The original Ultimate Universe's Reed Richards is now the villainous Maker. Two years ago, he used time travel to create his ideal Earth by systematically preventing anyone from ever becoming a superhero and by establishing a secret group of super villains, The Maker's Council, that rules the world from the shadows.
To help give this world a chance to fight back, inventor and Council member Howard Stark sacrificed himself to seal the Maker inside "The City," a place of the Maker's own design where time and space operate completely separately from the outside world.
Howard's teenage son, Tony, then took the codename Iron Lad (in a very Kang-inspired armour) and began to recruit a network of heroes to take on the Maker's Council and to prepare for the Maker's return. Last month, he broadcast to the entire world the truth about the Maker and his Council, leading to a surge of global unrest.
However, the seal on the Dome surrounding the City was only good for two years, and in Ultimate Endgame #1, those two years are now up. Inside the city, 2000 years have passed, meaning the Ultimates have no idea what to expect from The Maker's return.
As war breaks out in Latveria, Iron Lad, Spider-Man, America Chavez, and Reed Richards/Doom enter The City, and find it's far from a utopia. Battling Deathloks and Death's Heads, they discover that Howard is still alive but now known as Immortus, Lord of Time.
Howard has managed to survive the past two thousand years, but has no memory of Tony (which isn't overly surprising given how much time has passed for him). Doom makes it clear they need to find The Maker, prompting Immortus to reveal that it's not about finding the villain, it's about escaping him. The Maker is The City!
That's where the issue ends. Where we go from here remains to be seen, but it's a huge twist that sets the stage for this version of the Ultimate Universe to end in an epic way (and with it, we'd bet on The Maker's story also drawing to a close).
The Maker has shown up in various Earth-616 events, including Secret Wars and King in Black. Creating a new world hasn't exactly worked for him, and with Marvel Comics ending this Ultimate line, a definitive conclusion to this story is a must.
Check out some pages from Ultimate Endgame #1 below, and be sure to pick up your copy either in your local comic book store or digitally.
ENDGAME HAS ARRIVED!
The moment that has been building since the beginning of the new Ultimate Universe!
Spinning out of Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s ULTIMATES comes the culmination of ULTIMATE INVASION... Two (thousand) years have passed in the Ultimate Universe, but inside the City, the Maker has had thousands of years to prepare for his return!
With the barrier around the City finally gone, heroes all across the Ultimate Universe must mobilise to defeat the Maker before it’s game over. For everyone.
Meanwhile, the rest of the world wages World War III...
ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Art by TERRY & RACHEL DODSON, JONAS SCHARF
Cover by MARK BROOKS