Reading the Ultimate Universe from the beginning!

[Plawsky]

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra Issues 1-4
My Rating: 5.5/10

I think my biggest problem with this is that I don't understand why it happened. With so many characters that could have been Ultimized, why did they pick Daredevil and Elektra? And not only that, but this was the first character adaptation miniseries that came out - even before Ultimate Fantastic Four. I guess that back in 2002 they still didn't realize what the Ultimate line was going to be, so they just did some random stories like this. But really, it wasn't bad.

The story was pretty enjoyable. Watching Elektra's transformation from innocent freshman to vengeful assassin was interesting; as was her relationship with Matt. The unfortunate thing was that Elektra was the main character. I would much rather have read a series about Daredevil and how he became who he is. But this was well written for what it is, and there wasn't anything I hated about it by any means. Unfortunately, the only thing that I thought was great was Elektra's ultimatum (no capitalization...) to Matt at the end of issue 4. All in all, it was just pretty middle of the road; an enjoyable read, but very forgettable and insignificant in the overall Ultimate Universe.

They really missed the ball by not doing anything interesting or new with the main characters. Elektra as a college student was nice, but it wasn't a special Ultimization at all. Even Spider-man, whose origin is basically the same, was different enough to be interesting. And being B-list characters, they could have easily done something really cool with DD and Elektra. Oh well, live and learn, I suppose.

Up Next: Ultimate Elektra...

[Nevertheless]

I'm not going to be able to re-read this one, because I'm not entirely sure where it is....

Nice review though, interesting to read as I really don't remember anything about this one.

[Virgil]

I tried this a few months ago, and no one responded to the thread, but hey I'll try it again.

[Wolverine12]

Looking forward to the next review, I really enjoyed ultimate elektra

[Plawsky]

Sorry for the long wait, guys - it's been a heck of a week. Hopefully I can get back on pace and post my reviews faster than this.

Ultimate Elektra: Devil's Due Issues 1-5
My Rating: 6.5/10

I was pleasantly surprised by this mini. After the first Daredevil and Elektra mini, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to read another one. This story, though, was a lot more interesting. I think that's often the case with the story following the origin; the first, you have to do just to get out of the way before you can get on to the real stuff.

The story was very engaging. The whole crime mob angle had a lot going on. From the scared accountant to the Kingpin to Bullseye, there were some great character moments, too. Not to mention some really cool fight scenes. Mike Carey did an all around great job. But while nothing stands out as being bad by any means, I can't think of any moments that were just all around awesome.

And again, like the first mini, I'm just not sure why these were done. I look forward to seeing Elektra in Ultimate Spider-man to see how much these books come into play there. I really wish we'd gotten more Daredevil in these books, especially considering the covers (which were probably drawn all at once, before the minis were written) showed him in costume, but the costume never made an appearance. I didn't mind having an Elektra-centric story, her character is pretty well done, I just wish this book had been used on another Ultimization instead.

So what do you guys think? Wolverine12, I know you were looking forward to this.

Well, now that these solo minis are out of the way, it's time to get on to the good stuff. We've got Ultimate Spider-man, one of the most consistent books of the last decade, coming up, and I'm pretty excited. I just hope I can find more time to read and review so this thread can keep moving. And hey, let's get some participation, people! I know everyone here likes these books, talk about them! That's what this forum's all about, right? Even if you don't reread it you can jump in on the conversation.

Next Time: Ultimate Spider-man - Power & Responsibility (#1-7)

[Wolverine12]

I really liked this arc. I'm a big fan of bullseye and I thought he was portrayed well in the series if a bit limited. I agree that I would've like to DD in costume but I can get over that. I'd give it a 8/10.

[Plawsky]

I know it's only been 24 hours since my last review, but I just couldn't wait. Plus, I doubt anyone wants to talk about Elektra, and I'm hoping that this sparks some conversation.

Ultimate Spider-man: Power & Resonsibility (Issues #1-7)
My Rating: 9.5/10

Before I get into this review, let me preface this a bit. This reading project is exactly how I got into comics. Just over a year ago, I used this exact same reading order to read the Ultimate Universe cover to cover, never having read a comic book in my life. As odd as it sounds (though I'm sure we all know what it's like), I barely even knew how to read a comic book; much less did I have the ability to distinguish quality in a comic book. And reading this arc happened before I learned those things, especially the latter. Now, though, after having read what is probably thousands of issues in the past 13 months, I think I have a pretty good handle on what makes a good comic - and this has it. Lots of it.

Now, get ready for a long one, there's a lot to talk about here. I easily could have done reviews for every individual issue, and I even thought about it. So if you're willing, sit back and (hopefully) enjoy my review of the first Ultimate Spider-man arc...

