In this review of The Ultimates #23, Ragnarök arrives on Asgard alongside the heartbreaking conclusion to Thor and Loki’s story.
THE ULTIMATES #23
Writer: DENIZ CAMP
Artist: STIPAN MORIAN
Main Cover: DIKE RUAN
Variant Covers: INHYUK LEE, MAHMUD ASRAR, GERMÁN PERALTA, CARLOS ALBERTO FERNANDEZ URBANO (CAFU)
Page Count: 32 pages
Release Date: April 29, 2026
This review contains spoilers
To fight back against Surter—who made a deal with Thor in The Ultimates #11 to destroy Asgard and help overthrow his brother—King Loki digs through Asgard’s deepest weapon reserves. These star-shattering weapons were stored away because they were deemed too powerful; so fierce even the Asgardians felt they could not use them.
However, Loki is backed up into a corner during this assault and cares not. The Trickster God does not stop with just the arsenal, as he also uses sentient beings as weapons. One of these is the famed Destroyer Armor. Another is Mangog, who tears through the uprising due to Loki’s promises to resurrect his race.
Time loses its meaning as it seems all of Asgard’s residents become involved in the war. Sif engages Mangog, whose tremendous power provides a challenge. But Sif’s speed provides her with the matchup advantage, and a small opportunity gives her the leeway to slay the beast.
Unfortunately, she cannot do so without simultaneously becoming his prey. The crimson-clothed Asgardian meets her death, and accepts her fate as Valkyries descend to carry her into Valhalla’s halls.
“For Valkyries, life and death are not so different
Duty is duty
A job a job”
Thor’s resulting anger from his lover’s death causes him to form a tempest, the fury of which destroys many of the Gods involved.
Surtur sees the calamity caused by Sif’s death as an opportunity to turn the tide for good, freeing the wolf Fenrir to aid him in his quest. With the creature’s freedom, Ragnarök has officially arrived.
Hela—the high Queen of the dead— is prepared and looking forward to Ragnarök. She sets a time and place for the gathering of the warriors into one battlefield, and aims to end the war in an epic conclusion.
Loki senses the end is near, but is not keen on losing. He summons beings both dead and alive alike from countless realms, including mythological creatures, Frost Giants, and devils. This is his last stand.
“And then—the END.”
Heimdall is slain by Hela, and Surtur defeats the Destroyer Armor before setting Yggdrasil—the World Tree—ablaze. Fenris prepares to swallow the sun, fulfilling the prophecy of Ragnarök.
Right before he does, Thor flies up to converse with the fearsome wolf, who is shocked at the God of Thunder’s lax approach. Fenris asks Thor if he will stop him, to which a saddened Thor reveals he was the one who asked Surtur to free him and cause the present events. Fenris is shocked for a split second at Thor’s desire to bring about Ragnarök, before he fulfills prophecy and swallows the sun.
An enraged King Loki—powered by Odinforce—commences an attack on Thor. The insecure brother is upset at Thor taking his kingdom from him, but even a fatigued Thor is able to handle Loki.
The two engage in an epic battle, while Loki demands answers. Thor elaborates on his mission, explaining the death of Asgard is followed by its rebirth. This is his way of escaping The Maker’s architecture on their universe.
“In Asgard, we shall be shaped anew,
Purged of the Maker’s mark, made modern, magnificent
Becoming the gods the growing world demands!”
Loki puts down his weapons, and sits with his brother as they watch their home wither away into nothingness. They converse and share stories as their whole world becomes undone.
Loki reveals himself to be the narrator of the prose verses, and that this story is one he recounts with Thor as they await the end of the Forever War. The bitter God who was once attached to his material possessions and labels of grandeur is now accepting of his death. The one who fought against Ragnarök now welcomes it, letting the “Old Gods” die to materialize something new.
A new world without The Maker.
Analysis
For Loki–the man who desired to be nothing more than king of Asgard his whole life–to give up the kingdom he thirsted for corroborates the scale of the Forever War. Loki has generally stopped at nearly nothing to achieve this goal. The juxtaposition of both him and Thor biding time together serves to show how The Maker’s plan affects everyone the same. It leaves them helpless. Even two bitter rivals have no choice but to simply converse, knowing any try for Asgard’s throne is meaningless with Maker still around.
The choice of writing in prose is fantastic, as it makes the series’ two Ultimate Thor issues (would not have minded more) stand out. It reads like a modern-day retelling of Ragnarök, and the emotional punch it packs through vivid painful facial expressions is outstanding. Despite not spending tremendous time with the Ultimate Universe’s Asgardians, the issue remains touching through the relatable theme of powerlessness.
The Ultimates series has done an elite job of establishing said theme as a through-line, making it so the universe’s future issues can forgo the time-spent requirement to relate to these characters’ suffering. The second-to-last issue of The Ultimates series provides further reason to root for The Maker’s defeat in Ultimate Endgame, as a better life awaits Asgard on the other side.
Final Thoughts
The uniqueness of the Ultimate Universe’s storytelling is what makes it so charming. It certainly shines through in the Ultimates’ second-to-last issue, with epic-scale fantasy art and prose verse. Sif, Thor, and Loki receive a satisfying solution as they reluctantly choose to let their world die, symbolizing how The Maker’s power leaves the most fearsome of heroes with no other choice.
