Space Marine Captain

A Captain leads from the front. By his example shall his men know what it is to be of the Adeptus Astartes, and from his teachings shall they learn the trade of battle in the Emperor's name.

No ordinary man can a Captain be, for many are the paths to victory and he must be master of them all. His very being shall be an extension of the Emperor's work. With every strike of his sword, with every word of his speech, does he reaffirm the ideals of our honoured master. He will vanquish darkness and heresy with every thought, word, and deed. So shall his coming be a sign of deliverance to the dutiful, and a herald of dismay to all traitors. No living man shall stay his wrath.

Roboute Guilliman, quoted in the Apocrypha of Skaros.^[1a]

Space Marines Portal

Ultramarines Primaris Captain.^[14a]

A Space Marine 'Captain' (also known as Brother-Captain, or Company Captain^[2b]) is a Senior rank within a Space marine Chapter. They typically commands an entire Company of his battle brothers (a customary maximum of one hundred Marines).^[2a]

History

The ancient rank of Captain has been employed since the days of the Space Marine Legions. During the Great Crusade a Company Captain was a military rank given to the commander of a Company, a command level between Battalion and Squad, leading a force of a hundred Legionaries. Depending on the Legion, the designation would vary and could be Centurion, Prime, Knight-Captain, Wolf Lord, Blooded, Khan, etc...^[3a][33] This position was mostly granted to Legion Centurions, elite officers of the Legions who demonstrated their worth in the fires of conflict.^[3b]

With the institution of the Codex Astartes, the rank of Captain as Commander of a Company remained and is still in use in the current era.^[2a]

Role and Responsibilities

In a Space Marine Chapter, each company is under the authority of a Captain, seasoned veterans and expert strategists, who have proven their combat skills either in the Chapter's elite 1st Company or through exceptional service in their own company. The Captain’s guidance increases the value of his battle-brothers tenfold, and he justifies their faith in him with every command.^[1a]

Typically, the senior-most Captain commands the First Company and often serves as second-in-command to the Chapter Master and as their immediate successor.^[9][10a] In addition, some chapters, such as the Salamanders^[7] and the Space Wolves^[12a], the Chapter Master is at once the leader of the entire chapter and of his own company of marines.

A Captain isn't just a warrior; they must also possess the ability to persuade and negotiate. Though Captains are capable of decisive action, they understand the importance of subtlety in certain situations. Besides their rank, Captains also carry honorific titles related to their duties as a Master, responsible for an area of Chapter logistics or organization.^[1a]

Wargear

Captains have access to the best equipment available to a Chapter, such as Artificer Armour, Terminator Armour and weapons^[1e], Gravis Armour^[14b], Power Fist, Relic weapons, Thunder Hammer, , Jump Packs and Bikes.^[1e]

Captains assigned to Vanguard Space Marine formations will typically adopt stealth tools such as Omni-Scramblers, lightweight Phobos Armour, and master-crafted Instigator Bolters.^[13]

Chapter Variations

Within many chapters, the Captain is sometimes referred to as "Brother-Captain" in recognition that all marines within the chapter are brethren. Several chapters refer to their Company Captains by different titles:

Chapter	Title Variant
Dark Angels	Master[14a]
Space Wolves	Wolf Lord[12b]
Red Scorpions	Commander[4]
Black Templars	Marshal or Castellan[5]
Iron Hands	Iron Captain[11] or Clan-Commander[20]
Grey Knights	Brother-Captain (represents a slightly different rank)[6]
Raven Guard	Shadow Captain[1]
Excoriators	Corpus-Captain[8]
White Scars	Khan
Deathwatch	Watch Captain[15]

Notable Space Marine Captains

• Ultramarines
  • Severus Agemman - Captain of the 1st Company^[1b]
  • Sevastus Acheran - Captain of the 2nd Company^[16b]
  • Cato Sicarius - Former Captain of the 2nd Company and High Suzerain of Ultramar^[16a]
  • Uriel Ventris - Captain of the 4th Company^[16b]
• Space Wolves
  • Ragnar Blackmane - Wolf Lord of the Blackmanes^[12b]
  • Harald Deathwolf - Wolf Lord of the Deathwolves^[12b]
  • Krom Dragongaze - Wolf Lord of the Drakeslayers^[12b]
  • Sven Bloodhowl - Wolf Lord of the Firehowlers^[12b]
• Blood Angels
  • Karlaen - Captain of the 1st Company^[10b]
  • Erasmus Tycho - Former Captain of the 3rd Company^[10c]
• Dark Angels
  • Belial - Grand Master of the Deathwing^[17]
  • Sammael - Master of the Ravenwing^[17]
  • Lazarus - Master of the 5th Company^[28]

• White Scars
  • Kor'sarro Khan - Khan of the 3rd Company and Master of the Hunt^[1d]
• Imperial Fists
  • Darnath Lysander - Captain of the 1st Company^[1c]
  • Tor Garadon - Captain of the 3rd Company^[18]
  • Taelos - Captain of the 10th Company^[19]
• Salamanders
  • Adrax Agatone - Captain of the 3rd Company^[27]
  • Ur'zan Drakgaard - Captain of the 6th Company^[26]
• Raven Guard
  • Kyrin Solaq - Shadow-Captain of the 5th Company^[21]
• Black Templars
  • Marius Amalrich - Marshal^[24]
• Grey Knights
  • Arvann Stern - Brother-Captain of the 3rd Brotherhood^[22]
• Deathwatch
  • Artemis - Watch Captain^[23]
• Red Scorpions
  • Casan Sabius^[25]

Miniatures

Miniatures Portal

‎

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  Captain (1st Ed.)^[45]

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  Terminator Captain (1st Ed.)^[44]

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  Captain (3rd Ed.)^[42]

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  Terminator Captain (3rd Ed.)^[43]

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  Captain (4th Ed.)^[41]

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  Captain (5th Ed.)^[40]

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  Captain (6th Ed.)^[39]

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  Captain (7th Ed.)^[38]

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  Primaris Captain in Gravis Armor (8th Ed.)^[46]

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  Primaris Captain in Phobos Armour (8th Ed.)

