The Ultimate Universe – or Earth-6160, if you want to get technical – was always running on borrowed time. From the minute the Maker was sealed within his domed City, the heroes of Earth-6160 have had roughly two years to prepare for his return. This leads to Ultimate Universe: Two Years In, which goes all out as it explores the vast corners of Earth-6160, and shows how despite all the massive changes to the “world outside our window”, some constants still remain.
In a similar fashion to Ultimate Universe: One Year In, this one-shot pulls plot points from Deniz Camp’s Ultimates, with Camp returning to script the adventures of the Guardians of the Galaxy. Following their appearance in Ultimates #8, the Guardians have been racing to find their other members, inspired by America Chavez’s work with the Ultimates. It turns out that due to the Maker’s manipulations, the other Guardians aren’t the same…with some of them even turning away from the heroic path.
Ultimate Universe: Two Years In is a comic that’s weird in all the best ways. Camp seems to be channeling some of the same energy that he’s bringing to Absolute Martian Manhunter, featuring some truly wild twists on established Marvel heroes. The opening sequence features a young man with the power of the Phoenix and another wielding an Infinity Gauntlet joining Star-Lord in the Superflow for a last ditch mission. Ultron-82 watches whole life cycles play out, a far cry from the genocidal artificial intelligence that routinely menaces the Avengers. One of my favorite moments concerns a character named M.O.D.O.S., or the Mental Organism Designed Only for Sorcery. I’m not even joking when I say I would read a M.O.D.O.S. miniseries.
Camp isn’t alone in his endeavor, as he’s joined by Alex Paknadel and a host of artists including Javier Pulido, Phil Noto, and Francesco Manna. Each of them illustrates a section of the comic, detailing the Guardians’ adventures, which results in a truly trippy experience. Noto’s photorealistic art makes the Guardians look every bit the heroes they aspire to be, while Manna’s work features worlds in chaos – a precursor to what the Maker might wreak once he’s freed from the city. It’s Pulido who gets the most visually stunning sequence, as he draws Daredevil – reimagined here from a street-level vigilante to a being whose cosmic senses have been enhanced – taking on the Guardians. Panels slant, giving the impression that the reader’s moving through time and space with Daredevil, and his “Reader Sense” lets him literally change the script.
Marvel
The biggest draw of Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1 isn’t the galaxy-spanning story, or the different remixes of Marvel characters. It’s the idea that despite the universe corrupting their friends or turning into chaos, the Guardians choose to keep fighting. Fighting when it seems like the world is against you seems impossible. You can either try to burn it all down like Ultimate Nullifier, retreat into nostalgia like Daredevil, or into yourself like Star-Lord does following a failure. Your choices do matter, whether you think otherwise, and can inspire others to do better.
Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1 is a stirring story that crosses time and space while reminding its readers that every hero is shaped by the choices they make or don’t make. The Ultimate Universe might be heading toward its end, but if this one-shot is any indication, it’s gonna go out on a high note.
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