Ultimate Invasion

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Ultimate Invasion
Cover of Ultimate Invasion #2 (July 2023). Art by Bryan Hitch.
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Format	Limited series
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	June – September 2023
No. of issues	4
Main character(s)	Maker Howard Stark Illuminati
Creative team
Written by	Jonathan Hickman
Penciller(s)	Bryan Hitch
Inker(s)	Andrew Currie
Letterer(s)	Joe Caramagna
Colorist(s)	Alex Sinclair
Editor(s)	Wil Moss Assistant Editor: Michelle Marchese

Ultimate Invasion is a four-issue American comic book limited series written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Bryan Hitch and colored by Alex Sinclair. The first issue was published by Marvel Comics on June 21, 2023.^[1] The storyline shows Maker (the Reed Richards of Earth-1610) manipulating a new Earth called Earth-6160.^[2]

A team of heavily armed mercenaries using technologically advanced weapons break into a building called the Blaakguard Building which is revealed to house a secret cell that contains The Maker. The Maker is freed from the Blaakguard Building cell by using a device that genetically fuses the mercenaries into an imperfect impostor of himself which he leaves as a decoy. Later, Mister Fantastic and Black Panther look through the building's rubble and see the imposter disintegrating. One week later, the Maker infiltrates the Baxter Building to obtain a dossier that documents the origins of Earth-616's heroes, while inadvertently waking up Franklin Richards in the process. The next day at the Necropolis, Mister Fantastic informs his fellow Illuminati members Black Bolt, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Iron Man, Namor, and Professor X. They each state the Maker came to each of their locations and stole items from each one, concluding that he's building something.

Meanwhile, the Maker awakens Miles Morales. He claims that they have a shared history of being from Earth-1610 and tries to convince him to leave. Without success, he states that the offer still stands, giving him a blank card as he disappears. Moments later, the Illuminati confront the Maker as he claims that he'll go to the one place where he can call his own. Despite their attacks, he escapes. Before the Maker departs, he asks Mister Fantastic if he would erase him from existence if he could, with Mr. Fantastic telling him "yes". The Maker remarks that he'll "keep that in mind".

On Earth-6160, 15-year old Peter Parker and Liz Allan arrive at a demonstration of the Isotope Genome Accelerator. When a spider gets affected by its radioactive waves, it tries to bite Peter only for the Maker to the smack it and contain its corpse, preventing him from obtaining powers.^[3]

On Earth-6160, the Maker has been altering history and averting the origins of many of its heroes. He places Loki on the throne of Asgard with Thor bowing to him and shattering the Bifröst, delays a rocket launch so that Reed Richards' crew wouldn't fly into a cosmic storm, while also witnessing Howard Stark and Obadiah Stane becoming partners in running Stark/Stane together. There are also events he isn't able to prevent, such as Bruce Banner becoming the Hulk and being unable to locate the frozen body of Captain America. It's shown he has established a domed enclave called "The City" at Latveria as his seat of power as he creates a new world order. His memory log of Earth-6160's inhabitants states that Jim Hammond, Bucky Barnes, Susan Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm are dead, Robert Grayson, Jack Monroe, Peter Parker, Hank Pym, and Janet van Dyne are "inactive", Thor and Doctor Strange are captured, and Reed Richards, Howard Stark, and Bruce Banner are "controlled" in unspecified ways.

It is then shown that Howard is the Iron Man of this Earth, with his teenage son Tony Stark working at Stark/Stane. He and Obadiah are called to The City for a international event of incorporated nation-states, with both men representing the North American Union. Also in attendance are an "enlightened" Hulk and fellow monks from the Children of the Eternal Light, Sunfire, Viper, and Silver Samurai representing the Harada-Yoshida Alliance of Hi No Kuni, as well as Colossus, Magik, and Omega Red of the Rasputin family, the rulers of the Eurasian Republic. The Maker greets them as a wormhole opens up, with clones of Captain America, Giant-Man, Thor, Vision, and the Wasp attacking The City. Obadiah suits up and fights the attackers until he is killed by a Vision clone. The others slay most of them as Howard falls unconscious. The Maker later wakes up Howard and informs him that Obadiah is dead, along with being shown the captive clones that survived. The Maker explains to Howard that they were a group of temporal suicide bombers from the future, as a group of people are herded in that the Maker believes are the clones' genetic ancestors. The Maker has the group of innocents vaporized, with the clones disintegrating soon after. When Howard expresses concern over how the Maker could be taken out in the same way, the Maker explains that he is not of this Earth and that he can only be taken down at the height of his power. He then proceeds to show Howard the Immortus Engine, a time machine which he used to reshape Earth-6160. When Howard exclaims that because of his actions more will come after him, the Maker removes his helmet to show a missing part of his head from an earlier attack, stating it will take time for him to heal after he rearranged some of his organs, lamenting his amnesia. He goes on to state to Howard that he needs him because of his theory that Howard is the one that built the Engine.^[4]

