The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with under two million people behind bars. In addition, the notion of prison and prisoners has become demonized to a considerable degree in both the real world and media, like comic books. There exists an aspect of inhumanity if you are sentenced to prison due to not only the baggage of that identity but also losing your autonomy and humanity by becoming a cog in the machine. “Just because you break a law doesn’t make you a criminal. And you don’t have to break a law to be a criminal. A criminal is just something you are.” You are essentially an outsider to a society where you need to work and repent, engage in grueling labor, and work to regain the conditional rights you were given. Deniz Camp and guest artist Chris Allen introduce Ultimate Luke Cage, the man with unbreakable skin and spirit that the system couldn’t break in The Ultimates #9.

Similar to Earth 616, Ultimate Luke Cage, as a teenager, gets sentenced to Seagate Penitentiary for a crime he didn’t commit with no chance of leaving. The prison officer described being sentenced to one year to life as being “progressive” because he could finish his sentence in 12 months compared to the previous mandatory length. Outside of our knowledge of the Maker pulling the strings to prevent Luke from being a hero, it also calls to attention how prisons do better to keep prisoners incarcerated instead of reforming them. Luke becomes a pawn to the system, and that fantasy of having control and being able to escape looms over him like a carrot, not only by the people on the top but also by the intermediaries and guards who help keep everything in line. You have the possibility of a one-year sentence if the deck and system were not stacked against you in every single way.

If the Ultimates focused on more of a physical revolution, then Camp and Allen decide to explore a more philosophical call with Cage. Inspired by the works of George Jackson and Michel Foucault, he knows that even if his body gets broken, it will not be over until his spirit is destroyed. More importantly, recruiting others who the Maker has oppressed through ideology and a shared experience of being imprisoned can cause destruction and damage to the Council on the inside. “If the system cannot be reformed–the system resists reform–but must be transformed in the revolutionary sense.” Cage and Tony Stark approach the issue through different lenses based on their experiences but want the same goal and, ultimately, the same way through collective action on different scales and environments.

Camp and Allen alternate the issue through the past and present timelines to showcase how easy it is to lose time while incarcerated. Still, life in prison is similar and repetitive, no matter which one you are in. A system dictates and controls your life instead of your own autonomy. Even Allen’s repeated nine box panels across the issue reinforce the feeling of being trapped in a repetitive loop you cannot escape. Then comes the catharsis of Cage receiving the Stark box, which destroys the pattern. While physical power with ideological belief can change the system, actual change can occur when others join in. Brilliantly put in the issue “All Power to the People.” Allen’s art with colorist Federico Blee and letterer VC’s Travis Lanham makes the story stand out among the previous fantastic issues. 

Camp and Allen’s The Ultimates #9 delivers another incredible issue that reinforces my love for the series. What Camp and Allen have accomplished is nothing less than powerful. 

Story: Deniz Camp Art: Chris Allen
Colorist: Federico Blee Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Story: 10.0 Art: 10.0 Overall: 10.0 Recommendation: Read

Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

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