Meggan

Origin

Origin
Origin

Meggan received her powers from the time she was born and her unusual appearance was startling to her gypsy family. Born during a blizzard her body’s natural response to the cold was to grow fur over her entire body. Her family hid her away in their wagon but rumours of her spread quickly through the caravan. The people imagined her a demon with wings, fangs and red eyes so Meggan took on that appearance. Confined to the wagon with only the television for company she never learned to read or write. In her late teens, Great Britain was hit by a reality-warping wave by Sir James Jaspers. Meggan was separated from her family and put into a concentration camp and she never saw her family again. Jaspers was defeated and reality returned back to normal with majority of the people forgetting that the wave ever happened.

Meggan in her new form
Meggan in her new form

Memories fully intact and unable to find her family, Meggan found an abandoned warehouse to live in. Despite her appearance she made friends with some local children, Mickey and Josie Scott, who would bring her food and try to calm her during full moons. It was during a full moon that Meggan had her first meeting with her future husband, Captain Britain. Full moons caused Meggan to take on a werewolf type appearance. Captain Britain assumed she was a villain and the two fought. During this fight Mickey Scott was killed when part of the building fell on him. In her anguish, Meggan fled from the scene only to return some time later at his funeral. Captain Britain was there to apologize to the Scott family, he realized that Meggan was not a villain and invited her to stay at his mansion.

Upon arriving at the mansion, she was greeted by Elizabeth Braddock ( Psylocke), Brian’s sister, and her seer friend, Alison Double, who described Meggan as having a beautiful “aura”. Having always looked monstrous, did not believe her and was unaware that she could change her appearance. Meggan spent most of her time at the Braddock Manor watching television and soon developed a crush on Brian. When Captain Britain was investigating the Warpies, mutated children that were born all over Britain due to the effects of Mad Jim Jaspers’ warping of reality, Meggan was drawn to a van. Inside were the Warpie children and their anger overwhelmed her, and she was caught in the Cherubic Whirlwind created by the children. Fighting off their influence she felt her appearance changing and subconsciously changed her looks to those of Brian’s ideal woman. The two soon fell in love and moved into a lighthouse after Betsy turned the mansion into a sanctuary for the Warpies.

Creation

Megan was co-created by Alan Moore and Alan Davis and first appeared in the UK comic Mighty World of Marvel issue 7 (1983). She was first seen in her beautifull human-like form in the UK comics Captain Brittain issue 8 and issue 9 (1985).

Major Story Arcs

Excalibur

Original Excalibur
Original Excalibur

In search of her heritage, Brian and Meggan went to Russia. During the couple’s first kiss Meggan took on an reptilian appearance. The witch Baba Yaga had possessed her and tried to make her kill her love, Brain Braddock. Meggan was able to defeat her by looking inside herself and remembering ancient spells. While they were traveling, Brian’s sister Betsy had taken up the Captain Britain mantle. They retired to the lighthouse until Betsy was critically injured and Brian once again took up the Captain Britain mantle. During this time Meggan had started to learn to read and write. After Betsy recovered, she joined the X-Men in America as Psylocke. Meggan was watching TV when the X-Men’s death in Dallas was televised. She was shocked at their deaths but Brian took it much harder and wallowed in grief, which was worsened by drinking heavily. After he rejected her attempts to console him, Meggan went to Muir Island where she met Nightcrawler and Kitty Pryde. After rescuing Rachel Summers, aka Marvel Girl (then Phoenix), from the Warwolves the group formed Excalibur.

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The group moved into the lighthouse, but Brian found it hard sharing the cramped quarters with people he barely knew, in contrast to Meggan, who enjoyed the company. This difference in opinion strained Brian and Meggan’s relationship, with Meggan unable to understand Brian’s frustrations, and Nightcrawler was often there to cheer her up after she and Brian argued. The two became quite close and Meggan began to take on his appearance in response to this. At one point they almost kissed but stopped at the last moment. It was during this time that Meggan began to wonder if there was a true Meggan underneath or just reflections of what others desired. When Excalibur went to New York to help Rachel – Marvel Girl, Meggan quickly came under the influence of the demons and turned into the Goblin Princess. She was defeated by Kitty Pryde with the Soulsword after torturing several members of Excalibur. Embarrassed at her actions she stayed in New York where she constantly changed appearances in response to those around her. After returning to England, Meggan and Excalibur traveled to many different Earths.

