Summary: With the realization that the Nazis have pulled far ahead of the Allies in development of Ubers, hope starts to fade and some greater gambles are taken in hopes of turning the tide. Desperation is the currency of the hour with no end in sight to the horrors of enhanced human warfare. The German war machine has been developing the most powerful weapons ever fashioned. Their Battleship class Ubers are like living atom bombs annihilating every obstacle in their paths. But they were once humans, and it takes more than power to make a monster, so what could have forged such cold, murderous beasts? The past is revealed with the genesis of the German Battleships in this groundbreaking alternate history war story.

Kieron Gillen, Daniel Gete, and Caanan White spin a new chapter of fear and genocide in the pages of the most devastating war comic being published. And for the first time ever, the origin and first missions of Sieglinde and the German Battleships are declassified and illustrated by Gabriel Andrade.

This volume collects issues #18-22 of the ongoing Uber comic book series and the Uber 2014 Special.

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Über, vol. 4, by Kieron Gillen, Daniel Gete, Gabriel Andrade and Caanan White 7.25

Another volume, yet another tangent that Gillen takes us on in his exploration of the effects of the engineering of supermen and women on the Second World War. This time, however, he answers a question that had been left unexplored: What about the atom bomb?

This is significant for two reasons: Firstly, the bomb signified a turn of the tide for the Allies in our own history – but it hasn’t taken place in this series. Secondly, one can’t help but wonder what sort of impact that it would have on the Übers, given their near-invulnerability.

However, the role of the bomb is secondary to the unveiling of yet another brand of Über: one that can mentally conceal its identity from anyone, making them think it is whoever it chooses to be. Naturally, it isn’t clear at first what the heck is going on with this character.

Meanwhile, Russian Über Maria Andreevna is unleashed – and she can do damage well beyond what’s been seen before. She’s so powerful that I wonder what would be left in the aftermath of her deployment. Oh, and there’s another new Über: this one can reshape matter.

Goebbels gets that new Über to reshape his face so that he can look like Adolf Hitler and take the Hitler imposter’s place, thereby becoming Germany’s leader. I guess it’s a fitting development, but it’s surprising to me that no one notices slight changes in the Fuhrer.

Sadly, as with volume 3, we don’t have any idea how and when these new powers were developed, given that the original intention was to create so-called “battleships”. It just feels a bit too gimmicky at this point for me, as though Gillen is more interested in diversions.

Seriously, if they were busy making “battleships”, how were these new ones spawned?

We don’t know.

But I’m sure someday we’ll find out. Maybe in the next volume.

Maybe.

Hmmm… but will I bother to read it?

I don’t know.

I’m not saying that ‘Über’ is a bad series. It’s not. It’s well-conceived and the ideas are interesting. I just don’t like being dragged along endlessly, especially when I get the impression that Gillen is purposely taking side roads instead of focusing on the meat of the matter.

Maybe it’s intended to be his ‘War and Peace’, his magnum opus.

But I might just wait for the movie version.