Who is Jinn and how about that left jab?
Category: Blog
Ultraverse Fan Origin: David Sopko
Hello there Ultraverse fans. David Sopko here. I’ll be covering Firearm for you. Hope to branch out to some other titles, but got to keep my focus right now.
Why Firearm? Why the Ultraverse even? It all started back in 1993. That was not the beginning of my comic book fandom…that started with young Dave watching Spider-Man on The Electric Company…no, 1993 was when I discovered James Robinson, and in turn Firearm. Then, the rest of the Ultraverse.
Honestly, I had read some of James Robinsons Terminator comics without thinking too much about his name. Then I got hold of The Golden Age. A mini series from DC Comics, and I fell in love with his writing. I happened to be in a comic shop one day talking to the owner about James Robinson and how much I enjoyed his writing. He grabbed Firearm 1 – 4 off the shelf and told me to give these a try. He told me that the book was part of something called the Ultraverse. But I didn’t have to read any of that to get Firearm.
Well, my 23 year old self got home and quickly read through the books several times. The Break-Thru event had happened, and I was curious about it, even though it didn’t really effect Firearm. The fact that George Perez was involved was also a plus. I grabbed that the next day and soon was grabbing all of the issues of the Ultraverse that had come out up to that point. I mean, there were all kinds of writers and artists that I knew working on these titles and that really appealed to me. The cohesive universe they were putting together drew me in.
From that point on, I collected everything I could. Met several of the creators over the years and have a lot of signatures on many books. I missed a few issues here or there towards the end of the Marvel Ultraverse period, but have narrowed that down to one issue to go.
In my contributions here. plan on reviewing the issues of his series, but the movie that they produced as well. Showing off the trading cards associated with Firearm. As well as showcasing the heroes and villains that appear in the book, as well as running through the literary works that James Robinson threw in the book. There will also be crossover issues to talk about, featuring Prime and a slew of others that were affected by The Rafferty Saga.
So…got my comics. Got my movie. Got my binder full of Ultraverse trading cards. Have my Ultraforce figures ready (even though Firearm was never produced for the line…boo.) I’m all ready…hope you’re all ready to Jump In with me.
David
The Strangers vs. Ultraforce
When the Ultraverse launched, there was no doubt about which superhero team was # 1… as much as I adored Freex, you knew that if the world was imperiled it wasn’t going to be Sweetface and Plug who were going to get the call. The Strangers were one of the original launch titles and they were prominently featured in house ads, crossovers and the like.
So why aren’t they remembered by the more casual (i.e., pitifully Ultraverse-unaware) fans?
I’ll tell you why: Ultraforce.
From the moment the Ultraforce was announced, The Strangers slid backwards in terms of importance. Ultraforce was the Ultraverse’s Avengers or Justice League, featuring their heaviest hitters and most popular solo stars. While The Strangers were united by a common origin, the Ultraforce was united by the old trope that they took on villains too powerful for individual heroes to face.
Plus, you had George Perez handling the art duties on the early issues of Ultraforce. As much as I like Rick Hoberg, that’s not a fair fight! And when the Marvel crossovers began, who battled against and alongside The Avengers?
Hint: it wasn’t The Strangers.
When The Black Knight moved over into the Ultraverse, was he fighting Atom Bob for leadership of The Strangers?
Hah… no.
Was it Electrocute and Grenade starring in their ongoing animated series? Sadly, no – though most of The Strangers did get to guest star in the Ultraverse toon.
For me, I’ll associate Ultraforce with the beginning of the end… the coming of Marvel and the losing of the Ultraverse’s focus. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy parts of that series — hell, I’ll argue to this day that Topaz was a great character and you can never go wrong with Perez on art.
But I’ll always hold a grudge against Ultraforce for knocking The Strangers down a few pegs.
Firearm! Coming soon!
How does an average guy battle the world’s most dangerous ultrahumans? WITH A BIG GUN!
Desktop – Ultraverse
Thank you for checking us out the Ultraverse Podcast Network
The Strangers # 2: “Hey! Hugh! Get Off’a McCloud!”
The Strangers # 2
“Jumpstart!”
