Ultraman X Avengers Issue 2 Takes a Novel Path

Ultraman X Avengers Issue 2 Takes a Novel Path

The most epic link-up in superhero history is wasting no time! It’s been less than two months since the first issue of ULTRAMAN X AVENGERS took the world by storm and already ULTRAMAN X AVENGERS issue no.2 is available to the public.

After learning the dark truth about United Science Patrol leader, Director Morheim, Shin Hayata and his newly formed Ultra Guard must partner with the Avengers to save the Earth from even further threat.

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The threat in question? Mr. Fantastic from the Avengers original world has created a device that sent Galactus, devourer of worlds to Shin’s world. Yikes. On the bright side, the Avengers’ missing original Spider-Man was sent there too!

Now, Shin, Kiki, Ide, Captain Marvel, Captain America, Iron Man, Wasp, Spider-Man and Miles Morales’s Spider-Man (what a lineup!) must face the approaching Galactus. Not without being interrupted by more Kaiju attacks, of course.

While Ultraman handles the Kaiju alongside Captain Marvel, the rest of the Avengers must infiltrate the U.S.P to steal the energy tanks needed to potentially defeat Galactus. It’s a simple plan, but not an easy one.

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With confident, elegant linework by Francisco Manna and electric colors by Matt Milla, ULTRAMAN X AVENGERS is only an audio track short of a full cinematic experience. Whether it’s a radiant, glowing battle, or a moody heart-to-heart, every panel could serve as a stand-alone piece.

Writers Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom prove their prowess once again as they balance multiple emotionally cohesive relational dynamics, pairing up unlikely duos, almost to show us just how likely they actually are.

Though she is doubted for her small size compared to giants like Ultraman or Galactus, Captain Marvel disavows all inhibitions, joining Ultraman in a battle far beyond her scale. She refuses to think in terms of her differences with Ultraman. Instead, she hones her similar abilities to serve as a bridge between species and a conductor of energy and proves both Shin and her own team wrong about her capabilities.

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To Ultra Guard member Kiki Fuji, this comes less naturally. She assumes she cannot participate in this battle for her lack of superpowers. It takes the charming combination of Iron Man’s arrogance and determination to convince her that anything is within her reach if she utilizes the resources around her, “Listen -- Some people are born gods, some trip and fall into cosmic power... But the rest of us have to find our own way into the game.”

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Captain America must similarly uplift Shin after he’s discouraged by Dr. Morheim’s public defamation of Ultraman. Rendered untrustworthy to the public, Ultraman is discredited as a hero, but Captain America tells him just how to build himself back up again, “You just gotta stand proud, demonstrate that you have nothing to hide and live your values. Do that and people will see the real you.”

Both Iron Man’s advice to Kiki and Captain America’s advice to Shin enable our protagonists to approach adversity with their ethics leading the way. Instead of immediately resorting to violence, or resorting to nothing at all, Shin and Kiki are both energized to recenter themselves and think from their enemies’ perspectives, using negotiation before brute force.

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Director Morheim and Galactus have different responses to attempted amicability, and not necessarily the responses you’d expect. Sometimes talking works, sometimes it really doesn’t. This is a fact of life as much as it is the duality of ULTRAMAN X AVENGERS. Either way, our heroes’ integrity is undeniable, and that is the only constant we could ask for in situations so dire.

Ultraman being allotted a monumental face-to-face discussion with Galactus in and of itself is a feat of Ultraman’s capability as a hero. Galactus is a force that has rarely, if ever, been reasoned with successfully. In the past, his bidding was done through heralds, like Silver Surfer.

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This time, because of Ultraman’s compassion (and his sheer size), we get to hear Galactus’s perspective. Galactus doesn’t want to cause pain, he is simply hungry and his hierarchical place in the food chain of the universe does not allow him to feel empathy for mortals the way that Ultraman does.

Much like the insatiable element of hatred and disarray in this world, Galactus’s survival requires suffering, yet his survival is necessary to maintain balance in the multiverse. On the surface, this inevitability seems bleak, but there are ways to face it. After all, a wise being once told us, “If the path to be discovered were not novel it would not need to be discovered.”

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The fate of the multiverse is at stake and it’s going to take an unconventional path to save it, but luckily our heroes are unconventional themselves. At the beginning of the issue, Ultraman isn’t even categorized as a superhero but by the end, for this special occasion, Ultraman is deemed an Avenger! Who else got chills reading that?

Make sure to secure your copy of ULTRAMAN X AVENGERS #2, now available in digital or hard copy here and stay on the lookout for Issue 3, coming soon!