The Union (Marvel)

Not to be confused with Union (comics) (1994), published by Image Comics.

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|

The Union

Publication information
Publisher| Marvel Comics
First appearance| (King in Black[c])
The Union #1 (December 2020)
(The Marvels [d])
The Marvels #5 (September 2021)
Created by| (The Union)[a]
(The Marvels)[b]
In-story information
Type of organisation| Superheroes
Base(s)| United Kingdom
Leader(s)|

* Union Jack (Joe Chapman) [e]
* Britannia (Tanya) [f]

Agent(s)|

* Kelpie
* The Choir (Ruth)
* Snakes
* Bulldog [g]

Roster
See:  Current Roster

The Union is a fictional UK superhero team and comic book series published by Marvel.[1]

The Union team has both old and new superheroes within it, including British hero Union Jack and a major new character, Britannia, who leads the new team in its fight against the enemies they encounter.

The Union appeared in the crossover event called King in Black alongside other well known comic book heroes and teams, and faced off against known foes and new foes not yet fought by any Marvel superhero or team.[2]

## Comic

[edit]

### Comic history

[edit]

The Union (comic) was first released in December 2020 with the first issue of the comic The Union #1. The Union was originally due to be release as part of the Empyre event, but was moved and rewritten to fit into King in Black event due to issues caused by the ongoing pandemic.[3][h]

### The Union (comics)

[edit]

King in Black

Issue No  | Release  | Publisher  | Created by
1  | December 2, 2020  | Marvel  | Paul Grist (writer)

Andrea Di Vito (illustrator)

2  | January 13, 2021
3  | February 24, 2021
4  | March 31, 2021
5  | May 5, 2021
Special releases

Name  | Release  | ISBN  | Publisher  | Created by  | Type  | Citation
The Union: The Britannia Project  | July 7, 2021  | ISBN 9781302938680 | Marvel | Paul Grist (writer)

Andrea Di Vito (illustrator)

| Trade Paper Back (TPB)  | [4]

## Team

[edit]

### Team publication history

[edit]

The Union (team) first appeared in The Union #1 as part of the King in Black crossover event.[5] On 29 September 2021, The Union (team) featured in The Marvels #5 alongside other marvel superheroes.[i]

### Team Information

[edit]

#### The Union

[edit]

The Union was formed by the British Government as a publicity attempt to restore faith in Britain. The superhero team consists of four members representing the individual nations of the United Kingdom.[7]

Union Jack

Representative of England in the team and current leader, He is the only pre-existing character in the Union, and the latest man to bear the name of a character who first appeared in The Invaders.

Kelpie

Representative of Scotland in the team. She is referred to as "an ancient water demon found living in a Scottish lake". She has the power to control water, as well as being able to transform her hands into sharp claws.

The Choir

Representative of Wales in the team. She has black hair with a bright green strip across the top, and she is dressed in a glowing green and black contrasting outfit with a blue cloak and she wields a dagger. She is described as having "a voice that can shatter stone". During the attack on Earth by Knull, the Choir is infected by a symbiote. She is freed of Knull's control through the efforts of the Union, but later defects to work alongside Doc Croc and his team.

Snakes

Representative of Northern Ireland in the team. Snakes is a sentient collection of snakes formed together in the shape of a human. Described as having "the strength of ten men".

### Roster

[edit]

The Union (Marvel team) roster has gone through a number of changes, this includes members leaving and joining the team and being present in a spirit form.[8][9]

(Current member are indicated in bold) (Leaders are highlighted in gold)

#### Current Roster

[edit]

The Union

Team Member  | The Union (Comic)  | The Marvels  | Union Jack: Blood Hunt
1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 5  | 1  | 2  | 3
Union Jack | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | [j] | No
Kelpie | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | [k] | No
The Choir | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No[l] | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No
Snakes | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | No  | No
No of Members  | 5  | 4  | 5  | 4  | 6  | 5  | N/A  | 4[m] | N/A

#### Deceased members

[edit]

Team Member  | The Union (Comic)  | The Marvels  | Union Jack: Blood Hunt

|
|
|

1  | 2  | 3  | 4  | 5  | 5  | 1  | 2  | 3
Britannia | Yes  | No  | No  | No  | [n] | No  | No  | [o] | No
Bulldog | No  | No  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | Yes  | No  | [p] | [q]

Britannia

Britannia was the leader of the Union in the Union #1 and represented the United Kingdom as a whole. She was a powerful warrior that wore a dark and light contrasting blue outfit with a red cloak. She was seen wielding a sword and shield, as well as a trident. After being killed by a symbiote dragon, her spirit resided within Union Jack, to protect him from harm and enhance his strength.

