Lionheart (Marvel Comics)

Real name: Kelsey Leigh

Occupation: Adventurer, former homemaker

Group affiliation: Avengers, Captain Britain Corps

First appearance: Avengers (Vol. 3) #77 (2004)

Joined the Avengers: Avengers Vol 3 #82

Powers: Captain Britain's body has been mystically altered to grant her superhuman strength, agility, endurance, speed, and reflexes.

Weapons: Sword of Might, a mystic weapon that is invulnerable to all harm, capable of cleaving through any substance up to foot-thick steel. It serves to channel mystical energy so she never tires; this energy can also be used for destructive blasts or protective sheilds

History: Kelsey Leigh was a single mother with two young children. Her face was scarred from a previous brutal attack when men invaded her home and assaulted her. She otherwise lived an ordinary life in southeast England. One fateful day, her family found themselves on the front line of a battle between the Avengers and the Wrecking Crew. When Thunderball managed to render Captain America unconscious and was about to kill him, Kelsey selflessly blocked his attack, using the downed hero's shield. While the shield was indestructible, Kelsey wasn't, and the shock from the blows inflicted terrible injuries; she died en route to receiving medical attention.

Kelsey awoke to find herself in a ring of standing stones, where she was met by a vision of Brian Braddock, Captain Britain. He knew that Morgan le Far was behind the Wrecking Crew, and that the sorceress was about to invade Otherworld, intedning to use his magical link to his homeland to harm Britain through him. By passing the mantle of Captain Britain to another, he could sever that connection, thwarting her plans. He informed Kelsey that her bravery had earned her a second chance to live and to defend her home, and then asked her to choose between the Sword of Might and the Amulet of Right. Grasping at the chance to see her children again, and feeling that a necklace could not defend anything, Kelsey chose the sword, the path of violence. Instantly, she was transformed into the new Captain Britain, only to discover that her decision meant that if she ever revealed who she was to her children, they would die.

The new Captain Britain returned to Earth, where she helped the Avengers defeat Morgan and her cronies, proving herself to be far more ruthless in battle than her predecessor. With her children now in the Avengers' care, Kelsey accepted an offer to join the team, so that even if she could not be reunited with them, she could remain near them.