Union Jack #1 (of 4)

Written by Christos N. Gage

Art by Mike Perkins and Andrew Hennessy

Cover by Mike Perkins

 

Painting houses by day and killing vampires by night, Joey Chapman is Union Jack, a true hero of the English working class, a right British version of Captain America. (Then why isn't he called Captain Britain, you ask? The name was already taken, that's why.)

 

First appearing in the late '70s, Union Jack was retroactively added into Marvel Universe continuity as a legacy hero, defending Britain from Nazis and vampires as far back as World War II. The character has more recently appeared in Ed Brubaker's hot Captain America re-launch, which is no doubt why he's earned a shot at the big time with his own miniseries here (To help guarantee some Captain America-style success, Cap artist Mike Perkins draws Union Jack in his strong, photo-realistic style—think Brian Hitch, only faster, and you've got a good idea of what Perkins is capable of).

 

The story is courtesy of Christos Gage, who does a fine job of keeping the vibe of the current Captain America title in tact—this isn't your standard supervillain and alien invasion fighting, but 21st century, terrorist-hunting, wrapped in a flag (the union jack rather than Old Glory, however).

 

Jack, who looks more than a little like a terrorist himself (given the ski-mask he wears), is picked up by M.I.5 and given a stressful assignment: In a matter of hours, an A.I.M. splinter group intends to launch a series of coordinated terrorist attacks against London. This being the Marvel Universe, rather than bombs or poison, they'll be using "enhanced individuals," ten bottom-feeding mercenary supervillains like Boomerang, Machete, Jackhammer and the like.

 

Jack has to hunt them all down and stop them before they can launch their attacks, without anyone outside of M.I. 5 knowing what he's up to, or else panic could grip the city. Luckily, he doesn't have to go it alone, as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s former deputy director and Nick Fury flame Contessa Allegra Valentina de la Fontaine, Israeli mutant heroine Sabra (between this series and Civil War: X-Men, it's a good time to be a Sabra fan, I guess) and the all-new Arabian Knight, an agent of the Saudi government.

 

The first stop on their investigation? Hitting up Batroc the Leaper for intel.

 

Gage has a solid, action-oriented premise at work here, and he accentuates class in one conflict involving UJ and his superiors. He even makes Batroc seem much cooler than a French guy (with that moustache, that costume and that ability) has any right to be.

 

I had a pretty hard time getting around the way the plot mirrors real-world events a little too closely, however—I wonder how this story reads in London, where there actually were terrorist attacks of a similar nature to some depicted here. He also has the Israeli and Saudi super-agent bickering at each other about their religious and cultural differences. Realistic? Yeah, probably, but also tiresomely predictable.

 

For fans of the Captain America monthly's recent brand of Marvel Universe espionage and counterterrorism stories, however, Union Jack should more than deliver the goods. I don't know if it will actually convert any newcomers into Union Jack fans, but it is at least a nice intro to a cool character with plenty of potential that’s waiting to be realized. I, for one, am eager to see if Gage can make good on it in the remaining issues of the miniseries.

 

Rating - 5