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Quote1 Braddock Manor, my ancestral home. We-we're in England. Quote2
Betsy Braddock[src]

Braddock Manor in Maldon, Essex, England was the home of Dr. James Braddock, in reality an agent of the mage Merlyn and former resident of Otherworld, his wife Elizabeth and their children: Jamie Braddock and the twins, Brian and Betsy.[citation needed]

History

Braddock Manor from Captain Britain Vol 1 9 001

Origins[]

Braddock Manor was built in the early 1700s by a victorious general home from the European Wars on land in Maldon, Essex, which belonged to the Braddock family since before the Romans invaded Britain.[2]

Although Braddock Manor has long been part of the Braddock family heritage, Dr. James Braddock and his wife Elizabeth purchased Braddock Manor in the mid-twentieth century.[3] The manor sat atop a nexus of caverns and abandoned mine shafts stretching for miles in all directions.[4] Sometime after purchasing the manor, Dr. Braddock created the Cavern Computer beneath the manor.[5]

Modern Era[]

Following Dr. Braddock's death along with his wife in what appeared to be a lab accident, the house passed into the hands of his children, including Brian who shortly afterward became the superhero Captain Britain. Returning home to visit his siblings, Brian discovered that his parents deaths had actually been caused by the Mastermind computer, a sophisticated computer built by James Braddock in his basement lab, which interacted with the outside world via a holographic body resembling a large, powerful humanoid. Captain Britain battled the insane machine, and believed it was destroyed when Braddock Manor was seemingly flattened by a missile strike.[6]

Years later, however, Captain Britain returned to discover that the manor was intact; the missiles had struck only a holographic image of the house some way off, projected by the Mastermind computer, while the real house lay hidden behind the illusion.[7] The computer, a living silicon entity created from technology originating in Otherworld, had grown and spread throughout the caverns under the manor, becoming a vast web of circuitry coating the cavern walls. Braddock battled Mastermind again, subdued the computer, and released old retainer Emma Collins, whom the computer had mentally enslaved to serve it.[8]

Braddock reopened the manor and used it as his headquarters for some time, with a reprogrammed Mastermind serving as his holographic butler, Jeeves. Ultimately though, he left the house in the hands of the R.C.X., a government agency which used it as a safe house for mutated children called Warpies, created by the reality warp caused by the mutant Mad Jim Jaspers. The computer was subsequently shut down and the manor left empty after the RCX left, but the Mastermind computer eventually resurfaced on Otherworld, insane once more.[citation needed]

When Betsy joined the X-Men, the manor was left virtually derelict until Excalibur began using the manor as the headquarters following the destruction of the lighthouse.[9]

When Rachel Summers, Bishop, Cannonball came to the manor to visit Brian, they were attacked by the Fury and destroyed a large portion of the manor and grounds.[10] However, Brian and Meggan were able to quickly repair the damage with magic.[11]

Meggan Puceanu (Earth-616) and Braddock Academy (Earth-616) from Infinity The Hunt Vol 1 1 001

Braddock Manor as the Braddock Academy

Braddock Academy[]

Wanting to offer training to young British and magical superheroes, Captain Britain founded the Braddock Academy with staff and students living in Braddock Manor.[12][13]

Krakoan Era[]

After introducing the mutant nation of Krakoa to the public, the manor and its grounds were transformed by the planting of Flowers of Krakoa into a Krakoan Gateway, a pathway leading directly to the island of Krakoa in the South Pacific.[14]

Braddock Manor from Betsy Braddock Captain Britain Vol 1 1 001

Braddock Manor's new location on Braddock Isle

Following the destruction of the Braddock Lighthouse and with conflict continuing between the U.K. government and Krakoa, the Braddocks decided to move Braddock Manor to the isle via Monarch's reality warping. After relocating the manor, Betsy invited Pete Wisdom and S.T.R.I.K.E. to set up their headquarters in the manor as well.[15]

Points of Interest

Residents

Trivia

See Also

Links and References

References

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