Reading the Ultimate Universe from the beginning!

[Plawsky]

Well, I suppose no one wants to talk about UMTU ...

Ultimate Spider-man: Learning Curve (#8-13)
Rating: 9/10

Let's see if I can keep this one a bit shorter than the first Spider-man review; shouldn't be too hard.

Once again, this book is just pure awesome. As far as character development goes, this is probably one of the best arcs I've ever read. Almost the whole arc is devoted to developing Peter as a person, and even more so Spider-man. It's not just Peter, though, almost the whole supporting cast gets at least a little bit of development.

At the opening of this arc, Peter is so amped on his new powers that he acts as though he's the new Captain America. But soon, he realizes that there are limits - Spider-man is not unbeatable. The Kingpin is a BIG wake up call for him, and I love watching Peter learn how Spider-man needs to function. There's also the first instance of Peter blowing off MJ to be Spidey, a balance that he's still figuring out.

Back at the home front, I love what Bendis is doing with the emotional aspect of the book. May's "Do you like me?" speech was heartbreaking. On the lighter side, it's great to watch the beginnings of the Peter/MJ relationship - and we get the expected "Face it tiger" line from MJ (though, it felt a little forced to me). Other great developments are Kong's continuing obsession with Spider-man, Peter's relation to everyone at the Bugle, and Liz Allen's distrust of mutants and heros.

Speaking of mutants, I like how Bendis is clearly setting up for Ultimate X-Men to begin, with everyone talking about mutants. Public trust for mutants is already low, and now Peter is having to deal with Spider-man receiving some of that hate. Also, a nice reference to Daredevi.

One of my favorite things about Ultimate Spider-man is how much more realistic Peter's ability to keep his secret identity is. We're two arcs in, and already a dozen people have seen his face. And to top it off, Peter already decides to trust MJ with the secret; and her reaction is priceless! I love the way she acts just like Peter did when he committed his first heroic deeds.

In scenes like the reveal to MJ, Bendis keeps the humor coming. The scene with Aunt May walking in and subsequently talking to Peter about sex was hilarious. Bendis is incredible with these characters, keeping them realistic from the extremely funny to deeply emotional.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the art still isn't killing it for me like it seems to do for so many others. Bagley is definitely growing on me, and there are times where I absolutely love it. But he's inconsistent, and there's some panels that are just off. It's still good art though, and I like it better than some of the art in books I'm currently reading. Also, the coloring doesn't help - why is the web fluid green?! The other downside is the covers. Other than #12 and #13 (though, the eyes shouldn't be rippled, right?), they were almost all bad. I guess it's just a sign of the times, but I really didn't like any of them.

Finally, we get some nice new ultimizations here. Wilson Fisk is very well done - even though he's very similar - and the same goes for Electro (nice tease with Kingpin calling for "Elektra") and the Enforcers. But the best ultimization of this arc goes to one of my favorite Ultimate Spider-man characters - the Shocker! We get his first appearance here, and it's always great to see him.

Overall a great arc that ended on a fantastic issue. Issue #13 is probably my favorite issue so far, because it's the kind that Bendis does so well. It all takes place in one scene and is very dialogue heavy. Some great character moments through the whole thing, and a ton of humor.

Next time: Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #4-8 (Iron Man; Punisher, Daredevil)

[dreyga2000]

This was the arc that really made me respect the difference bwtn the Ultimate and Regular Universe...

Pete's Unmasked... Mary Jane learns the Secret... The Oddly Logical way goes bout super heroing... Sending an email to the secruity company...

Man the good old days when UU was the Gold Standard... Anyhow this was the one that really gave me faith that they may go the distance with this Universe...

[Ramage]

Didn't Daredevil and Elektra have movies in the early 2000's? Perhaps that is why they got the Ultimate treatment?

[Wolverine12]

I agree this arc was awesome, Spidey outsmarting the Kingpin since he couldn't physically beat him and Kong going nuts about Spidey is just so much fun to read. Once again I love Bagleys art. Doesn't get much better than this for Ult Spidey.

[MillerFan]

Great Idea Plawsky, I also wanted to know more about Ultimate Universe. After reading your review, I gave it a try and it was really entertaining and innovative too. The only thing I was unhappy about was the art. I will give it a rating of 3/5.

