Warning! This article contains spoilers for Ultimate Invasion #1-4 The idea of contingency plans being put into place just in case any given superhero team (or members of said team) venture into villainy has been a mainstay in comic book fiction across all publishers for decades, but Marvel Comics just blew all the rest out of the water, as the new Ultimate Universe’s anti-Avengers arsenal makes every other contingency plan look weak.
One of the more popular ‘contingency plans’ seen in comic book fiction actually doesn’t appear in Marvel Comics at all, but rather DC. Batman is famous for having ways to neutralize his fellow Justice League members. At the drop of a hat, Batman can initiate a plan he’s already put into place to take out the likes of Superman, Green Lantern, and the Flash, just to name a few. While Batman’s Justice League contingency plans in DC are impressive, they still don’t hold a candle to those that were put into place by Marvel Comics’ the Maker.
The Ultimate Universe version of Reed Richards isolated and cataloged every way to kill/combat some of the most prominent superheroes in the Marvel Universe (including Fantastic Four along with the Avengers), and he didn’t stop there. The Maker also eliminated these potential threats before they were even allowed to happen, and can now weaponize them to take on any new threats that may arise, which is a level of contingency so ruthless, not even Batman would dare to put those types of plans into place – which is why The Maker’s is better.
The Maker Has Turned The Ultimate Universe Into An Avengers Death-Trap
In the four-issue miniseries setting the stage for a new era in Marvel Comics, Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch, the Maker escapes from an Earth-616 supermax holding cell and travels to another universe designated Earth-6160 in order to create a new ‘Ultimate Universe’ in his image. When he got there, the first thing the Maker did was find every person who would become a superhero and either keep them from getting powers or change their story enough to where he would benefit from them getting powers. For those born with their abilities, the Maker simply took what he needed from them, cataloged it, and neutralized them.
For instance, the Maker stole the radioactive spider that should have bitten Peter Parker, he trapped the Hulk inside The City where he was effectively brainwashed into the Maker’s perfect pawn before stealing the Hulk’s DNA, and he imprisoned Doctor Strange after stealing the Eye of Agamotto. And that’s not even mentioning his own Illuminati, consisting of familiar superheroes who secretly (and heartlessly) rule the world under the Maker’s direction.
The Maker Took Down The Avengers Before They Formed (& Can Do So Again)
The Maker preemptively struck the Avengers in this new reality, but that’s not the only reason why his ‘contingency plan’ against Earth’s Mightiest Heroes is better than those created by other comic book characters (like Batman). The artifacts, weapons, and genetic samples that the Maker is sitting on are enough to raise an army of superpowered entities with the strength to raze planets and conquer the cosmos. Therefore, if the Avengers ever did rise up in this universe (which they’re actually attempting in the pages of the Ultimate Universe), or the Avengers of Earth-616 somehow track the Maker down in this reality to stop him for good, the villain will be ready for them.
Thankfully, the Maker is currently out of the picture, as the Ultimate Invasion ended with the Maker trapped inside his own temporally-displaced Citadel while the new Ultimate Avengers are adding more heroes to their ranks. However, upon the Maker’s inevitable return, he’ll be more than capable of disassembling the Avengers – any Avengers – and it’s all thanks to his ultimate anti-Avengers arsenal, one that makes every other contingency plan look weak (within the continuity of Marvel Comics or otherwise).
Ultimate Invasion #1-4 by Marvel Comics is available now.
