Summary
Contains spoilers for The Ultimates ( 2024 ) # 3!Going intoMarvel ’s newUltimates , I knew the serial would be interested in drawing parallels to real biography , but I did n’t expect it to turn oneFantastic Fourtouchstone into its reading of a diachronic tragedy . It ’s a cunning use of using superhero fiction and the actions of supervillains to show just how foul our own world can be , and has been in the near past .
InThe Ultimates(2024)#3 by Deniz Camp , Juan Frigeri , Federico Blee and VC ’s Travis Lanham , real history is utterly referenced by turning the Fantastic Four ’s Monster Isle into a parallel to the real - life Bikini Atoll atomic tests .
In the issue , the provenance of the Hulk is reimagined as a tropical atoll that is pertain to as both " Dinosaur Island " and " Monster Island " , instead , by researchers . This is ostensibly a reference to two freestanding island introduced inFantastic Four , Monster Isle fromFantastic Four(vol 1)#1and Dinosaur Island from issue # 345of the same series . More importantly , however , it mirror Bikini Atoll , the coral Rand where the United States prove atomic weapons in the 1940s and 1950s .
Fantastic Four(vol 1 ) # 1 is written by Stan Lee , penciled by Jack Kirby , inked by George Klein and Christopher Rule , colored by Stan Goldberg and letter by Artie Simek .
Fantastic Four#345is compose and instance by Walt Simonson , colored by Steve Buccellato and letter by Bill Oakley .
The New Ultimate Hulk’s Origin Parallels Real-Life Nuclear Tests
Bikini Atoll is one of many inglorious storey of the post - WWII period of time . The U.S. picked the coral Rand as the utter testing website for atomic arm and , count on who you enquire , either positive or forced the atoll ’s aboriginal universe to relocate . These resident never render home , becoming a permanent diaspora . Ultimates#3 twists the tongue further . This clock time we get to see an case where the residents refused to move , and Bruce Bannertested a gamma bombon the island disregarding , awfully mutate himself and the universe , who are analyse like laboratory rats .
What author Deniz Camp is doing is putting a mirror to our own society and story . Our first reaction is repulsion at Bruce Banner ’s hardness and what has happen to the island ’s occupant , but the real gut clout is realizing how closely the case mirror real life . If you await further , there are even more direct analogue found in other country . For example , British nuclear mental testing in Australia during the fifties and ' 60s irradiated the autochthonous locals of Maralinga , causing wellness issues for propagation . This might be fabrication , but it ’s secretive to home and today than we ’d commonly wish to admit .
The Hulk’s Gamma Tests Add Insult to Injury
Even the very naming of " Dinosaur Island " is dehumanizing . For its endemic residents , this is n’t " Monster Island , " this is their aboriginal Edwin Herbert Land . The researchers not caring about its name is just another level of dehumanization and neglect , much like how , " Bikini " in Bikini Atoll is a bastardized colonial version of a aboriginal Marshallese word . Evenwearen’t privy to the island ’s existent name , which censor behind calamitous tape on the issue ’s first information page . These people have never had agency or a say in what happened to them or their land .
This is part of why the titular Ultimates ’ mission in this event is so important . The squad accord to help the island ’s resident physician on those residents ’ own term . The squad arrive to levy soldier to fightthis world ’s malefic supervillain council , but when they identify that the population on " Monster Island " ca n’t campaign , asunder from the raw She - Hulk , they respect the population ’s wish and agree to find a way to heal the island in exchange for She - Hulk ’s help . Finally , someone is listening to the local anaesthetic . That ’s one heck of a lot of meaning to impart via aFantastic Fourriff .
The Ultimates(2024 ) # 3is on sales event now from Marvel Comics .
Written by Deniz Camp
The Ultimates#3 ( 2024 )
Written by Deniz Camp
