Captain Midlands (Sid Ridley) is a fictional character appearing in

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...

s published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

. Captain Midlands was created by writer

Paul Cornell Paul Douglas Cornell (born 18 July 1967) is a British writer. He has worked in television drama and ''Doctor Who'' fiction, being the creator of one of the Doctor's spin-off companions, Bernice Summerfield. Other British television dramas f ...

and first penciled by

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 qual ...

and first appeared in ''

Wisdom Wisdom, also known as sapience, is the ability to apply knowledge, experience, and good judgment to navigate life’s complexities. It is often associated with insight, discernment, and ethics in decision-making. Throughout history, wisdom ha ...

'' #1 (January 2007).

Characterization

Captain Midlands is a

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

British Army veteran and a British analogue of

Captain America Captain America is a superhero created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby who appears in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in '' Captain America Comics'' #1, published on December 20, 1940, by Timely C ...

. An eighty-year-old

Brummie Brummie is the associated adjective and demonym of Birmingham, a city of West Midlands in England. It may refer to: * Anything from or related to the city of Birmingham, in particular: ** The people of Birmingham (see also List of people from Bir ...

MI 13: Meet Captain Midlands
Marvel.com, September 24, 2008 superhero, Captain Midlands is often portrayed as a grumpy old git. His real name, "Rambling" Sid Ridley, is a combination of

Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 – 15 April 1988) was a British actor and comedian. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 ''Carry ...

' ''

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'' character ‘Rambling Sid Rumpo’ and

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, known early in his career for writing the 1925 play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life for the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–77 ...

who played

Private Godfrey Private Charles Godfrey MM is a fictional Home Guard soldier, first portrayed by Arnold Ridley in the British television sitcom ''Dad's Army''. He is retired and was previously a tailor for the Civil Service Stores or the Army & Navy Stores. ...

in the

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

Dad's Army ''Dad's Army'' is a British television British sitcom, sitcom about the United Kingdom's Home Guard (United Kingdom), Home Guard during the World War II, Second World War. It was written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft (TV producer), David Crof ...

''. 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 or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Ridley somehow ended up in

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and eventually MI-13. Ridley also suggested that he had "knocked a girl up" (got her pregnant) and married her before she died in 1963. Captain Midlands served alongside other British heroes, including

Captain Britain 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'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...

and

Pete Wisdom Peter "Pete" Wisdom is a fictional secret agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He first appeared in '' Excalibur'' #86 (February 1995), and was created by Warren Ellis and Ken Lashley. Wisdom is a British Secret ...

in MI-13, fighting supernatural threats such as

fairies A fairy (also called fay, fae, fae folk, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, generally described as anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic, found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Cel ...

Y Ddraig Goch The Welsh Dragon (, meaning 'the red dragon'; ) is a heraldic symbol that represents Wales and appears on the national flag of Wales. Ancient leaders of the Celtic Britons that are personified as dragons include Maelgwn Gwynedd, Mynyddog Mwynf ...

, alternate reality

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s and

Martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. Trends in the planet's portrayal have largely been influenced by advances in planetary science. It became the most popular celestia ...

. 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 Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

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 is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

. 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 Ridley 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 military fatigues and helmet with a cowl mask (similar to the World War II

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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.

Reception

When the character became popular, creator Paul Cornell decided to add more drama to the character by making him a traitor to the team explaining:

Notes

References

* {{refend

External links

Sid Ridley (Earth-616) - marveldatabase.com
British superheroes Fictional British Army personnel Fictional shield fighters Fictional World War II veterans Marvel Comics male superheroes Marvel Comics martial artists Marvel Comics military personnel Marvel Comics mutates Marvel Comics superheroes United Kingdom-themed superheroes