[Plawsky]

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #4-8 (Iron Man; Punisher, Daredevil)
Rating: (#4-5) 5/10, (#6-8) 8.5/10

I decided to break these up for my review because the two stories are so different from eachother. One represents everything I dislike about this series, but the other is a testament to what this series could have been, if it had been done better (no offense to Bendis).

The Iron Man story was unexciting at best. I liked the set up of Peter getting to Stark Industries because he was such a big nerd fanboy, and I think he and Tony were both well written. But there just wasn’t much here keeping me wanting to read. I think part of it was because the plot was very similar to Iron Man 2, where he gets attacked at the Stark Expo, and it was done better in the movie (I know the comic is 9 years older than the film). The use of Latveria was also nice, giving a subtle hint to what might come in the future of the Ultimate U.

Fittingly enough, a fan from the letters page perfectly voices my opinion:

“This book is a bad idea… these other characters are being denied the chance to have other top creators start from SCRATCH and give us the freshest takes possible. This book will lead to Ultimate retconning. That is my fear.”

He’s right. Putting the characters in a couple of issues with Spider-man isn’t enough time to give them a proper origin. And, as we’ve already seen with Ultimate Iron Man (from 4 years after this book), Iron Man’s origin was retconned. Most of this book could still be in canon, but it’s – at best – sloppy canon. It just goes to show that this book isn’t good for much more than some quick fun stories.

And I wasn’t really feeling Allred’s art. It was too overly simplistic for me, and just didn’t have much life to it. The Iron Man designs he used were all the old models that I just can’t stand; I can’t wait to see the REAL Ultimate armor soon. Also, did anyone else notice Flash Thompson throwing up the shocker while picking his nose?

------------

Now, let’s switch gears. The Punisher story was amazing. THIS is what Ultimate Team-Up should have been. Really, they probably should have just made a book called “Ultimate Showcase,” because Spidey was hardly in this arc, and fans wouldn’t have had to expect to see Spidey in each book. But that’s just semantics.

There really wasn’t anything about this book I didn’t like. My only (small) complaint is that there wasn’t much done to make Daredevil’s origin Ultimate. As far as I know (haven’t read much 616 DD), it was the same as it’s always been. Punisher’s origin, however, is great. I like the ex-cop on a vengeance route way more than the disgruntled Vietnam veteran. It’s the perfect Ultimization – still the same character, but subtle changes to make him unique. Way to go on this one Bendis.

I loved everything done at the jail. From Frank’s meetings with his lawyer (nice job leaving the pen) to the reference to the Shocker (yay for continuity!) to the spoon murder to “The face it is then,” there were just tons of great moments.

And possibly best of all is Sienkiewicz’s work. Aside from his impossible to spell name, I can’t get enough of him. His art in these three issues is hands down the best art I’ve seen so far on this Ultimate reread. The contrast of black and white at the jail to the color in the flashback to Frank’s family was stunning.

This story came right after Bendis started writing the 616 Daredevil book, and I now I almost wish he had also done an Ultimate Daredevil ongoing (or maybe a street level ongoing, featuring Punisher, Daredevil, etc) with Sienkiewicz. All in all, this was really fantastic.

Next time: Ultimate X-Men - The Tomorrow People (#1-6, #1/2)

[VRaptorX]

Hurray! Sentinels that are actually a threat incoming.

I swear those sentinels should not be that big of jobbers in 616. And Omega red and Pooky too. They are too good to be jobbers like that.

[Wolverine12]

The Iron Man story was painful to re-read, the best part is when the leader of the shock troops keeps yelling about radio silence it makes me lol.

The punisher story is amazing and I couldn't agree more about the art in this story. Also gotta love the giant scope on the pistol on the cover :)

[Plawsky]

Ultimate X-Men: The Tomorrow People (#1-6, #1/2)
My Rating: 8.5/10

Now that the Ultimate Universe had started off to a strong beginning, I suppose bringing in the X-Men was the next logical step. And Mark Millar gets the mutants off to a very strong start. He took a lot of cues from the first X-Men movie, as well as the classic basis of the X-Men as a whole. Warning: long review ahead…

The first issue is really nice, and a great setup. We have all the makings of a classic X-Men comic. X-Men form? Check. Big brawl? Check. Sentinels? Check. Brotherhood of Mutants? Check. Mageneto? Check. It’s all here. And why not end it with a tease of Wolverine for good measure? In one issue, we get to see the initial team form and experience their first field mission.

