WHEN WE WERE ULTRA: A PLUNGING NECKLINE IN SEARCH OF A COSTUME (WITCH HUNTER, ANGELS OF DESTRUCTION, ULTRAVERSE FUTURE SHOCK)

This one is another short one

As I've mentioned before, Malibu Comics was really invested in finding different ways to promote the Ultraverse.  In addition to short films starring Firearm and Hardcase, television advertisement and subway posters (my first exposure to the Ultraverse was seeing their rather elaborate poster featuring all their characters on the 3rd Avenue L line station here in New York City), there were numerous one shots and ashcan editions.  Most of these were designed to hype certain events like the Rafferty Saga and Godwheel.  One of them was a very neat low priced compendium of two to three page introductions to each title.  One of them reprinted the three mail-in comics under the blunt title Mutants Vs. Ultras.  And some of them took serialized stories from Ultraverse Premiere and presented them in one place.  Of those, two spun off very short lived series (Elven, which I will get around to shortly when it's time to talk about Prime, and Eliminator), and a third, the Darrick Robertson created Ripfire, never made it past this pilot stage.

But there's a heroine who is the central, or one of the central, character of three separate one-shots.  And those three represent the short life of Maria DeLorentii, the mystical heroine original called Witch Hunter, then Angel of Destruction before finally settling on Angel after too many other heroes told her that last code name was a mouthful.  She was the last character created for the Ultraverse to have her own series, and may be unique in that it was created by Laurie Sutton and Joyce Chin, two women creators.  

Witch Hunter, where Maria first appeared, was a product of the post-Black September phase of the Ultraverse.  In it, we learn that in 1936 Massachusetts, the DeLorentii family was attacked by 'ectoplasmic wraiths.'  Luckily, Zachariah Frost came upon this incident and drove said wraiths away--but Maria's mother ended up dead, one sister disappeared, the other left in a coma, and Maria had an arm severed in the attempt to close off the portal the wraiths came from.  Maria's body developed 'metabodies' that made her immune to supernatural attacks, and she was recruited  into the Seventh Sign, a agency devoted to battling mystical phenomena.  She was fitted with a metal prosthetic arm, Zachariah's old sword and a plunging neckline to become Witch Hunter.  In the present day, we see ol' WH saving Zachariah's grandson Gabriel Frost from a vampire cult named The Daughters of the Moon.

This reads a lot like an early draft that wasn't tightened up--there's so little info on what the Seventh Sign is that the one-shot contains a text piece explaining its lore--and it overall feels unfinished.  It's certainly of the post-Marvel 'more action less characterization' school, and the overall effect is underwhelming.  It would not have surprised me to never see this character again.

Now the official line was that Witch Hunter sold well, and the intention was to expand on the Seventh Sign in a subsequent series...but then the Ultraverse began falling apart, so instead fans were treated...if one could use such a word....to Angels of Destruction.  The framing sequence featured Maria hunting down Qualaero, a demon who enjoyed feasting on human souls--especially ultras.  In an effort to get Maria to let him escape, Qualaero provided her with glimpses into the souls of three ultras, and promised a look into the soul of her comatose sister.  And...well, that's it, except that the demon calls her an 'Angel of Destruction,' which Maria decides will be her new code name.

Now I know this sounds fairly generic...and lord knows the three vignettes don't contribute much.  Arguably the best is the middle one featuring All-New Exiles member Shuriken breaking into a research facility looking for a cure to the Theta Virus only to receive some bad news.  The other two are barely stories--Topaz has her first encounter with a male warrior from another city and Amber Hunt sits on the couch and mopes about not having powers any more--but what makes the whole package unique is that it was written by Brian Michael Bendis.

Yes, that Brian Michael Bendis.  

This counts as his first Marvel credit; at this time, he was making a name for himself as a writer of crime comics such as AKA Goldfish and Jinx over at Caliber, three years before he would start writing Sam and Twitch for Todd MacFarlane.  Not surprisingly, the most entertaining part of the story is in the dialogue, particularly the exchange between Maria and her demon adversary.  But overall, the experience is as underwhelming as Witch Hunter.  I think it's telling that the ad copy for this one-shot was more concerned with touting the painted cover by Hajime Sorayama than anything else.

So far, both Witch Hunter and Angels of Destruction are aggressively mediocre, and chances are Maria would find her way into the obscure character file given how the Ultraverse was collapsing in on itself....if it wasn't for Ultraverse Future Shock.

Ultraverse Future Shock was the last comic published by Malibu Comics in February of 1997, written by Mark Paniccia with art by Kevin West, Fabio Laguna and Manny Clark.  It is an attempt to resolve some dangling plot threads, including some dangled from the horrific Phoenix Resurrection event.  In it, an Angel of Destruction from a future alternate Ultraverse is sent on a mission to prevent the Progeny from reaching Earth in the present, an action that will trigger a series of events that brought us to the PR: Aftermath future.  This involves traveling to a second alternate Ultraverse where Rune was murdered and getting their Prime to convince the Ultraforce not to do something in our 'real' Ultraverse.  They also decide they have to pick up Rose 'Foxfire' Autumn before she's touched by the Phoenix Force and bring her to the first alternate Ultraverse's future, where everything wraps up nicely with an adult Prime telling the story to a child.

It sounds confusing, and it is--but to be honest, it's not as confusing as it could have been.  It does seem like everyone is on the same page here and trying to give an epic send off to the Ultraverse.  Of the three books here, it's maybe the most...readable?  substantive?  After reading through it (and skimming through the lengthy article summarizing the imprint's history), I felt like I had read an actual finished story.  I don't think I could recommend it or Witch Hunter.  I do recommend Angels of Destruction if only to read Brian Michael Bendis' first foray into mainstream comics.

There's more One-Shots to discuss before I move on to the next ongoing (and arguably The Biggest Ongoing of the Imprint)--a fundraiser, the aforementioned Ripfire, and another foray into the flipbook.  Join me for Ripfire, Ultraverse Flood Relief, and Ultraverse Double Feature!

Until then....why be meta when you can be ultra?  If you would like to support my endeavors to keep pop culture honest, consider joining my Patreon  or buying me a Ko-Fi.  Please follow me on Bluesky Social @tdeja.bsky.social