The Maker’s manipulations go deep, and not all of the Ultimates fight them from the outside. This is the story of Luke Cage. Your Major Spoilers review of The Ultimates #9 from Marvel Comics awaits!
THE ULTIMATES #9
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artist: Chris Allen
Colorist: Federico Blee
Letterer: VC’s Travis Lanham
Editor: Wil Moss
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: February 5, 2025
Previously in Ultimates: Bear witness to the history and the future of Luke Cage! Spider-Man isn’t the only success story of Ultimates 1.0.
Meet the man who has been quietly sabotaging the Maker’s Council from behind bars!
FEBRUARY 2005: SEAGATE PRISON
When The Maker/Reed Richards began his time-traveling crusade to create a world without heroes, there were a lot of players on the proverbial field. By the time Iron Lad discovered the manipulations and created his Stark Boxes, he wasn’t sure if it was too late, and the relative lack of success of the first generation of revised heroes didn’t help matters. Then, there’s the case of Luke Cage. Sent to jail in 2005, convicted of crimes that neither he nor his lawyer were ever clear on, his sentence seemed light. Unfortunately, “One Year To Life” quickly turned into “one more year,” and the mandatory work-release program ended up being little more than legal slavery. Over the course of two decades, Luke is beaten down, with some saying that the guards broke every bone in his body… but they never broke his will. And then, the Stark Box arrived, giving Luke the unbreakable steel skin and tremendous strength of the Power Man we all know and love. That was one year ago.
NINE MONTHS REMAINING
The narrative strength of this issue hinges on the real-world mass incarceration problem and the idea that, in this story, it can be brought under control by the right people doing the right things. It’s a nice premise, and one that adds a new wrinkle to the evil of The Maker and his council, showing that there’s no depth to which they will not stoop. Guest artist Allen does a great job of making the layouts as cramped and enclosed as the prisons themselves, slowly opening them up as Luke comes to realize the truth of his situation and who really benefits. By the time he gets his powers, he’s already known as unbreakable, and a full-page spread of a transformed Cage is as good as it gets. There are even visual nods to his original design with the steel chains at the waist, though it’s a little disturbing to me to see that the cover image of Luke doesn’t resemble the character on the interior at all. All in all, the biggest weakness of the comic comes in the realization that real-world racism, oppression, and evil can’t be overcome by punching hard.
BOTTOM LINE: WISH THINGS WERE AS CLEAR-CUT IRL
You can’t really hold the fact that 2025 sucks against The Ultimates #9, though, and the strength of the narrative and the bold lines of the art combine for an issue that was through-provoking and engaging, earning 4 out of 5 stars overall. I’m a little bothered that Daniel Rand is also in this issue and doesn’t get HIS super-origin, but overall, this is another excellent issue of a series that continues to surprise and impress me.
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THE ULTIMATES #9
It's great to see a take like this on a character as comic-book iconic as Luke Cage, and it's an issue that entertains and exhilarates.
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Writing8
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Art8
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Coloring7
Once upon a time, there was a young nerd from the Midwest, who loved Matter-Eater Lad and the McKenzie Brothers... If pop culture were a maze, Matthew would be the Minotaur at its center. Were it a mall, he'd be the Food Court. Were it a parking lot, he’d be the distant Cart Corral where the weird kids gather to smoke, but that’s not important right now... Matthew enjoys body surfing (so long as the bodies are fresh), writing in the third person, and dark-eyed women. Amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: Fear! Surprise! Ruthless efficiency! An almost fanatical devotion to pop culture! And a nice red uniform.