Über is an alt-hist comic fiction series written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Caanan White, Gabriel Andrade and Daniel Gete. It was published monthly by Avatar Press, which released the first issue in April 2013. The comic depicts an alternate World War II in which the Third Reich develops powerful superhuman soldiers in 1945, preventing its imminent defeat and forcing the Allied nations to counter with superhumans of their own.
The series is notable for its extreme violence, its depiction of wartime moral ambiguity and its mixing of fictional and real historical characters. As of no new issues have been released for years.
Creation Gillen began conducting background research for Über in 2008 after a discussion with Avatar Press publisher William A. Christensen, eventually compiling a 30,000-word "bible" of historical research to support the project. The writer stated the series' style was shaped "from how much WW2 still hangs over us even now, and watching the crowds thin in veteran's reunions", and felt considerable reading was necessary to do a "serious story" about World War II. Gillen also strived to emulate the style of historical detail used in war comics by Garth Ennis, as well as other British war comics including Johnny Red and particularly Charley's War. Other research included documentaries and the 1993 film Stalingrad. He explained the narrative was intended to function more as a "simulation" rather than using the tropes of heroic fiction works. In an interview with USA Today, Gillen stated:
He also carefully gauged the powers of the Übers in order to fictionally prolong World War II rather than resolving it with a Nazi victory.
For the superhumans' Distortion Halo — a powerful eye beam — Gillen drew on a first aid course about the treatment of gunshot wounds to create a power that was "its own thing". He was sensitive to criticism that the series was overly sympathetic to Nazi characters, using a panel at the 2013 New York Comic Con to observe that Über was "about humans doing horrible things. I want to write about my opinion of the truth of the war." and that he was "not saying everyone's equally bad. I'm not. I'm saying everyone's pretty awful."
Publication history Über Gillen envisioned a series of between 30 and 60 issues, broken up into plot arcs by different phases and theatres of the fictional continued war. The series began with a 48-page "zero" issue in April 2013. Über #0 rapidly sold out, and Avatar produced a second print featuring additional pages, as Über #0 - Enhanced Edition in May, limited to 7,500 copies The series featured mini-essays in each issue, providing context and commentary from Gillen. After the title's initial success, Christensen hoped it would run for the projected 60 issues.
Über ended on a cliffhanger after 29 issues in August 2015.
Specials A spin-off title exploring the backstories of several major characters, Über Special #1, was published in March 2014. A free recap issue, entitled Über: The First Cycle, was published for Free Comic Book Day in May 2014, taking the format of illustrated prose pieces by Gillen, written as an oral history of the events of the first dozen issues.
Über: Invasion The series was restarted as Über: Invasion a year later, creating a jump-on point for new readers. Invasion was to function as the second and final cycle of the story. As the name suggested, it shifted focus towards a Nazi incursion into the United States.
Avatar and Gillen created a Kickstarter campaign to fund the series, which swiftly doubled the original goal of $9,000. Asked if the series would ever be finished at the 2019 New York Comic Con, Gillen replied "Avatar is just trying to get their ducks in a row, but I am committed to finishing the story when it is possible to do it.". However, as of no new issues have been released for years.
Plot A secret Nazi military research project has succeeded in creating Übermenschen ("Übers") – enhanced humans with extreme strength and durability, combined with the ability to generate a destructive energy field known as a "disruption halo" that can blast through most materials. These Nazi superhumans are divided into two classes – the basic "tank" class ("Panzermensch"), who number several hundred at the start of the series, and the "battleship" class, who are far more powerful but number only three. Only one human in 5,000 is viable for enhancement, with an even smaller number potentially capable of becoming "battleships". The German "battleships" – two male and a female – are code-named Siegmund, Siegfried, and Sieglinde, after characters in Richard Wagner's Ring cycle. While the basic Übers can be dispatched with well-placed anti-tank weaponry or a rifle round to the eye when using the halo, the "battleships" are invulnerable to most conventional weaponry, with only large-calibre naval weaponry speculated to be capable of destroying them. Their only significant weakness is the need to 'recharge' by sleeping, postponement of which can have dire consequences. Potential Übers are activated by a crystalline compound known as "Catalyst" that takes time to ferment; the process takes around 30 days per activation; while a standard Über will only take a single activation, a Battleship requires 24 activations.
