What do you get when you cross an Alien Zarab with Galactus the Devourer? That’s what Shin Hayata and Miles Morales are about to find out! Your Major Spoilers review of Ultraman X The Avengers #1 from Marvel Comics awaits!

ULTRAMAN X THE AVENGERS #1

Writer: Kyle Higgins/Mat Groom
Artist: Francesco Manna
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: VC’s Ariana Maher
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: August 14, 2024

Previously, in Ultraman x The Avengers: Spider-Man has disappeared from New York, an intergalactic invader has arrived on Ultraman’s doorstep, and the Kaiju of Earth are acting even more mysteriously than usual. This can only mean one thing: It’s time for Ultraman to meet the Avengers! But what cosmic threat is great enough to require a team-up of Marvel’s mightiest champions and Japan’s greatest hero?

A NEW HERALD OF GALACTUS

Ultraman x Avengers #1 opens on the alien planet Zarab, where a gummy jerk familiar to Ultraman fans has just been soundly defeated by an armored giant. That’s not an unexpected situation for an Alien Zarab, but when the giant introduces himself as Galactus, offering the creature a new job as his herald, it becomes clear that something is rotten in the Eight Galactic System. On Earth, Shin Hayata and his colleagues in the United Science Patrol investigate a strange energy reading, only to have Spider-Man leap out of it. Shin is skeptical of the whole idea of “superheroes” but quickly calls on Ultraman when the new herald arrives in Japan to attack. The battle is quickly joined by the combining mecha, Jack, and the Avengers (Captain America Sam Wilson, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, The Wasp, and tagalong Spider-Men Peter Parker), leading to the defeat of the A.Z., the traditional “heroes getting to know each other” sequence, and a makeshift plan to get Galactus back to Earth-616 where he belongs.

The only problem is the marauding kaiju that are starting to fill the skies.

MOVES PRETTY FAST

On the one hand, I do enjoy the character interactions in this issue, something that Higgins and Groom excel at. One lovely moment is when The Wasp and Shin discuss how she “gets small” and he “gets big,” after which she feels the need to confirm that he doesn’t dabble in the creation of evil robots. It’s a cute bit of flirting that’s also a little easter egg for Hank Pym fans—both of ’em. The art is impressive as well, with Francesco Manna giving us a Galactus who is truly terrifying and alien while still being Kirby’s original guy-in-a-purple-antlered-crown design. The use of both Ultraman and Earth-616 lore is well-handled, including a conversation between Spider-Man and Spider-Men where they remark how the combining mecha reminds them of yet another Spider-Man, Takuya Yamashiro. The biggest drawback comes in the crossover itself, called out in dialogue when Shin mocks the idea of “spandex-wearing crime fighters,” calling out the harder science fiction of the Ultraman franchise and the fundamental problem of making these characters work together.

BOTTOM LINE: PRETTY GOOD STUFF

Even though Shin’s dialogue feels like an unforced error that weakens the narrative foundation of this tale, Ultraman X The Avengers #1 sets up an interesting premise, pairs it with some really good art, and makes it all hang together admirably, earning 3 out of 5 stars overall. Given that Ultraman is a less-familiar property to most fans, setting this one in Hayata’s reality and underlining that reality’s rules are an understandable decision, even if it’s one that I don’t agree with. I’m looking forward to where this goes from here.

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