Image Comics originally published it as an eight-issue limited series between August 2004 and March 2005 before releasing it as a single volume in both hardcover and softcover formats.

The plot follows her and two superhero friends as they deal with celebrity and seek happy love lives after receiving predictions from a fortune teller.

[3] Because they wanted to keep the story accessible to readers who did not grow up reading comic books, they used the superhero genre as a setting instead of a primary plot element.

[4] Later issues continued the theme by parodying other popular magazines like Rolling Stone, Maxim, and Vogue.

[6] When the final issue was released in March 2005, orders had fallen but were still close to the 8,000 mark,[12] which is a significantly lower drop than the industry average.

[15] Fans of Ultra were open about liking it and sent a significant amount of correspondence to Image and the Luna Brothers.

Because she has been single for five years after a public relationship with popular superhero Captain Steel, she has been adopted as a model of abstinence.

On Thursday night, one week before the award ceremony, Pearl is out with her friends and fellow superheroes Olivia Arancina and Jennifer Janus.

At Olivia’s insistence, the three women visit a fortune teller who tells them that within seven days, Jennifer will "receive what she has given" and Pearl will "find true love".

Her friends help her to dress sexy for the event, which causes Pearl particular embarrassment when the paparazzi find them and begin taking pictures.

When she returns to work, she learns that while she was sleeping after sex, her date took several selfies with her and sold them, along with his story of what happened, to a tabloid.

[19] When Pearl is called to assist with an attack by a super villain, she is unable to prevent the death of several police officers.

Believing her friend dead, Pearl attacks the villain directly and suffers serious burns to her hands and face.

[5] Reviewer Matthew Melikhov described Ultra as "a borderline romantic comedy featuring super heroines".

Club and IGN noted the Luna Brothers' skill at writing recognizably real people and capturing a character's humanity.

[7][9] Writing for ComicsAlliance, Laura Hudson said that while many comics "deal with the idea of superheroes as modern-day celebrities", none "focus on the relentless commercialism and pitfalls of fame quite like Ultra".

[25] In January 2006, a television adaptation of Ultra was announced as being in development by producer Barbara Hall for CBS.

He went on to say the script was a large departure from the comic book, such as the unexplained name change from Pearl to Penny and the removal of Aphrodite and Cowgirl.

[7] In 2007, the brothers spoke to director Stephen Hopkins about moving forward with an adaptation again, but it became stuck in development hell.