When you’re reading The Ultimates, in any of its incarnations including the current one by Deniz Camp, you expect bombast. This is action in the mighty Marvel manner, as set out by Bryan Hitch in the original run of the series, way back several decades ago. But for The Ultimates #4, Camp focuses as tight as possible for a powerhouse issue revealing the origin of Ultimate Doom, and the fate of the Ultimate Fantastic Four.
Look, let’s get this out of the way: I’m a sucker for a strong structure play, and that’s what Camp does here. Using a four-panel structure (get it?), the issue tells one story in four different time periods. On the top is the initially familiar origin of the Fantastic Four. Below that is the aftermath of their mission to space, and how The Maker — the evil Reed Richards — corrupted this Ultimate Universe’s version of Reed Richards into Ultimate Doom. Below that is Doom watching a replay of what we’re reading. And on the bottom is Doom trying, and in classic Reed Richards fashion, failing to fix his mistakes.
The previous three issues of this title have been the most starkly political comic Marvel has published in… Maybe ever, focusing on disenfranchised communities gathering to fight back against a government that has abandoned them. It is the flip of the original Ultimates, which painted the Avengers as a world power in and of themselves. So it’s a swerve to focus so emotionally on one character. But arguably, Camp does the best job of exploring the dichotomy between Reed Richards and Doctor Doom since Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars. the big difference is that here he explores that divide in one, singular person.
By doing so, Camp elevates Ultimate Doom to Shakespearean tragedy. Reed in the 616 trying and failing to “cure” Ben Grimm long ago became di rigueur. Here, Reed trying to recreate his friends’ powers is heartbreaking. That’s ably aided by Phil Noto, a commensurate professional whose clean lines show mastery of the comic book form throughout the issue.
What this ultimately (no pun intended) takes the form of is snapshots from a life. It’s little pieces of backstory for a man wearing a mask who, unlike the regular version of Doom, doesn’t do so out of vanity. Here, Ultimate Doom wears a mask out of shame. He deserves to be caged for what he caused… It’s an iron maiden, not a suit of armor. And with this simple, carefully structured comic, it recontextualizes everything we know about the character, going forward. As a white, rich man he may not be from a minority group like the focus of previous issues. But you understand why he is trying to fix the world. He just may never do it, because, after all, he is doomed.
The Ultimates #4 Rating:
The Ultimates #4 Official Synopsis:
THE FATE OF THE ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR! Doom’s years of torture at the hands of the Maker finally catch up to him in this secret history of the real Reed Richards! And tensions rise among the Ultimates when Doom might be more fixated on re-creating the life he should have had than the life he’s got…
This version of Reed is not rich. And I fail to see what his skin pigmentation has to do with his morality. He had all his loved ones murdered, his brain surgically mutilated, was physically mentally and emotionally tortured and traumatized for years….I think we’ve reached the point where an attribute he was born with and can’t control ceases to be relevant.