Ultraa
Encyclopedia
Ultraa is a DC Comics
character, originally the first superhuman on Earth Prime
. The original first appeared in Justice League of America #153 (April 1978), he was created by Gerry Conway
and George Tuska
. The current Ultraa first appeared in Justice League Quarterly
#13 (Winter 1993), written by Kevin Dooley
and drawn by Greg LaRocque
.
's, in that he was born on an alien world, and sent to Earth to escape its destruction. He landed in the Australian Outback and was raised by Indigenous Australians
. In his first appearance, Ultraa plans to go to the United States of America
and become a superhero. As he runs across the ocean, he is detected by the US Air Force, which sends a plane after him. Ultraa retaliates to this attack, and is mistaken for a villain by the Justice League, who are visiting from Earth One. Ultraa eventually decides Earth Prime was not ready for superheroes and accompanies the League back to their world.
Ultraa next appeared following a battle between the League and the Injustice Gang
which threatened civilians, he decides Earth One was also endangered by the presence of superhumans. He uses a ray gun to create a feeling of apathy in both the League and the Injustice Gang. Unfortunately, it works on the heroes but has the opposite effect on the villains. Ultraa attempts to fight the Injustice Gang single handedly but fails. After the JLA overcome the ray's effects to defeat the Gang, they question whether they can trust Ultraa any longer.
As a result of their second encounter with Ultraa, the League imprisons him in a "stasis cube" prison of Superman's design. He is later released by an alien hive mind entity disguised as a human attorney. The alien entity helps Ultraa take the Justice League members who imprisoned him to court for wrongful imprisonment, but it is later learned that the trial is meant as a distraction to keep the JLA from noticing that the bulk of the hive mind entity, known as the Over-Complex, was stealing the hydrogen atoms from the world's oceans.
After this, a dispirited Ultraa adopts the civilian guise of Jack Grey and lives a simple life as a busboy in Atlantic City where he is manipulated by a down and out former opponent of the Justice League, but a heart to heart talk with Hawkman convinces him to break off the attack and Ultraa subsequently decides to live out his life among Earth-1's Australian aborigines. This is his last pre-crisis appearance.
, the original Ultraa was retcon
ned out of history, along with Earth-Prime. In Justice League Quarterly #13 (Winter 1993), Ultraa is reintroduced as a native of Almerac and the betrothed of Queen Maxima
. He arrives on Earth to look for her, and gets into a long and brutal fight with Captain Atom
. Captain Atom briefly gains the upper hand and nearly kills Ultraa, however he realizes that is behaving as brutally as Ultraa and decides to throw the fight in order not to set a poor example (that might is right) for an unlooking boy. Ultraa in turn starts beating up Captain Atom, but Maxima intervenes and tells him to leave. Maxima then tells Captain Atom he can stop pretending he is unconscious and the two walk off together.
Ultraa later appears as a member of the United Nations
funded League Busters in Justice League International v2, #65 (Jun 1994).
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
character, originally the first superhuman on Earth Prime
Earth Prime
Earth Prime is a term sometimes used in works of speculative fiction involving parallel universes or a multiverse, and refers either to the universe containing "our" Earth, or to a parallel world with a bare minimum of divergence points from Earth as we know it...
. The original first appeared in Justice League of America #153 (April 1978), he was created by Gerry Conway
Gerry Conway
Gerard F. "Gerry" Conway is an American writer of comic books and television shows. He is known for co-creating the Marvel Comics vigilante The Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man...
and George Tuska
George Tuska
George Tuska , who early in his career used a variety of pen names including Carl Larson, was an American comic book and newspaper comic strip artist best known for his 1940s work on various Captain Marvel titles and the crime fiction series Crime Does Not Pay, for and his 1960s work illustrating...
. The current Ultraa first appeared in Justice League Quarterly
Justice League Quarterly
Justice League Quarterly was a quarterly American comic book series published by DC Comics from Winter 1990 to Winter 1994; it lasted 17 issues. It had a variable cast, pulling from the Justice League membership...
#13 (Winter 1993), written by Kevin Dooley
Kevin Dooley
Kevin Dooley is a former editor at DC Comics.-Biography:During his time at DC, he served as the assistant editor to Andy Helfer, and then took over many of the titles following Helfer's promotion. Dooley edited the various Green Lantern books and Aquaman...
and drawn by Greg LaRocque
Greg LaRocque
Greg LaRocque is an American comic book illustrator.Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, LaRocque worked as an assistant teacher at the Professional Institute of Art while still a teenager. He started his art career in the advertising field...
