Mystery In Space #103 (1965)
by Dave Wood & Lee Elias
Given the sheer scope of the Hero Origins retrospective, you might get the wrong impression that I’m an expert on all characters.
That’s completely wrong: there are corners of superhero comics that I don’t know much about (especially if they’re not Marvel), and this retrospective is often my way of learning about them.
This especially true for Ultra The Multi-Alien: I’ve seen this guy in the background multiple times, but I know absolutely nothing about him.
So I’m very curious to learn: what is his deal, exactly?
It’s pretty clear that this was not originally considered to be in the same universe of the other DC characters, because we open with spaceship pilot Ace Arn bringing some tourists to Jupiter.
This will later be established to be the 22nd century.
The ship has been damaged by a passing comet, which has a magnetic field SO powerful that it’s able to drag his “safety capsule” into another solar system.
Needless to say, real comets don’t eveb HAVE a notable magnetic field. But comets in comics might as well be magic given how little they have in common with reality.
At the same time, an alien is looking for the exact same lab where Ace just crashed.
He’s part of something called Project Sun…
…which revolves around a gun that can turn inanimate matter into an exact replica of the specific alien that fired it.
So what does that have to do with any Sun, exactly?
That’s because this technology doesn’t work on matter from the same solar system of the alien it’s trying to duplicate.
That is probably the flimsiest connection between a plan and its name I’ve ever heard.
Also, what the heck is a “synthetic sun” supposed to be???
At first I assumed they just meant an artificially created sun, but then the alien goes on to talk about the “synthetic heat” if gives off.
These guys just might be the most incompetent interstellar conspirators I’ve ever seen, given that their leader accidentally kills himself before the conspiracy can even take place!!!
And that’s the guy Ace finds.
You know, whenever I review a story that is kind of boring, I do my best to come up with jokes.
But when a character drops a gem like “I can’t read this language but it looks important”, I’m at a loss for finding something dumber.
WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?
Four aliens show up at the same place, and they get the same idea: using the weapon to transform Ace into one of their race.
And to strip him to his underwear.
The ray was SUPPOSED to put Ace under their control. But either because there were four different blasts, or because Ace is the protagonist, he maintains control.
Uhm, care to actually TELL US what those powers are!?
Sure they are spelled out on the cover, but they have not been explained in the story itself!!!
Yep, that’s all it took to stop that conspiracy. So I feel pretty confident in calling it the most pathetic comic book conspiracy I’ve ever seen.
And that’s already the end, with Ultra taking the name by combining the initials of the alien planets followed by his own initial.
Historical significance: 0/10
There’s a reason why Ultra The Multi-Alien is a footnote.
Silver Age-ness: 6/10
Questionable science? Check. Overly simplistic ending that makes you think you wasted your time? Check. An interesting idea beneath everything that just refuses to be explored? Check.
Honestly, this would be almost more of a Golden Age story than a Silver Age one if the sci-fi setting didn’t have a 60s vibe instead of a 40s vibe.
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
Well that was… that was 9 pages. What can I even say? Ultra certainly has a memorable design, although calling it “good” would be a stretch.
You could do SOMETHING with the weapon that transmutes matter into mind-controlled slaves, or with the body horror of being four different aliens at once.
The comic certainly doesn’t do anything with any of these concepts.
How close is this to the modern character? What modern character?
That story must have had SOME success, because Ultra replaces Adam Strange as the title character after a 6 year run.
Upon learning that Ultra had been human, I wondered if they were going the Metamorpho or Thing route of focusing on the angst of becoming a monster.
Ultra even has a love interest that believes he’s dead, but that never becomes the focus.
Since the first story didn’t bother developing the powers, they’re described a bit more in the second story. Ultra can fly, thanks to the wing of ONE of his legs.
He also has magnetic powers. If Ultra wasn’t so obscure, would this alien race have been connected to Cosmic Boy’s?
He can also shoot energy from one foot and has a super-strong arm.
I really, REALLY don’t want to know if his human side contributed any powers to his crotch.
Those are all fairly generic powers, but I find it interesting that he’s also super-smart because he has the combined knowledge of the four different alien races.
Ultra’s girlfriend from his human days is around for the other issues, by the way, still thinking that he’s a completely different being.
The setting of Ultra’s stories is… weird. Space travel is extremely common and part of everyday life, but Earth looks like it’s straight from the 60s at most!
By issue 109, Ace creates a device that allows him to transform at will between his human and his monster form.
That wasn’t enough to shape up the series. With the following issues, Mystery In Space ends with issue #110 in 1966, after being around since 1951 (although there will be a 7 issue revival in the 80s).
I was absolutely certain that Ultra had a cameo in Crisis On Infinite Earths. But with just 8 stories, he was too obscure even for that!
But he is mentioned in “History of the DC Universe” in 1987.
He has a cameo in 1990, of all places, on Animal Man #25 by Grant Morrison.
Appropriately, he’s in Comic Book Limbo… where characters spend time between appearances.
His next true appearance, however, is in 1999 on Starman #55.
That’s THIRTY-THREE YEARS since his last full story!!!
Although that would be a bit too generous. He’s not the protagonist, he’s just telling a story.
It’s a charming issue that also includes two other Mystery In Space protagonists, Space Ranger and Space Cabbie, and it confirms that Ultra’s stories are set in the 22nd century.
Despite that, he occasionally shows up in group shots during various 21st century crossovers.
A new version shows up in 2007 on Superman/Batman #31.
There is… an attempt to make him sound badass.
Having the four alien minds being in conflict with one another works better.
Too bad he’s not the focus. This is a storyline where all aliens on Earth are mind-controlled, and Ultra was definitely chosen for being one of the most bizarre aliens available.
Similar deal in 2009, when he’s one of the aliens kidnapped by Brainiac in Action Comics #868
He’s identified four issues later, but never gets anything to do. AGAIN.
Also, that is a very weird way to summarize his powers…
…but he IS confirmed to still be from the future.
In 2014, a new version was created on Justice League United… but this is a wildly different character, artificially created to be a super-weapon.
We will eventually talk about this version, since his story does involve the Legion, when I get to this era. Hopefully before the 22nd century.
Not that it matters, because as recently as 2025 the original Ultra managed to make an appearance on Justice League Unlimited v2 #7 thanks to a time travel story.
This version doesn’t get to do a lot besides being in the background and looking weird, but he’s still technically around.
Here’s hoping someone will eventually find something for him to do besides cameos.
The dude has not been the protagonist of a story for the past SIXTY YEARS.