At Stane's funeral, Tony gives Howard condolences for his loss. Howard tells Tony that he's going away for a while. Earlier in Latveria, Howard talks to Emmanuel da Costa of the Society of South America. While giving his condolences for Obadiah's death, Emmanuel mentions that Obadiah was usually the one who handled such meetings as Howard feels puzzled during the gathering. After explaining that Emperor Sunfire does not speak when he has his mask on, Lord Ra only speaks when the Sun is up, and Lord Khonshu only speaks when the Moon is up, Emannuel goes on to explain protocols regarding some attendants, introducing Howard to Henri Duggary of the European Coalition as Hulk asks about the meaning of the attack. He is told there is no word about it yet, then giving his condolences to Howard. Magik demands information on who attacked them and where the Maker is. Howard asks what the Rasputins are doing there, since they are the "enemy". Emmanuel then states his surprise that he doesn't know how the meetings work.

Hulk explains that the world leaders operate together in a manufactured war economy in which each power bloc takes turns in playing the role of a rogue state, as the Maker's philosophies state that perpetual global peace is impossible and conflict is necessary for stable societies. The Maker arrives, welcoming Howard as part of his Council and as the new ruler of the Union. He asks the Maker what the "real work" is that they do. In the present, Howard and Tony board their helicopter to head back to Stark Tower. Tony suggests to his dad that he should make the logical choice and fight them. One day ago at The city, the Maker takes Howard inside as he tells him that this section is a prison where some work is being done. As he instructs him to build the Immortus Engine, he introduces Howard to Earth-6160's version of Reed Richards, who is wearing a Doctor Doom-like mask and suit. In the far future, the clones are assembled by Kang, accustomed with his own Iron Man-like suit, who plans to finally end the Maker.^[5]

As Howard and Reed Richards are finishing the Engine, Reed tells Howard that he knows secrets about the Maker, such as where he came from and how he shaped the world. With the Immortus Engine finished, Reed suggests a feedback mechanism to account for it to be able to traverse back and forth through time. As Howard asks him how long he's been trapped, Reed remarks he gave up keeping track of time after the Maker continued to feed him misleading hints and tells Howard he cannot run from who he is. One week later, Howard is about to give the Engine to the Maker. He remarks that the original Engine was made by someone else, most likely the Maker from the past, with the Maker remarking that maybe he'll take it to his past self and then will make his own Engine, continuing the loop. Howard then tells him he's grown tired over having to choose between either him or Kang, so he has Reed shut down the shield surrounding The city to allow Kang and army to arrive and seal the dome shut with them inside. The Maker lambasts Howard, telling him that he is the reason why the world is the way it is and that Howard can ether run and hide or fight inevitability, as his choices make no difference. He remarks that Maker is wrong, that he has a third choice and is going to take it.

As the two armies fight, Maker and Kang fight each other, with the Maker stating he remembers who he is. A flashback shows that when the Maker was still reshaping the world, he used the Engine to visit the far future to see what became of his empire, only to be greeted by Kang who gave him his injury and told him he is "witnessing his origin". Back in the present, Howard shuts off the damper of the Engine, intending on taking down both Maker and Kang, and an explosion erupts, knocking out both armies. Meanwhile, at the Maker's castle, Reed steals the Maker's incomplete Engine contemplating whether he is making another prison for himself. Before The city's power conduit surges and is closed off, Howard takes off Kang's mask to reveal his face, reacting with disappointment. One week later, the Maker's Council gathers to discuss what has become of The city and their leader. Lord Ra mentions that when The city was sealed for a month the first time, a thousand years had passed inside. Hulk mentions how he once asked if one month was a thousand years in The city, then would three months be three thousand years inside it, with the Maker responding that "some secrets are mine and mine alone". The group speculates they have two years until it reopens, and on what to do with America and the Union due to the power vacuum created by Stark's absence. Magik suggests they split it up, with the group voting to decide on how to go through with it. At Stark Tower, Reed gives Tony the Maker's broken Immortus Engine, the secret files he kept, and a letter written by Howard before he went through with his plan. Tony asks if Howard is dead, with Reed responding that he can't give him a definitive answer. Tony remarks he's going to need a suit. As he builds a new suit with the Engine built into it, Tony remarks that they have work to do as there were some things the Maker missed. When Reed asks if he will call himself Iron Man, Tony responds that it was his father's name and that he'll go by Iron Lad until he comes up with a better one. The epilogue showcases them discovering the frozen body of Captain America with the letter written by Howard overlayed, telling Tony that he has grown tired and that it's never too late for him to change the world. "You just have to fight. And you just have to win".^[6]