.
Ultraa (Pre-Crisis)
Ultraa's origin was very similar to SupermanSuperman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
's, in that he was born on an alien world, and sent to Earth to escape its destruction. He landed in the Australian Outback and was raised by Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
. In his first appearance, Ultraa plans to go to the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and become a superhero. As he runs across the ocean, he is detected by the US Air Force, which sends a plane after him. Ultraa retaliates to this attack, and is mistaken for a villain by the Justice League, who are visiting from Earth One. Ultraa eventually decides Earth Prime was not ready for superheroes and accompanies the League back to their world.
Ultraa next appeared following a battle between the League and the Injustice Gang
Injustice Gang
The Injustice Gang is a group of fictional supervillains in the DC Comics universe. They are antagonists of the Justice League.-First Formation:The original Injustice Gang's membership consisted of:...
which threatened civilians, he decides Earth One was also endangered by the presence of superhumans. He uses a ray gun to create a feeling of apathy in both the League and the Injustice Gang. Unfortunately, it works on the heroes but has the opposite effect on the villains. Ultraa attempts to fight the Injustice Gang single handedly but fails. After the JLA overcome the ray's effects to defeat the Gang, they question whether they can trust Ultraa any longer.
As a result of their second encounter with Ultraa, the League imprisons him in a "stasis cube" prison of Superman's design. He is later released by an alien hive mind entity disguised as a human attorney. The alien entity helps Ultraa take the Justice League members who imprisoned him to court for wrongful imprisonment, but it is later learned that the trial is meant as a distraction to keep the JLA from noticing that the bulk of the hive mind entity, known as the Over-Complex, was stealing the hydrogen atoms from the world's oceans.
After this, a dispirited Ultraa adopts the civilian guise of Jack Grey and lives a simple life as a busboy in Atlantic City where he is manipulated by a down and out former opponent of the Justice League, but a heart to heart talk with Hawkman convinces him to break off the attack and Ultraa subsequently decides to live out his life among Earth-1's Australian aborigines. This is his last pre-crisis appearance.
Ultraa (Post-Crisis)
Following the Crisis on Infinite EarthsCrisis on Infinite Earths
Crisis on Infinite Earths is a 12-issue American comic book limited series and crossover event, produced by DC Comics in 1985 to simplify its then 50-year-old continuity...
, the original Ultraa was retcon
Retcon
Retroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
ned out of history, along with Earth-Prime. In Justice League Quarterly #13 (Winter 1993), Ultraa is reintroduced as a native of Almerac and the betrothed of Queen Maxima
Maxima (comics)
Maxima is a fictional character from the DC Comics Superman titles. She was created by writer Roger Stern and artist George Pérez.-Fictional character biography:...
. He arrives on Earth to look for her, and gets into a long and brutal fight with Captain Atom
Captain Atom
Captain Atom is a fictional comic book superhero that has existed in three basic incarnations. Created by writer Joe Gill and artist/co-writer Steve Ditko, he first appeared in Space Adventures #33 . Captain Atom was created for Charlton Comics but was later acquired by DC Comics and revised for...
. Captain Atom briefly gains the upper hand and nearly kills Ultraa, however he realizes that is behaving as brutally as Ultraa and decides to throw the fight in order not to set a poor example (that might is right) for an unlooking boy. Ultraa in turn starts beating up Captain Atom, but Maxima intervenes and tells him to leave. Maxima then tells Captain Atom he can stop pretending he is unconscious and the two walk off together.
Ultraa later appears as a member of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
funded League Busters in Justice League International v2, #65 (Jun 1994).
Powers and abilities
- The original Ultraa could not fly but had super speed, supersenses, and super strength. He could run fast enough to pass over large bodies of water. This Ultraa's only weakness was targeted ultrasonicsUltrasonicsUltrasonics is a term meaning the application of ultrasound. It is often used in industry as a shorthand term for any equipment employing ultrasonic principles....
. - As a scion of the Blood Royale of Almerac the modern Ultraa commands a vast array of powers that come from years of selective breeding and gene therapy. Like Maxima the current Ultraa has incredible strength, telepathy, telekinesis and flight.