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  Primaris Captain (8th Ed.)

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  Terminator Captain (8th Ed.)^[36]

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  Primaris Captain (8th Ed.)^[37]

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  Primaris Captain in Gravis Armor (9th Ed.)^[30]

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  Primaris Captain with Relic Shield (9th Ed.)^[29]

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  Primaris Captain (9th Ed.)^[35]

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  Captain in Terminator Armour (10th Ed.)^[32]

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  Captain in Terminator Armour (10th Ed.)^[31]

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  Captain with Jump Pack (10th Ed.)^[34]

Sources

• 1: Codex: Space Marines (5th Edition):
  • 1a: pg. 54
  • 1b: pg. 85
  • 1c: pg. 91
  • 1d: pg. 94
  • 1e: pg. 132
• 2: Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition):
  • 2a: pgs. 18-19
  • 2b: pg. 29
• 3: The Horus Heresy Book One - Betrayal, 2011
  • 3a: pg. 31
  • 3b: pg. 190
• 4: Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, pg. 123
• 5: Codex: Black Templars, pg. 8
• 6: Codex: Grey Knights (5th Edition), pg. 12
• 7: Index Astartes IV, pgs. 21-22
• 8: Legion of the Damned (Novel), Chapter One, pg. 33
• 9: Fall of Damnos (Novel), Chapter Three, pg. 57
• 10: Codex: Blood Angels (5th Edition):
  • 10a: pg. 8
  • 10b: pg. 9
  • 10c: pg. 41
• 11: Codex: Space Marines (6th Edition) (E-Book Edition), pg. 234
• 12: Codex: Space Wolves (5th Edition)
  • 12a: pg. 14
  • 12b: pgs. 16-17
• 13: Codex: Vanguard Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 7
• 14: Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition, 2nd Codex)
  • 14a: pg. 62
  • 14b: pg. 127
• 15: Codex: Deathwatch (7th Edition), pg. 16
• 16: Dark Imperium (Novel)
  • 16a: Chapter 12
  • 16b: Chapter 20
• 17: Codex: Dark Angels (6th Edition), pg. 78
• 18: Sentinels of Terra - A Codex: Space Marines Supplement (6th Edition) - The 3rd Company's Triumphs
• 19: Codex: Space Marines (4th Edition), pg. 81
• 20: Clan Raukaan - A Codex: Space Marines Supplement - The Gaudinian Heresy
• 21: War Zone Damocles: Kauyon, pg. 29
• 22: Codex: Grey Knights (7th Edition) — Chapter Organisation
• 23: White Dwarf 257 (UK), pgs. 94–95
• 24: Gathering Storm: Fall of Cadia, Chapter 3
• 25: Warhammer Community: New Heroes for Warhammer 40,000 Coming Soon – 20/11/2017 (saved archive page, dated 10 May 2023, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 26: Rebirth (Novel), Chapter 1
• 27: Salamander (Novel), Chapter 4, Part II
• 28: Warhammer Community: Merry Christmas, From Warhammer Community! – 12/25/2019 (saved archive page, dated 8 July 2024, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 29: Warhammer Community: Warhammer 40,000 Preview – What’s in the Box? – 13/06/2020 (saved archive page, dated 8 July 2024, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 30: Warhammer Community: This Gravis-Armoured Captain is Ready to Fight His Way Through the Christmas Shopping Queues – 20/12/2021 (saved archive page, dated 20 December 2021, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 31: Warhammer Community: NOVA Open Previews – Space Marine Terminators Fire Up the Teleport Homer and Prepare for Rapid Ingress – 8/31/2023 (saved archive page, dated 9 February 2024, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 32: Warhammer Community: NOVA Open Previews – Jump Packs Send Captains and Assault Intercessors Soaring Into the Sky – 31/8/2023 (saved archive page, dated 31 August 2023, last accessed 9 July 2024)
• 33: The Lion: Son of the Forest (Novel), Chapter 5
• 34: Warhammer Community: NOVA Open Previews – Jump Packs Send Captains and Assault Intercessors Soaring Into the Sky (posted 31/8/2023) (last accessed 31/8/2023)
• 35: Warhammer Preview Online – The Dead and the Divine (23/01/21) (last accessed 04/06/23)
• 36: Warhammer Community: Your New Store Opening Miniature – Berek the Indomitable (posted March 4 2019) (last accessed 11/21/2019)
• 37: Warhammer Community: Birthday Battle-brother (27/06/17) (saved archive, last accessed 07/05/23)
• 38: Games Workshop webstore: Shadow Force Solaq (saved archive, last accessed 04/07/23)
• 39: Games Workshop webstore: Space Marine Captain (saved archive, last accessed 03/07/23)
• 40: White Dwarf 345 (UK), pg. 19
• 41: Complete Catalog and Hobby Reference 2005-2006 Edition, pg. 200
• 42: White Dwarf 225 (UK), pg. 56
• 43: Warhammer Community: Sunday Preview – Mortal Realms, Magic, and Space Marines Made to Order (18/09/22) (saved archive)
• 44: Warhammer 40,000 2nd Edition Rulebook pg. 56
• 45: Codex: Ultramarines (2nd Edition) pg. 29
• 46: Games Workshop webstore: Dark Imperium (saved archive, last accessed 24/03/25)