The Ultimate Universe is nearing its end, but it lives on thanks to Ultimate Impact: Reborn. The remaining Origin Boxes made by The Maker to create heroes to do his bidding are now in the hands of Miles Morales in the 616 universe. This makes the series a continuation of the Ultimate Universe and the start of a new batch of heroes and villains. The latter, villains, shouldn’t be the case if Miles can hang onto the boxes, right? Right?!
Ultimate Impact: Reborn #1 is an interesting starting point, told as the first chapter of a miniseries that clearly wants to kickstart something we haven’t seen in decades, or at least for decades. The story opens on Hostilicus, already teased weeks ago, who treats Annihilus as a god. A kind of cult leader, writer Chris Condon delivers his sermon in a dark, scary tone, cementing him as a villain who believes what he says, which makes him totally evil. He’s also formidable, with a cool look, particularly with his iron chin and creepy red eyes. Frankly, I’m excited for this villain, who is instantly interesting and formidable.
The story then shifts to Miles Morales sleeping, complete with captions detailing his journal entry. Extra points to Condon for writing a lot of captions, which feels right at home with the Brian Michael Bendis style that created him. Typical Spider-Man luck, he’s late for a meeting with Iron Man to dispose of the boxes and ensure they’re in safe hands.
This leads to more bad luck, with an extended fight with The Spot, who is being paid to steal the boxes.
Love the eyes on Miles here.
Credit: Marvel
Intercut with the fight are various normal people, all of whom you just know will be getting their hands on the boxes. The first is a hardworking father of one, whose daughter calls him Wonder Man. Another is a journalist being told to cut specific parts of her story or else. It’s an eclectic mix of people, some more immoral than others. The story builds towards these heroes, and maybe some villains, getting a chance at being super, only for the story to close on Hostilicus. While I can’t say exactly what Hostilicus is up to, it’s pretty clear he’s our big bad.
Considering that much of this issue is about getting to know random strangers, mixed with Miles getting his butt kicked, and vice versa, on The Spot, the issue definitely feels less like a complete story. Given it’s “Chapter One,” that’s certainly the point, so it’s hard to harp on wanting a bit more. That said, the seeds are planted to further explore a rather big cast of characters. All told, there are five new characters to track, and as first issues go, we only have some crumbs to build on. That’ll certainly drive readers to come back for more.
Art by Stefano Caselli is a perfect match for Miles Morales, especially when compared to Sara Pichelli’s art style. It’s highly detailed, with a great sense of agility applied to Miles. Paired with colors by Marte Gracia and David Curiel, who are certainly some of Marvel’s strongest colorists, this book looks crisp and super modern. You can tell Marvel is putting a lot of resources into the art team for this one.
Ultimate Impact: Reborn #1 lays down an ambitious foundation, positioning Miles Morales at the center of a high-stakes power struggle that could reshape the Marvel Universe. Chris Condon juggles multiple threads with confidence, even if the issue feels more like setup than a complete story. Strong visuals and intriguing new players make this an engaging start, with plenty of promise for what’s to come.
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