Union Jack v.2 #1
“Enemies of the Crown”
Writer: Christos N. Gage
Pencils/Cover artist: Mike Perkins
Inks: Andrew Hennessy
Colors: Laura Villari
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $2.99 US/$3.75 CAN
I stopped following Ed Brubaker’s Captain America run a couple of issues ago. Though I enjoyed the Winter Soldier subplot, the whole Invaders story arc struck me as just a rehash of past stories (as did the Cosmic Cube’s incorporation into the plot earlier in the series). As a result, my interest in this new Union Jack limited series was somewhat minimal, but when I heard about writer Christos Gage’s use of Israeli and Arab heroes in the story, my interest was piqued. I’m pleased I picked this book up. Politics are front and centre in this story, not the title character’s history. Gage has developed a plot that allows for the color and fun of super-hero action with the tension and intellect of a political thriller. I was also pleased to find that one needn’t have read recent issues of Cap (or any past Invaders comics) to follow this story.
A radical offshoot of Advanced Idea Mechanics, an organization of scientists/terrorists, is making a play to fill the void in the terrorism echelon left by the destruction of HYDRA, and it’s decided to wreak havoc in London to make its point. The British intelligence community, desperate to stave off the attacks with panicking the public, assembles a small group of international heroes, led by Union Jack, a working man’s hero. The heroes hunt down the various supper-villains connected to the looming attacks, as other conflicts arise.
Mike Perkins inked Butch Guice’s work on Ruse from CrossGen Comics years ago, and he brought a much greater sense of definition to the artist’s work. Since then, we’ve seen Perkins develop as a penciller in his own right, and it’s clear what a great impact Guice’s art has had on his. The influence is undeniable, and oddly enough, Perkins’s stuff here boasts that rougher look, but he still maintains a strong sense of realism. I really liked the designs of Sabra and the Arabian Knight; they don’t look like super-heroes here but the soldiers the story requires them to be. Perkins also does the near-impossible and makes some Batroc the Leaper action look truly cool (of course, it helps that the villain is in civvies rather than his purple and orange costume).
Gage does a great job of including a load of somewhat obscure Marvel characters throughout the issue, but he doesn’t require the readership to be intimately familiar with the ins and outs of continuity to appreciate the story. There’s plenty of exposition to allow new readers to pick up on key character and plot points, but since it’s disguised as briefing for the heroes, it’s not intrusive at all. One aspect of the story that didn’t work for me was the pointless and fleeting fight between the title character and a trio of vampires. It does touch upon Union Jack’s status as a frequent vampire hunter, but it contributes nothing to this plot. It’s mainly an acknowledgement of the character’s past adventures, but for a moment, I feared we’d be seeing a story I’ve already read several times before.
The highlight of the book is the inclusion of Sabra and the Arabian Knight. The antagonism between the Israeli and Saudi heroes is completely logical. Gage doesn’t focus exclusively on that subplot, but it’s the one that brings a strong sense of credibility to the impossible characters. I was also pleased that Gage didn’t go so far as to pair an Israeli agent with a Palestinian one — that would have come across as far too manipulative and difficult to accept.
On the surface, this is about super-heroes rushing to stop the rampage of various villains for hire. But the real conflict brewing under the surface is about an idealist everyman facing off against a corrupt administration. It’s easy to see that Gage is talking about American problems with these British characters and backdrop. A satisfying moment is that the hero’s ultimate rebellion against his corrupt “masters” is to speak openly, and even more satisfying is the impression that his honorable and idealistic decision may have been the wrong thing to do. 7/10
Politics are front and centre in this story, not the title character’s history. Gage has developed a plot that allows for the color and fun of super-hero action with the tension and intellect of a political thriller.
… The highlight of the book is the inclusion of Sabra and the Arabian Knight. The antagonism between the Israeli and Saudi heroes is completely logical. Gage doesn’t focus exclusively on that subplot, but it’s the one that brings a strong sense of credibility to the impossible characters.
We can’t have read the same comic. Mine had embarassingly dumb cliches as supporting characters, walking stereotypes. In mine, there wasn’t a shred of the tension expected of a political thriller, just some very, very forced plotting (you 3 are the only one’s available) leading to the usual people in spandex beating each other up. Sleeper combined super-hero action with the tension and intellect of a political thriller, Union Jack is just a dumb piece of crap by comparison.
And that’s without the dialogue which contains such gems as UJ pontificating on the superiority of patriots over mercenaries or the Saudi Arabian displaying a totally unexpected disrespect for women.
Concerning the last bit, that’s again classic railroading, forcing the plot a certain way to make the character’s earlier decision look bad. If -as in this case – things could just as easily have been shown to go the other way that’s a good sign that the plotting wasn’t impressive.
I would have loved for this to be a smart book, but looking at the plotting and characterisation, it just isn’t.
Markus wrote:
mine, there wasn’t a shred of the tension expected of a political thriller, just some very, very forced plotting (you 3 are the only one’s available)
I agree the plotting is forced when it comes to explaining why so few heroes were available to help, but Gage is stuck in the shared super-hero universe. If all the big guns were available all the time, the conflicts would end up being mostly minor in nature. Gage at least acknowledges that and tries to explain why other heroes aren’t summoned. It actually provides an opportunity for him to poke a little fun at Civil War in the process.
I read the same comic Don did, I think. 🙂
I’ll agree that Union Jack isn’t on the level of Sleeper, but that’s kind of like expecting Die Hard to be on the level of The Maltese Falcon. They’re two very different kinds of books. Union Jack is an action book, and a superhero book, first and foremost, and really not the place for the kind of moral complexity and twists and turns of Sleeper.
Union Jack reminded me more of the classic Suicide Squad, mixing equal parts superhero genre (without any embarrassment or attempts to “real ’em up”) and a more glossy, 007 movie style version of espionage.
I for one found this book rather enjoyable. It’s an action book, pure and to the bone, but there is a bit of political intrigue and the usage of such small characters (something that I love to see) was great. Christos Gage nailed Batroc the Leaper, capturing the corniness of the character while still making him seem cool. I just can’t wait to see Gage’s interpretations of Crossfire and his Deathrows. Should be interesting.
I agree with Nick. Union Jack was a good action book, reminds me of books about 10 or 15 years ago when they would be almost totally action with little character development. Now (and I have to say I prefer the writers today as far as immersing a person in the story) writers will spend issues developing someone’s character. Bendis in the article in Wizard where he discusses Ultimate Spider-Man points to that where he has done multiple issues on something that they took only a page or two in the original storylines. Overall I liked Union Jack, but it will be interesting to see if the team survives even this short title run or if they can even keep the support of the government.
Michael wrote:
Overall I liked Union Jack, but it will be interesting to see if the team survives even this short title run or if they can even keep the support of the government.
I honestly don’t expect the “team” to last to the end of the series. First of all, it’s not really a team and doesn’t feel like one. Secondly, the book’s called Union Jack, not Super UN, so eventually, the focus ought to shift to a solo spotlight.