess Roma appeared to the fledgling scientist, and bade him choose one of the mystical objects before him: the Amulet of Right or the Sword of Might. Selecting the amulet, he found himself bombarded by mystical energy that granted him superhuman strength and stamina. The patron spirits decreed that Brian would be Britain's champion, and gifted him with a mystical star-sceptre to enhance his fighting skills. Captain Britain fought alongside some of the world's greatest heroes, overcoming a bout with depression to gain a new perspective on the mantle he had been handed.

Through Merlin's tutelage, Brian learned the truth about his family's extra-dimensional origins. He learned of his metaphysical connection to the land and people of Otherworld -- a glorious kingdom positioned at the nexus of reality, where science and sorcery exist as one. To safeguard the infinite realities from evil, Merlin had founded an elite cadre of heroes, the Captain Britain Corps. No greater force for good existed in the Omniverse, and no greater hero bore the Corps' legendary standard than Brian's father, Sir James Braddock. Scientist, warrior, philosopher, strategist -- these attributes made Sir James the ideal candidate to embark upon the sacred mission that would shape the future: the quest to sire a savior; to father a king. A genetically compatible mate -- Brian's mother, Elizabeth -- was selected from our Earth, 616.

Thanks to Merlin's revelations, Brian achieved a kind of spiritual peace most human beings never experience in a lifetime. But Captain Britain's services were required elsewhere, so Brian was remade in another image more suited to the challenges ahead. Merlin transformed Captain Britain's amulet and sceptre into a lattice of mystical "micro-circuitry," duplicating all the properties of the reluctant hero's former weaponry. With his elfin partner, Jackdaw, Captain Britain fought to save an alternate reality from the world-warping madness that was Sir James Jaspers. He failed. He died. But even in death, there was no escaping destiny. Merlin resurrected Brian once more -- for there were evils to fight, lives to change, alliances to forge and traditions to uphold. Resuming his career as Captain Britain, Brian joined with the shapeshifting Meggan, the dimension-hopping Nightcrawler, the phase-shifting Shadowcat and the psionically empowered Phoenix II to form Excalibur -- England's premier team of costumed champions.

After experiencing still another alternate reality beyond any one man's salvation, Brian adopted the name Britanic. He renewed his pursuit of science and engineering, and set about rebuilding his life on Earth. But it was a temporary respite from the chaos. To save the world from the ancient evil of the Dragons of the Crimson Dawn, Brian sacrificed his superhuman powers. Captain Britain the hero died yet again, leaving only Brian Braddock the man to pick up the pieces and carry on. Ultimately, England's wayward champion returned to Excalibur to fulfill his dream of marrying Meggan, but the team disbanded following the ceremony.

In the wake of Excalibur's dissolution, Brain and Meggan at last were afforded the opportunity to lead "normal" lives. But their peace was shattered when Brian learned that a seemingly insane Roma had decimated Otherworld in a quest to dominate all reality. The Captain Britain Corps rallied to repel Roma's hordes, but even its greatest heroes proved no match for the monsters and their malevolent mistress. Leading a small squad of warriors, Captain Britain rescued Roma from the thrall of the rogue android called Mastermind, a hyper-sentient techno-organic super-computer created by Brian's father. Reclaiming the Sword of Might, Captain Britain united the talismans of power. Brian had finally unleashed his divine spark and fulfilled his destiny as the true monarch of Otherworld and protector of the Omniverse.