After a short delay, Ultimate Endgame #4 has finally arrived. This is going to be the most important chapter of the big final Ultimate Universe event. Especially after the events of the third issue where we saw The Maker seemingly kill Ultimate Spider-Man. That was certainly a statement for Deniz Camp and company to make for where this event is going. How will they set up the finale of this event? Let’s find out with Ultimate Endgame #4
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Deniz Camp
Artists: Terry & Rachel Dodson and Jonas Scharf
Colorists: Terry Dodson and Edgar Delgado
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE ENDGAME #4 SOLICITATION
“SPIDER-MAN MEETS HIS MAKER! Time is ticking on the Ultimate Universe!!! In this penultimate issue of the most climactic super-hero event EVER(!)…heroes will fall, villains will rise and your favorite characters will be forced to make difficult sacrifices!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Ultimate Endgame #4 runs into a major problem: it has too much to accomplish and too little room to do it effectively. The issue is weighed down by a variety of missteps. This includes, but not limited to, the story’s overall direction makes the heroes’ fight against The Maker feel more like homework rather than leading to an exciting climax. Instead of drawing readers in emotionally, the narrative asks the reader to do all the heavy lifting. It makes it harder to stay invested in what should be the event’s biggest moments.
Spotlighting Marvel Big Event Problems
Ultimate Endgame #4 runs into a familiar problem that has faced many Marvel events. That problem is the story leaning heavily on tie-ins to carry key story beats. As a result, readers who have not been following those tie-in comics are left feeling we are getting an incomplete story rather than one that rewards them for reading this event.
The clearest example is The Ultimates’ battle against Ultimate Captain Britain. After receiving little attention in the first three issues, the conflict suddenly gets some attention. Unfortunately, rather than feeling like the payoff to a carefully built sub-plot, we are simply dropped in the middle of a story that was being told somewhere else. The times we have seen them in the previous three issues were so brief that this shift comes across as abrupt instead of earned.
That lack of development weakens the battle’s climax of Captain Britain beheading Captain America. Visually, the moment wants you to feel a major shock, but it lands with a thud. Too much of the emotional and narrative groundwork happens off-screen, leaving what should be a devastating turning point feeling strangely hollow.
Ultimate Rush to the Finish
The problem with Captain America’s death not hitting highlights how rushed the story in Ultimate Endgame #4 is. After spending just about the entirety of the first three issues focusing on the events inside The Makers’ dome, we suddenly get a focus on all the other things going on. While that should fix one of the biggest problems with Ultimate Endgame it instead comes in a little too late.
This ultimately falls on how Camp structures the flow between all the scenes inside and outside The Maker’s dome. Camp has failed to properly pace out things out to creatively control the chaotic nature of this event. That causes this fourth issue to feel like it is rushing along story beats just to cram as much as possible in here.
By going about the pacing in this way the Camp fails to make the big moments like Ultimate Spider-Man and Captain America’s deaths matter. These and other moments just feel like Camp is checking off moments every big event is supposed to have. This in turn causes you to just feel disappointed because the urgency is more on cramming as much into the page count of Ultimate Endgame #4 than of stopping The Maker.
The Last Temptation of The Maker
Speaking of The Maker, a major focus of Ultimate Endgame #4 was The Maker tempting Doctor Doom to fully side with him. This is something that has been going on for the entirety of this big event. The fact there hasn’t been a resolution for this sub-plot is frustrating.
With there only being one issue left this sub-plot should have its payoff here. At least then we could’ve got some satisfaction with all the different narrative threads we have been following. Instead, we are left waiting for this to be resolved in the finale, if that happens.
This leaves us in a spot where Ultimate Endgame #5 being forced to wrap up everything. There isn’t any sort of “wins” had in this journey to feel like the heroes have been building to ultimately defeating The Maker. Everything that has happened up to this point signals The Maker’s win. The only way he loses is for Camp to pull out a deus ex machina like how the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy are presented at the end.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate Endgame #4 is yet another massive disappointment for an event. Rather than tapping into feeling like this was worth the investment in this Ultimate Universe we get a rush to get things resolved. In rushing the story to its upcoming conclusion there are many missing things to make moments like major deaths or last-minute character appearance have an emotional impact.
Story Rating: 1 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 3 Night Girls out of 10
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