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Welcome back, superhero fans, 1990s arts and culture enthusiasts, Ultraverse fans and comic book collectors! Today we go back to the mid-1990s to examine one of the many tales of the Ultraverse.
For the newcomers to the Ultraverse, Prime is one of its most definitive heroes and his true identity is the teenager Kevin Green who can transform into an overly muscular caped adult superhero. The Prime monthly series of comic books ran for two years and the title character appeared in many other Ultraverse comic books.
Considering the prominence of Prime, it is not surprising that Malibu Comics proceeded to create comic books featuring a female counterpart to Prime. That counterpart is called Elven who appeared in a few early issues of the Ultraverse Premiere series and eventually Prime interacted with her.
With those details laid down, here is a look back at Elven #1, published by Malibu Comics in 1995 with a story written by Len Strazewski and illustrated by Aaron Lopresti (Sludge).
Early story
The story begins deep within a city when a beautiful blonde woman got hurt by a very angry man named Billy. With the lady down on the floor, the man raises his metallic weapon intending to strike her not realizing that someone is emerging from behind. He turns and sees a scantily clad caped woman who immediately hits him hard. The caped woman is Elven who believes she is helping the blonde woman.
To Elven’s surprise, the blonde woman tells her to stop and not hurt the man who was violent towards her. The man hits Elven on the face with his weapon but ended up getting hit hard again in retaliation. Elven then uses an optic blast at the wall as she tells the blonde woman to leave.
With the violent man down and hurt, Elven decides to kill him but is prevented by Prime from behind. After telling Prime that she told him not to interfere with her, she hits him with an energy blast…
Quality
Being written by Prime co-creator and series co-author Len Strazewski, this Ultraverse tale about Elven is very good and there is a lot of depth in the plot. You will meet Elven and the true human behind her named Elvia Swenson, a teenage girl who has a painful past, has an obsession with fantasy tales, and was created through the very same secret government fertility research program as Kevin Green/Prime. Elven’s disturbing look (with elvish features) reflects Elvia’s fantasy obsession and personally belief of using violence against men. She and Prime are genetically related due to the top secret project.
This comic book examines Elvia whose life lacks direction and her abusive father really impacted her negatively. With her mother’s love and guidance remaining in her life, Elvia is literally in a quest to find purpose, happiness and friendship. Unfortunately, the young guy Bruno is in the neighborhood and he is actually a demon. Bruno’s presence literally raised the stakes of the story which justifies Elvia’s transformation into Elven for the eventually good-versus-evil conflict. All throughout, there is tension and drama which got balanced with superhero spectacle. The way Elven is portrayed here makes her comparable with the arrogant, man-bashing, rabid feminists of modern society.
When it comes to Prime himself, this comic book features a really mature portrayal of him. I am talking about the early part of the story when Prime did his best to calm Elven down, restrain her and convince her to think first as a way to prevent her recklessness. Long-time Ultraverse readers should now that Prime is actually teenager Kevin Green inside all that muscle and he often has an awkward or a tense way of communicating with others (note: imagine the teenager pretending to think and act like an adult). That said, Prime here really interacts maturely and his attempt to put a lot of sense into the impulsive Elven is very believable. This is clever writing by Strazewski and it is one of the more notable portrayals of Prime.
When it comes to the visual side, artist Aaron Lopresti’s style worked smoothly in this comic book. I have seen his works in the Sludge series and he really excels with facial expressions, spectacle and the monsters looking very creepy. Strangely enough, Lopresti’s take on Elven is noticeable smaller and less muscular when compared to how the character appeared in Elven #0 and Ultraverse Premiere drawn by Greg Luzniak.
Conclusion
Elven #1 (1995) is clearly a very solid read and easily one of the best spin-off comic books of the Ultraverse. Strazewski and Lopresti crafted a tale that was intense and dramatic while successfully defining Elven and her true identity as the teenage Elvia. Considering her painful background and current situation, Elvia is sympathetic although things got twisted when she becomes Elven which brings out her violent side, her recklessness and distorted view about helping women by using violence. That being said, Elven at this stage in the Ultraverse is not really a likable lead character and that only makes her more unique when compared to Prime. Will Elven become as terrible as the evil ones? There is more to discover as this comic book is part of the limited series.
The specific portrayals of Elvia and Elven is very tricky to write down and Strazewski succeeded in making it work. Ultimately, this comic book added strong fantasy elements within the Ultraverse.
Overall, Elven #1 (1995) is recommended.
+++++
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