| Ultimate Galactus Trilogy | |
|---|---|
Cover of Ultimate Extinction 1 (Mar, 2006). Art by Brandon Peterson. |
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| Created by | Warren Ellis |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Ultimate Marvel imprint of Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Title(s) | Ultimate Nightmare Ultimate Secret Ultimate Extinction |
| Formats | Original material for the series has been published as a set of limited series. |
| Genre | Superhero |
| Publication date | Ultimate Nightmare October 2004 — February 2005 Ultimate Secret May — December 2005 Ultimate Extinction March — July 2006 |
| Number of issues | Ultimate Nightmare: 5 Ultimate Secret: 4 Ultimate Extinction: 5 |
| Main character(s) | Gah Lak Tus Silver Surfer Nick Fury Fantastic Four Ultimates Mahr Vehl X-Men |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Warren Ellis |
| Artist(s) | Ultimate Extinction Brandon Peterson |
| Penciller(s) | Ultimate Nightmare Trevor Hairsine (1-2, 4-5) Steve Epting (3) Ultimate Secret Steve McNiven (1-2) Tom Raney (3-4) |
| Inker(s) | Ultimate Nightmare Simon Coleby (1-2, 4) Nelson DeCastro (2-5) Tom Palmer Sr. (3-4) Mark Morales (4) Rodney Ramos (4) Ultimate Secret Mark Morales (1-2) Scott Hanna (3-4) |
| Letterer(s) | Chris Eliopoulos |
| Colorist(s) | Ultimate Nightmare Frank D'Armata Ultimate Secret Morry Jay Hollowell (1-2) Rob Schwager (3-4) Ultimate Extinction Paul Mounts (1) Justin Ponsor (1-5) Jason Keith (5) |
| Creator(s) | Warren Ellis |
| Editor(s) | Ultimate Nightmare Jennifer Grünwald Nick Lowe Ralph Macchio Joe Quesada Jeff Youngquist Ultimate Secret Nick Lowe Ralph Macchio John Barber Nicole Wiley Ultimate Extinction John Barber Ralph Macchio Nicole Wiley Joe Quesada |
| Reprints | |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN 0-7851-2139-0 |
The Ultimate Galactus Trilogy is a collection of three comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics. All three series are set in the Ultimate Marvel universe and are written by Warren Ellis. The series showcase the arrival of the planet-eating entity Gah Lak Tus on Earth.
Contents |
Published from August 2004 to May 2006, the three series were titled Ultimate Nightmare (#1 - 5, Oct. 2004 - Feb. 2005), Ultimate Secret (#1 - 4, May - Dec. 2005), and Ultimate Extinction (#1 - 5, Mar. - July 2006). They were all written by Warren Ellis of Transmetropolitan, Planetary, and The Authority fame, after signing an exclusive two-year work-for-hire contract with Marvel Comics.
Ultimate Nightmare is a five-issue comic book limited series. Issues 1, 2, 4 and 5 were penciled by Trevor Hairsine (noted for working on the Ultimate Six limited series with Brian Michael Bendis), and inked by Simon Coleby who has previously worked on Marvel UK's Warheads series in the 1990s. The third issue was drawn by Steve Epting. Ellis notes that "Ultimate Nightmare was originally intended as a set-up for a big Ultimate-line event that Mark Millar was going to do. Mark, however, has had health issues for some time, and that and his workload led to him bowing out and me once again being asked to step in and help out. And then, while I was getting into Nightmare, Joe Quesada had the idea of turning this event into a trilogy...So I needed to come up with a credible second step in the trilogy fairly quickly." [1]
Ultimate Secret is a four-issue comic book limited series with art by Steve McNiven. It was scheduled to print monthly, but due to Ellis and McNiven's other concerns (among other things, McNiven is drawing the current arc of New Avengers) it was delayed, and didn't finish until near the end of 2005.
