While a relatively new team in the Marvel Universe, the Union has one of the most surprisingly powerful heroes among its ranks.
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Union #2 by Paul Grist, Andrea di Vito, Le Beau Underwood, Nolan Woodard, and VC’s Travis Lanham, on sale now.
Britain’s brand new superhero team has just been unveiled to the world in a glorious display of strength and agility, only for the war games to be interrupted by the sudden appearance of a monstrous symbiote dragon. The leader of the team and national sweetheart, Britannia, was quick to rush the beast and take it down in brutal fashion, but her heroism cost her everything.
Now surrounded by symbiote-infected soldiers and down their greatest asset, the Union are facing a world-ending threat on their very first day in action. Luckily, Britannia wasn’t the only heavy hitter on the team, and Kelpie is more than happy to show the rest of them just what she can do.
As quickly as Britannia and the dragon fell to one another’s assaults, the remaining Union members are beset on all sides by the soldiers they had just been competing against, now completely assimilated into the symbiote Hive. Each of them stands their ground against the attackers, Kelpie unleashing her claws on her assailants while Snakes throws them around like rag dolls. Choir isn’t up to the task, it seems, and when she makes a break for it she is almost immediately overcome by pursuing soldiers. Her superpowered scream is more than enough to get her free of their clutches, but not enough to save her from becoming host to the living darkness herself. Choir knocks out Union Jack, and when he comes to she has made her way up the coast with the rest of the symbiote soldiers. There isn’t time to make it on foot, and the team doesn’t have access to any sort of fast transport, at least not until Kelpie steps up to the plate to ferry them along with the water itself.
Her hydrokinetic powers get them where they need to be before the symbiotes can take control of the town they’ve chosen as their next target, but there are still too many of them for the Union to handle without some sort of haymaker. Union Jack, admittedly, has no real idea what his teammates are even capable of, but he’s about to find out. Kelpie, without batting an eye or dropping her claws from the battle she’s currently fighting, summons the water nearby and draws it upward. In only a moment’s time, a massive tidal wave comes crashing down on top of all of them, wrenching steel beams under its incredible weight and clearing their way.
Kelpie’s powers aren’t necessarily surprising, but the scope of them is far greater than expected. Transforming her hands into claws and carrying herself at high speeds on waves alone are abilities that she puts to good use. Seeing her continue fighting while also conjuring a current strong enough to wash away multiple superhumans as well as a small army of Knull’s symbiotes, not to mention doing both without breaking a sweat or losing any focus, might just make Kelpie one of the next Marvel powerhouses to look out for when “King in Black” is finished. Assuming she lives that long, that is.
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