One thing I liked is that we see a world where mutants are already exist and are known. Obviously, the mutant hate has to be in place for the X-Men to work as a concept, as well as the dichotomy between Xavier and Magneto’s positions.

The characters are ones we all know and love, but I think the choice is a little interesting. It’s basically a mix between the original five and the Giant Sized X-Men squad, with Angel missing in favor of Storm and Colossus. Let me give a quick take on each character:

-Cyclops: I’m not sure about 2001 Uncanny Cyclops, but the current 616 version is a lot like our new Ultimate friend. This version is obviously less experienced, but he fits the leadership role nicely.
-Marvel Girl: I haven’t read any 616 Jean, as she’s been dead for as long as I’ve been reading, but I like the spunky teen Jean Grey we get here. She’s very confident, extremely capable, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say sexy. I think she has even more leadership potential than Cyclops, and is certainly better with people than he is.
-Storm: Thank goodness Millar didn’t use the African princess origin for Ororo. It’s not a bad backstory, but it’s just completely unrelatable and tiring. Ultimate Storm is a kid with a bad streak, who obviously has more power than she realizes.
-Iceman: Like Cyclops, Bobby Drake isn’t a whole lot different from his mainstream counterpart. But he’s young and has a lot of potential, and he’ll likely play a good comic relief role.
-Beast: Beast had a great introduction scene (even though it was ripped from the X-Men movie). Of all the X-Men, he’s the only one that stands out in a crowd as being different. I think his ponytail is pretty cool, too.
-Colossus: He had an even better introduction. I loved the story of him working with the mob to keep his family supported. And he’s not overly Russion like 616 Colossus can often be.
-Wolverine: On the surface, he's very similar to 616 - dangerous, a trained killer, and a mysterious past. He's got his best interests above everyone else. But at the same time, he seems to really believe in what Xavier's doing.
-Xavier: Not much Ultimization here, at least for now; exactly what you’d expect. Not a bad thing though.
-Magneto: See Xavier.

From the beginning, you can tell that there is a war going on. Humans almost all hate mutants, and Magneto returns the feeling. I thought that Magneto as a terrorist leader was very intense. The fight when the X-Men were recovering Bush’s daughter was great, everyone obviously having learned more about their powers. Magneto would do anything to take power over humans, and he just had no regrets about it. But the cool thing was that he didn’t want to hurt Xavier and the X-Men, even though they disagreed. He viewed all mutants as his brothers. That obviously changed once the X-Men got in his way, though. His relationship with Quicksilver was interesting too. And speaking of Quicksilver’s relationships, I’m not sure he and Scarlet Witch could be any more disturbing.

The final battle was also really cool. Magneto’s effortless takeover of the sentinels was awesome, and I loved the panels of him flying among the reprogrammed robots. But Xavier proved that he was every bit Magneto’s equal when they went head to head.

I look forward to there being more character development among the X-Men. So far, the focus – as far as development goes – has been all on Jean and Wolverine. The love triangle with them and Cyclops is entertaining, and will obviously lead to more discord within the group. I think that we’ll be seeing a lot more character development as the book progresses, but the high action of this arc didn’t really allow for it.

If I didn’t already know that Millar wrote this arc, I wouldn’t have believed it. Not because of its quality, but it’s just completely different than his current work. There’s hardly any decompression here. We’re introduced to the whole team in the first issue. And it’s not edgy at all like his other writings tend to be. I really like what he did with these stories, and I think he knew that he was setting up for more to come, because he left a lot of things unsaid. I also like that you can see him using Magneto as a vessel for mocking George W. Bush, which I don’t have a problem with, since it’s not heavy handed at all. But if this book had been written just a few months later, I’m sure the President would have been displayed in a different light. It’s just something interesting to look back on nine years later.

There really wasn’t anything bad in these books. A little more character focus would have been nice, but the amount of action was great. It was clearly a setup arc, and it did a great job at that.

