MI 13: Meet Captain Midlands

[Ben Morse]

Paul Cornell re-introduces his favorite local hero in Captain Britain and MI: 13 #6:

http://www.marvel.com/news/comicstor...ptain_Midlands

[Guest_1001]

Good article. I wish the pictures were better quality though. And, to be honest, Captain Midlands had better moments than those in the Wisdom series.

If you're one of the people who hasn't read Wisdom, you're in for a treat when he turns up in CB&MI:13.

[HeckBoy]

Looking forward to seeing Captain Midlands. And I know I'm probably overthinking this, but anyway, from what I've been told on the forums, Sid basically looks like a senior citizen, but still has the peak-human strength of a super soldier? How does that work exactly? I would think that if he's noticeably aged, then his "powers" would likewise also be waning, right? Also, did he go thru the same process as Captain America, or did he go thru a different process entirely that simply yielded the same results?

[The Sword Is Drawn]

Looking forward to seeing Captain Midlands. And I know I'm probably overthinking this, but anyway, from what I've been told on the forums, Sid basically looks like a senior citizen, but still has the peak-human strength of a super soldier? How does that work exactly? I would think that if he's noticeably aged, then his "powers" would likewise also be waning, right? Also, did he go thru the same process as Captain America, or did he go thru a different process entirely that simply yielded the same results?

The details of the British Regional Super-soldier programme remain lost in senility (Um, time, surely...?).

[Guest_1001]

Looking forward to seeing Captain Midlands. And I know I'm probably overthinking this, but anyway, from what I've been told on the forums, Sid basically looks like a senior citizen, but still has the peak-human strength of a super soldier? How does that work exactly? I would think that if he's noticeably aged, then his "powers" would likewise also be waning, right? Also, did he go thru the same process as Captain America, or did he go thru a different process entirely that simply yielded the same results?

I did wonder about a few of these points because on-panel, Captain Midland's super-soldier powers have never been explained. Which is a shame because of the effects of the super-soldier serum on other characters; they've either died or gone crazy or, presumably, the serum's effects have worn off.

The British super-soldier program was presumably different from the American one, which would explain a lack of side-effects but, since Sid was a success, doesn't explain why other soldiers weren't given the same treatment (or, if they were, did these soldiers die in the war, of old age or are they still around too?).

Personally, I always assumed whatever super-soldier process Sid went through was weaker than Captain America's. This would be to account for Sid already being a Captain in the army and, while the US was focusing on making absolutely anyone a super-soldier (even a weak kid like Steve Rogers), the UK focused on making their best soldiers even better.

(But that's just an assumption that I came up with because I think it makes sense. It's not true.)

As for the serum wearing off with age, I don't neccessarily think it would. Almost like it can't be changed once it's in your system. It changed Steve Rogers into a muscular adonis. I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that Sid had arthritis; I thought the super-soldier serum would prevent it. I always imagined it being one of the few things Sid would be appreciative of; never having to use a walking stick or get a stairlift installed.

[HeckBoy]

I did wonder about a few of these points because on-panel, Captain Midland's super-soldier powers have never been explained. Which is a shame because of the effects of the super-soldier serum on other characters; they've either died or gone crazy or, presumably, the serum's effects have worn off.

The British super-soldier program was presumably different from the American one, which would explain a lack of side-effects but, since Sid was a success, doesn't explain why other soldiers weren't given the same treatment (or, if they were, did these soldiers die in the war, of old age or are they still around too?).

Personally, I always assumed whatever super-soldier process Sid went through was weaker than Captain America's. This would be to account for Sid already being a Captain in the army and, while the US was focusing on making absolutely anyone a super-soldier (even a weak kid like Steve Rogers), the UK focused on making their best soldiers even better.

(But that's just an assumption that I came up with because I think it makes sense. It's not true.)

As for the serum wearing off with age, I don't neccessarily think it would. Almost like it can't be changed once it's in your system. It changed Steve Rogers into a muscular adonis. I have to admit, I was surprised to hear that Sid had arthritis; I thought the super-soldier serum would prevent it. I always imagined it being one of the few things Sid would be appreciative of; never having to use a walking stick or get a stairlift installed.

Yeah, my main query now is about how the SS powers change when he gets older. Since he's obviously still working at a pretty high capacity, the SS powers are obviously still in pretty good shape. But I'm kinda wondering why he's all elderly-looking though. I guess it's just weird b/c the American super soldiers all seem to have some age-suppressing factor (granted, they're all different formulas, but I'd still think it's well within the province of a peak-human enhancer to retard the visible signs of aging).