Warning: contains spoilers for The Union #3!
A member of Marvel's British super-team the Union just revealed the most horrifying secret identity ever. Since his introduction at the start of the series, Snakes' identity has been shielded from view by a large hood. In The Union #3, written by Paul Grist with art by Andrea Di Vito, readers see Snakes' true face. It is one that was hidden for a good reason, even if it does have roots in an old Irish legend.
The Union, Britain's newest team of superheroes, is a disaster. With their original beloved leader dead and their newly appointed leader unable to bring the team together, it's looking like this team will be hard-pressed to save anything, including each other. When former super-villain the Choir is kidnapped, the team are brought together against Shifter - a shape-shifting super-villain. While Snakes originally has the upper hand, things rapidly fall apart, in more ways than one.
When desperate super-villain Shifter becomes a gorilla and tries to tear Snakes apart, it's revealed there is no single body to break. It turns out the hero's name and greeting of, "I am snakes," was entirely literal. Dozens of writhing serpents spill out, shocking Shifter so much he reverts to his regular form. It's a horrifying reveal, but one that makes it clearer than ever that former leader Britannia had some very specific criteria for the people she chose to form her team.
Save for Union Jack - a close friend of Britannia's from before the team's formation - each member is in some way a monster. Kelpie has the power of hydrokinesis and is named after the mythical creature, which is known to enjoy drowning people - hinted to be because that's exactly what she is. The Choir can shatter stones with her voice; something she used to do as the super-villain Skreem. In contrast, Britannia was the poster child for heroism, but she died facing the King in Black's forces, taking everyone's hope with her. Though a stalwart, dignified soul, Snakes is now revealed to be the least physically human of them all.
Snakes is the Irish representative of the Union, which makes it all the more fitting that his body is made up of snakes. It harks back to the legend of St. Patrick, who was said to have driven all the snakes out of Ireland. It seems like instead of leaving, the snakes joined forces, put on a robe, and became the kind of hero only Britannia would put faith in. This team seemingly brings together the strangest assortment of beings representing the different parts of the United Kingdom and expects them to work together. The real monstrosity is their inability to work as a team now that their unifier is gone.
In exposing darkness just under the surface of a team intended to signify unity, the Union act as a commentary on the United Kingdom itself. This team is one riddled with past sins - one which finds it almost impossible to get along - but which can only move forward with all the good and the bad, equally. It has to accept the wrongs of its individual and collective past, not by pretending the monstrous truth isn't there, but by reckoning with that truth and coming to a new understanding. With only two issues left in their miniseries, the Union don't have long to find a way to pull together, but Britannia offered each a vision of a better way forward. One by one, the team is going to have to learn to trust its members, even if it means exposing their darkest secrets to the light of day.