Bulldog

Joining the team as a replacement for Britannia after her death, Bulldog was a short man who displays super-strength and enhanced agility. He wore a red and grey jumpsuit and black boots.[10] In Union Jack the Ripper #2, Bulldog is turned into a vampire and in Union Jack Blood Hunt #3 Bulldog is killed.[11]

## Other series (team members featured)

[edit]

Series  | Issue No  | Release  | Created by  | Type  | Members featured  | Cite

|
|
|
|
|
|

The Marvels | The Marvels #5  | 29 September 2021  | Kurt Busiek (writer)

Yildiray Cinar (inker)

Richard Isanove (colourist)

Simon Bowland (letterer)

Yıldıray Çınar (penciler)

| Cameo  | All  | [12]
Blood Hunt | Union Jack the Ripper #1-3  | May 15, 2024  | Cavan Scott

Kev Walker

| Spinoff  |

* Union Jack

* Bulldog[r]
* Kelpie
* Britannia [s]

| [11][13]

## Britannia Project (Organisation)

[edit]

Britannia Project

Publication information
Publisher| Marvel Comics
First appearance| The Union #1
Created by| Paul Grist
In-story information
Type of organisation| Superhero Organisation
Base(s)| United Kingdom
Leader(s)| Steven Darwin
Agent(s)| The Union

## Other Characters (Comic)

[edit]

### Allies

[edit]

* Selwlyn James (Government Minister with special responsibility for super heroes), the head of the Britannia Project, and the Union's government liaison. Later revealed to be ex-supervillain The Sponge
* Steve Darwin (Leader of the Britannia Project)

### Enemies

[edit]

* Knull
* Doc Croc (Croker Dyle)
* The Sponge (Selwlyn James)
* Skreem (The Choir) (supervillain / superhero) (Introduced in The Union #1) (First full appearance in The Union #4)
* Volcana (introduced in The Union #4)
* Lady Shimmering Lights (introduced in The Union #4)
* Craig, the cybernetically enhanced Corgi (introduced in The Union #4)

Races and species (featured)

* Humans
* Symbiotes/Klyntar
* Dogs (Robot)

## Reaction

[edit]

The Union received mixed reviews from people across the United Kingdom, with some of the Scottish and Welsh people disagreeing with the name of the group and the way that their characters Kelpie (Scotland) & The Choir (Wales) portray the two countries.[14][15]

## See also

[edit]

* List of Marvel superhero teams
* List of Marvel Comics characters

* Union Jack (Marvel Comics)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "'The Union' Introduces New Superteam to Marvel's Comic Book Universe This May". The Hollywood Reporter. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 2020-06-08.
2. ^ Lealos, Shawn. S (December 7, 2020). "King in Black: Knull's Attack Kills One of Marvel's Newest Heroes". Comic Book Resources.
3. ^ Lovett, Jamie (October 30, 2020). "Marvel's The Union: Paul Grist Talks Introducing New Superhero Team During King in Black". Comic Book.
4. ^ Grist, Paul (July 7, 2021). The Union: The Britannia Project. Marvel Entertainment. ISBN 9781302938680 - via Google Books.
5. ^ MacNamee, Olly (December 2, 2020). "Review: 'The Union' #1 Introduces Readers To A United Team For A Disunited Britain". Comicon.
6. ^ Dodge, John (September 30, 2021). "The Marvels Puts a Controversial King in Black Team Back in Action". Comic Book Resources.
7. ^ Adams, Tim (2020-02-14). "Marvel Introduces The Union, The UK's Brand-New Superhero Team". CBR. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
8. ^ Isaak, Joshua (May 16, 2021). "Marvel Reveals a Horrifying to Alternative To Infinity Stones". Screen Rant.
9. ^ Corley, Shaun (May 14, 2021). "Marvel's British Wolverine Just Endured a Humiliating Fastball Special". Screen Rant.
10. ^ Wood, Robert (2021-02-21). "Marvel's Newest Team Have a Brand New Member... Who They Don't Want". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
11. ^ a b Dodge, John (2024-06-29). "Marvel's Blood Hunt Reveals the Gruesome Fate of a Fan-Favorite Superhero". CBR. Retrieved 2024-07-26.
12. ^ Dodge, John (2021-09-30). "The Marvels Puts a Controversial King in Black Team Back in Action". CBR. Retrieved 2024-06-23.
13. ^ "Union Jack the Ripper: Blood Hunt #2 Reviews". League of Comic Geeks. Retrieved 2024-07-27.
14. ^ Jones, Branwen (February 24, 2020). "Marvel unveils its Welsh superhero - and some fans think it's 'humiliating". Daily Post.
15. ^ Hay, Katherine (February 20, 2020). "This is a big mistake': Scots react as Marvel launch new UK superhero team called The Union". Edinburgh News.

## External links

[edit]

* Marvel
* The Union (Marvel Comic Series)
* The Union (Marvel Comic Series) (trade paperback)
* The Marvels #5 (Marvel Comic)

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ see publication history section
2. ^ see the other series (team featured) section
3. ^ King in Black is the first crossover event that The Union features in and includes the first of The Union series of comics
4. ^ The Marvels is the first comic that The Union (team) feature in that is outside of The Union (comic) series (cameo appearance).
5. ^ Leader in The Union #2 - #5 and current holder of the position.
6. ^ Leader in The Union #1 (deceased)
7. ^ Turned into a vampire in Union Jack: Blood Hunt #2 and killed in #3 (deceased)
8. ^ This was part of a 5 issue mini series
9. ^ This is a cameo role and not a full feature [6]
10. ^ appears as cameo
11. ^ appears as cameo
12. ^ see supporting characters section
13. ^ See deceased members that feature as cameos in Union Jack: Blood Hunt #2
14. ^ but in The Union #5 he is eventually stopped through the combined efforts of Union Jack and the spirit of Britannia.
15. ^ appears as a cameo
16. ^ Turned into a vampire in Union Jack: Blood Hunt #2
17. ^ Bulldog is killed in The Union #3
18. ^ Cameo in Union Jack: Blood Hunt #2 & #3
19. ^ Appears in spirit form