Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Black Panther is Jesus Christ on a Bike

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is coming to a close once again. Started two years ago, there was always a timer in the background of the whole alternate publishing line, and nothing was different for the title of Ultimate Black Panther. Wakanda’s leaders have been forced into action by The Maker’s lackeys, Lord Khonshu and Lord Ra, who are attempting to dominate the entire African continent. With the help of Killmonger and Storm, Black Panther has the colonizers all but defanged, though a greater evil has reared its head...

Deniz Camp's Ultimates Rise Up

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

Deniz Camp’s Ultimates is one of the hardest mainstream superhero comic series I have sat down to review. A book steeped in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, with both an unconventional story structure and frequently shifting art style, readers are forced to accept that reading Ultimates is a distinct experience from the typical superhero comic...

Ultimate Spider-Man: Family Business

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

The stakes for the third volume of Jonathan Hickman’s Ultimate Spider-Man could not have been higher, personally, for me, in terms of reading comic books. As a casual fan of the web-slinger’s comics, the first two entries into the series were impressive and kept me on the hook. However, I saw much more profuse praise from across the comics landscape, and I was forced to reckon with the idea that Peter Parker and his associated world might not be a good fit for me...

Fight Demons from the Past in Ultimate Black Panther: Darkness and Light

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

Marvel’s idea of an Ultimate Universe, an alternate publishing line where heroes and teams are given revamped, often modern, backstories and skewed characterizations, is self-indulgent in and of itself. This is particularly true of the initial Ultimate line launched in the early 2000s, which kept characters firmly grounded in their traditional selves, but with tweaks and changes to make them feel more edgy, and of the times. 2023’s Ultimate Universe has not stuck to such creative limitations in general, with the scope of reimaginations among existing characters being much broader...

Enter The Realm Of The Mind in Peach Momoko’s Ultimate X-Men

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

X-Men has always been a team book, with a broad and diverse cast that rotates in and out of the spotlight. The balancing act of telling a story with so many characters is a struggle that writers and artists have dealt with since the era of Chris Claremont, if not back in the Jack and Stan days. In Ultimate X-Men, writer-artist Peach Momoko has decided to accept the challenge...

You Lose, America in Ultimates Volume 2: Power to the People

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

Deniz Camp was far from subtle in the comparisons he was drawing between the struggles of the Ultimate Universe’s premier superhero team and real-world forces of oppression and resistance within the initial half-dozen issues of Ultimates. In the subsequent six issues, there is no change in the confidence behind the series, but its focus becomes a lot tighter and more transparent.

Bryan Edward Hill’s Ultimate Black Panther Bites Off a Lot in Volume 2: Gods and Kings

Marvel’s Ultimate Universe

Cam

The war for Africa continues in Bryan Edward Hill’s Ultimate Black Panther Volume 2: Gods and Kings. Picking up where the first six issues left off, readers find Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda engaged in a continent-wide conflict with Lord Ra and Lord Khonshu. The duo of demigods works under The Maker and is determined to subjugate Africa while their leader finds himself locked inside The City following the events of Ultimate Invasion. In response, the nation of Wakanda has emerged from its isolation and is resisting the invading force.