Whenever Jonathan Hickman boards a comic, specifically a Marvel comic, chances are that readers are in for something bold and unexpected. During his tenure with the House of Ideas, Hickman has blown up the Marvel Multiverse with Secret Wars, launched the X-Men into the Krakoan Age with House Of X/Powers of X, and is currently exploring the boundaries of magic and science with G.O.D.S. Now, he joins forces with Stefano Caselli, David Curiel, and Joe Caramagna for Ultimate Universe #1, which starts to delve into how the Ultimate Universe has changed.
Following the events of Ultimate Invasion, the Maker and his forces have been sealed away in his futuristic city. This leaves Tony Stark, aka Iron Lad, and a version of Reed Richards known as “Doom” to try and set the world to its rightful place. In order to do that, they enlist the help of the Asgardian Thor…but the God of Thunder is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Even worse, while the Maker is trapped, his agents are still moving chess pieces behind the scenes.
Hickman’s penchant for grand, sweeping science fiction epics resonates throughout Ultimate Universe #1. Throughout the one-shot, he keeps circling back to a singular theme: the world is not as it should be. Thor is a pariah instead of a king, locked up for the murder of his father Odin. Tony lost his father Howard in the battle against the Maker. Captain America is still frozen in a block of ice. “To make a world where men are chained to a future that is not their own – obscenity,” Thor says in one panel, summarizing the upcoming fight that Iron Lad and his allies will have to engage in. Hickman also starts laying the seeds for upcoming Ultimate Marvel titles toward the end, which results in some genuine surprises.
Caselli, who previously worked with Hickman during his tenure on the Avengers and X-Men titles, delivers page after page of eye catching action. His work is perfect for the Ultimate Universe design; Iron Lad boasts a sleek red and silver armor that hearkens back to Stark’s Iron Centurion days, while the inhabitants of Asgard bear the armor you’d expect from a group of Norse warriors. Where Caselli really shines is in his depiction of Thor. The God of Thunder is every bit as impressive as you’d expect; he towers over everyone in the room, and when he finally gains hold of his hammer Mjlonir he sports a uniform that still retains its Ultimate inspiration but is also lined with regal blues and yellows courtesy of Curiel’s artwork.
The one flaw of Ultimate Universe #1 is that a great deal of it is built upon the fallout from Ultimate Invasion. If you hadn’t read that issue, you’d be thinking “Wait, why is Reed Richards Doctor Doom now?” or “Why is Tony Stark a kid?” That being said, the last two pages – dedicated to newcomer Peach Momoko – offer yet another unique glimpse into this world. Momoko’s becoming well known for her eye-catching, and often disturbing, painted artwork, which she will be bringing to the pages of Ultimate X-Men next July. In just two pages she’s hooked me into a new world, and I can’t wait to see what she does with the merry mutants.
Ultimate Universe #1 blends together a sweeping story with epic artwork to present the next version of Ultimate Marvel, as only Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli could put it. Even if Hickman’s left the main Marvel universe behind for the most part, he’s proven he still has the chops to deliver the kind of barrier-breaking stories that made Marvel a major force in comics – and will continue to do so when he and Marco Checchetto take over Ultimate Spider-Man.
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