WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Union #1 by Paul Grist, Andrea Di Vito, Drew Geraci, Le Beau Underwood, Nolan Woodard, and VC's Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Marvel's new series, The Union, brought together the greatest of the U.K.'s heroes leading into the King in Black event, the team leader was Britannia, a powerful Wonder Woman-like warrior.
This included one legacy character in Union Jack (Joey Chapman) and featured a series of new heroes, including Britannia and her team of the Choir, Kelpie and Snakes. Of them all, Britannia was considered the most powerful, and the team's respected leader.
In a shocking moment, and similar to horror movies like Psycho and Scream, the team leader and the most powerful member of the Union died in the first issue. This was shocking because it was Britannia that the issue paid the most attention to before the attack started. The story even started with a cartoon of Britannia fighting a villain known as Doc Croc, and when she won, she exclaimed that the defining characteristic of the British people is that they're too stubborn to give up.
The team was considered the U.K.'s newest heroes, brought in front of the fans with an appearance on morning talk television as they prepared to defend their country. There was also a game in play for that episode, with Union Jack part of a group sent to plant a flag. He was the only man left at the end, and when he reached his endpoint, he was stopped by Britannia. While he was able to get by her, it was still impressive to see the new leader almost stop the only hero here with a history in Union Jack. What was funny was that the talk show in question was more interested in talking to Britannia than Union Jack, showing how important she was to the team.
The team featured members from different countries. Britannia represented the U.K., with a sword and a lion shield. Kelpie represented Scotland and can control water. The Choir represents Wales and delivers intense soundwaves that can rupture a person's ears. Snakes represent Northern Ireland and is a monster of a man. Union Jack represents England, who has no superhuman powers yet still stands as one of England's greatest heroes. Britannia proved in this issue to have high morals as well, remaining ideal to Britain's dream. However, before they could even prove themselves, a symbiote dragon attacked to start "King in Black."
Britannia attacked the dragon before any of her teammates could react. She took her sword and shield into action while also dealing with a small sphere from the TV network demanding an interview. While the interviewer persisted, it might have distracted the hero enough. She cut off the dragon's head but was impaled by its tail. She fell to the ground, and while Union Jack held her, she died, saying, "I had a good run, this time." The symbiote then took over the humans on-site and Union Jack and the Union lept into action, looking to avenge their leader's death.