Super Spider-Man and Captain Britain #238

Issue Date: 
August 1977
Story Title: 
Doom at Darkmoor!
Staff: 

Larry Lieber & Jim Lawrence (plot), Jim Lawrence (script) Ron Wilson (penciler), Fred Kida (inks), Irv Watanabe (lettering), Larry Lieber (editor)

Brief Description: 

Captain Britain returns to Darkmoor Castle by disguising himself and his star sceptre to pass the gargoyles. He does so successfully but runs into a troupe of animated skeletons, which he has to battle. The Black Baron, in the meantime, summons Satan to ask permission to wed Courtney. Cap joins them and a fight begins. Finally, the Baron bathes in moonlight again and turns into a werewolf. Captain Britain grabs a silver goblet, turns it into a sharp weapon and stakes the Baron. After burning the contract with the devil, he kills the Baron for good and Captain Britain and Courtney flee from the castle.

Full Summary: 

The battle at Tower Bridge is done, the werewolf apparently destroyed and Captain Britain heads back to Darkmoor castle to find Courtney Ross, unaware that his foe, in the guise of a bat, gets there first, expected by his retainer.

Before Cap arrives at Darkmoor, he disguises himself by tying leaves and branches to his body and flying so low that the gargoyles don’t detect him and especially his star sceptre. Moments later, behind the castle, he enters the crypt he read about. Within the crypt, a door is to open a tunnel, which leads to the castle. However, his entry does not go unchallenged, as skeletons rise from their coffins to attack him.

Meanwhile, in the somber secret chamber, where, ages ago, the Black Baron bought his unholy immortality, a frightened Courtney watches, as the Baron once more summons the devil. The Baron asks the Prince of Darkness to permit him to take a mate, Courtney, who bears the face of his lost love. Courtney tosses a lamp at the baron to no avail and runs off.

Down below, Cap takes out the skeletons, while Courtney runs out of the room, only to moments later run into Lord Kemp. She is relieved for one moment, until realizing that Kemp and the vampire are the same person and, before her eyes, Kemp turns into the Black Baron, who announces that Satan himself taught him the art of shapeshifting.

At that moment, Captain Britain crashes though the wall and hits the vampire with his star sceptre. In response, the villain turns into a python, intent on crushing the life out of his foe. Before the python can close in on his throat, Cap summons the star scepter, which strikes the snake on the head. Stunned, the monster relaxes its coil. It turns back into the Baron and seizes a brazier of burning coals, which he tosses at Cap. The hero concentrates and creates a forcefield to fend off the attack.

Angrily, the Baron draws aside the curtains and bathes in the full moon’s light again, turning into the werewolf. As it leaps to attack, Captain Britain flies over the werewolf’s head, to land near a candlelit fire place, where he grabs a silver goblet. As the monster turns to attack again. Cap breaks of the stem and squeezes and twists it into a dagger-sharp weapon. Finally, he has a weapon fit to slay a werewolf and stakes the creature with it. Born with a silver spoon in the mouth and died with a silver stake in his heart, he observes as it sinks to the ground.

Lifting Courtney in his arms, Captain Britain flies up to the Baron’s secret chamber, where he finds his pact with the devil, a parchment signed in blood. At the touch of the star scepter, the vile parchment crackles into flame and, on the floor below, the werewolf turns for the last time into the 7th Baron Darkmoor, before his features molder quickly into the rotting flesh of a centuries old corpse.

And soon, the entire castle is engulfed in fire, as Captain Britain soars up and away from its hall of evil, with Courtney safe in his arms. As they turn back, they see a hideous visage in the flames… the devil himself, raging over the doom of Darkmoor.

Characters Involved: 

Brian Braddock / Captain Britain

Courtney Ross

The Black Baron

Story Notes: 

This story was published by Marvel UK.

The issue contains three reprinted backup stories:

The second part of Amazing Spider-Man (1st series) #166, the first part of Fantastic Four (1st series) #130 and the second part of Avengers (1st series) #119.

Issue Information: 
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