Sometimes taking in a new comic is like having a wrestling match with your expectations. You have to push through what you thought something would be to see it for what it is. Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Invasion feels completed unexpected. In some ways, it feels like it delivers less than what it says on the box, but in a much more real way, it’s about so much more than you’d think. Writer Jonathan Hickman, penciller Bryan Hitch, inker Andrew Currie, colorist Alex Sinclair, and letterer Joe Caramagna dress their story up as a multiversal epic. What they deliver instead is a down-to-earth discussion of politics, power, and responsibility.
Writing
Hickman’s first issue of this run is a kind of fake-out. We are introduced to a cat and mouse game between the Reed Richardses of different realities. The Maker — the evil Reed Richards of Universe 1610 — has begun gathering resources to jumpstart a universe of his own. As he dives into a portal, the main Marvel Universe’s Reed Richards solemnly promises to hunt his evil doppelganger down. But that’s the last we see of Mr. Fantastic, and the scope of this series never again travels outside the borders of the Maker’s newfound reality, Universe 6160. The story Hickman actually has in store for us is more contained and far deeper than the one he’d have us expect to find.
It’s in 6160 that we meet the Maker’s new adversary, the playboy billionaire Howard Stark. It’s through Howard that Hickman really dives into his discussions of power and responsibility. Everything about Howard would make you think he would be more than willing to fall in line with the Maker’s way of doing things. He’s a filthy rich, powerful, middle-aged white man who has benefited greatly from the way that things are. Why would he want things to be any different? The main reason Hickman gives us is that he has a son, the familiar Tony Stark, whose young eyes are perhaps more ready to see how the world should be.
In Ultimate Invasion, Hickman discusses world politics, the human need for conflict, and the diabolical cost of “perfection.” But this series isn’t just big picture. It doesn’t just deal with nation-states and world tyrants. Our window into this world, Howard, is also a beautifully human character. While others are discussing how to trick the world populace into staying peaceful, he’s desperately trying to figure out what it means to do something that’s truly right. His discussions with Tony weigh heavily on his soul and pull you headfirst into the stakes of the story. Hickman really does build a new universe in these pages — we get fantastic new versions of many well known characters. But it’s ultimately the subtle emotions and intimate struggles we see take place that pulls this whole series together.
Art
A big reason that Howard is such a likeable character is because he seems to be the only person who actually feels what’s happening around him. In a room full of unfeeling political puppeteers, it’s only Howard who looks disturbed by their decisions. Hitch and Currie often show Howard looking away from the reader. His back is turned to us or he’s got his head down. He looks at Tony from the corner of his eyes and is often seen with his face in his hands. Nearly every panel Howard is in has him with a look of subtle sadness. The world is falling apart around him — or rather, it’s being held together in ways he can’t abide — and you can see just how much he’s kicking himself for not doing more.
Hitch and Currie’s attention to detail is also mesmerizing. On pages full of characters in action, all of which seem to clamber over one another, the linework is clear and specific. People are rarely shown as silhouettes and even then it’s when they’re practically dots on the horizon. Similarly, you often see what look like identical images being reused for efficiencies sake. But there’s always a subtle change — the raising of an eyebrow or the shifting of a shadow — that show these to be wholly new panels. The page layouts feel incredibly conventional and ordered. You don’t get any panels overlapping each other or tilting at strange angles. This is the Maker’s meticulously crafted world that we’re seeing, and Hitch and Currie never let us forget that.
Coloring
Sinclair highlights a very specific shift that happens when we travel from the main 616 universe to the Maker’s 6160. In 616, nearly every scene is shown in some dramatic, colorful lighting. The assault on Damage Control is cast in a deep red glow. The confrontation between Miles and his “brother” from another universe is set in a cool blue. When the Illuminati are hot on the Maker’s tail, the moment crackles with orange life. But when we enter into 6160, everything becomes a little more realistic. Sure, there are still splashes of color, but they’re rarer. Most scenes are full of muted, run-of-the-mill, everyday colors — with one notable exception. When the Maker takes Howard Stark deeper into the City, the panels are all depicted in a blue haze. It’s as though the Maker is trying to start fresh and leave all the drama of 616 behind him, but he’s been changed by his stay in that universe, whether he likes it or not.
There are a few other instances that Sinclair uses similar methods to get a message across. When the heads of nation-states callously discuss the fate of the world in their secret meeting, the entire room is gold, white, and green. It’s opulent, yes, but it actually isn’t very eye-catching on the page. Instead, it’s the vibrant costume pieces that these characters wear that jump out at you. They’re reveling in being front and center in the political spectacle they’re all putting on, but they’re also unrealistic. You immediately feel that these caricatures ought not to be the ones deciding the fate of your average man. They’re far too “above” all of that to be relatable.
Lettering
Caramagna’s lettering is completely restrained in Ultimate Invasion. There are no flashy uses of word balloons or splashy sound effects. In fact, the entire series only has two sound effects. When they do show up, Caramagna depicts them in big, red, block letters to help them stand out. But otherwise, the lettering feels totally controlled. Because of this, it’s the incredibly small moments where Caramagna changes things up a little that carry the most weight. At one point, a character’s word balloon juts out past the borders of their panel. While this is a very typical convention in comics, it only happens once in this whole series and the line feels that much more sinister as a result.
When things finally come to a head in the concluding issue, Howard’s letters begin to vary. As he’s flung about in a battlefield, the “AARRGGHHH!” sound he makes is wobbly and stretches the edges of his word balloon. This marks a definite shift in the mood of the story, which Caramagna shows in the simplest of ways.
Conclusion
If you’re coming to Ultimate Invasion to read an adventure that spans universes, you’re going to get both less and more than what you asked for. This isn’t the explosive event it may seem like it would be. It’s a personal tale that feels like it has as much to say about the real world as it does about its own characters. It’s a story that’s more preoccupied with how hard it is to dismantle unjust systems than it is with magic hammers or heroic androids. And in many ways, Ultimate Invasion is just the beginning — there are plenty more Ultimate comics to come in the coming months. But it sets an interesting backdrop for the stories that are on their way. This isn’t a comic book universe like we’ve seen before. It’s not even much like the Ultimate Universe of the past. This is something knew that you don’t want to miss. The final chapter of this series, Ultimate Invasion #4, is out today from Marvel at a comic shop near you!
