Ultimate Endgame #2: Forever War Is Hell

Time has run out. The two years of “peace” have passed. The Maker has returned, and the Ultimates and their allies THOUGHT they were prepared, but we all know the saying about best laid plans. With battles raging all over the planet, the Endgame is finally here. 

A moment of respite becomes anything but as Iron Lad and his team try to hide from the Maker with the help of the insane Immortus. As they try to make sense of the City through Immortus’ nonsensical ramblings, Maker’s horrific plan for the universe begins to come to light. 

While Marvel is already looking ahead to its next big event with Armageddon as well as Reborn: Ultimate Impact, Endgame continues to pick up steam as it moves forward. While the opening focused on the goings on inside the Maker’s City, this issue gives us equal time outside as well. A month has passed and a virus appears to be spreading throughout the country of Latveria. There is also the reveal of Maker’s master plan, essentially he wants to pull a Doug Ramsey and literally reshape the world into his image by infecting everyone and making them extensions of himself. At first glance it’s easy to dismiss this motivation since it was not even done three months ago at the end of the Age Of Revelation event, but it fits much better here given the Maker’s established history. In the ORIGINAL Ultimate Universe, Maker created another version of the City, except there he was banished by his so-called “children” because they had evolved past his childish God Complex. The lie that Maker tells himself is that he is a God, it is the only way he can cope with having lost everything that mattered to him. This universe is his snow globe and he will shake it as many times as it takes to get his desired result. There is both a horror as well as a profound loneliness to this way of thinking. 

Camp does an amazing job of putting that horror on full display. Maker is fusing himself into the City, making his presence even more oppressive. He is everything and that is starting to seep into the outside world as well. There is also some humorous banter from Immortus throughout, but it’s hard to laugh when you know this is the result of a man completely losing his mind and how that has affected him and the son he can’t remember, at least not the way he is supposed to. 

Jonas Scharf and Terry Dodson continue to share art duties, both more than holding up their respective sides of the story. Scharf’s scratchy and gritty pencils show the harsh environment inside the City, while Dodson highlights just how hectic things remain on the outside. Edgar Delgado’s colors also do a seamless job making each artist’s sections look distinct.