I think we’re well past the point of no return when it comes to Marvel’s decision to end the Ultimate universe in…some fashion. Ultimate Endgame, so far has been synonymous with that ideal to both good and bad results: starting off strong then quickly becoming a slow and convoluted for the sake of tying up loose ends. And let’s not forget, the thing we all knew was being foreshadowed from the first issue, that one death everyone knew was coming: well it’s here. But the end result is far from what readers might desire, and that’s not even to say what the other pieces of this story are starting to form into, because it sure as hell isn’t a compelling picture that’s being built.
Ultimate Endgame #3 has enough highs and some truly abysmal lows to keep readers engaged with what’s going on, but it’s really starting to look like the Maker’s plans are hinging more on shock and awe or the convenient incompetence of our heroes, rather than any actual semblance of plan. And while the lion’s share of the narrative has been focused on Spider-Man and the Ultimates, the promised “convergence” of all the Ultimate books characters still feels so utterly disjointed and forced; which is kind of emblematic of this book.
That One Big Thing
*** MASSIVE SPOILERS ahead for Ultimate Endgame #3. Tread with caution ***
Issue #3 has our heroes once again fighting for their lives as Tony mourns the death of his father (who he accidentally vaporized in the last issue). Not really having the time or patience to mourn with him since they’re being picked off by the Maker’s children in real-time, the rest of the Ultimates put up a valiant fight all while the Maker continues to taunt them for the futility of their actions. With their leader seemingly out of commission, the team seems doomed, right up until some timey-wimey shenanigans puts a stop to the Maker’s attack. How you may ask? Well for that, you’ll have to ask Kang: a future version of Tony who shows up with dire portents of things to come and more temporal big talk. Of course, even during this seeming respite, the Maker is not someone to be outdone – using his mind hold over Doctor Doom to quickly incapacitate Kang, while also sending out one of his latest abominations who can – breathe slowly here with me, people – squeeze through the gaps of a temporal time bubble to essentially nullify the effects of Kang’s time manipulation. Yes, he stretched enough to squeeze between the gaps in time. Comics, amiright? Either way, our heroes lose whatever little respite they get, even as Tony returns to battle armed with new knowledge that he thinks can help them win, though that’s seemingly too little too late as the Maker, in all his evil douchebaggery, takes over Peter’s picotech suit, transforming it into a very familiar looking crimson clad killer symbiote that proceeds to do…well, some killing. And just like that, everyone’s favorite Ultimate dad and family man is taken out of the picture for good, while the Maker gloats and our surviving heroes despair.
Oh and that’s just the stuff going on inside the dome, outside of it things aren’t really any better. We get glimpses of Peter’s family back in the savage land fearing for his safety (oh boy…), we see how Vision has been connecting Ultimates networks across the US and protecting allies like Ben and Jonah from the Maker’s reprisal. We also get a quick look at Killmonger who has finally made it to the City, but he’s also joined by the Ultimate X-Men from Japan who conveniently also go to Latveria after trying to find their friend Hisako (they think they’ve seen her here). This leads to a team up outside the dome, with the X-Men and Killmonger fighting off the Maker’s forces in Latveria as well. Oh and Wolverine’s still taking care of stuff in his book and his end of the world, so there’s no sign of him just yet.
Making it Up as We Go Along
There’s a lot of action that Deniz Camp is trying to fit into this one particular issue of Ultimate Endgame that feels admirable in practice, but the final execution is now starting to feel like it’s coming apart at the seams. I’ve already voiced my misgivings about Camp’s handling of event books between Incursion and the last couple issues of this series, and this issue in particular only reinforces that feeling. Ultimate Endgame #3 in particular feels like it’s more interested in shock value and shallow team ups than actually telling a logical narrative with regards to the Maker, and it’s really starting to show because those aspects start to outweigh whatever little good this issue does have going for it.
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first and foremost: Peter Parker. Look, I don’t know what to tell you if you didn’t feel like his death wasn’t coming. Marvel and Camp had really made no attempt to even hide how blatantly this was going to happen in this series, so I shouldn’t really be surprised when it finally does, right? Now of course, that’s not to say the lead up to this wasn’t done well in this issue. We get thrown between Peter’s family back in the Savage lands, worrying about him and not knowing what’s going – all while there’s a narrative going over it of Peter reading a letter he left for his family in case he didn’t come back. It’s some genuinely heart wrenching stuff, compounded by the fact that we get to see Peter’s letter in full at the end of the issue when everything is said and done. But the actual death itself? Genuinely one of the most random things ever – having Peter get unceremoniously massacred by his own Carnage-ified super suit thanks to the Maker’s meddling, right after the latter makes it a point to tell Peter just how insignificant he was in the grand scheme of things. While I get the intent they were possibly going for with this: that in the Maker’s grand design, none of his enemies matter all that much, it also contradicts the whole reason the Maker created this universe and crippled it’s heroes from their very foundations in the first place. And as much as I like symbiotes, seeing Carnage just randomly pop up like this for a cup of coffee and some casual murder of a fan favorite character just feels…cheap? I don’t know what more to say other than what should have been a pivotal, emotionally devastating moment for Spider-Man and the rest of the Ultimates was turned into some of the cheapest, laziest shock value I’ve ever seen, especially when you have the temerity to lampshade it with the Maker literally telling Peter and the readers that “he died for nothing”.
