COMIC ANNOTATIONS: The Ultimate Ultimates

In Ultimates 2 #100, Eternity summons help from the Far Shore to fight the First Firmament. Because beyond the Far Shore, nothing dies, the previous versions of Eternity -- the previous embodiments of the multiverse return.

Because I love this image, because there is so much packed into just this page, I've decided to write about it.

"The Second. The first of a new breed. Originator of the Omega Force."

The Second Cosmos is the the first multiverse, hence "a new breed."

The "Omega Force" may refer to the servitors that the Second Cosmos's Celestials created, called Omegas or Omega-level beings. They were given such power as to destroy even the Celestials themselves...and became, in the wake of the Second Cosmos's destruction, the Beyonders.

"The Third. The Continuation. Creator of Lifebringer One, the first hero."

The Lifebringer is also what Galactus called himself after evolving from being the World-Eater. "Lifebringer One" is what the Incubator ship that housed the nascent Galactus was called.

"The Fourth is missing. He is the Pilgrim, the True Believer who journeys into mystery. One day, he will return."

"Pilgrim" and "True Believer" are both phrases that Stan Lee would refer to the reader as. Journey into Mystery was an anthology comic that saw the introduction of Thor and the Norse gods to the Marvel universe.

"The Fifth. Maker of magic. Weaver of the illusions of change."

The "illusions of change" refers to what Stan Lee called the secret of Marvel storytelling: "the illusion of change." The characters appear to change, but the core of them remains the same. Spider-Man is still Spider-Man, Captain America is still Captain America, no matter how much they appear to have changed.

The Fifth Cosmos being the "maker of magic" explains why it's a dark cosmos, as previously shown with Mor-I-Dun of the Fifth Cosmos in Al Ewing's New Avengers.

"The Sixth. Inventor of science. Builder of the Junction to Everywhere."

The "Junction to Everywhere" refers to Reed Richards' discovery of the Negative Zone in Fantastic Four #51: "I've done it!! I'm drifting into a world of limitless dimensions!! It's the Crossroads of Infinity--the Junction to Everywhere!"

The Sixth Cosmos being the inventor of science explains what we see in the later Defenders (2020): it's a universe filled with Kirby super science and the superheroes are called "Scienceers."

"Infinity, the Seventh. Eternity's sister-self. She is him, he is her. They are the Two-in-One."

Marvel Two-in-One was a team-up book that started in 1974 which featured stories in which various characters teamed up with the Thing.

Infinity, since her introduction in 1991's Quasar, has been referred to as Eternity's "sister." Since Eternity represents all that is, it is thought that they are, in fact, one and the same.