The Ultimate Universe: One Year In Review- A Moment in Marvel Comics History
From Marvel Comics
Written by Deniz Camp
Art by Jonas Scharf
I had every intention of finally doing a review on the excellent ongoing cosmic adventure series, Phoenix, by Stephanie Phillips and Marco Renna this week… I had the document formatted, cover art saved, thoughts churning- and then I picked up this Ultimate Universe One Shot by Deniz Camp.
I don’t say that in an effort to diminish the quality of the Phoenix series in any way, I just want to first of all, paint an honest picture of the impact this comic had on me personally, and second of all, attempt to somehow illustrate what it is like reading a monumental, generation-defining comic like this.
There is no doubt in my mind that The Ultimate Universe: One Year In will be talked about and celebrated in years to come as a benchmark example of the quality of the already excellent writing from the new Ultimates universe by Deniz Camp. This comic does something incredibly difficult and transcends its modern serially released context to become a truly memorable, literary example of the powerful storytelling capability of the entire comic book medium.
One aspect of what makes this comic so immediately timeless to me is its narrative accessibility. Though the Ultimate Universe comics are now seven issues in (with an entire prelude volume as well) this comic functions as a cumulative retrospective of everything the Ultimate Universe is about in addition to being a specific, harrowing story centered on Nick Fury.
On the subject of our intrepid one-eyed, espionage commanding protagonist, this comic additionally feels like a spiritual celebration of the character of Nick Fury in the Marvel Comics Universe, representing him in iconic, detailed fashion. The tone of the story, aided by Fury’s “private thought” narration throughout, as well as the slew of flashback imagery from pivotal, classic moments in the characters canon, aids in making this issue feel like a loving tribute to the tenacity and intelligence Nick Fury has always embodied, cutting to the essence of the character.
If you have been on the fence about the concept of the Ultimate Universe then I don’t know if this comic will change your mind, but it will certainly give you a poignant view into the tone of the story, a detailed description of the state of this alternate universe, as well as a glowing example of Deniz Camp’s consistent, eloquent writing all with only a few spoilers regarding the plot thus far that I think would actually be fun for a new reader to go back and discover.
Let’s talk more specifically now about this excellent issue, which means,
WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD!
The opening pages of this issue reflect the entire sentiment of the new Ultimate Universe which is a critical, almost cynical, poignantly reflective, uncensored take on the concept of a superpowered world and the brutal, cunning people that seek to control that power. Deniz Camp has done an excellent job throughout the Ultimate Universe series layering complex, topical commentary on the hypocritical, cruel, nationalistic qualities of institutions like major corporations and governments and the very real symbiotic links between them- and this issue is no different. Even the opening words of this issue are jarring and impactful with the image of a smiling family man with the overlaid words, “This man is a terrorist. Can you tell?”
This sinister indictment is only driven further with Fury’s admission that the man’s only crime was offhandedly mentioning that the “Ultimates might have a point,” before he is struck by a bolt of artificial lightning from the H. A. N. D. hovercraft floating in a perpetual storm above. Succinctly depicting the level of systemic control that the H. A. N. D. organization has on the general population- and by extension the Maker and his cabal of world leaders.
Another aspect that makes this comic so impeccable is its contained story. From the introduction of Nick Fury we are given a time frame, a literal ticking clock to the events at hand represented in Fury’s watch that counts down to zero. Additionally, there is an implied urgency to Fury’s narration throughout the story, as Fury characterizes his words as his, “last confession.” From our opening scene, we follow Nick Fury through the H.A.N.D station where we see various heroes imprisoned and several actual demons working throughout musing to himself that he has had “a bullet in my brain since 1944” and that while he survived, his conscience “didn’t make it.”
Eventually, Fury arrives at a conference room where he greets the various world leaders, and gives a description of each. This scene is helpful to new readers as I mentioned previously, but is also enlightening to established fans, as several of these world leaders have made scant appearances, and have remained obscure. The revelations regarding Emmanuel Da Costa and his mutant “blood boys” are of particular note, as well as the appearance of the Rasputin family for what I believe is the first time in the series. I have to hand it to Deniz Camp, the more we learn about these world leaders the more they feel like the correct choices as our penultimate(nice) antagonists.
As the world leaders chastise Fury for wasting their precious time, Fury continues his report on the Ultimates Terrorist Organization, which is essentially a summary of our story to date, with an obvious dogmatic slant. Once again, Deniz highlights the systematic control of society in this universe (though it feels oddly reminiscent of our own) with the Narrative department skewing the public sentiment of the Ultimates efforts to wanton terrorism.
However, Fury concludes that they have made no progress in actually uncovering the whereabouts or identities of the Ultimates members. This notion is perhaps the best aspect of the new Ultimates Universe which takes the concept of Superherodom back to its roots of anonymity and vigilantism. In modern Marvel Comics, it feels as if all of the characters have been so loved and revered for so long in a universe that is so socially diverse and magically and supernaturally conditioned that they have lost some of their inherent allure as bold, daring heroes against unknown villainous forces.
Finally, Fury concludes his presentation by informing the impatient world leaders that he has secretly embedded H.A.N.D. agents throughout their provinces without permission as a means of catching the Ultimates. As the world leaders ironically argue about this staunch invasion of privacy, Fury reflects on his morally repugnant crimes in the name of peace before announcing a self-destruct code to the station as his watch hits zero.
However, as Fury coolly expresses his secret support for the Ultimates and his confidence that the explosion will kill at least a few of the world leaders, he is greeted by the sound of laughter. With no explosion, Fury begins to panic as the world leaders talk amongst themselves citing numerous past instances of Fury’s attempted betrayal as they even begin to quote his internal monologue about the “bullet in his brain” and his “last confession.” As Fury attempts to escape, he is marched down by Emmanual who burns him alive revealing that he is just one of many life model decoys waiting to be replaced. In his final moments, this artificial Nick Fury sees the faces of every other dead hero that he couldn’t save and it really makes you wonder, is it always the same?
In our final pages, Da Costa and Captain Britain muse about the Maker’s intention to design Fury this way, to inevitably betray his allegiance. Da Costa intelligently remarks that “a spy who won’t betray you isn’t much of a spy,” implying that an espionage expert has to sympathize with both sides in order to understand both sides. But most of all, Da Costa concludes, the whole thing just “makes him smile,” which is just the most insidious final line of a comic book issue that I have ever read and will haunt me for the foreseeable future.
Though not directly present in this issue at all, or even in the Ultimate Universe series for that matter, this issue only further deepens the sentiment that The Maker is one of the best villains in the entire history of Marvel Comics, which could very well be a whole article topic on its own.
This issue is heartbreaking, informative, and beautifully displayed by every artist involved. It isn’t often in the constant release cycle of comics that we are presented with such a perfectly packaged and executed short story like this, so I can only urge you to seek out this momentous issue of The Ultimate Universe: One Year In for yourself at your local comic book store on shelves now!
-Nicholas Aaron Hodge
