After teasing in various comics penned by Donny Cates and/or featuring Miles Morales, the Ultimate Universe returns in some shape or form in Ultimate Invasion #1. However, despite the Maker (The villainous Reed Richards from the Ultimate Marvel Universe) acting as basically the protagonist of the first issue in the Jonathan Hickman/Bryan Hitch miniseries, Earth-1610 doesn’t make an actual appearance, and this comic is more of a continuation of Hickman’s Marvel epic than let’s just say, The Ultimates 6 despite its cover. The Maker is on the loose playing god, and the Illuminati must attempt to stop him, but are hamstrung by their own moral greyness as Hickman continues on some of the themes of his excellent New Avengers run that culminated in Secret Wars. And one of the results of Secret Wars was the end of the Ultimate Universe except for Miles Morales, his family, and the Maker. (Other survivors have been glimpsed at in stories in like Spider-Men 2.)

But, despite all its connections to previous Hickman Marvel books, at its core, Ultimate Invasion #1 is a blockbuster of a comic (Fittingly released on the summer solstice) beginning with an action sequence reminiscent of The Dark Knight‘s IMAX-shot prologue, but with force fields and black hole generators. Hitch and his Ultimates inker Andrew Currie are in widescreen mode as the Maker frees himself and performs a series of heists to remain true to his name. During the scenes, Alex Sinclair’s colors come in handy in differentiating between a variety of generic military types that are only stepping stones on the Maker’s path to godhood and universe-shaping.

However, he, Bryan Hitch, and Currie stumble in a splash page of the Illuminati facing the Maker that reads as either parody of typical superhero fisticuffs or a reminder that this art team can still pull off big multi-figure spreads like they did back in Ultimates 2 and The Authority. However, this page comes across less like the iconic spreads of the Asgardians arriving in Ultimates 2 and more like Jim Lee’s deadline-saving pin-ups in his run on the New 52’s Justice League. The scene falls flat, especially for a team focused on intellect versus brawn and basically just shows that the conventional Earth-616 heavy hitters are no match for The Maker and his both literal and metaphorical deconstruction abilities. It’s like there’s a reel missing between Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic figuring out what the Maker has done to construct his machine and then just leaping into a full-frontal assault. But it’s not like the Illuminati had a chance any way.

However, this splash is just a blip on the radar of Ultimate Invasion #1, which in addition to the wide panels, has a little bit of the edgy quality of the Ultimate Universe, especially in regards to the fate of the folks who break the Maker out of prison. It succeeds where Fant4stic Four fails in showing the body horror potential of Reed Richards’ powers, and you can see the revulsion in Mr. Fantastic’s face as he sees his doppelganger melt and squirm into nothingness while the Maker taunts him from parts unknown. Also, Jonathan Hickman writes Mr. Fantastic as a monologuer with his long speeches breaking the action thriller flow of the comic whereas the Maker has mastery of both action and words crafting multiverse-traveling tech while evading some of the best and brightest of the Marvel Universe and also manipulating his Earth-616 counterpart.

Also, in his brief, yet haunting interaction with Miles Morales and in this issue’s game-changing epilogue, the Maker has a bit of what Grant Morrison would call fifth-dimensional awareness. He understands what makes a shared universe tick and is there to upend it and shape it in his own image. The epilogue is brief, yet tantalizing commentary on how the Ultimate Universe both deconstructed (The Mark Millar stuff.) and stayed faithful (Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley’s Ultimate Spider-Man) to superhero/Marvel tropes. Even though it took six issues to get there, Uncle Ben had a ponytail, and Peter Parker was the Daily Bugle’s webmaster and not a freelance photography, there’s still great power and responsibility in Ultimate Spider-Man just like Amazing Fantasy #15. This isn’t the case in Ultimate Invasion #1, and Hickman/the Maker’s twisted vision of iconic Marvel moments is what has me anticipating the next issue.

Ultimate Invasion #1 is a flashy sequel to Jonathan Hickman’s previous Marvel work that explores nostalgia, deconstruction, and features one dastardly villain. It’s not just a trip down memory lane, and with the exception of one poorly paced splash page, is an additive experience with Bryan Hitch showing off his storytelling chops in both quiet conversations as well as big explosions. Ultimate Invasion is definitely a must read for fans of the Hickman epic and Ultimate Universe as well as anyone who loves a bombastic superhero yarn as the days get longer and the weather gets hotter.

Story: Jonathan Hickman Pencils: Bryan Hitch 
Inks: Andrew Currie Colors: Alex Sinclair Letters: Joe Caramagna
Story: 8.8 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.4 Recommendation: Buy

Marvel Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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