Ultimate Impact Reborn #5: Ending on a Whimper

Marvel marketed Impact as something of an addendum to the Ultimate Universe’s epilogue. A way to introduce new elements into 616 and keep that world alive, but what we get is a story that might have been better off as just an idea.

The overall plot of the issue centers on Captain America, Iron Man, and Spider-Man (Miles Morales) trying to defeat Hosticulus before he opens a portal to the Negative Zone, and that’s pretty much it. Sure new Wonder Man and Sightseer (the woman who got Dr. Strange’s abilities) show up to help, but they really don’t amount to much more than “Hey, these people are here too” than a moment that felt earned. In the end the problem is solved by Miles seeing that Hosticulus has on Nega-Bands and making him clang them together to send him back home. It feels a tad anticlimactic, but that’s this comic as a whole.

In interviews leading to the first issue’s release, Chris Condon expressed his excitement with creating and writing all these new characters. Judging by how things progressed I wonder if that enthusiasm began to wane as time wore on. To say this conclusion felt rushed would be an understatement. Most of the characters felt as flat as paper, and there wasn’t enough meat on the bones of anyone outside of Sightseer and Wonder Man that made the audience intrigued enough to see them beyond this story. They felt more like vessels for the various powers than actual realized characters. Hosticulus was somewhat memorable, but that was only because he appeared in every issue and was more or less the central antagonist outside of Booth (who showed up for maybe two pages in this finale). The two kids that Hosticulus replaced in the Negative Zone also had no characterization, so much so that you would be forgiven for thinking they had died upon arriving in the zone. The pacing is somewhat of a slog and the scripting is paper-thin, which is a shame because the concept of these origin boxes flooding 616 with more superhumans is ripe with story potential, but it feels like only Armageddon is keen to explore than beyond the planning phase. What could have been a jumping off point for new ideas feels more like a desperate last gasp to cash in on the waning relevance of the Ultimate Universe.

Stefano Caselli and David Curiel’s pencils and colors respectively are nice to look at, but rarely anything stands out artistically outside of a couple moments where Wonder Man 2.0 and Sightseer showcase their powers.