All good things come to an end, and according to Marvel Comics, Ultimate Endgame is the final fight to end the new Ultimate Universe. The Ultimates have had two years to build an army to fight the Maker, while he has had 2,000 due to how time progresses within his dome. That dome is coming down with mere minutes to go at the start of Ultimate Endgame #1, with a battle ahead most won’t see coming.
Ultimate Endgame #1 opens in 1963, just three months after the Maker came to the new Ultimate Universe. Set in the Eternal City of Olympia, we are witnesses to the Maker killing the last Eternal. It’s a foreboding reminder of just how powerful this villain is, as well as how demented. Twisting his head this way and that, it’s a disturbing scene, and a reminder that at the start, he was powerful enough to kill gods.
From there, the story jumps to December 2025, where we see Spider-Man and his family holed up in the Savage Land safe house. Through J. Jonah Jameson, we learn people are rising up after being inspired by the Ultimates to join in and fight the Maker. It’s unclear whether this scene takes place after Ultimate Spider-Man #23, but it’s fair to say it’s likely, since Peter and his family seem intact before he and Iron Lad rush off to Latveria with only 10 minutes left before the Maker returns. Either way, Spider-Man is ready to fight with his Picotech suit, and writer Deniz Camp reminds us that what came before mattered as the public is made aware that the Maker can’t win.
Freaky!
Courtesy of Marvel.
The rest of the issue is nearly nonstop, with the countdown framed in seconds, and a small group of heroes ready to face whatever the Maker has ready for them. The stakes were already high, but a few quick moves by Fury, and it’s safe to say Ironlad, Spider-Man, Doom, and America were never going to be ready. Much of the second half is the team trying to get their bearings as we learn what the world is like under the dome. That includes a familiar Marvel tech hero making an appearance, and a possible ally nobody thought possible. It builds to the Maker’s first appearance in some time, and enough mystery to make any reader unsure yet excited to see what comes next.
Art is shared by Jonas Scharf and Terry and Rachel Dodson, with Scharf drawing the prologue and inside the dome pages, and the Dodsons covering everything outside the dome. Scharf’s detailed style suits the weirdness of Maker in the opening as well as the sci-fi creative ideas under the dome in the back half of the issue. Meanwhile, the Dodsons supply a good sense of chaos for the heroes prior to the dome opening, as well as a wholesome style that suits the short scene with Peter and his family at the start.
Between the art changes and the shift in focus from the heroes being ready to not being ready at all, this issue reads a bit disjointed. The tone feels scattered, and you end up leaving less sure of where this book is going. It doesn’t help that the Maker is only revealed, rather than given any scenes to reveal their plans or their approach. The lack of the full cast of heroes is also an odd choice, since many will be expecting Wolverine and Peach Momoko’s X-Men appearing in some capacity. Still, there’s a lot here to be excited for as our heroes aren’t ready in the slightest, but certainly won’t give up.
Ultimate Endgame #1 is a tense, ambitious opening that leans into dread, momentum, and uncertainty rather than easy victories. While its shifting tone and structure can feel uneven, the issue succeeds in resetting the stakes and reminding readers why the Maker is one of Marvel’s most terrifying villains, leaving the Ultimates wildly unprepared and the audience eager to see how they survive what’s coming next.
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