And speaking of all the other players, there’s even more gripes to go over. The Maker himself is still pulling his usual shenanigans, finding new ways to worm out of even the most universe breaking contingencies being used against him. At this point, when you can literally squeeze your way between temporal atoms, turn sleeper agents into living weapons to push your goals, and kill superheroes by turning their suits into literal murder-goo – there’s only so much our heroes can do. And sure, Camp may have designed the Maker accordingly to pay off the biggest, baddest, brainiest threat this universe has ever seen. But at the same time, the kind of contrivances he’s pulling feel less sinister and more comical. On the other end of the Spectrum, Tony and the other Ultimates aren’t really faring any better. Tony should be the central figure in this narrative, considering how much of the Ultimates network’s direct fight against the Maker revolves around his family’s actions. For most of this issue Tony is in a catatonic state (again), “calculating” solutions while his friends fight around him. Kang’s presence in this timeline also while adding some interesting wrinkles to the story, offers little more since he’s so quickly dispatched by the Maker’s big brain plays. Honestly, I feel like if Tony had died here instead of Peter it would’ve had more of a compelling case for storytelling, but that’s not what happened, so this is what we’re stuck with.
Finally, since Marvel is starting to remember that this is an Ultimate universe event, Ultimate Endgame #3 starts to bring more of the other books’ players together. Is it done in a completely hackneyed way? Yeah kind of. Killmonger being sent by T’Challa to take out the Maker, and now the X-Men from Japan also showing up outside the City? Convenient as all hell, but not entire disappointing. I do like me a good team-up, and this does deliver in that aspect in some ways even if the set up for that team up feels wildly out of the realms of any sanity considering everyone outside of the Ultimates and Spider-Man books literally had their own, non-Maker issues to directly deal with. And to be honest, the only reason Spidey was dragged into this was because he was probably the most popular Ultimate Comics character in both incarnations of the universe. So yeah, it’s not the best series of events even if the action is endless and the pace blistering. But watching Mei fangirl over Killmonger was cute, and then we have Vision’s influence in protecting Ultimates’ allies being some actually good connective tissue that does actually and logically connect to the idea that everyone in the Ultimate books is actually involved in a larger goal – it’s the smaller actions like this that really do more to say that than the bigger picture. So sometimes it’s the little things like that which kind of remind you of just how much is wasted on the larger sloppy narrative.
Grimly Grotesque Theater
Once again, the art department is where things dramatically look up, with some of the most grotesque stuff we’ve seen yet. While the script may be a muddled mess, the real grim and gritty art style really sells the Maker’s City – which again, is just his entire body now – as the eldritch, techno-organic horrors how that it is. And most importantly, it captures how our heroes are fighting against this horrific backdrop the best they can.
As with the previous issues, everything inside the dome is beautifully and horrifically realized by Jonas Scharf and Edgar Delgado on lines and colors respectively. Ultimate Endgame #3 in particular has some of the best (read: grossest) work for the Maker so far, truly showcasing the horrific extents of his malice, with his body creating literal new oozing horrors that can wind their ways between time and reality. Our heroes themselves are also look suitably worn down, even with all the flashy green temporal energy and blue power spikes here and there as part of their fights. Kang’s colorful re-introduction feels suitably important thanks to the weight he gets via the art, and even Spidey’s death is one that while narratively is horrible, is visually stunning in the shock it wants to convey. Even the random killer Carnage is drawn to evoke his classic appearance, yet still retaining subtler Maker-influenced traits that work as well.
However, it’s the art segments outside the dome – done by Terry and Rachel Dodson on lines and colors – that leaves a lot to be desired. While there’s some cool moments of action showcased in the X-Men/Killmonger battle outside Latveria, and the Parker Family forays are done well enough, there’s just some truly abysmal facial expressions for the characters being drawn throughout. The X-Men, and even Mary Jane to a larger extent, showcase some truly distorted and pulled out facial features, almost as if the artists have a hard time drawing female faces. The color work is also passable but not really spectacular, since a lot of the action in the Dodson’s art segments take place at night – meaning more muted shades and color pallets to work with. It’s not the worst art on the planet, but it’s a jarring drop in quality from the Dodson’s work in the previous two issues (which was already passable at best).
A Death in the Family
Ultimate Endgame #3 wants to be the next Final Crisis so bad it stops thinking about how it can logically be its own story. A pretty harsh statement, but it’s sadly something I can’t ignore. With the payoff to a clearly telegraphed character’s demise being so lacklustre and done to pop a reader reaction, rather than actually pull the story in any resonant emotional direction, makes for a truly disappointing series of events, even if the rest of the narrative is far less annoying in comparison.
I started off with a lot of hope for this final swan song for the Ultimate universe, and I admit that being boxed into a corner by the entire line’s cancellation has hampered pretty much everything from the outset, but the worst and best aspects of that are front and center here in this issue particularly. With a month in issue releases, that long dragged out wait for material that somehow delivers in a lot of ways but woefully deprives readers in so many other crucial steps just feels like another example of Marvel events having completely lost the plot when they have winning gold in their hands.
Final Verdict: Ultimate Endgame #3 pays off the death everyone knew was coming and dreading with lazy shock value, all while the rest of the story continues to flipflop between interesting to alright towards the Maker’s final goals.