Two weeks have passed since The city was sealed. Richards has taken up the name of Doom as he and Iron Lad spring Thor from his cell in Asgard. When they reach Mjolnir, they find it guarded by the prison's warden Sif and a few Asgardian soldiers. As Iron Lad attacks, Thor calls Mjolnir to him as he defeats the remaining soldiers. Thor then teleports himself, Iron Lad, and Doctor Doom away from the prison with Sif caught in the process. Moments later at Stark Tower, the four stand before a frozen Captain America as Iron Lad states that getting him out will be a complicated process. Iron Lad works to persuade Sif into helping them as he states Thor is supposed to be the true king of Asgard, which confuses him. Doom explains that the Maker comes from another universe and made Earth-6160 in his image by averting the origins of its heroes, and that they are working to undo his changes by using the memory log on Earth-6160's heroes while he is trapped in The city. Tony reveals the Maker helped Loki kill Odin and steal Thor's birthright. Thor agrees to help them, with Sif states that she will stick around.

Moments later, the four make it to the Maker's castle in Latveria. They enter a room filled with different repositories. Sif speculates that each one must contain a relic of a stolen life, with Doom stating each one "holds around a hundred". Before they make plans, they are ambushed by Duggary, who wounds Thor and knocks down the rest before Iron Lad fires a repulsor blast at his face. After Thor manages to the transport the group and one repository back to Stark Tower, Iron Lad uses an invention to help heal Thor as Doom finds a spider in the repository. Back in Latveria, Henri informs the Council of what happened and that Howard's son was responsible for his injuries. Hulk gives his condolences to Henri as he claims that Tony "has given them North America". Iron Lad and Doom see an Stark/Stane space station about to fire on Stark Tower, as Hulk states to Duggary that they intend to frame Tony and his allies as terrorists in a false flag attack. The space station fires as Tony uses the Engine built into his armor to teleport the group. Hulk states to the rest of the Council that they will pin the destruction on Stark as, while they were the ones who fired the laser, his family's company built the satellite.

One week later, a news report states that thousands of lives were lost in the Manhattan area as the newsman lists a few names on a database that are speculated as having perished, which includes but are not limited to Emily Osborn, Norman Osborn, and May Parker. In the following news of international events during this period of upheaval, it's stated that on Hi No Kuni, a mysterious incident occurred in which a car explosively collided with a bicycle on the street, putting the driver is in serious condition while the bicyclist escaped without a scratch. There are also breakouts of regional infighting in the Upper and Lower Kingdoms and supposedly an insurgence occurring against the rule of Lord Ra and Lord Khonshu. The newsman speculates on Tony Stark's motive for the attack, while stating the public may never know why he did it, and that he has presumably perished in the blast. What they don't know is that Tony secretly survived along with his allies, suggesting the forming of a resistance effort against the council.^[7]

Ultimate Invasion is a four-issue Marvel Comics limited series written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Bryan Hitch and colored by Alex Sinclair, which reintroduces the Ultimate Comics universe created by Brian Michael Bendis.^[8] Originally, Donny Cates was going to write Ultimate Invasion, as it follows up on his inclusion of the Maker in his Venom run, but after he got into a severe car accident, Hickman was brought on board as the new writer, ultimately going in a different direction. Cates was given a special thanks in the credits of the first issue.^[2]

Hickman, in an interview, said "[Revisiting the idea of Ultimate Comics] couldn't be replicating or revisiting what Brian did in the original Ultimates - creating a streamlined, modernized version that would eventually become the spine of the MCU, and it certainly couldn't be what I did, which was a final chapter of a pre-existing universe. We also thought the very idea of Ultimate Comics needed to be inverted from what the original universe was - we wanted this to be something that could really only exist in the comic space: a new way of thinking about, and enjoying, a new version of the Marvel Universe. I'm pretty happy to say that it feels like we’ve accomplished those things and we’re very excited for everyone to get to read it."^[9]

• Ultimate Invasion #1–4
• Ultimate Universe #1

Audience reception to Ultimate Invasion has been highly positive. On the League of Comic Geeks website, 97% of readers like Ultimate Invasion #1, with a 4.1/5 average rating.^[10] 95% of readers like Ultimate Invasion #2, with a 4.1/5 average rating.^[11] The entire event was released to mixed reviews from critics however, with critics giving the event an average rating of 7.3 out of 10 based on 42 reviews.^[12]

In June 2023, it was reported that the end of Ultimate Invasion will lead to a new line of titles in the Ultimate Universe line.^[18][19]

The first line of Ultimate Comics titles was announced in October 2023, with:

• Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto, which debuted in January 2024
• Ultimate Black Panther by Bryan Hill and Stefano Caselli, which debuted in February 2024
• Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko, which debuted in March 2024
• The Ultimates by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigueri, which debuted in June 2024

Later, other comics were announced:

• Ultimate Universe: One Year In a one-shot by Deniz Camp and Jonas Sharf, set be released in December 2024
• Ultimate Wolverine by Chris Condon and Alessandro Cappuccio, set to be released in January 2025