Ultimate Extinction was five-issue (it was originally to be six) limited series began in January 2006, cover dated March, and was illustrated by Brandon Peterson. Despite fan speculation and argument to the contrary, the comics in the Ultimate Galactus trilogy and recently published reference materials clearly state that the events of Ultimate Extinction take place before the second volume of The Ultimates.
A broadcast disrupts the world's communications systems, filling televisions and computer monitors with images of death and destruction that cause thousands of people to commit suicide. The broadcast ripples across the psychic plane, and attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Charles Xavier, with both tracing the source to the Tunguska wasteland in Russia, the site of a massive comet crash over a century ago. S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Nick Fury leads a team of heroes - Captain America, Black Widow and Sam "Falcon" Wilson - on a reconnaissance mission, while Professor X sends the X-Men Jean Grey, Wolverine and Colossus to investigate. Neither team is aware of the other's involvement.
The two teams trace the signal to an abandoned complex built in the era of Communist Russia, and encounter an army of mutated humans, all engineered by a now-defunct Soviet super-soldier project designed to create versions of Captain America. Two characters who make appearances, though un-named, are Ultimate Unicorn and a version of Ultimate Red Guardian. After defeating the humans the two teams meet, with Fury's team capturing the X-Men and then discovering the source of the broadcast - a sentient, self-repairing robot called Vision. Vision explains that it traveled to Earth 100 years ago, and when its ship malfunctioned it crashed in Tunguska and was later captured by the Soviets, who amputated portions of its body and grafted them onto Soviet Army volunteers to create experimental super-soldiers. Vision has repaired itself enough to communicate with the world, and warns Fury of an impending threat: the Eater of Worlds, called Gah Lak Tus. The X-Men subsequently escape and Fury's team takes the Vision back to S.H.I.E.L.D for further analysis.
A secret S.H.I.E.L.D. installation in New Mexico investigating revolutionary methods of space travel is attacked by the alien Kree. This forces resident scientist Dr. Philip Lawson to change to his true identity of Captain Mahr Vehl and battle the attackers. Although able to successfully defend the installation, Mahr Vehl is rendered unconscious and is eventually questioned by Fury. Mahr Vehl explains he is a member of the Kree himself, and that they have been observing Earth to determine if humanity poses a threat to the Kree in the larger galaxy. Observing mankind's violent nature, Mahr Vehl reveals that the Kree have recently decided to confine humanity on Earth until the entity Gah Lak Tus can destroy them, thus ending the potential threat. Realizing that other Kree will be coming and that the threat the Vision foretold is now very real, Fury summons the Fantastic Four and the Ultimates.
A Kree force attacks the installation soon after, but is stopped by a combined team of heroes. Another team of heroes - with Mahr Vehl's aid - storm the Kree ship while the aliens are on Earth. The commander, Yahn Rgg, activates the self-destruct mechanism, but not before Mahr Vehl hacks into the ship's database and downloads its contents into his memory banks. With the information gained from both Vision and the Kree, Fury contemplates how to deal with the coming threat of Gah Lak Tus.
Fury enlists the aid of Reed Richards and Professor Xavier once Silver Surfer arrives to "herald" the approach of Gah Lak Tus, who is discovered to be a swarm of thousands of sentient ships stretched 100,000 miles (160,000 km) long and within only a week's journey from Earth.
The heroes Captain America, Falcon, Iron Man and Mahr Vehl have several battles with Gah Lak Tus' heralds, the Silver Men, and allow Reed Richards, Charles Xavier and Jean Grey time to develop a plan. Xavier and Grey make psychic contact with Gah Lak Tus, which completely repulses the entity and distracts it. Richards then uses the ultimate Ultimate Nullifier, and teleports the latent energy of a Big Bang into the heart of the Gah Lak Tus swarm. With 20% of its mass destroyed by the blast, the entity retreats. Richards then programs Vision with plans for the weapon and sends it into space, in the hopes that other races will be able to benefit and fend off Gah Lak Tus. Nick Fury's only comment on the matter is "the human race can kick the hell out of anything."
The series has been collected into a number of volumes:
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