24 April - 9 June 1945 The Red Army is nearing victory in the Battle of Berlin until General Sankt unveils a squadron of the Übers and a trio of Battleships. On April 29–30 Siegmund and his support forces devastate the 1st Ukrainian Front in the Battle of Beelitz, while Sieglinde begins wiping out the Soviet columns inside Berlin. Siegfried meanwhile routs the Belorussian Front troops outside the Reichstag, with the Panzermensch mopping up pockets of Red Army units. Around a million Soviets surrender, while most of their surviving troops withdraw from Berlin. News of the Wunderwaffe's success arrives at the Führerbunker seconds before Adolf Hitler commits suicide - albeit too late to save Eva Braun. He then orders Battleship Siegfried to massacre the Soviet prisoners, with the vast majority of the million men killed by his disruption halo or the resulting stampede. The display horrifies Heinz Guderian and Albert Speer, who are among the few high-ranking Nazis left. Guderian and Speer try to evaluate the tactical possibilities of the Übers in the hope it could force an armistice with the Allies. The USAAF attempts a mass daylight bombing raid on Berlin, but the aircraft are cut to pieces by Siegmund and Sieglinde; however, as the latter was approaching her refractory cycle she is badly strained by the effort required. Meanwhile Stephanie, a British Special Intelligence Service undercover agent at the Projekt U research facility steals important papers, sabotages catalyst production and is able to make her way back to England. She meets with Prime Minister Winston Churchill and outlines what she has discovered; he assigns her to use this knowledge to create British Tankmen at Bletchley Park, where it is soon discovered that the USAAF airman Patrick O'Connor is genetically suitable for Battleship activation. In Berlin, Sankt is summoned before Hitler; despite the success of the Übers the Führer is furious the project was kept from him, and has Sankt executed by Siegfried. Having expected such an event, Sankt has instructed his assistant Anita Scheele to take his notes on the Übers to Guderian. He and Scheer plan a three-pronged offensive - with Battleship Siegmund's group to continue routing the Soviets, Battleship Siegfried to break through to the oil fields at Ploiești, and Sieglinde to break through to Belgium, where a large number of Wehrmacht prisoners are held by the Allies. However, Hitler overrides the latter and instead sends Sieglinde to Paris to get retribution for the damage done to Berlin.
While progress is slower than expected due to tactical limitations, by 21 May Siegmund's battle group have pushed the Red Army back into East Prussia, while Battlegroup Siegfried is able to break through to Ploiești on 3 June. On 7 June, Sieglinde and her support group leave Berlin for Paris - with the Battleship using her distortion halo to create a bridge over the Rhine. Despite Stephanie's concerns over the readiness of O'Connor's (who takes the codename HMH Colossus, after the Bletchley Park computer) readiness, the Allied Tankmen are deployed to defend the French capital. The German force reaches Paris on 9 June; tactics devised by Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery allow the Allied Tankmen to perform well against the Panzermensch until Sieglinde enters the field. Colossus is sent to attack her directly; initially the battle is even until Sieglinde tears off both of his arms and then ruins his body with her distortion halo. The allied force crumbles, and most of Paris' landmarks are destroyed to deny them to the Germans, who withdraw after causing huge casualties - and leaving the Allies to euthanise Colossus with an industrial drill.
Meanwhile the Germans had also delivered a supply of catalyst to Japan, and on 24 May they deploy enhanced Kamikazes on the US Navy picket around Okinawa Island, sinking three destroyers. Next, they send enhanced Miyoko Warriors - including the battleship-class Hideki, named as Battleship Yamato. Despite only half of the transport planes landing successfully, the enhanced Japanese forces obliterate Yontan Airfield. The battle soon becomes cyclical - in daylight the naval support are able to provide artillery support that prevents the Miyoko from gaining a foothold; however, at night the ships are forced to withdraw to a safe distance after two capital ships are destroyed by enhanced troops, leaving the Japanese to carry out brutal attacks on American camps. The sole survivor of one such attack is Eammon 'Razor' O'Connor - brother of the late Patrick, and therefore a perfect candidate for Battleship activation.
10 June - 1 July 1945 Having received a shipment of catalyst from the British, Joseph Stalin eschews the lengthier blood tests used by other nations and has 420,000 convict soldiers exposed to raw catalyst to create 101 Tank Men. Eccentric sniper Maria "Katyusha" Andreevna, a survivor of the massacre in Berlin, also undergoes the process but doesn't show any of the expected qualities. By June 22, Battlegroup Siegmund reaches Kursk, where it is ambushed at close quarters by 90 Soviet Tank Men, triggering the Second Battle of Kursk. While outgunned by Siegmund and suffering heavy casualties, they are able to sever one of the Battleship's arms and send him fleeing. Weeks later, Maria's powers finally activate - including the ability to generate catalyst - but she walks out into the wilderness.
At Bletchley Park, Stephanie makes further experiments with help from Alan Turing, focusing on new subject Leah Cohen. While the new process makes Cohen incredibly powerful, it leaves her body grossly deformed. Meanwhile, Guderian decides the swiftest way to ease the pressure on the Western Front is a risky decapitation strike, and Sieglinde is launched to London onboard a V-2 rocket. The new British Heavy Tank Men are deployed to defend the War Rooms in Whitehall but only briefly stall the German Battleship. As Cohen is not combat ready, Churchill orders Stephanie not to field her and instead meets Sieglinde, who kills him - placing his head on top of Nelson's Column. While this is happening, Siegmund reveals his true identity as an embittered survivor of the Battle of Stalingrad in a private audience with Hitler, and uses his abilities to give the dictator a fatal heart-attack. Stephanie meanwhile deals with the psychological stress of the destruction in London and her own ethical compromises.
2 July - 12 August 1945