Before I get started on the art, I have to say again – holy shit, the cover to #1 is terrible. It’s absolutely appalling how bad it is, and it’s easily the worst cover to any comic I own. Maybe it was cool in 2001 when digital art was getting bigger, but now it’s just a joke; especially when compared with the rest of the covers here, which are almost all great. The interior art is all good though. However, I think I like Andy better than his brother Adam (man, how cool is it that a father and both sons are comic book artists?). I like the cleaner art in the last two issues more than the first four. But I have no beefs at all about the art.

Finally, the costume redesigns are nice. I like that they went back to the whole team matching like in the old days, but they still have individual differences. Rob Liefeld needs to check out Cyclops to see how pouches should be done on costumes (less is more!). And these modernizations are certainly better than the ones used in the movies.

Quickly, regarding issue #1/2. It was pretty good, and some nice character development for Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. I didn’t realize that Geoff Johns had written anything for Ultimate, and I kind of wish he would have done more. It was a nice bonus issue to fit after the first arc.

Reading this first arc was really exciting, because you can feel the Universe expanding as it moves along. There’s now two ongoing books with Ultimate on the cover, and Marvel’s biggest properties are being updated. The X-Men might not have had as good of an Ultimate introduction as Spider-man did, but let’s be honest – that bar was set high.

Next time: Ultimate Spider-man – Double Trouble (#14-21)

[striderhirryu2]

Well, I suppose no one wants to talk about UMTU ...

Ultimate Spider-man: Learning Curve (#8-13)
Rating: 9/10

Let's see if I can keep this one a bit shorter than the first Spider-man review; shouldn't be too hard.

Once again, this book is just pure awesome. As far as character development goes, this is probably one of the best arcs I've ever read. Almost the whole arc is devoted to developing Peter as a person, and even more so Spider-man. It's not just Peter, though, almost the whole supporting cast gets at least a little bit of development.

At the opening of this arc, Peter is so amped on his new powers that he acts as though he's the new Captain America. But soon, he realizes that there are limits - Spider-man is not unbeatable. The Kingpin is a BIG wake up call for him, and I love watching Peter learn how Spider-man needs to function. There's also the first instance of Peter blowing off MJ to be Spidey, a balance that he's still figuring out.

Back at the home front, I love what Bendis is doing with the emotional aspect of the book. May's "Do you like me?" speech was heartbreaking. On the lighter side, it's great to watch the beginnings of the Peter/MJ relationship - and we get the expected "Face it tiger" line from MJ (though, it felt a little forced to me). Other great developments are Kong's continuing obsession with Spider-man, Peter's relation to everyone at the Bugle, and Liz Allen's distrust of mutants and heros.

Speaking of mutants, I like how Bendis is clearly setting up for Ultimate X-Men to begin, with everyone talking about mutants. Public trust for mutants is already low, and now Peter is having to deal with Spider-man receiving some of that hate. Also, a nice reference to Daredevi.

One of my favorite things about Ultimate Spider-man is how much more realistic Peter's ability to keep his secret identity is. We're two arcs in, and already a dozen people have seen his face. And to top it off, Peter already decides to trust MJ with the secret; and her reaction is priceless! I love the way she acts just like Peter did when he committed his first heroic deeds.

In scenes like the reveal to MJ, Bendis keeps the humor coming. The scene with Aunt May walking in and subsequently talking to Peter about sex was hilarious. Bendis is incredible with these characters, keeping them realistic from the extremely funny to deeply emotional.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the art still isn't killing it for me like it seems to do for so many others. Bagley is definitely growing on me, and there are times where I absolutely love it. But he's inconsistent, and there's some panels that are just off. It's still good art though, and I like it better than some of the art in books I'm currently reading. Also, the coloring doesn't help - why is the web fluid green?! The other downside is the covers. Other than #12 and #13 (though, the eyes shouldn't be rippled, right?), they were almost all bad. I guess it's just a sign of the times, but I really didn't like any of them.

Finally, we get some nice new ultimizations here. Wilson Fisk is very well done - even though he's very similar - and the same goes for Electro (nice tease with Kingpin calling for "Elektra") and the Enforcers. But the best ultimization of this arc goes to one of my favorite Ultimate Spider-man characters - the Shocker! We get his first appearance here, and it's always great to see him.