Simply put, this origin story is Amazing (pun intended). What originally took place in one issue of a book on the verge of cancellation (I really need to read that sometime), Bendis used 8 issues worth of pages to expand. Normally with an Ultimate book like this, I would complain about the lack of "re-imagining" of a classic arc, but there's no problems here. Why deviate too much from the source material if the original story is perfect? There's a few things that I think every Spider-man origin story needs to have:

-Spider-bite, obviously
-Uncle Ben's death
-By extension, "the robber"
-"Great power, great responsibility"
-Teen angst

And all of those are here in full form. Bendis takes this classic form and nails it. Now, that's not to say that this isn't still an original take on the story. There is simply SO much going on in this story that you don't realize the first time around, and I'm so glad I've reread it. There's an advantage that Bendis has for longterm storytelling that Stan Lee didn't have the luxury of - and that's foresight. When Stan the Man wrote these books back in the 60s, he was plotting on the fly, developing the Spidey mythos as he went along. Luckily for Bendis, he now has 40 years of Spider stories to work with. He can take the best of Stan Lee's creations (and there are a TON of these), and pick which ones he wants to use, letting Stan do all the hard work. So since he knows which characters he wants to use, he can bring them in before it's even time, stretching out their origin story, making it more impactful.

For instance, Doc Ock (who already has his nickname) is involved with the Ultimate Spider-man story from the beginning. When we see Octavius, we all know where he is eventually going to end up. But we have no idea how long it will take for those metal arms to come. Not only is the anticipation killer, but we can tell that this is all one big linked story. And that is just so awesome! Additionally, there are smaller little bits of a "bigger picture," like the supporting cast. JJJ, as well as the rest of the Bugle cast, are present and done perfectly. We see a whole host of Peter's classmates who, in Amazing Spider-man, originally took up to 40 issues (MJ) to show up for the first time. But this time around, they're all here from the beginning. Anyone else eagerly awaiting the first time we get to read "Face it, Tiger?" We have Flash, Liz, Harry, MJ, and of course - Kong.

In a story that is full of adaptation, Kong is a fantastic creation. He's the big jock bully, but he obviously has a heart. He's bound to be a great addition to the Spider-man cast. Characters like Kong, to me, are what is so great about the Ultimate Universe. There's nothing wrong about straight adaptations of story arcs, but a little change helps. And all it takes is one great addition like Kong.

Back to hints to the future of the series real quick - I saw one scene that hints to a development WAY later in the series, but I can't say anything now for spoiler reasons. I just want to go on record having said that I noticed something.

One more thing I mentioned this story needed and delivered on, was the teen angst. Bendis can write a teenage story better than possibly anyone else in comics right now. Even though I'm several years out of high school, I can perfectly relate to what's going on. All the drama, horniness, anger, loneliness... it's all there. And of course, the humor. These comics are genuinely funny. From the somehow funny insults thrown at Peter to Peter dancing around in his underwear to classic Spidey-banter, this story straight delivers on funny. On the less funny side of things, I love all the scenes at the Parker household. SO much angst, but not in an annoying way. You can sympathize with both Peter and Ben/May in their arguments, and that's pretty cool in my opinion. And then there's, of course, the wave of emotions at Uncle Ben's death, which I believe were greatly amplified by the fact that there had been so much fighting at home. Peter's last words were "If he knew so much, then where the hell is he?!" And that was basically a way of him to say "You're not my real dad!" That's powerful stuff.

Before I get into this next part, please don't hate me. I don't love Mark Bagley. He's very good, and his art doesn't at all take away from the story, it's just not really my thing. His art, as well as the coloring, is just very 90s-ish to me (but, thank God, not Liefeld 90s), which makes sense since this came out in early 2000. I think that since I didn't read comics in that time, though, I'm just not a big fan of the style. He has some really good moments, though. And as I got through the arc I started enjoying the art more with each issue.

One big negative for art, is the covers. Several of them are just plain bad. Not because Bagley's a bad artist, but 2000 was at that weird digital stage where they thought computer animation was going to be the next big thing in comic art (and they weren't entirely wrong). If I saw a cover like #1 sitting on the shelf with new comics nowadays, I would never buy it. But I'm sure it was different at the time. On the flip side though, #6's cover is fantastic. But #'s 1, 2, 3, and 5 I just can't get behind. At least they're better than Ultimate X-Men #1, but we'll get there later.

I can tell I'm rambling (what's new?), so rather than talk about all the awesome things going on here, I'm going to bullet out some of my favorites.

-Green Goblin. He's a HUGE part of the Spider mythos, and arguably Spidey's arch-enemy. And I really like the Ultimization of "hulk-Goblin," taking the costume out of the Goblin.
-From Bagley, the Dark Knight Returns reference. The next to last page of issue #4 contains a clear homage to the cover of DKR #1. Genius.
-The Peter/MJ relationship. It's very similar to Maguire/Dunst relationship in the movies. I like how it's starting, and I can't wait to see more of it.
-Uncle Ben and Aunt May's new looks. Even though he's not here for long, I love the ponytail. And "sassy" Aunt May is very cool.
-Ben Stein, from Ferris Bueller's Day Off was written into the opening of issue 2. One of the most classic scenes from one of the most classic teen movies of all time brought into the comics. Love it.
-The fact that Osborn knows Spidey's identity from the beginning. That can't be good for Peter. We'll see where this leads.
-And possibly the best of all - Goblin fell off the Brooklyn Bridge. How great is that? One of the most iconic Spider-man stories, Gwen's death, is reversed, and now it's Osborn falling off the bridge. I definitely didn't catch that the first time around, but I loved it this time. Unfortunately, we're not dumb enough to think that Goblin is done after one arc, and Bendis confirms this with the last few panels. I think the Brooklyn Bridge reference would maybe have been better for a bigger death scene, but it's still fantastic.

