Marvel has been more open to crossovers with other brands. With Ultraman x The Avengers #1, Marvel will continue their major crossovers. Ultraman is a legendary franchise with the character consistently having TV shows, movies, manga, and more developed around the franchise since 1966. So for the Avengers to crossover with Ultraman it is a big worldwide deal. Let’s find out how this dream crossover begins with Ultraman x the Avengers #1.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writers: Matthew Groom and Kyle Higgins
Artist: Francesco Manna
Colorist: Matt Milla
Letterer: Ariana Maher
ULTRAMAN X THE AVENGERS #1 SOLICITATION
“THE GREATEST HERO OF JAPAN AND EARTH’S MIGHTIEST HEROES JOIN FORCES FOR AN EPIC ADVENTURE!
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?
Find out as Shin meets Sam, Spacium Ray meets Repulsor Ray and “THWIP!” meets “SHUWATCH!” – in the epic crossover event: ULTRAMAN x AVENGERS!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Matthew Groom, Kyle Higgins, and Francesco Manna know exactly what they have in this Ultraman and Avengers crossover mini-series. Ultraman x the Avengers #1 shows that this series is not going to shy away from the Kaiju and Super Sentai genre. And really this first issue establishes why Ultraman is first on the title of the series as we end up spending then entire issue in that franchises universe.
Going in on the Ultraman side of this crossover is smart. Because when it comes to the Ultraman x the Avengers crossover the fans of the Marvel Universe are less likely to know much about Ultraman than the other way around. Getting Marvel fans bought into the Kaiju and Super Sentai genre is a key to the success of this first issue.
Having Miles Morales’ Spider-Man act as the reader’s entry point for Ultraman was a great choice. Spider-Man position of always reacting to everything that is going on in the Ultraman Universe is an energy that translates to the reader. Especially as an introduction to this universe there are plenty of wow moments because of the scale of Ultraman’s battles.
Though the one thing that got in the way of the direction for Ultraman x the Avengers #1 was Groom and Higgins handling of Miles’ Spider-Man. There are various moments where it seemed that Groom and Higgins were writing Peter Parker rather than Miles Morales. The back and forth nature of how this version of Spider-Man was written did throw off some of the momentum. Hopefully this is fixed now that we know both Peter and Miles are part of this crossover at the end of this issue.
Opening with Galactus along with the Kaiju threats that show up at the end work well to establish the threats the Avengers and Ultraman characters will face. They are all immediate threats that drive home why these two universes are crossing over. It builds hype to see how the Avengers in particular adapt to dealing with Kaiju-size threats.
Francesco Manna did a good job handling the scope of what Ultraman x the Avengers needed to be. Setting things in the Ultraman Universe gave easy set up for Manna to focus on the Kaiju and Super Sentai aspects. The action we get show that Manna has a good handling of the larger-than-life size the battles of this series need to be.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultraman x the Avengers #1 did its job in getting you bought into this crossover between the two distinct franchises. Focusing on the Ultraman Universe with the Avengers go to that world rather than the other way around was a great call. It naturally led to establishing the credibility of the larger-than-life threats the Avengers will be facing alongside the Ultraman characters. If you’re a fan of either franchise make sure to give this mini-series a shot.
Story Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
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