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 2026 no new issues have been released for 8 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:
"It doesn't matter if Spider-Man's fighting Galactus — Spider-Man will find a way to beat Galactus. Uber isn't that story. Uber is the story that every single time, Galactus will kill Spider-Man" 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 2026 no new issues have been released for 8 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.
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