Okay, I think that's all I have to say about this story. Sorry for the length, but I'm sure I'm not alone in my love for this story. It's the story that launched the Ultimate Universe, so it has to be a big deal. The only reason I gave it a 9.5 instead of a 10 is so there can be hypothetical room to go up from here.

Next Time: Ultimate Marvel Team Up #1-3 (Wolverine; Hulk)

[Wolverine12]

I can't argue with any of your review here, just simply put a great story. I really forgot how much I liked Bagely on the art side of things. After all these months of LaFunte I finally felt like I was looking at Peter Parker again (Lafunte's costumed Peter is actually ok imo). Having read everything I have now there is SOOOO much foreshadowing of things to come that it gets me excited to keep reading.

[Samorai_black]

You said it man you said it.

But reading finishing this again I found myself liking everything else going on and kind of did like Spider-man/peter stuff as much. Yes its a book called spider-man and he should be front and center but i loved everything else so much more. Spider man is pretty much 1. Spider bite, 2. what can i do with these powers, 3. Ben dies and learns his life lesson. its important i know but having seen it so many times and different forms make that part of it boring for me. Everything else though you may not not whats going on at the time but its all connected to something everyone is trying to be next big power that was great for me.

As for the art I didnt have a problem with it i really liked it and it fit so well for me that when i thought of spiderman i thought of this Spider-man. Saying that once I started see the new style of the relaunch that spider-man became the spider-man i see when i hear spider-man.

all in all i give this a 10/10 and wish i had been reading comics when issue one came out.

[Plastic Lemon]

This thread is making me want to go back and read everything fro mthe ultimate universe

[striderhirryu2]

First Ultimate book for me too. Peter came off so human it was scary

[Plawsky]

This thread is making me want to go back and read everything fro mthe ultimate universe

Well, that's the idea! I hope you join us on this epic quest.

First Ultimate book for me too. Peter came off so human it was scary

Couldn't agree more. Bendis absolutely nailed Peter's characterization. And pretty much everyone's, for that matter.

[Wolverine12]

I'm getting excited, 2 of my favorite comics EVER are coming up soon. (I've been reading ahead of the reviews so I actually already got to one of them). The first 2 arcs of Ultimate X-Men!!!

[Plawsky]

I'm getting there Wolverine, just be patient! I've read UMTU 1, but I haven't gotten to 2 and 3 yet; I'll probably get the review up by tomorrow. It's been a busy week at school, and the little reading time I've had has been dedicated to my newly found Invincible trades (why the hell did I not read this sooner?!) and Scott Pilgrim (also fantastic).

Although, that's actually oddly on topic. If you like the teen aspect of Ultimate Spider-man, both Invincible and Scott Pilgrim are great books to check out. In fact, Invincible is easily one of the best superhero stories I've read.

[Plawsky]

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #1-3
Rating: 6/10

For what these are, they're pretty well written. But that's the problem, "what they are" is pretty uninteresting. These are simply books following Spidey as he teams up with random heroes in the Ultimate U. They're all three pretty fun reads, but nothing important really goes on, and you can tell that as you read it. I think this should also be moved in the reading order, since Peter doesn't have his Bugle job yet in USM, even though these stories came out before USM #8; though, some of the Hulk moments serve as a good direct follow up to the Goblin story.

Like I've mentioned before, this series serves as a good reflection to the early Ultimate universe. At this point, all there had been was a half dozen issues of Spider-man and X-Men's debut. Bendis had no idea what the Universe was going to become. So he wrote these stories that put his main character in fun situations. And that's all well and good, but it doesn't lend to much rereading value.

One thing that I think was good with these books was that the first story set up that mutants were hated ([mini-spoil] and had a reference to the sentinel we'll see in UXM #1), and the Hulk story began the big debate of public opinion on Spider-man. Other than that, there's just not a whole lot going on

Unfortunately, these books suffered a bit because the art is lacking. It's not bad at all, but not great either. It's just middle of the road, to go with middle of the road stories.

But like I said, they were well written for what they are. Bendis was still perfecting his Spidey-banter, and he had some great moments ("Candygram for Mongo" - a quote from Blazing Saddles).

Finally, and not to spoil much, but it's cool that later on the Hulk story gets referenced. We'll have to keep this in mind for Ultimates #1 and Ultimate Origins.

Next time: Ultimate Spider-man - Learning Curve (#8-13)