Excalibur is a fictional superhero group appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They are depicted as an offshoot of the X-Men, usually based in the United Kingdom. Conceived by writer Chris Claremont and artist/co-writer Alan Davis, they first appeared in Excalibur Special Edition #1 (1987), also known as Excalibur: The Sword is Drawn. Stories involving this team have featured elements of both the X-Men and Captain Britain franchises, frequently involving cross-dimensional travel.
"Age of Apocalypse" is a 1995 comic book crossover storyline mostly published in the X-Men franchise of books by Marvel Comics. The Age of Apocalypse briefly replaced the universe of Earth-616 and had ramifications in the main Marvel Comics universe when the original timeline was restored. It was later retconned as having occurred in the alternate universe of Earth-295.
Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in Captain Britain Weekly #1 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, and is currently held by Brian's twin sister, Betsy Braddock. The concept of the Marvel Multiverse, as well as the designation of the publisher's primary continuity as Earth-616, originated in Alan Moore's Captain Britain stories, which also established the multiversal Captain Britain Corps, members of which act as the champions of their own respective versions of the British Isles, which act as a nexus point between dimensions via Otherworld.
Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Captain Britain and the X-Men. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe in 1976, she first appeared in the Marvel UK series Captain Britain.
The Shadow King is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is particularly associated with the X-Men family of comics. His nemesis is the X-Men's leader, Professor X, while he also figures into the backstory of the X-Man Storm. As originally introduced, Farouk was a human mutant from Egypt who used his vast telepathic abilities for evil, taking the alias Shadow King. Later writers established Farouk as only the modern incarnation of an ancient evil entity that has been around since the dawn of humanity, who became one with Farouk when he grew older.
The Exiles are a group of fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics commonly associated with The X-Men. They feature in three series, Exiles, New Exiles, and Exiles vol. 2. The Exiles consists of characters from different universes, or realities, which have been removed from time and space in order to correct problems in various alternate worlds and divergent timelines in the Marvel Multiverse.
Spiral is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Art Adams, the character first appeared in Longshot #1. She was established as a lieutenant for that titular character's archenemy, Mojo. Prior to Longshot joining the X-Men, Spiral also became a recurring adversary of that team and each of the various X-Men subgroups, as well as serving as the archenemy turned ally of X-Men member Psylocke. She then joined a team of X-Force led by X-Men member Storm.
Mojo is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually those featuring the X-Men family of characters. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist Arthur Adams, Mojo first appeared in Longshot #3, as the titular hero's archenemy, and subsequently a villain to the X-Men and their various sub-groups as well.
Opal Luna Saturnyne is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Dave Thorpe and Alan Davis for their Captain Britain stories. Formerly the servant of Roma, she is currently the Omniversal Majestrix and rightful Ruler of Otherworld, charged with the safety of the Omniverse.
James Braddock Jr. is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The elder brother of the twin superheroes Brian and Betsy Braddock, he is a mutant possessing the ability to manipulate reality in a variety of ways. Though his mutant powers are very powerful, he is limited in that he is also a schizophrenic who believes reality to be his own dream. Originally a supporting character in his brother's solo comic book series, the emergence of his superhuman powers and subsequent mental illness have led him to become a super-villain associated with both Captain Britain and various X-Men comics.
"Jaspers' Warp", also known as "Crooked World", was a Marvel UK storyline featuring primarily the character Captain Britain. It was originally published between 1981 and 1984 in Marvel Superheroes, #377–388, The Daredevils, #1–11 and The Mighty World of Marvel, volume 2, #7–13.
Kwannon is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She first appeared in X-Men #17 and was created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist Andy Kubert. The character is most commonly associated with the X-Men, specifically the character of Betsy Braddock, with whom Kwannon was body-swapped for 29 years of publication history; in stories published during this period, the character used the moniker Revanche. After returning to her original body, she became the second Psylocke, while Braddock became the new Captain Britain.
Matsu'o Tsurayaba is a fictional character associated with the Hand, and part of the Marvel Comics universe. A member of the Hand, Tsurayaba's first appearance came in Uncanny X-Men #255 and was directly involved with the "body swap incident" between Betsy Braddock and Kwannon just after Betsy's emergence from the Siege Perilous.
S.T.R.I.K.E., an acronym for Special Tactical Reserve for International Key Emergencies, is a fictional counter-terrorism and intelligence agency appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The organization often deals with superhuman threats, and was introduced in Captain Britain Weekly #17 as the United Kingdom's counterpart to the United States' anti-terrorism agency S.H.I.E.L.D.
"Spider-Man" is the name of multiple comic book superheroes from the Marvel Comics Multiverse. The original and most well known is Peter Parker created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko originating from the Earth-616 universe. Within the mainstream Marvel Universe there have been characters that have taken the mantle such as Ben Reilly, Mac Gargan and Doctor Octopus.
Psylocke is the name of two connected fictional mutant superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the X-Men.
Rebecca "Rikki" Barnes is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jeph Loeb and artist Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in Heroes Reborn #1/2, where she was established as the Counter-Earth granddaughter of Bucky during the 1996 "Heroes Reborn" storyline. Rikki crossed over to Earth-616 in the 2008 Onslaught Reborn miniseries, in which she operated as Nomad for a time, later joining the Exiles in another reality after being repeatedly reincarnated in her grandfather's place, and then the Future Foundation in the mainstream Marvel Universe.
Uncanny X-Force was a comic book ongoing series published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Rick Remender and artist Jerome Opeña, the first volume of the series continued the story of Wolverine and his X-Force team from the series X-Force, vol. 3. The title was relaunched after issue #35 as part of the Marvel NOW! relaunch event, and the new volume features Psylocke and Storm leading a new team of "outcasts and scoundrels". The second volume was one of two X-Force ongoing titles, along with Cable and X-Force.
The Marvel Comics character Betsy Braddock has made many appearances in media other than comic books, including television, films, and action, fighting and role-playing video games. Her usual power-set includes telekinesis as well as mastery of martial arts and swordplay. Psylocke has been voiced by Grey DeLisle, Heather Doerksen, and Tasha Simm in animations, and by Laura Bailey, Kimberly Brooks, Catherine Disher, Melissa Disney, Kim Mai Guest, Erica Lindbeck, Junk Luk, Masasa Moyo, and April Stewart in video games. In the film series, she was portrayed by Meiling Melançon and Olivia Munn.
Brian Braddock is a fictional superhero appearing in British and American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created in 1976 by writer Chris Claremont and artist Herb Trimpe, with later contributions from Alan Moore and Alan Davis, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly #1. He is the first character in publication to use the Captain Britain moniker, later adopting the title Captain Avalon.
