Captain Midlands
Encyclopedia
Captain Midlands, real name "Rambling" Sid Ridley, is a fictional
comic book
character within Marvel Comics
' shared universe
the Marvel Universe
. Captain Midlands was created by writer Paul Cornell
and first penciled by Trevor Hairsine
and first appeared in Wisdom #1 (January 2007).
war veteran
and a right-wing analogue of Captain America
. An eighty year old Brummie
superhero, Captain Midlands is often portrayed as a grumpy old git
. His real name, "Rambling" Sid Ridley, is a combination of Kenneth Williams
' Round the Horne
character ‘Rambling Sid Rumpo’ and Arnold Ridley
who played Private Godfrey in the sitcom Dad's Army
Captain Midlands' nuanced role sees him more as a down-to-earth hero, with Paul Cornell describing him as
After serving as Captain Midlands in World War II
, Ridley somehow ended up in British Intelligence and eventually MI-13. Ridley also suggested that he had "knocked a girl up
" and married her before she died in 1963.
Captain Midlands served alongside other British heroes, including Captain Britain
and Pete Wisdom in MI-13, fighting supernatural threats such as fairies, Y Ddraig Goch
, alternate reality Jack the Ripper
s and Martians. He was also reported to be fighting the Skrull invasion
of Britain.
When MI:13 refocused itself against a supernatural pandemic, Captain Midlands - while carrying out routine crimefighting - identified a demonic incursion in Birmingham and called it in to the agency. He was captured and imprisoned in a council estate basement, being tempted to give his soul for an unknown desire. He was freed by and joined Pete Wisdom's strike team . However, this was a ploy by Captain Midlands to lead the group into a trap so he could get his heart's desire, to spend eternity with his dead wife.
Wisdom, disgusted with Sid's treachery, deliberately destroyed the illusion of Sid's dead wife. After the team escaped, he was arrested in view of the public and imprisoned in The Vault, a high security prison in Shoreditch
. In an act of mercy, Wisdom gave Sid the chance to kill himself and avoid humiliation in a trial - although it was left ambiguous as to which option Ripley took.
Captain Midlands wears full DPM
military fatigues and helmet with a cowl mask (similar to the WWII Ultimate Captain America
outfit) and wields a golden circular shield
in the design of the traditional lion symbol of Britain and coated in an anti-magic nanominium gloss.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
character within Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
' shared universe
Shared universe
A shared universe is a fictional universe to which more than one writer contributes. Work set in a shared universe share characters and other elements with varying degrees of consistency. Shared universes are contrasted with collaborative writing, in which multiple authors work on a single story....
the Marvel Universe
Marvel Universe
The Marvel Universe is the shared fictional universe where most comic book titles and other media published by Marvel Entertainment take place, including those featuring Marvel's most familiar characters, such as Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers.The Marvel Universe is further...
. Captain Midlands was created by writer Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell
Paul Cornell is a British writer best known for his work in television drama as well as Doctor Who fiction, and as the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield....
and first penciled by Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qualities that make "a future superstar...
and first appeared in Wisdom #1 (January 2007).
Characterization
Captain Midlands is a patriotic BritishUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
war veteran
War Veteran
War Veteran is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick. It was first published in If magazine in March 1955.-Plot summary:The plot concerns an old man who claims to have travelled back in time from a future in which Earth has lost a devastating war to its own Martian and Venusian colonies...
and a right-wing analogue of Captain America
Captain America (set index)
Captain America is the name of several fictional characters in the . The first, and main, character was Steve Rogers, who was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby...
. An eighty year old Brummie
Brummie
Brummie is a colloquial term for the inhabitants, accent and dialect of Birmingham, England, as well as being a general adjective used to denote a connection with the city, locally called Brum...
superhero, Captain Midlands is often portrayed as a grumpy old git
Irritable Male Syndrome
Irritable male syndrome is defined as a state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males and is associated with biochemical changes, hormonal fluctuations, stress, and loss of male identity. This term covers symptoms thought to be caused by a drop in testosterone...
. His real name, "Rambling" Sid Ridley, is a combination of Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Williams
Kenneth Charles Williams was an English comic actor and comedian. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the Carry On films, and appeared in numerous British television shows, and radio comedies with Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne.-Life and career:Kenneth Charles Williams was born on 22 February...
