In the early 1990’s, under the Image Comics/Wildstorm fold, came this alien soldier. His real name is Ohmen, but those on Earth know him as the hero called Union. Co-created by Jim Lee and Mike Heisler, Union was introduced in his own miniseries, then went on to have a brief short run in his own series as well as making several appearances throughout the Wildstorm Universe within Image Comics. Yes, I know, he also appeared as some kind of wacko after being possessed or something, but I’m sure that Superboy’s punch fixed this error in judgment.
Union was a soldier of the Protectorate which was in a civil war on his planet, Aegena, against another faction called the Directorate. Both groups possess what is called the “Justice Stone,” which is embedded into the chests of its wearers. Through it, each individual possesses incredible powers.
Perhaps his best appearance to date was when he was a part of the Image Comics/Valiant Comics crossover Deathmate. His appearances in Deathmate can be found in Deathmate Black and Deathmate Epilogue of the series. Within these pages, Union could be seen more as a cosmic character with certainly more power than what has been seen previously. Using his power and that of a piece of Solar, Union was able to recreate both universes and save them from destruction.
Fast forward to the present day, Wildstorm is now a part of DC Comics. As a result of Infinite Crisis, the Wildstorm Universe itself has become part of the new DC Multiverse. But where is Union? Here is a great opportunity for Wildstorm to create their own space stories much like what DC Comics is doing with Green Lantern, Captain Comet, Adam Strange and others.
Perhaps we could see the Protectorate as the Green Lantern Corps of the Wildstorm Universe. Maybe we could watch Union as he becomes the guardian of this space sector. If DC Comics truly want the Wildstorm Universe to be part of this new Multiverse, having Union up front would be a great place to start.
There’s not been a whole lot of excitement for me when it comes to anything from Wildstorm. I do remember some of the books that came out in the 1990’s that seemed to be the center of all the action. Books like Backlash, Gen13, Grifter, Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.s…most of which I bought. And as much as I would like to see another Backlash or Grifter series, I would love to see what could be done with UNION right now!
As always, your comments are appreciated!
Next Week: WANTED!…THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN!
Stephen Hatfield
contact@comicattack.net
Union always seemed like yet another Image/Wildstorm knock-off of Superman. And I always thought “Union” would make a killer team name. Maybe a team of knock-off Supermen!
BACKLASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Second greatest character of all M.F.’in time!
Anyways. I always like Union. I wish he would beat the crap out of Majestic. There ya go. He comes back in the new horrible Wild Cats book and beats the crap out of Majestic. Oh well we can all dream that Wildstorm will really reboot some day. The Fire From Heaven and Wildstorm Rising are by far two of my favorite crossovers of all time.
Good stuff S. I never really read much Image but I know I have that issue above with the lightsaber.
I have yet to read Union, but I always thought he looked bad ass.