Sirk TV Comic Review: THE UNION #5 [Marvel]

"The Union", as a approach, has the tendencies more of a British-centric X-Men mixed with a bit of "League Of Extraordinary Gentleman". In Issue #5 [Crist & Di Vito/Marvel/22pgs] It shifts between a tendency of over-the-top theatrics and the urgency of subtlety. The advances of Doc Croc seem motivated in an ideal of maniacal arrogance but also a sense of protection. He looks at the people that work with him with abilities including Skreem as those that need to be taken care of and not necessarily those who can stand on their own two feet. That is why when he is betrayed in certain aspects but a person close to him, he is unable to see a form of spy craft that is just under his field of view in the form of a shapeshifter (a skill which Mystique herself realized how to use -- though with the help of Professor X and later Magneto). The eventual resolution of the conflict is bathed in a texture of come-uppance (fueled of course by a jewel that can help rule the world). The bad pun at the end of course notwithstanding, there doesn't seem as much of a morality tale at play beyond the aspect of not over reaching the bound set. C

By Tim Wassberg