"What would you sacrifice for what you believe?" That is the question that repeats itself throughout Ultimates #19, and it serves as a persistent reminder that Janet van Dyne’s entire life has been defined by taking measured actions for the greater good. When it was revealed at the end of Ultimates #12 that Janet was working as an informant for The Hand, the fan reaction was one of fury. Many perceived her actions as a self-serving betrayal of the Ultimates and everything the team stood for. While that surface-level reading may hold some truth, this issue proves that Janet may have been several steps ahead of everyone all along. It suggests that there is far more than meets the eye with her initial defection, hinting that Janet might be operating as a triple agent in a high-stakes game of corporate espionage. In a universe where the Maker has rewritten the rules of heroism, Janet’s shift is reframed as a sophisticated long game that changes the entire trajectory of the war.
What We Do For Love
The emotional centerpiece of this issue is the love story of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, told entirely from Janet's perspective. It begins with the standard highs and lows of a young romance, but just as Janet realizes she is truly falling for Hank, tragedy strikes. A horrific accident leaves Hank with massive brain damage, and despite several surgeries intended to improve his quality of life, he emerges a shadow of his former self. He can no longer process complex equations or handle rigorous thought without suffering debilitating headaches. Janet is forced to mourn the man she lost while standing right next to the one who survived—a man who can no longer recite the poetry that first won her heart.
At her lowest point, ready to walk away from a relationship that feels like a ghost of its former self, Hank wakes up and puts her feelings before his own. That single act of selflessness reignites her love, leading to a marriage that results in her own father disowning her for tethering herself to "dead weight." They scrape by with an extermination business, but the whispers of the life Janet thought she was owed never truly go away. These flashbacks serve as a heartbreaking testimony of what we sacrifice for the ones we love and how sometimes the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
This is where the narrative takes a sharp turn. While readers might assume her recruitment into a secret life was by The Hand, we see a shadowy figure training Janet in the dark. Even after a holographic Tony Stark reveals that the Maker stole the life she and Hank were meant to have, Janet continues to follow the instructions of this mysterious mentor, setting the stage for the revelation in the climax.
Janet Van Dyne: Triple Agent
Rather than a single linear shift, the issue weaves past and present together, using flashbacks to provide a chilling context for Janet’s current actions. This constant jumping through time creates a sense of mounting dread as the battle on the frontlines escalates into a literal horror show. The intensity reaches a breaking point when the Helicarrier brings its full might to bear, shooting Hank Pym out of the sky in a brutal, visceral moment. With Hank seriously wounded, Janet finally plays her hand, confessing her allegiance to the Hand in what appears to be a desperate bid to stop the assault.
This revelation triggers a ruthless response from Nick Fury—the Life Model Decoy that has been operating as the tactical head of the resistance. Viewing the compromised Hank as a "loose thread," Fury moves in for the kill, only to be intercepted and lobotomized by the Ultimate version of Vision. It is here that the true scale of the deception is revealed: Vision was the shadowy mentor who recruited and trained Janet years ago.
The reveal carries even more weight due to the intense fan speculation that this Vision is actually a time-traveling Jim Hammond. If this is indeed the same Hammond we saw in Ultimates #13, it suggests a paradox-heavy long game where the future is actively reaching back to ensure Janet is in the right place at the right time. Her "betrayal" was a calculated move in a strategy spanning decades, positioning her as an informant just so she could turn the tide when the moment called for it. Taking out the Fury LMD is a seismic shift for the resistance, a feat that would have been impossible without Janet’s willingness to stay in the shadows and keep her cards close to her chest.
Lejori Cuts Her Losses
While the Pyms are dealing with their own chaos, the rest of the team is watching the Ultimates Network get destroyed. It is a total blackout that leaves everyone blind at the worst possible time. It really shows how far the Maker’s reach goes when your entire support system gets deleted in seconds. The resistance went from a high-tech operation to a group of people shouting into the wind.
The team unity starts to crumble too. She-Hulk decides she is done with the mission and leaves to help her own people. You can’t blame her for choosing her neighborhood over a vague "greater good" while the world is ending. It is a huge blow to the team, but it fits the theme of the story. Everyone is just trying to save whatever they can from the wreckage.
The Art of Ultimates #19
The art in Ultimates #19 by Juan Frigeri thrives on a brutal sense of fluctuation. Frigeri expertly navigates the tonal shifts, moving from sweet, quiet, and somber moments between Janet and Hank to jarring splash pages of absolute carnage. The flashbacks are rendered with a warmth that makes the tragedy of Hank’s brain damage feel deeply personal, only to be punctuated by the cold reality of the present. These intimate scenes are contrasted against a battlefield that is a relentless sensory assault. The panels are filled with the visceral gore of fallen soldiers, the blinding streaks of laser fire, and the choking smoke of the frontlines. This visual whiplash keeps the reader off-balance, effectively mirroring Janet’s own internal struggle as she navigates the tender reality of her marriage and the horrific demands of her secret war.
Conclusion & Verdict
True heroism is rarely about the moments that earn a standing ovation. Often, it is about the choices made in the dark and the willingness to be the villain in someone else's story for the sake of a future they cannot yet see. Ultimates #19 is a masterclass in character rehabilitation that explores the grueling internal work required to survive an impossible war. It challenges the reader to look past the surface of betrayal and ask what they would be willing to lose to keep a single spark of hope alive.
I went into this issue expecting a traitor, but I walked away with a story about the heavy cost of survival. The issue leans into the quiet, sweet moments between Hank and Janet to ground the stakes, making the subsequent violence feel like a personal violation. Deniz Camp skillfully uses that intimacy to lull the audience into a false sense of security before rampaging through the plot. As the war on the frontlines reaches a point of absolute desperation, the narrative reveals that we were all duped.
Janet isn't just a hero or a spy; she is the only person on the team with the stomach to do the ugly work required to actually win. While most characters in this universe are defined by their powers, Janet is defined by her resolve. When Vision finally steps out of the shadows to dismantle the Fury LMD, it confirms that the writer was several steps ahead of us the entire time. Janet’s duplicity was the most effective weapon the Ultimates ever had. She traded her reputation for a chance at a future, cementing her place as the true heart of this new reality.
Verdict: 8.5/10. A high stakes masterpiece that proves the smartest person in the room is usually the one you least suspect.