Avengers (vol. 3) #81
Lionheart of Avalon, Part 5
Following the death of Kelsey Lehigh, Captain America and She-Hulk have brought her two children — Martin and Jenny — to live with their grandmother.[1] As they get to know her, Granny Shore explains that she is the children’s only living relative. She also tells them how Kelsey’s face was scarred in an attack, and how her husband abandoned her shortly thereafter. However, when they arrive, Captain America notices that the elderly woman needs a walker to get by and asks if she has the means to raise two young children on her own.
Meanwhile, the other Avengers are trying to recapture the villains responsible for Kelsey’s death, the Wrecking Crew. When they tried to escape in a Quinjet, the Wasp grew to giant size and with the help of Tony Stark, were able to stop it, but not before smashing through a nearby town. As they get the injured Hawkeye out of the ruined jet, they begin helping people who have been trapped or injured when Janet fell.
Meanwhile, the Scarlet Witch and the new Captain Britain (who is secretly the resurrected Kelsey Lehigh), have been transported to the mystical realm of Otherworld by Morgan le Fay. Along the way, Captain Britain is bludgeoning Morgan’s evil Black Knight for his part in her death. Kelsey is furious because when choosing the Sword of Might and becoming Britain’s new avatar, she was barred from ever revealing her true identity to her children, else they will meet horrific deaths.[2] That’s when Morgan orders her horde of creatures upon the two heroes.
As it turned out, she has Brian Braddock — the previous Captain Britain — as her prisoner. By causing him physical harm it would translate to destruction to the Isle of Britain. However, when Morgan harms him, nothing happens. She suddenly realizes that Braddock transferred the power of Captain Britain to someone else in order to thwart her plans. That’s when they realize that the woman dressed in the British flag must be Braddock’s successor. The Black Knight then takes one of Hawkeye’s arrows and stabs Kelsey in the chest with it. Upon doing so, an entire section of London suddenly explodes. With the destruction, Morgan can feel the power of Avalon itself flowing into her.
Weakened by the attack, Kelsey pleads with the Scarlet Witch to help her to save England and, in doing so, protect her children as well. When the Black Knight attacks again, Wanda discovers that Morgan le Fay is somehow blocking her power. The Knight swats her aside and tries to stab Captain Britain through the face with the arrow. Kelsey fights back, and as they struggle she is suddenly reminded of how she got the scar on her face so many years ago. A man had broken into her house and was attempting to rape her. Her husband was too busy cowering in the corner of the room to stop him. Harming her attacker only made him mad and, with a broken bottle pressed to her face, decides to leave something to remember her by.[3]
Before the Black Knight can harm her, he is struck by Captain America’s shield. Although she was prevented from using her magic against her foes, the Scarlet Witch was able to at least transport Captain America to Otherworld to help. Picking up the Sword of Might, Morgan tries to attack Captain Britain herself, but Captain America blocks the swing with his shield. This leaves Morgan open to attack and when Captain Britain strikes with her quarter staff it seemingly destroys the sorcerer in a brilliant flash of light.[4] With Morgan’s threat dealt with, Brian Braddock commends his new champion for a job well done.
In the aftermath of the battle, Captain Britain is offered membership in the Avengers, which she accepts. The team has also taken in Martin and Jenny as well as brought their grandmother back to help take care of them. Although she will still be with her children, Kelsey has the Scarlet Witch keep her true identity a secret, telling her about what will happen to her children if they ever learned the truth. Going to check on Martin, she sees that her son is already decorating his new room with posters of his favorite superheroes. Seeing how Martin interacts with the likes of Captain America and Ant-Man hurts Kelsey deeply. She then heads into the room where Jenny is staying. She’s being looked after by She-Hulk and Kelsey’s mother-in-law. Seeing that Jenny is asleep, Captain Britain tells them that their mother would be relieved to know such caring people are now looking after her children. As Kelsey leaves the room, Granny Shorr ponders this strange newcomer to the Avengers.[5]
When Captain Britain returns to her room she can finally take her mask off, revealing that the magic that turned her into Captain Britain also removed the scars from her face. She begins to cry over the life she chose and laments over how unfair it is that she can never tell her children that she is still alive. Curling up into a ball on her bed, Kelsey wishes she hadn’t been brought back to life.