In a world inhabited by a faery race, Meggan took on their appearance and they greeted her like a princess. During their travels to various worlds Meggan and Rachel began to take on each others likeness due to their close quarters. After returning home Captain Britain and Nightcrawler got into a fight over Meggan which caused her to leave, along with Rachel, in search of her family. After a meeting with a false fortune teller they were lead to a cave inhabited by an old Neuri who was being used by his captors. After freeing him the old being took Meggan to an astral plane where she reverted to her natural appearance, she also discovered that she had the ability to sense others life forces.

Her quest to find her family at a standstill, Meggan and Rachel returned to Excalibur in time to deal with Necrom. It was revealed that Merlin had been influencing the team all along in order to repair the energy matrix connecting Otherworld with the Earth. Unhappy with being manipulated Meggan and Brian destroyed the lighthouse which cut Merlin off from accessing the energy matrix.

Brian proposes
Brian proposes

Braddock Manor served as the groups new headquarters and was visited by Jamie Braddock and Sat-Yr-9. The duo drugged Excalibur but Meggan soon came to and battled Jamie Braddock, resisting his reality warping and causing him to lose control of the alterations he had made to the rest of the team, restoring them to normal. Brian, still under the control of Sat-Yr-9, was ordered to kill Meggan but could not bring himself to hurt her and broke free of Sat-Yr-9’s control. With Jamie taken out by the visiting Psylocke and Excalibur back to full strength, Sat-Yr-9 fled. Now aware Sat-Yr-9 had murdered his former girlfriend Courtney Ross, Brian focussed on trying to track the killer down to the point of leaving Meggan feeling as if he was ignoring her and their relationship suffered. After realizing his mistake he took her on vacation and proposed to her.

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During their trip Captain Britain lost his powers as a result of Excalibur’s actions against the energy matrix and Meggan began to withdraw from him. When asked about her aloof attitude she revealed that it was Brian’s aura that attracted her to him and now that it was gone she didn’t know if she could love him.

Captain Britain’s powers were eventually returned to him by Roma. After traveling to the future, Brian was lost in the time stream as the group returned and Meggan went into a catatonic state. Her concerned teammates tried to contact her by various means but were unsuccessful. After some time Meggan began to revive and take on various forms. Sensing her lover was near she also sensed a connection between Brian and Rachel, one that Rachel had been aware of but kept quiet. Angered at this Meggan attacked Phoenix Force and forced her to help Brian return to the correct time stream. Her efforts to contact her lover brought on a change in Meggan’s powers, she could now control the forces of nature. This was revealed when she stopped lava from harming the group during a cave-in.

Marriage

The Wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan.
The Wedding of Captain Britain and Meggan.

After things calmed down Meggan and Brian resumed their plan to marry. On a trip to Hong Kong, Brian was kidnapped by The Dragons Of The Crimson Dawn. During the battle Brian’s energies were raised to a critical level and Meggan helped to release them into the atmosphere. Captain Britain lost his powers as a result of this and left to explore his new life. Meggan became lonely in his absence and was attracted to Colossus, but though he was likewise attracted to her, both avoided acting on these feelings, as Meggan still loved Brian. Upset and even more alone Meggan awaited Brian’s return and would sit on the docks waiting. He finally returned and although he was powerless the two decided to marry immediately. The couple was married on Otherworld by Roma, the event attended by Excalibur and many of the X-Men.

After the festivities the members of Excalibur decided to go their own way. Meggan helped Brian with his scientific experiments until the heroes were informed of trouble on Otherworld. They arrived to discover that Roma had gone mad and killed most of the Captain Britain Corps. Brian regained his powers and defeated the villain behind it. Roma stepped down and named him King of Otherworld, Meggan stayed with her love and helped him to rebuild the Captain Britain Corps.

House of M

House of M
House of M

During the House of M, Meggan and Brian were given 48 hours to locate the crack in reality that was letting the wave through. Arriving on Earth the couple were caught in the wave and discovered that they, along with Psylocke and Phoenix Force, were the royalty of England. In search of the missing member of the House of M, she battled the Omega Sentinel alongside her husband. When they arrived at the location of their lighthouse Meggan realized that this was where the warp in reality was. After saying goodbye she entered the warp and with the help of her friends closed it from the inside. Once reality was restored very few remembered what had happened, Captain Britain included in this. He has only vague memories and is unaware of Meggan’s sacrifice.