Overall a great arc that ended on a fantastic issue. Issue #13 is probably my favorite issue so far, because it's the kind that Bendis does so well. It all takes place in one scene and is very dialogue heavy. Some great character moments through the whole thing, and a ton of humor.

Next time: Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #4-8 (Iron Man; Punisher, Daredevil)

"Who sent you?"
"Uh... Carson Daly."
"I don't know who that is."
(later)
"Anything else boss?"
"Yes, find this Carson Daly person and have him destroyed."

[Wolverine12]

I LOVE this arc, I think the intros are great and the action is amazing. The Kuberts on art are top notch. I actually like this arc better than the 1st Spider-Man arc. There isn't as much character development, but you can't really get that deep into it with so many big names without taking out some of the action scenes. I think it was the perfect blend. It gets a 10/10 from me. There are not a lot of arcs in comics that get this rating from me and a few of them are from Ult. X-Men.

Also Plawsky I noticed you didn't do a "bio" for Wolverine, was this on purpose or just an oversight.

[Plawsky]

Also Plawsky I noticed you didn't do a "bio" for Wolverine, was this on purpose or just an oversight.

Oops...I guess I just forgot, I'll add one in, thanks.

And I agree, this is a really good arc. I'm just a bigger fan of the way the first Spider-man arc was done. When I read USM I thought "Holy crap, this book is awesome!" When I read this I thought "Wow, this book is really good, and I can tell it's going to be even better!" This is more of a setup arc in my opinion. And there's nothing wrong with that, because it's good for the book as a whole. If nothing else, this arc just screams potential. When reading it, you know there are great things to come.

[Plawsky]

"Who sent you?"
"Uh... Carson Daly."
"I don't know who that is."
(later)
"Anything else boss?"
"Yes, find this Carson Daly person and have him destroyed."

YES! So good.

[Plawsky]

Sorry for the wait guys (as if anyone was waiting...), I used a lot of my reading time this week on current comics, the newest Walking Dead and some more Scott Pilgrim, but I've finally gotten back to my Ultimate reread. So here we go...

Ultimate Spider-man - Double Trouble (Issues #14-21)
My Rating: 9/10

I think I'm seeing a pattern with my Spider-man ratings: 9.5, 9, 9. The last time I remember reading a book this consistent was Warren Ellis's Thunderbolts, and that was only 12 issues (though, 12 issues of 10/10 in my opinion). Bendis has now done almost two years of Ultimate Spider-man and it hasn't had a down moment yet.

This arc deals with a character that was hinted at in the first issue: Doctor Octopus. We knew this was coming, we just had to wait 20 issues to see it; and it was worth the wait. It's so cool that things that happened in the very beginning of this book are still very important. Doc Ock is tied directly to Norman Osborn, so Spider-man is reminded of the Goblin just as he's beginning to move on. In some ways (and I think this is a pretty cool revelation ), the Osborn Industries explosion was like the Big Bang of the Ultimate Universe. It created Green Goblin and Doc Ock, put the final straw in the Harry/Norman relationship, and was a direct result of Spider-man's creation. Without that explosion, the UU would be completely different.

Doc Ock has been around almost as long as Spider-man himself, so people know what to expect from him. But the Ultimate version has a nice little twist. Aside from his cool origin, he's different in the fact that he's not directly a villain, and he's not after Spider-man at all; he just wants revenge. But of course, Spidey is going to be there to do what's right, and the good Doctor doesn't want him getting in the way. I think the best part of the Spider-man/Octopus fights was the dialogue. These issues had the best Spidey banter yet, and Doc Ock had some great replies. In each fight, though, Spider-man clearly held the upper hand almost all along. Though, I think it's safe to say we haven't seen the last of Octavius.

Justin Hammer was used very well. He was an obvious asshole, and we were supposed to hate him, but we supported Spider-man defending him because it was the right thing to do. Even when he died, I didn't feel bad for him, but I loved that Spider-man did. A very good way to develop Spider-man's ethics.

Kraven was a nice addition to the Ultimate Spider-man Rogues Gallery too. I think his origin as a Crocodile Hunter character is great. He's basically set up for us to not respect him, and Spider-man adds to that when he takes him out in a matter of seconds. We'll obviously see him again, too.

