Spoilers ahead for the finale of The Ultimates!

Marvel just gave the source of Hulk’s powers, gamma radiation, the ultimate rebrand. Marvel’s Ultimates series ends with one final confrontation between Hulk and She-Hulk, a battle between the two most powerful gamma-irradiated heroes in the world. And in the process, the source of their powers gets an epic new name: “the flameless fire.”

The last issue of The Ultimates brings to a close one of Marvel Comics’ best runs of the decade. The series has delivered a monthly reinvention of Marvel lore, balancing outstanding standalone issues with a 2+ year ongoing storyline. The Ultimates #24 pulls off this balancing act one more time. It pays off Ultimate Hulk’s role as a major antagonist since day one, but it also takes the time for a full-scale reimagining of Hulk lore on a mythological level.

The Ultimates #24 is written by Deniz Camp, with art by Juan Frigeri. The showdown between Ultimates’ team heavyweight She-Hulk and her villainous cousin is suitably pulse-pounding for the climax of a years-long saga, but it’s the way that Camp is able to fill the space between action beats with his singular vision of Marvel canon that really puts the issue over the top.

That is epitomized in the issue’s “flameless fire” line. It’s more than just a cool new way of saying “gamma radiation.” It’s one more entry in The Ultimates’ overall project, which proved to be all about embracing superhero stories as modern myths.

Marvel Gives Gamma Radiation An Epic New Name In The Ultimates’ Finale

The Ultimates #24, Written By Deniz Camp; Art By Juan Frigeri; Available Now From Marvel Comics

The term “epic” isn’t being used carelessly when it comes to The Ultimates and its take on gamma radiation. That is, the religious way Hulk and his followers talk about gamma as more than just a cosmic force, but a cosmological force. In Ultimates #24, as She-Hulk fights her way toward Hulk, his subjects reveal they share the same awe for her as they do for him. “We believe the gamma has chosen her,” they tell Hulk, “judged her worthy. Judge her strong.”

“Who are you to interpret the flameless fire?” Hulk retorts, but it’s clear this gets to him. Within just a few pages, Hulk goes out to confront She-Hulk one last time. There is no way for this fight to end with both of them walking away. Not if Hulk wants to maintain his slipping grasp on power. His strength.

The second half of Ultimates #24 is an extended meditation on the nature of power and strength, with She-Hulk narrating as she takes on Hulk. As much as it’s a battle of two Marvel powerhouses, it’s also a clash of two approaches to the Marvel Universe: the “epic” and “mythological” and the more “grounded” and “realistic.” Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s original vision for Marvel lore fused these two things, and author Deniz camp just gets that.

The Ultimates Ends On A High Note By Reinventing Hulk One Last Time

Spoilers: Hulk Dies, But “The Flameless Fire” Lives On

The Hulk has been the overarching villain of The Ultimates. In their first battle, he actually killed the entire team, who were only saved by the heroic version of Doctor Doom, who used time travel to prevent their wholesale slaughter. This time, it’s the Hulk that falls, suffering a grisly defeat at She-Hulk’s hands. It seems Hulk’s followers were right. The “flameless fire” did choose a new champion.

In this way, The Ultimates bows out doing what it did best: offering glimpses at how Marvel lore could be done differently. The series was a whirlwind tour of the possibilities of the Ultimate timeline. An extended “What If?” that breathlessly, feverishly, revolutionarily recontextualized Marvel heroes and villains.

It did this all while also telling an urgent, contemporary story of resistance in the face of vulgar abuses of power. The Ultimates was Marvel’s most adventurous and inventive comic series of the past five years, at least, but it was also the most unflinching with its social commentary. The story might be over for Ultimate Hulk, but if there’s a future for the Ultimate Marvel Universe, there might be more to the story of the “flameless fire.”

The Ultimates #24 is available now from Marvel Comics.

Sound off, Marvel fans. What did you think of The Ultimates‘ final issue?

Created by

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby

First Film

The Incredible Hulk Returns

Latest Film

Avengers: Endgame

First TV Show

The Incredible Hulk

Latest TV Show

She-Hulk: Attorney at Law

Cast

Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno, Mark Ruffalo

Bruce Banner, AKA the Hulk, is one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes. The character, who shifts between a mild-mannered scientist and a brutish green brawler, has starred in several live-action and animated movies and TV shows across seven decades and counting.