Ultimates #15: Flying Dragons and Hidden Agendas

If there is anything that Ultimates excels at the most, it’s worldbuilding. With each new issue we are shown more and more of this dystopian universe that The Maker’s arrogance has forced into existence. Last outing we learned of Emma Frost and her sinister school for young mercenary mutants. Issue 15 we are told the tale of Shen Qi the Miraculous, also known as the 8th Holder of the Iron Fist. 

Deniz Camp, as he has with every other issue, takes a known Marvel concept and flips it in order to fit it into this new ultimate narrative. He guides the reader through a deeper look into the 6160 lore of not only the Iron Fist, but also Shang-Chi.

The first half of the book is told in the style of a martial arts epic. Filled with gods, monsters, tournaments, but also of a man’s redemption as he uses his hands to heal rather than hurt. The second half brings us back into the present, where the Ultimates (joined by Danny Rand) try to recruit the newest iteration of the Iron Fist. Though not clearly stated, this journey turns out to be a profound moment for the team, as they  have to return to the site of their first major defeat, coming out of it with new knowledge and a hardened resolve to fix the world. 

Deniz Camp continues to flex his knowledge of this world and its familiar but at the same time very different characters as he finally shows are heroes beginning to gain ground on the world oppressors. The tale of the Iron Fist is a fun one, and the continuous build of the Ultimates’ recovery is fun to watch unfold. 

Though Camp’s usual collaborator Juan Frigeri is missing this issue, Von Randal does a solid job filling in his absence. The story of Shen Qi pulls you in and the scenes in the present, while hard to follow at times, do enough to keep you engaged. Overall a solid outing, though the big action set piece at the end of the issue left me scratching my head at one point in terms of its framing, but it wasn’t enough to take me out of the tale being told.