Neo-Reality Collective | Pop-Culture News and Reviews Talk · Eric Brown

Ultimate Invasion #1 | Ultimate Universe Rebirth | NRC Reviews

·48 min·3 clips

Reed Richards answers “Yes” when asked if he would erase the Maker from existence.

1. Neo-Reality Collective reviews Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Invasion #1, the first issue of Jonathan Hickman and Brian Hitch’s four-part Ultimate Universe relaunch. 2. Eric Brown hosts the review and frames the issue around Hickman’s Marvel history, which includes Avengers, New Avengers, House of X, and Powers of X. 3. The episode asks what Hickman is building with the Maker, Miles Morales, and the returning Illuminati. 4. Brown connects this story to Hickman’s earlier Marvel events, including Secret Wars, the Builders, the Beyonders, and the Celestials. 5. He also brings up Hickman’s unused DC possibilities, naming the New Gods, the Legion of Superheroes, and a rumored Justice League offer. 6. The review then moves into Ultimate Invasion’s opening raid, where a tactical team breaks into a fortified building and demands “a billion dollars.” 7. Brown describes the target as the Maker, and he notes the reveal that the team has been hired to extract him from prison. 8. The issue’s prison sequence leads to the Maker reappearing with a new plan, a reassembled body, and the line about “the only two survivors of a dead universe.” 9. Brown tracks the Maker’s stolen materials, including vibranium, Inhuman technology, a mutant gateway, and other power sources taken from Wakanda, the Sanctum, and Atlantis. 10. The episode also names the Illuminati lineup as Black Panther, Black Bolt, Namor, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Charles Xavier, and Reed Richards. 11. One of the clearest moments is the Maker’s exchange with Miles Morales, where he calls Miles his brother and invites him to go home with him. 12. Brown lingers on the blank business card the Maker gives Miles, treating it as a deliberate setup rather than a throwaway gesture. 13. The review also spotlights Reed Richards’ encounter with the Maker, especially the question about whether Reed would erase him from existence. 14. Brown treats Reed’s answer of “Yes” as the issue’s sharpest confrontation and the moment that defines the conflict. 15. The episode spends time on Brian Hitch’s art, with Brown praising the widescreen action and repeatedly noting a metallic, alloy-like look to the designs. 16. Brown also comments on the data pages, calling them a very Hickman-style feature and reading them as part of the book’s structure. 17. The tone is argumentative and highly referential, with Brown bouncing between plot summary, continuity complaints, and comic-history digressions. 18. The format is a solo review with improvised commentary, side jokes, and repeated callbacks to Marvel continuity and editorial decisions. 19. Best for listeners who follow Hickman, the Maker, or Marvel continuity. 20. Probably skip if you want a tight, spoiler-free issue recap.

As heard by us

A brisk Marvel discussion that tracks Hickman-era continuity, Brian Hitch art, and a strongly opinionated take.

Brown treats Ultimate Invasion #1 as a walk through Marvel continuity, moving from Secret Wars to Hickman’s Avengers and New Avengers, then to House of X and Powers of X, the X-Men, and Krakoan-era talk before circling back to Ultimate Invasion.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

If you want a hot Marvel continuity dive with zero patience for corporate nonsense, press play.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Neo-Reality Collective | Pop-Culture News and Reviews Talk