Union Jack: Tradition

“So... Captain Britain!”

This is a web series made by fans, and it’s on YouTube here. It’s completely unofficial and, rather winningly, starts with the plea for Marvel not to sue them. Let’s hope they’re not such big meanies as to do that, because I rather enjoyed this.

So, Union Jack. I have no idea whether this is based on a limited series or something as I stopped reading current comics in the mid-‘90s, as the siren call of beer and heavy guitar riffs distracted me. But I remember the Roger Stern stuff in Captain America back in the '80s, as well as a rather embarrassing story in Marvel Comics Presents, but that's it. So I'm coming in relatively cold.

And you know what? This may be low budget, it may have no stars, but it's really rather awesome. It's much swearier than any official version would be, which is a good thing, but it does exactly the right thing and relies on character, dialogue and humour, from the first scene. This is a very British sitcom, with characters you care about and very real dialogue. The set-up is delicious too, with Sam O'Hara Childs' laddish but likeable Joseph Chapman teamed up with his girlfriend Romany as the brains, while Rachel Cuthill gives us an equally genre-savvy Baroness Blood who likes to celebrate the fruition of her dastardly schemes with a "cheeky Nando's". There's lots and lots of violence done to the fourth wall here, which is exactly how I like it. It all feels a bit like a British Joss Whedon series in the best possible way. For a Halloween event this is much, much better than sodding Brexit.

For a first episode with lots to do this does a superb job of fitting lots of necessary exposition and set-up into just thirty-minutes while also hooking you in. I'll be watching next week.