Image Comics' Ultramega Homages Ultraman But Makes It Violent
Image Comics’ Ultramega takes the campy, fun kaiju battles of Ultraman and turns them ultra-violent and with a Lovecraftian horror tinge. Ultramega is distinctly inspired by Ultraman and homages the Japanese franchise in both style, character and, to a degree, plot. But Ultramega takes the gigantic battles to new gory peaks.
Image took its own spin on Ultraman with Ultramega adding doses of horror and inspiration from the likes of H.P. Lovecraft for kaiju design. Gone are the scaly, stumpy, and stumbling kaiju of Ultraman. This version of a planet beset by gigantic monsters features a virus infecting normal people causing them to burst into horrific kaiju bent on destruction.
The only ones to stop them are a group of people gifted with the Ultramega transformation from a mysterious being that planted a crystal eyeball into the chosen ones - giving them the ability to transform into Ultramega. Ultraman, on the other hand, was gifted his transformation powers from an alien race of super-powered defenders that earthlings tried to kill on sight. Ultramega borrows from that origin story but doesn’t reveal the nature of why this mysterious benefactor chose three people to defend the planet.
The bleak comic by James Harren and Dave Stewart uses a color palette that can only be described as drab. Each panel is a soupy green or brown and the characters all look tired, slumped, and wet. It's a marked difference in tone and style from the brightly colored Ultraman comics and manga.
The Ultramega is a power given to three unassuming characters that transform into gigantic Ultraman lookalikes when they come into proximity to someone infected with this cosmic kaiju virus. But, the virus is so widespread that the Ultramega warriors are worn down to nubs with the constant fighting. Ultraman rarely had this problem, even though there was a kaiju fight in just about every issue. It’s a new diversion from the old formula that breathes life into the giant monster genre. The kaiju themselves don’t resemble Ultraman baddies as the chunky lizards and insect-like monsters. Ultramega’s foes are many tentacled monstrosities, macabre in design and brutal in nature.
The violence in this issue is a sharp turn away from its inspiration. The old franchise was full of mostly bloodless battles and kept the action to a PG-13 level. Ultramega disregards that and starts off by destroying kaijus by blowing out the skull of an ugly green monster. The first book is dripping with gore and culminates with those chosen all being annihilated by the protagonist’s infected son. As the Ultramega die, blood flows in torrents down the city streets drowning many. This would be a great premise for a metal song and is depicted in grisly detail to set up the protagonist’s other child as a potential new savior. The comic jumps forward in time with no new kaiju events and robotic monster slayers are built to protect humanity. The first comic is a lengthy and bloody valentine to Ultraman as well as Lovecraft’s brand of unspeakable cosmic horror that makes for a winning combination.