Recurring Characters
Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, Ant-Man, Captain Britain), Captain Britain (Braddock), Meggan, Morgan le Fay, Martin Lehigh, Jenny Lehigh, Black Knight
Continuity Notes
Kelsey sacrificed her life to protect Captain America from Thunderball, leading to her death. See Avengers (vol. 3) #78. What nobody realizes yet is that she was resurrected as the new Captain Britain last issue.
Last issue, Kelsey was told that because she chose the Sword of Might, she couldn’t reveal her survival to her family or else her children would suffer horrific deaths. Later, in New Excalibur #24, it is revealed that Kelsey is being lied to here. Apparently, she was being primed for a secret mission for the British government. The threat of her children dying if they knew of her survival was to spare them the pain of losing their mother a second time should she fail in that mission.
The full set of circumstances surrounding Kelsey’s sexual assault and the identity of her attacker, as of this writing in February, 2023, have yet to be detailed.
This is not the end of Morgan le Fay as she’ll return in Witches #1.
This seems to be setting up a plot where granny here will eventually figure out that Captain Britain is actually her daughter-in-law. However, this plotline is dropped during the Avengers Disassembled revamp. If she ever figured it out or not is never revealed, but is a moot point when Kelsey is allowed to reveal her identity later on in New Excalibur #24.
Topical References
Granny Shorr is depicted as having a CRT television in her home. This should be considered a topical reference as this is now an obsolete technology.
Making Sense of the New Captain Britain
Adding a Captain Britain to the Avengers during a period when they were a global organization makes some logical sense. However, writer Chuck Austin takes a lot of liberties to previously established lore. On top of that, later stories after Austin’s run are inconsistent with the run. To date, none of these problems have every been clearly explained, and nearly 20 years later, I wouldn’t hold my breath on it either. Particularly since Kelsey Leigh hasn’t been seen since her appearances in New Excalibur in 2007.
First, lets discuss the elephant in the room: One of the major plot points in this story was that if Morgan le Fay caused harm to Captain Britain it would translate to geographical damage on the island of Britain. This has never been a weakness of Captain Britain before or after this story, otherwise the UK would be a disaster every time Captain Britain got into a fight. The entry for this issue in Avengers, Thor, & Captain America: Official Index to the Marvel Universe #15 speculates that Morgan’s magic and the Asgardian properties of Hawkeye’s arrow tips were what allowed for this to happen. However, that makes even less sense to me because Braddock has been attacked with magic plenty of times during his tenure as Captain Britain with no ill effect to his homeland. What would make more sense is that perhaps Morgan cast some kind of spell that would cause damage inflicted on a Captain Britain to be sustained to the country as well. That would explain why that was never an issue before or after this story. My theory seems to be supported by the Captain Britain profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #2.
The next issue comes with a weakness that was common to Captain Britain: A prolonged absence from England would cause their power to slowly wane away. This was established in Excalibur #6-8. However, this limitation is not apparently in play when Kelsey became Captain Britain. Again, this is where the Captain Britain profile in OHOTMU A-Z #2 might have an answer. It suggests that when Brain transferred his power to Kelsey he somehow negated this weakness. Since Brian was in command of Otherworld at the time and could bestow the power of Captain Britain to whomever he chose, then it’s entirely possible that he’d also be able to alter the magics behind said powers.
Lastly, there is the issue of the scar on Kelsey’s face. This issue we see that the power of Captain Britain seemed to have erased it. However, the scars are back with no explanation when she appears again in New Excalibur. Her profile in Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #6 speculates that her scars can be made invisible when she activates her powers and that she usually chooses not to do so for…reasons.
