Marvel Comics released Ultimate Universe: Two Years In #1 yesterday, setting the stage for the final few months of this line before Marvel Comics—allegedly—wraps it up for good with Ultimate Endgame.
An Ultimate version of Daredevil is introduced in the issue, but it's not Matt Murdock beneath the mask. This Man Without Fear is a cosmic hero and a member of the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy. He even wields a Cosmic Cube (dubbed the "Hyper-Cube"), a far cry from the Daredevil who brutally protects the streets of Hell's Kitchen.
Ultimate Daredevil is rocking a mullet, and in hindsight, that should have been the giveaway: beneath the mask is The Beyonder! His senses are limited to only thirteen (rather than millions), and we see him travel across panels and even rewrite the story at times.
It's a pretty meta tale, but one that takes full advantage of an alternate universe to reinvent one of Marvel Comics' most iconic characters.
As a reminder, The Beyonder is a near-omnipotent being responsible for creating Battleworld in the original Secret Wars event. Viewing Earth's heroes and villains as his playthings, he pitted them against each other for what was, at the time, the biggest crossover ever.
"For me, each of these year-ending Ultimates specials are an opportunity to reveal more about the universe's history, and set the path of its future," writer Deniz Camp previously said of the comic. "Ultimate Universe: One Year In was about the recent past and near future, but Ultimate Universe: Two Years In is more ambitious."
"We'll take you from the birth of humanity to 2000 years into the future where everything has gone wrong. It's bold, it's heartfelt, it's filled with big new ideas and surprising twists on old characters -- it's just what you've come to expect from the Ultimate Universe!"
Writer Alex Paknadel added, "Getting to write in the Ultimate universe—especially as it reaches its climax—is so fun, it should be illegal. It's a license to rethink and reinvent your favorite characters, and Deniz and I have certainly done that here."
"Like all the best Ultimate versions of these characters, our Daredevil retains the essence of the original—he's still a something without fear—but he's been scaled up to a cosmic-level hero. I can't wait for readers to meet him."
Check out some highlights from Ultimate Daredevil's debut below.
ALL PATHS LEAD TO ENDGAME! In preparation for the Maker's return in ULTIMATE ENDGAME, the Ultimate Guardians have been traveling all across time and space, recruiting members new and old… Travel across all the corners of the Ultimate Universe! Don't miss the dawn of many new characters, including ULTIMATE DAREDEVIL!
ULTIMATE UNIVERSE: TWO YEARS IN #1
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Art by PATRICK BOUTIN-GAGNE, LEE FERGUSON, FRANCESCO MANNA, PHIL NOTO, JAVIER PULIDO
Cover by RYAN STEGMAN
On sale now