It's a theory that generally holds true. It's the Bill Paxton/Bill Pullman hypothesis. They don't exist in the same universe. While one is here, the other is in a different dimension. Like the Microverse or the Negative Zone (totally channeling Peter David's Captain Marvel series here). Whatever.

The art doesn't look like Jackson Guice and it does at the same time. It looks like he's Butch/Jackson by way of Michael Lark/Steve Epting/Joe Kubert. Which is a very good thing. And his art is really strong here. Really really strong.

Anyways...

Bendis starts the issue out with a 6 months ago tag (it's only been 6 months since Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #3? That was like 6 or 7 years ago, right?). And on top of that, it is nice that Bendis kept that series within Ultimate continuity. There had been mentions, rumblings, that some of those stories never happened (coughcoughFantasticFourcough) and that they would just say Ultimate Marvel Team-Up was all a dream of some handicapped kid with a snowglobe or something. But they didn't.

Marvel did the absolute right thing by letting Bendis (not Loeb, not Millar, not anyone else) craft this history of the Ultimate-verse. It's what they should have done since day one. They should have kept Bendis away from the regular Marvel universe (even though I love his Avengers books) and given him the reins to the entire Ultimate-verse. Made him exactly who he is: The Stan Lee of this generation of Marvel, and therefore, the Stan Lee of Ultimate Marvel.

It would have worked. Things would have been crazy. Different. Wonderful. All wrapped in a neat little package. It didn't happen, so let's move on.

The actual issue starts with green Hulk flying through the air and screaming about everything is connected and bam, right then and there, we trip back into the past, 1942 to be exact, on the battlefields during WWII. We see Wilson Fisk (awesome), Nick Fury (Awesome) and James Howlett (AWESOME) stealing trinkets and various items from one of the Axis countries and trying to make some money off the war, which of course, ends in a very bad way for these three men, who it appears, are the creators, the facilitators, of the Ultimate Marvel Universe. We'll get to that soon.

Right before this, we saw who amounted to one of the first super-soldiers, killed on the battlefield, fighting for his country, and that same country covering up his death. Foreshadowing, perhaps? But of course.

Fisk, Fury, and Howlett are all captured, chained, and sent to various holding cells (Howlett goes to sweet home Canada) and Fury is taken away from his cell and his cellmates (Tuskegee Airmen?) and shown to a man who looks like Abraham Erskine and of course, injected with what amounts to be the super-soldier serum. It drives him nuts, he runs off, and the good doctor realizes what an amazing breakthrought it truly was.

We also get to see naked Howlett (does he ever wear clothes?) bursting out of his holding cell and making a run for it in the wilds of Canada, and of course, getting shot with a ton of bullets. But do the wounds heal? Yes, yes they do.

And that leads to the best revelation of the issue. The biggest thing. The secret origin of mutants. It was created with the super-soldier program and with the specific genes found within James Howlett. He is mutant zero. He is the first one. From him, a generation of mutants will be born. And that all happened in 1946.

And that is that. The first issue of the 5 issue mini that jumps into the deep water remarkably fast and doesn't quit. It's fast-moving, it's easy-going, and it hits on all sides. The only major issue I have? Why 5 issues? They gave the terribly bad with some good moments mini Ultimate Power 9 issues to just dick around and do nothing. Why not give this one at least 6 or 7 issues? A little decompression goes a long way.

But enough of that. It's exciting. And that's the first time I've said that about the Ultimate Universe (outside of Ultimate Spider-Man) in a long time.

I feel like there are some hidden layers here to this first issue. Wolverine is the first mutant, obviously. Every other mutant is born from him, probably involving genetic testing and the super-soldier serum as well.

Fury is obviously the first perfect Super-Soldier. Something about him shows the way for the future of the Armed Forces in the Ultimate universe.

And Fisk? The man we don't see again? He builds a crime empire after being subjected to some kind of other testing and becomes the first street hero (like Daredevil, Spider-Man, Punisher, etc.). This is at least what I think. I really want that, because that creates the future of the Universe. It gives the Ultimate-verse something strong holding it together.

And that's the whole point of this series (well, that and for Jeph Loeb to come in and ruin all the good Bendis did later on).