A Hope in Hell

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Meggan was next seen trapped in a dimension connected to Plokta; a duke of Hell’s dream corridor being attacked by a demon. Seeing his beloved wife through the door from our dimension to hers Captain Britain jumped in to save her. He soon realized he was living in a dimension where all his dreams became real. Thinking Meggan to be nothing more than an illusion he forced himself to believe that Meggan did not exist. Because of this Meggan faded from existence only to reappear in hell. However, Meggan was not dead or damned and soon found that nobody knew if she belonged in Hell at all. Seeking assistance Meggan was passed up through the Princes and Dukes of Hell to the five Lords of Hell. By offering them information on the location of their missing Duke of Hell, Plokta (who had been trapped in his own dimension by Captain Britain and MI:13)

Meggan was able to ask the Lords a question: Did she and all the other souls belong in there? In answer to this question Dormammu, one of the lords, tricked Meggan into emphatically connecting with Hell itself using her powers. This turned Meggan into a grotesque monster before Dormammu transported her to another part of Hell. Once here Meggan began to emphatically connect with the demons around her and, using her anger, lead an uprising in Hell. Soon she had a small army of followers that named her “Gloriana; ” she found herself restored back to her her elf-like form with a new costume. She decided to take this new name as her super hero identity and continued to lead the Demons against Hell. Using her powers of empathy Gloriana showed the Demons hope and literally bringing a hope to hell the demons were able to fight on their own. Using her hope Meggan found a portal out of Hell that, with a little help, landed her on one of Dracula’s (who was invading Britain) ships bound for England where she was immediately met by Doctor Doom. He had secretly struck a deal with Dracula who was leading a vampire attack on Great Britain. Doom planned to undermine the vampire lord’s plans by using Meggan as his secret weapon. Doom left Meggan in Dracula’s flagship – ostensibly as a hostage to be used against Captain Britain. However, the more self-confident Meggan used her empathic power to undermine Dracula’s control over his followers, disrupting his already put-upon army. That moment, Captain Britain attacked the flagship as part of MI13’s offensive against Dracula and the lovers were reunited. Together, Meggan and Captain Britain took out Dracula’s strongest ally, Lilith. With the battle won, Brian offered her time if she needed it, but she assured him that all she ever needed was for him to stay the same.

X-Men Disassembled and Excalibur again

Meggan appared and helped the X-Men when they battled Nate Grey. After the end of Age of X-Man and the creation of Krakoa Nation, Excalibur was reformed by Besty (Captain Britain). Meggan was always present, and after the events of Sword of X, she rejoined Excalibur.

Powers

Elemental
Elemental

Meggan is an extremely powerful mutant. She is an empath, elemental, and shapeshifter. The combination of these powers give Meggan a myriad of mystical abilities. She has proven capable of masterful control over the 4 basic elements: Air, Fire, Earth, and Water. Meggan’s degree of influence and control and bonding to the elements allow her to perform a considerable array of effects that rival the most accomplished of elemental mages.

Meggan’s empathy abilities allow her to feel the emotions of others. She has been shown to feel the emotions of people, animals, and plants. She can also influence others’ emotions. She can see psychic, natural and magical auras, and possesses the ability to track someone down with this extra-senory ability.

Being an empathic elemental, Meggan can control a variety of natural phenomenon with her elemental powers, with a high degree of precise control. The environment will act and respond to both Meggan’s command, as well as her emotional state. If she is angry, volcanoes will form/erupt or a severe storm will come. She can stop a forest fire without even trying. She can split lakes in half with a wave of her hand. Meggan can also affect the magnetic fields around herself. She can enhance the abilities of earth-born mutants with her elemental powers. She can also affect man-made things; for instance, when she needed to get to a lower level in a building she talked to the atoms of the structure to make a hole and sealed it back up as if nothing ever happened once she made her decent. She can use her focus her elemental powers into an energy blast. When Meggan was attacked by Baba Yaga, she manipulated the sorceress’s own magical energy and used it against her.

