Ultimate Invasion #1: It’s Always Been About Reed

Ultimate Invasion has been one of the most highly-anticipated Marvel books for the last several months for a variety of reasons. Not only is Bryan Hitch returning to draw a book centered around a version of the Marvel universe that took the comic book world by storm in the early 2000s, but Jonathan Hickman is making his triumphant return to Marvel. Hickman last worked with Marvel on his line wide relaunch of X-Men that resulted in him leaving the series after providing a soft conclusion to some of the major storylines he set up in House of X/Powers of X, via Inferno. Now, a few years later, he returns to Marvel to continue the tale of the Ultimate Universe by using The Maker, the Ultimate universe’s evil version of Reed Richards, as the central figure. Hickman has used this character a lot in his other stories, such as The Ultimates and Secret Wars, so it’s no surprise that he would return to this character now.

Ultimate Invasion #1 follows The Maker as he assembles a device that is seemingly taking him back to the Ultimate Universe which was destroyed at the beginning of Secret Wars. Hickman’s return this character fits like Cinderella’s shoe, with The Maker’s voice immediately feeling reminiscent of how everyone knows this character to sound. Hickman writes him with such a cocky, yet subdued attitude that makes him feel terrifying. You can almost feel the elevated heart rates of the Illuminati as they try to stop him, while The Maker’s calm demeanor highlights how dangerous his brilliant and twisted mind can be.

One thing that is immediately made evident by the end of this issue is that Hickman is not done telling the tale of 616 Reed Richards. The segments not following The Maker are centered around Reed, and it’s obvious from certain story elements that Hickman has something to say about him. This has to be the most exciting part about this issue, since Hickman always has something brewing under his sleeve. Based on solicitations, we know this is going to end in a new line of Ultimate books, but here’s hoping that we can see a return to Hickman on the Fantastic Four as well.

Bryan Hitch pencils this issue while Andrew Currie takes care of the inking. Fans of the Ultimate Marvel Universe will be very familiar with Hitch’s work, seeing as though his style essentially established the look and feel of the entire universe, and in extension the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seeing his work here brings all of those emotions back, giving this book an immediate tone that is exactly what a sequel to Ultimate Marvel should be. Hitch is considered divisive by many, but there is no argument in saying that his pages here look great. There is no dip in quality from the early 2000s to now, with all the realism being captured on every page. Currie also reigns in some of the insane detail that Hitch puts into the pages, solidifying the important elements while allowing the background details to flourish. Ultimately (pun intended), this art team is able to capture the look and feel of what made the original Ultimates line fun and unique.

Alex Sinclair colors Hitch and Currie’s pages, bringing them to life in a way that readers will actually be able to pick up on since this issue includes some pre-colored pages in the back to show off the creative process. Looking through these really shows how great of a job Sinclair does in navigating through Hitch’s insanely detailed drawings on each page. The only negative to Sinclair’s colors are how he chooses to stick with certain pallets on each page, giving everything shades of orange, blue, or whatever color is chosen. This makes sections like the conversation between The Maker and Miles Morales feel very bland. You can definitely see that he’s going for more of a cinematic style, but sometimes it just doesn’t work. That being said, Sinclair does a great job with most of the coloring in this issue.

Joe Caramagna does the lettering in this issue, and oh what a task he is given. Hickman’s books are definitely wordy and full of concepts that hide ulterior motives. Thankfully, Caramagna does a great job navigating this and is able to make each page flow seamlessly. Even the opening section of the book, featuring a hired group of mercenaries breaking The Maker out of prison, reads and flows wonderfully, with little to no confusion in regards to each of these identically dressed characters. Hitch’s pages also present a challenge to Caramagna, as they are so full of detail, but he is also able to navigate through this in order to create a sense of cohesion that keeps this high concept story grounded.