Marvel Comics will introduce a brand new superhero team called The Union. The team is comprised of heroes from all around the United Kingdom and hails from writer Paul Grist (Judge Dredd, Jack Staff) and artist Andrea Di Vito (Annihilation). The five-part series will spin out of the events of Marvel’s 2020 event, Empyre. Artist R.B. Silva (Powers of X) helped to design the new looks for the cast of characters.
The team will consist of Union Jack, Snakes from Northern Ireland, Kelpie from Scotland, The Choir from Wales, and their fearless leader, the legendary Britannia.
“40 years ago, Roger Stern and John Byrne introduced a new Union Jack into the pages of Captain America! This is the comic I've been waiting 40 years to write!” Grist said. “New heroes! New adventures! And a team that’s falling apart before it's even begun!”
“I really like Medieval themes. With Britania and Kelpie, I wanted them to look like medieval warriors and I just simplified and modernized it from there,” Silva said regarding the new character designs. “For Snakes, I thought of the visual for the Executioner. Someone the enemy will fear from just a look. And for the Choir, more of a light visual, something that can enable quick movements. On her knife I put 3 dragon's heads. I know on Wales’ flag they have a dragon with only one head but I thought, why not three?”
Along with crafting the new character designs, Silva also handled the cover for the first issue.
The Union, which is a limited series consisting of five issues, will hit shelves this May. Empyre, the event that will introduce the new Marvel team, is slated to launch this April.