Ultimate Invasion #1 is the start of a new event from Marvel Comics, written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Bryan Hitch. The issue brings together the Illuminati, a group of Marvel's most powerful superheroes, to stop the Maker, a dark version of Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe who played a pivotal role in the events leading to the destruction of that universe in the Secret Wars crossover event.

It is a classic Hickman debut issue — tons of groundwork being laid for the future and a steady build of suspense and intrigue throughout. In the first act of the book, we witness a group of mercenaries infiltrating a building to release an unknown prisoner. We discover its the Maker, who begins stealing highly powerful weapons from each member of the Illuminati’s domain, causing the group to reconvene and address the situation.

The Maker pays a visit to Miles Morales, who he asks to join him in returning to a universe of their own. After Miles declines, the Maker leaves to power up his new invention but not before the Illuminati track him down and attempt to stop him. The Maker reveals he’s been goading the group with clues so that they could find him and he could have one final conversation with Earth-616 Reed Richards. He then activates the machine he built and vanishes…

In the issue’s epilogue, we see a familiar scene where a Earth-6160’s Peter Parker is about to be bit by a radioactive spider. Just as the spider is about to bite him and lead to his transformation into Spider-Man, a maskless Maker kills the spider. It’s here we realize that he is out to manipulate timelines and potentially remove superheroes from them altogether.

The issue is full of slow-build suspense, and Hickman does a great job of setting up the conflict between the Maker and the Illuminati, especially Earth-616 Reed Richards. Every conversation felt like a drip, drip, drip of information I am going to need to retain. While I can understand how that may not be how some readers want to engage with a comic book, I appreciate how the effect paid off by the end of the issue and, if history is any indication on a Hickman run, it will likely have an even bigger payoff later on.

The artwork by Hitch in this issue is equally as stunning, and he brings the characters to life. There is one full-page image at the end of the main story that I spent a lot of time with as Hitch’s work does an amazing job capturing the reactions from the Illuminati after the Maker vanishes. Black Panther’s eyes specifically still haunt me. It is wonderful to see Hitch back with the Ultimate Universe he helped to create.

Overall, Ultimate Invasion #1 is a great start to the event. It's full of suspense and mystery, and it leaves readers wanting more even though there are no new characters introduced.

Rating: 9/10

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