Captain America - Every National Hero In Marvel Comics Explained

Lord James Falsworth was the first Union Jack. He was a British soldier during the First World War who fought in the Freedom's Five. He returned to his post during World War 2 and joined the Invaders, but when his vampire brother Baron Blood attacked him and crushed his legs, he was effectively put out of service.

His son Brian would succeed him, while his daughter Jacqueline became the hero Spitfire. Together, they joined the Allied team the Invaders to carry on the work their father had started. Despite his service throughout WWII, Brain doesn't live much longer after it ended, and was unceremoniously killed in a car crash in the early 1950s.

Spitfire's son Kenneth, however, did not fancy continuing the family business. It was left to common, working class boy Joseph Chapman to pick up the Union Jack name following a visit to the Falsworth estate. Chapman remained friends with the Falsworths, serving as their protector against vampiric relatives with a vendetta. He also became close to Captain America, and they often worked together to prevent neo-Nazi uprisings in the UK.

Union Jack will soon appear as the leader of new British team The Union. While other countries will always be outnumbered by the sheer volume of American heroes and teams, these national heroes show what Marvel have to gain by taking a more international approach to their stories.