Once again, Bendis hints at the expanding Ultimate Universe. We get name drops for Iron Man, Captain America, Nick Fury and Daredevil, as well as Reed Richards (canon?), so we can hope to see them soon. The Ultimate Spidey-verse is also expanding, and - like he did with Doc Ock - Bendis gets us ready for more upcoming Spider-man characters we will definitely see in the near future: Sandman and Eddie Brock. I love the way he's writing this as one long story, rather than just continuing arcs. In real life, things wouldn't just come one by one, so this "all at once" feeling and overlapping story arcs feels a lot more real.

Also being developed really well is the Peter/Spider-man divide. Peter is sick of doing everything he can to do what's right and still being hated by everyone. He even contemplates giving up Spider-man. And there's some VERY touching moments between him and Aunt May; you can tell he wants to tell her, but he knows he can't. He needs to do a lot more practice in balancing his two lives. There's also the whole issue of people learning his identity in rapidly increasing numbers. Kong has it figured out (though that seems subdued for now) and Doc Ock just figured it out too. That's not going to be good for Peter.

Continuing with his home life, the relationship between Peter and May is becoming increasingly strained. It's a very heartbreaking situation, and it's tough because they're both right in their arguments. May has every right to be pissed at Peter for what he does, but Peter has responsibility as Spider-man. And now his relationship with MJ (I don't like him calling her just "Mary") is getting strained by the triangle being set up with Gwen. Gwen is a really cool character, and Peter has every right to like her. Her sticking up for Peter to Kong, even after being reprimanded, was one of the best moments in the arc.

Bendis balances emotion with humor, and keeps the laughs coming. Some highlights:
-Peter and May's recurring joke: "What did we say about..." "Did we say we like it?"
-Spider-man de-pantsing Doc Ock; immature, maybe, but still pretty funny.
-"I'm the haircut police. There's a 50 dollar fine for bowl cuts in this city." "I like my hair."
-"You okay sweety?" "Uh...bad poops." "What did I tell you about those street vendor pretzels?"
-Bendis's not-so-subtle Leno insult - "Man he stinks." Even more relevant today.

Finally, the art. So far, I've not been the biggest Bagley fan, but this is the arc that changes my mind. It took him a dozen issues of hit and miss, but I think he's finally awesome. I'm still not a huge fan of his style, but it works great, and he tells a mean story with his art. From humor to action to emotion, his art nails it all. And his covers have finally gotten better. In fact, I really like some of these covers.

Before I finish (as if this isn't long enough already), I'm going to try a new thing for these reviews. When I feel it's a good idea, I'm going to attach a handful of images that I think need to be seen by everyone, because they're just awesome. This time I've got:
-Spidey on Hammer's desk. Classic, hilarious Spider-man.
-The aforementioned scene of Spider-man post Kraven. Spidey showing us what he's all about.
-The last two are why I love Ultimate May. She's trying her hardest to be a mother figure and she's laying down the law. But it hurts her so much. Fantastic work, Mark Bagley. The second one (May alone at the table) is probably the best single panel of the series yet.

Okay, I think that's all I've got for this one. Man, I really could do individual issue reviews, since I feel like I'm forgetting a lot, and I know that these are probably running a lot longer than anyone wants to read, but I like to think that a few people skim them and at least one, hopefully, reads it all. And again, let's try to get some more discussion going, people. Only ONE comment on Ultimate X-Men, and it's supposedly a bunch of people's favorite book. I'm not giving up on this thread yet, but it might happen if we don't start getting some more action here.

Let's hear what you thought!!!

Up Next: Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #9-16 and USM Special

[Samorai_black]

Kraven was my favourite part in this volume. I dont no much of him from comics I just know him from the cartoon. He started out as a huge douchebag only to turn into a bigger one and a sad loser by the end. He was beat so fast too something I did not see comming, i knew he would lose but that fast? The Shocker did better which is saying much. By the end though I really felt bad for the guy and I hope the next tiem he fights spider-man he does a better job.

I kind of also wanted Doc to finish off Hammer because of what had been done to him. Thats good story telling when you root for the "bad" guy.

The art was great which is nothing to be surprised about and the writing, I can say that i dont really laugh out loud when i read comics but i did more then once when reading this.