shapeshifter
shapeshifter

Meggan is also a shapeshifter. She can become anything living. She can grow in size or mass. She has been shown to even become creatures in legends. When Meggan was an infant she willed her body to become covered in fur, as a response to her exposure to the cold. When Meggan shape shifts she gets the special power of whatever being she is impersonating. She once took the shape of a dragon-like being and she gained the power of fire breathing. Once she became a werewolf and had the werewolf’s heightened sense and agility. She also grew into a humanoid bunny when she needed to track someone down. She gained the bunny’s agility and jumping skills. Meggan can also shape shift into humans. Depending on her mood she shape shifts into whatever her mood reflects. If she feels loved by everyone she shape shifts into a beautiful woman. If she feels hated she will reflect that hatred. She has been shown to mimic creatures that are around her; such as when she took on an appearance similar to Nightcrawler when she was around him. With her elemental powers she has been shown to alter her appearance due to the weather; such as grow gills and fins when underwater, and grow fur when cold. She can increase her muscles size and density to further enhance her metahuman strength, which can rival that of Captain Britain very easily. When Galactus was taking the life force of Earth, Meggan grew to Galactus’s size and the bigger she got the more the environment was being destroyed. Being an empathic shapeshifter she can mimic the powers of others. She has mimicked the powers of Dazzler, Rogue, Colossus, Longshot, Storm, Wolverine, Havok, Nightcrawler, and even Silver Surfer. As an elemental shapeshifter, she can turn also transform into a being of the elements. Thus far, she has only been shown to turn into sand, stone and water.

Weaknesses

Meggan is vulnerable to telepathic attacks. Meggan doesn’t have the normal psi-blocks that humans have. She can also be dominated by someone with a stronger mental power than she does; for example, when she became a dark evil person upon meeting Dracula. She is also barely able to read and write.

Status

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  • Known Relatives: William (father), unidentified mother, Brian Braddock (husband), James Braddock (brother-in-law), Elisabeth Braddock (sister-in-law), Sir James Braddock (father-in-law, deceased), Lady Elizabeth Braddock (mother-in-law, deceased) .
  • Citizenship: United Kingdom
  • Place of Birth: Near Fenborough Station, London, England.
  • Marital Status: Married.
  • Occupation: Queen of Otherworld, adventurer.
  • Education: No formal schooling; self-taught from watching television.

Characteristics

  • Gender: Female
  • Height: Usually 5’7″, 5’10” in true form (variable)
  • Weight: Usually 120 lbs., 130 lbs. in true form (variable)
  • Eyes: Blue
  • Hair: Blonde
  • Unusual Features: Pointed ears; hair purple as Goblin Princess; eyes white with no pupils in her true form.

Other Versions

Earth-597

On this earth Fraulein Meggan is a member of the Lightning Force, a Nazi version of Excalibur. Like in Earth-616, she and Hauptmann Englande were a couple.

Earth-597 Meggan
Earth-597 Meggan

first Appearance: Excalibur #9

Earth-811

Days of Future Past

Earth-9620

Days of Future Tense.

First Appearance: Excalibur #94

Earth-9997

On Earth X, Meggan was frozen into a statue by the Grey Gargoyle.

Earth-1189

On Earth-1189 Meggan is a member of the Captain Britain Corps

First Appearance: Excalibur #15

Earth-99476

In the universe called Dino-World she is called Megon.

First Appearance: Excalibur #51

Other Media

Games

X-Men: Battle of The Atom

X-Men: Battle of the Atom
X-Men: Battle of the Atom

Meggan is featured in the mobile card game “X-Men: Battle of the Atom” based on the comic book story with the same name. Her cards are:

  • Meggan

Marvel: War of Heroes

Marvel: War of Heroes
Marvel: War of Heroes

Meggan appears in several cards in the mobile card game Marvel: War of Heroes. Her cards are:

  • [Gloriana] Meggan Puceanu

Merchandise

Marvel Legends
Marvel Legends
  • Meggan was featured in the HeroClix figure game.
  • Meggan was featured in Diamond Select’s Minimates line as part of the Excalibur box set.
  • Meggan was featured in Hasbro’s Marvel Legends line as part of the Excalibur box set alongside Captain Britain and Shadowcat.