The Multiversity: Ultra Comics #1 is a one-shot with a cover date of May, 2015. It was published on March 25, 2015.
Synopsis for "Ultra Comics Lives!"
Ultra Comics was engineered by the Memesmiths of Earth-Prime - a world without super-heroes of flesh and blood. Earth-Prime's only super-heroes are fictional, existing on the comic book page. Ultra is therefore a cybernetic comic book, designed to capture and dissect so-called Hostile Independent Thought-Forms - or H.I.T. He is powered by the Ultragem, a solid crystal made of imagination. The gem channels the imagination of thousands of readers, and harnesses it as one. Through that process, Ultra and his readers are one living organism. Earth-Prime now faces an attack by a HIT which is using comic book fiction as a doorway into the minds of the readers. The readers are, however, the first line of defence, through Ultra. And today, his adventure is titled "...Out of His Box!"
Entering New York City, Ultra finds it is a dilapidated ruin; surely the post-apocalyptic re-imagining of the city that the story demands! Unfortunately, it is a trap. While searching the rubble, he encounters Red Riding Hood, who is surrounded by creatures she calls crawlies. Ultra defeats them for her, but she is wary of him. She introduces her team, the Neighborhood Guard - a group of heroic teens. Ultra explains his intent to help, and they warn him to hurry, as Reborizzon's Dronedroids are coming, searching for a box. The Guard explains that they were sent by the Elders to retrieve the box. Given that he's the only one strong enough to lift it, Ultra suggests that they let him help with it.
He carries it for them, and they lead him to the Elders, where he meets Gary Concord, Jr. who had once been called Ultra Man - but the fact is, all of the elders were once called Ultra. Gary explains that the Cube is the key to their defeating Reborizzon. They had received warnings from other worlds of a catastrophe they would soon face, found in comic books. Among the comics, Ultra Comics spots some skulls, and realizes that he has stumbled on a colony of super-cannibals, and he is to be their victim. The droids had been protecting the cube from them. The cannibals capture him and strap him into a machine under the influence of an Apathy Ray while their master, Ultraa of Almerac. Ultraa clamps his teeth around the Ultragem on Ultra Comics' forehead, and rips it off, crushing it in his jaws. He explains that the box is his doorway to other worlds - and hopefully, back to Almerac. Ultra Comics warns that something terrible is waiting on the other side of the cube - just a few pages away.
He explains that the gem that Ultraa just ate is made of Ultra-stuff, which he can control with his mind. He uses it to kill Ultraa, as the Boc begins to activate, and The Gentry starts coming through. By helping the kids, he brought the Gentry to Earth-Prime. Everything had been a trap. Ultra Comics itself is just flypaper.
With the help of the frightened kids, the Ultra Comics from earlier in the book is brought back to help save the day, just as his present self dies of old age, drained by the Gentry. He explains that the trap was for the Gentry after all. They've been eaten by the comic book, and will soon be rendered into pure text, which is vulnerable to criticism. Unfortunately, the trap doesn't seem like it's going to work. There's only one way left to close the trap on the Gentry - and that's to close the book.
Appearing in "Ultra Comics Lives!"
Featured Characters:
- Ultra Comics (Flashback and main story) (Origin)
Supporting Characters:
- Memesmiths (Single appearance) (Unnamed)
- Neighborhood Guard (Single appearance)
- Boy Blue (Single appearance)
- Red Riding Hood (Single appearance)
Antagonists:
- Deformoids (Single appearance)
- Betterman[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Factory[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Flucker[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Gog[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Snow-Woman[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Moonman[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- Underwoman[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Apparent Death)
- The Gentry
- Intellectron
- Rex Ultraa the Ultra King (Single appearance)
- Ace Arn (Single appearance)
- Gary Concord, Jr. (Single appearance)
Other Characters:
- Captain Marvel (Earth 5) (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Gary Concord, Sr.[1] (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (In picture only) (Cameo)
- League of Shadows (Earth 13) (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Annataz (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Hellblazer (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Ragman (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Superdemon (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Overman (Earth 10) (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- President Superman (Earth 23) (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Reborizzon (Behind the scenes)
- Dronedroids (Single appearance) (Cameo)
- Ultra Woman (Single appearance)
- Uncle Sam (Earth 10) (In a comic book only) (Cameo)
- Epoch the Lord of Time (Post-Flashpoint) (Mentioned only)
- Maxima (Mentioned only)
- Maxitron (Mentioned only)
Locations:
- Multiverse (Mentioned only)
- Earth 33/"Earth-Prime" (First full appearance)
- Fifth Dimension (Mentioned only)
Items:
- Ultrabox (First appearance)
- Ultragem (First appearance)
Concepts:
- Elseworlds (Mentioned only)
- Fourth Wall
- Imaginary Stories (Mentioned only)
- Kryptonese
- "The Oblivion Machine"
- Time Travel
Notes
- This issue is reprinted in The Multiversity.
- This issue is largely told in the second person, and breaks the Fourth Wall as part of its narrative.
- It has never been confirmed whether the post-apocalyptic world, where Ultra Comics is sent by his creators, is actually one of Earth 33's possible futures or a different reality in the Multiverse (or Hypertime.
Trivia
- The Duncan Rouleau cover is a homage Justice League of America #9.
- The Kryptonese script on page 15 translates to "ABCEDHJJKNOPT" - and obviously, does not make any sense.
- Ace Arn, Gary Concord, Jr. and Rex Ultraa are variants of Ultra, the Multi-Alien, The Ultra-Man and Ultraa, respectively.
- Gary Concord Sr. and the Deformoids' identities and backgrounds were revealed by Grant Morrison in his substack.[1]
See Also