Written by Steve Englehart, Illustrated by Rick Hoberg, Tim Eldred & Larry Welch
Lettered by Tim Eldred, Colored by Keith Conroy
Edited by Chris Ulm
Yes, this is the issue where we start off with one of the most groan-inducing bits of alleged humor that the Ultraverse ever saw. Even in 1993, a joke involving the old television show McCloud was pushing it in terms of being relate-able for the audience.
Moving on from there, we see our new group of heroes continuing their pursuit of answers. After a quick origin recap, we begin to see the early stresses about who will be the leader of the team — Elena is the natural person to do it, given her personality and her experience but Bob is someone that people relate to and he’s a little less in-your-face when it comes to ordering people around. We also get some neat scenes as both Candy and Dave experiment with their powers and learn a bit more about their limitations.
All of this leads to The Strangers discovering the homeland of Yrial — a floating island, hidden behind a magical cloud. If this sounds like something out of an old pulp novel, that’s because it is. Our heroes are captured but Dave’s continuing path of power discovery leads to their freedom — but not before Bob learns that not only can he transform items, he can also transform languages! Yes, it was a bit of a stretch.
Anyway, it turns out that Yrial’s people are a mysterious bunch who worship something called the Starfoam and who may have knowledge of the entity that granted our heroes their powers. The tribe’s leader orders Yrial to accompany The Strangers back down below, both learning from them and teaching them of their ways.
The issue ends with Bob officially christening our team as The Strangers.
Hmm. I love this series but I felt that this particular story was a major misstep. It was simply too early to abandon the down-to-earth feel of the first issue and go gallivanting around on a floating island. When we return to the more “mundane” world of superhero action in issue 3, this story feels all the more unusual. Plus, Yrial was by far the least interesting member of the team to me… and while the rest of the group was tied together by their origin, Yrial’s early inclusion seemed to weaken the bonds that held them together.
Art-wise, it’s solid as Rick Hoberg continues to do some lovely work on the facial expressions. Still no costumes (aside from on the cover) but they’re coming, for good or bad!
Speaking of the cover, I don’t really care for this one — for a posed image, it looks pretty busy.
Things will pick up in issue three as TNTNT is introduced!
Night Man: The Origin of a Superhero (Sort of…)
As part of a shared universe, The Night Man could crossover with other characters and other books very easily. Three issues in, The Night Man crossed over with Freex. And not long after that, there was a crossover with Solution, Solitaire, and Prototype. The shared universe of the Ultraverse was an intentional and careful part of the creation.
But the interesting thing about The Night Man is that he was crossing over before he was The Night Man, to the point where his origin story didn’t actually occur in his own book. Instead, in the three months before The Night Man comic appeared, his origin played out in three issues of The Strangers.
Here is the origin of The Night Man as it appears in The Strangers…
What I realized while considering this was that this actually works as a simple two page comic! Accident, consequences, eyes opening.
The other thing I realized: if you didn’t read this in The Strangers, it doesn’t get a clear presentation in the first issue of The Night Man. It is presented in an almost abstract way, as if it is not important because it was already shown.
More about this in the first episode of The Night Man Podcast…
~ Ben
Prototype from Ultraverse Origins
One of my own personal favorite Ultraverse titles was Prototype! I’ve always been a sucker for Iron Man-like characters, and this one had some really interesting aspects. For example, this comic was not only about Jimmy Ruiz, the new Prototype, but it also followed the challenges of Bob Campbell, the middle-aged former Prototype.
Check out this awesome page from Ultraverse Origins #1 written by Tom Mason & Len Strazewski, drawn by Dan Jurgens & Terry Austin! To provide some perspective, this comic was released the same month Prototype #6 was on the shelves. Click the image to enlarge!
Such a cool character with so much potential. A real shame he’s not around today.
A Fine Looking Group of Strangers
As much as I like Rick Hoberg’s art, my favorite single image of The Strangers was actually drawn by a superstar artist not usually associated with The Ultraverse. Bryan Hitch delivered this awe-inspiring image and I have to say that I sometimes wonder if the group’s popularity wouldn’t have been a bit better if the series had featured a slicker art-style than what we usually got from Hoberg. Rick Hoberg was solid and did a fine job but it was also a little old-fashioned, at least to my eyes.
Anyway, let’s all agree that this particular image really pops, shall we?
