Ultraman: The Mystery of Ultraseven issue #4 by Kyle Higgins, Mat Groom, and Davide Tino has just been released and so has the Monster Attack Team! Yuriko, Fumio, Ippei and Takeshi suit up and dive into an unprecedented kind of battle: A battle between Ultras. Spoilers ahead!
As a noob, it’s amazing to see an Ultra dynamic like this for the first time! Ultraman is wrapped up in a conflict with his brother, Ultraseven. While his goal is to prevent Ultraseven from doing harm to humanity, the emotionally charged context distracts him from the chaos that’s unfolding all around. If the Monster Attack team wasn’t there to ensure there aren’t any casualties, planes would crash, buildings would collapse, and more harm would be done by the hands of an Ultra than ever before.
Variant cover by Felipe Massafera
The tension of a battle where both participants have equal power is just as riveting as it sounds… It’s also just as exhausting for the Ultras as it sounds. In my journey through the Ultraman universe, I have rarely seen Ultraman so tired out by an opponent. Of course, this begs the question, “if an Ultra can’t beat another Ultra, who can?” And the answer could well be… A mecha!
That’s right, Yuriko, Fumio, Ippei and Takeshi assemble to form Mecha Jack, a combat robot whose limbs are each controlled by a different Monster Attack Team member. Let me just say, the design of this mecha is epic. Mecha Jack might be less agile, but he is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
We see the potential of Mecha Jack’s capability toward the end of the issue, when Ultraman makes a questionable sacrifice for his brother. Again, it might just be a noob thing, but this is the first time I’ve seen Ultraman make, what seems to be, a very emotion-based, almost impulsive, decision. His inclination to protect those around him has put him in some complicated situations, but this must be one of the trickiest. Defeat his brother and prevent further damage to humanity or spare his brother and try to handle the consequences?
Having to make rational decisions during moments of chaos seems to be a theme in The Mystery of Ultraseven series. Ultraman has had to reign Shin Hayata in a few times when he’s feeling impulsive, Ultraseven had to do similarly for Dan Moroboshi. Both Ultras have served as the voice of reason throughout the story, so now that they are the ones at odds with each other, the balance has been thrown off and we are left anxious and eager to know what happens next.
Everyone who’s seen the original Ultraseven series knows and loves Ultraseven. I think having the background knowledge of Ultraseven’s potential (also hinted at in previous issues) puts the reader in a similar position to Ultraman. We don’t want to see Ultraseven defeated, we want him to be helped. Things are not always as simple as bad guys and good guys, and I think The Mystery of Ultraseven does a great job exploring that nuance.
With that being said, this is the second-to-last issue of the series. Only one more left to wrap up all that has unraveled and make sense of this insanity! I’m biting my nails waiting for answers, as I’m sure many of you are too. The Mystery of Ultraseven #5 is coming this December, so stay tuned for updates here on UltramanConnection.com!