' Round the Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
character ‘Rambling Sid Rumpo’ and Arnold Ridley
Arnold Ridley
Major William Arnold Ridley, OBE was an English playwright and actor, first notable as the author of the play The Ghost Train and later in life for portraying the elderly Private Charles Godfrey in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army .-Early life:Ridley was born in Walcot, Bath, England where...
who played Private Godfrey in the sitcom Dad's Army
Dad's Army
Dad's Army is a British sitcom about the Home Guard during the Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft and broadcast on BBC television between 1968 and 1977. The series ran for 9 series and 80 episodes in total, plus a radio series, a feature film and a stage show...
Captain Midlands' nuanced role sees him more as a down-to-earth hero, with Paul Cornell describing him as
Fictional character biography
As part of the 1940s British Super-Soldier program, Sid Ridley is transformed into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning then sent off to be part of the British Army's war effort.After serving as Captain Midlands in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ridley somehow ended up in British Intelligence and eventually MI-13. Ridley also suggested that he had "knocked a girl up
Pregnancy
Pregnancy refers to the fertilization and development of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, in a woman's uterus. In a pregnancy, there can be multiple gestations, as in the case of twins or triplets...
" and married her before she died in 1963.
Captain Midlands served alongside other British heroes, including Captain Britain
Captain Britain
Captain Britain , briefly known as Britannic, is a fictional character, a superhero appearing in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Chris Claremont and Herb Trimpe, he first appeared in Captain Britain Weekly, #1...
and Pete Wisdom in MI-13, fighting supernatural threats such as fairies, Y Ddraig Goch
Y Ddraig Goch
The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales . The oldest recorded use of the dragon to symbolise Wales is from the Historia Brittonum, written around 820, but it is popularly supposed to have been the battle standard of King Arthur and other ancient Celtic leaders...
, alternate reality Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper
"Jack the Ripper" is the best-known name given to an unidentified serial killer who was active in the largely impoverished areas in and around the Whitechapel district of London in 1888. The name originated in a letter, written by someone claiming to be the murderer, that was disseminated in the...
s and Martians. He was also reported to be fighting the Skrull invasion
Secret Invasion
"Secret Invasion" is a comic book crossover storyline that ran through a self-titled eight issue limited series and several tie-in books published by Marvel Comics from April through December 2008....
of Britain.
When MI:13 refocused itself against a supernatural pandemic, Captain Midlands - while carrying out routine crimefighting - identified a demonic incursion in Birmingham and called it in to the agency. He was captured and imprisoned in a council estate basement, being tempted to give his soul for an unknown desire. He was freed by and joined Pete Wisdom's strike team . However, this was a ploy by Captain Midlands to lead the group into a trap so he could get his heart's desire, to spend eternity with his dead wife.
Wisdom, disgusted with Sid's treachery, deliberately destroyed the illusion of Sid's dead wife. After the team escaped, he was arrested in view of the public and imprisoned in The Vault, a high security prison in Shoreditch
Shoreditch
Shoreditch is an area of London within the London Borough of Hackney in England. It is a built-up part of the inner city immediately to the north of the City of London, located east-northeast of Charing Cross.-Etymology:...
. In an act of mercy, Wisdom gave Sid the chance to kill himself and avoid humiliation in a trial - although it was left ambiguous as to which option Ripley took.
Abilities and equipment
Captain Midlands has no superhuman powers, although as a result of the 1940s British Super-Soldier program Sid Ridley was transformed into a "perfect" specimen of human development and conditioning. Captain Midlands' strength, speed, stamina, reflexes, agility, dexterity, coordination, balance, and endurance are at the highest limits of natural human potential, and despite being an eighty year old man he still has a body of a superhero.Captain Midlands wears full DPM
Disruptive Pattern Material
Disruptive Pattern Material is the commonly used name of a camouflage pattern used by British forces as well many other armies worldwide, particularly in former British colonies....
military fatigues and helmet with a cowl mask (similar to the WWII Ultimate Captain America
Ultimate Captain America
Ultimate Captain America is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is an alternative version of the mainstream Marvel continuity Captain America that appears in Marvel's Ultimate line of books...
outfit) and wields a golden circular shield
Captain America's shield
Captain America's shield is a fictional item, the primary defensive and offensive piece of equipment used by the Marvel Comics superhero Captain America; he is seldom seen without it. Over the years, Captain America has had the use of several different shields of varying composition and design...
in the design of the traditional lion symbol of Britain and coated in an anti-magic nanominium gloss.