Giving The Power To The People: ‘The Ultimates’ #9 Reviewed

Luke Cage was once a man falsely imprisoned and given a chance at a second life as a strongman with unbreakable skin. The Ultimates #9 looks at what might have happened if his life had gone a little differently.

Deniz Camp, Chris Allen, Federico Blee and Travis Lanham face hell in a box.

Carl Lucas Cage was falsely imprisoned 20 years ago, shortly after the Maker began to seize power. A year ago, a mysterious box appeared in his cell with a message from Tony Stark. What follows is what happens when the oppressed gain power against their oppressors.

Once again, Camp absolutely nails it. First of all, this is another story that could only work in comics, just like The Ultimates #4 a few months ago. On one page, we get a flashback, as Luke enters the prison system and progresses through it, doing his best to fight an unjust system. On the next, we see Cage enter a new facility in the present day, and gradually fight against the system.

Camp walks a delicate line, because there are statements about injustice and race that are buried in his story, and as a POC he could make that statement better than many other comics writers. But he shows, not tells. This is a story about the oppressed turning the tables, and it builds in such a way that we get volumes in this one issue, up to and including Stark’s superpowers box arrives… And the reveal that this Luke Cage is very much the indestructible Power Man we know hits perfectly.

Without Allen, I don’t think this story would have landed half as well. He uses the nine panel grid to essentially give us a speed run through Cage’s life. He doesn’t use sight lines and symmetry as much as many would to emphasize the hopeless chaos of prison life. And then, when Luke reveals his powers, he shifts out of the grid and draws the story in a more traditional modern style of storytelling, while still keeping his panels rigid enough to recall the earlier 9-panels. He also makes the prison guards very standard AIM troops to subtly confirm this is no ordinary prison, all the prisoners are likely superhumans in the original timeline.

Blee’s colors are extremely muted this issue. Outside of the occasional flash of blood, orange jumpsuits, or yellow AIM uniforms, it’s all very dark, making the story feel bleak. Then, Stark’s repulsor-blue enters the story and it immediately brightens up, as the rest of the issue progresses into the chaos.

I can’t imagine a 9 panel grid being easy for a letterer to work in. Lanham covers a lot of information and conversation, but he never makes the page feel overly busy or cluttered. His use of the Power Man logo font at the end of the book is a fantastic final beat too, which help evoke a feeling of hope.

The Ultimates #9 is available now from Marvel Comics.