Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders #2

Background

This two-issue series takes place during the 2015 Marvel Event "Secret Wars".

The process of how we came to "Secret Wars (2015)" is quite a long story. But the TL; DR is that all of the Multiverses have imploded, and all that remains is a patchwork "Battleworld" formed of glued-together pieces of different former realities. God Doom rules over all, with local super-powered enforcement squads acting on his behalf to keep control.

Most of the planetary inhabitants have no memories of the time before. But some of the super-powered guardians can remember – and a few are planning revolution.

For more, go read our review of Captain Britain and the Mighty Defenders #1 if you haven't already done so!

Story '...and Mine is a Faith in My Fellow Man.'

The Defenders (lead by Captain Britain) have been captured and taken to Mondo City, which is lead by a council of seven Bosses. At their head is "Boss Hill", who used to wield her Hammer in service of Victor Von Doom before he abandoned his protection of both Mondo City and the neighboring Yinsen City.

The Bosses of Mondo City have captured the Defenders (excluding Baron Yinsen, who was murdered during the Bosses' attack). But the others are alive and are planning their retaliation even as they are imprisoned.

The new Captain Britain (a headscarf-clad woman named Dr. Faiza Hussain) has been captured also, and is undergoing separate interrogation at the hands of Boss Cage (aka Dan Cage, Clone #3). But the Bosses have underestimated the Captain's capabilities, and she summons her sword and escapes. She then heads over and helps the rest of the Defenders escape.

It's worth mentioning that the role of "Spider Hero" in all of this is not really worth mentioning. He uses his spring-loaded boots to jump on top of one of the Bosses. For this, we review two comic books? Oy vey!

Captain Britain then confronts Boss Hill and defeats her in single combat. But instead of killing her foe, Captain Britain spares her life and then offers to share all of Yinsen City's self-sustaining technology – that very same technology that Mondo City had intended to come and steal by force.

Everybody is friends. Love and peace has triumphed. The people are saved. The nations will live in peace. Even Von Doom signals his approval (in a private holographical link-up with Captain). Then Captain Britain waves a Union Jack flag (freshly-manufactured according to the image in her dreams). Everybody smiles.

Literally. No joke. That is exactly what happens in the last three pages.

General Comments

A few years ago, I foolishly learned how "chicken nuggets" were made. It's like this.

You water-blast the various scraps off the scraggy remains of a chicken carcass from which all the actual meat has been previously removed. Then you take those fragments and bleach them white and pulverize them to soften any gristle. Add a solidifying agent, pound them into a small, easily-consumable shape. Coat them in flour and salt, add flavoring and coloring. Fry and serve.

Children love them.

Superficially golden and crunchy. A nasty, reconstituted, unhealthy, unsubstantial paste on the inside.

Overall Rating

As an adult, my standards are higher than "Chicken Nuggets".

One Web.

Footnote

The title of this story is the completion of the Billy Bragg song lyric from "Between the Wars".

"Between the Wars" is a simplified, idealistic view of an imaginary, idealist Socialism that supported workers' rights in Britain between the two world wars in the twentieth century. The reality of inter-war Britain was far more nuanced, and I like to imagine that Billy has a wide-enough streak of realism in him to know that "brotherhood and love" doesn't come quite as cheap as this here comic book story would like to suggest.