Ultimate Comics The Ultimates #18 Preview

[ebari]

I don't know if anybody else noticed this but there are some similarities between some of the depictions and real life ? Youth joining a uniformed group that are street level enforcers ? Secret police that ferret out "traitors" ? and a leader that starts off super popular then grinds his nation into the ground ? I think Modi is messing with Steve's head to show him how he could turn out like the people he started fighting all those years ago, well played I think.

[Stars 'N Stripes]

Whether it's a dream sequence, continuity error, whatever - it's great to see the X-Men look like the X-Men again. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love what Brian Wood is doing with Ultimate X-Men. But, at the same time, I really miss the team from a few years ago. I'm hoping it is, in fact, a dream sequence, though; because this would be a bigger error than Psylocke coming back. Not only is Wolverine standing there, Nightcrawler is right behind him.

If it's not a mind manipulation or something, and these are actually the first pages of this issue, then that's a real shame. There's been a big trend of anticlimax in this book, and this would be by far the biggest yet.

All that said, Luke Ross just continues to get better. I really love the celebration page, and he's starting to nail these characters. Hopefully Humphries can improve the way that Ross has been. Then, maybe, this book can be solid again.

Considering the time jumps to three years ahead on the final page, it's almost certainly a mind manipulation.

[LJ-90]

Also, I know this may not be a gripe that many readers share, but as a non-US reader I'm getting pretty tired of the current "America F**K YEAH" storyline. It's less overplayed in X-men and Spider-Man but it's becoming grating to me in Ultimates lately.

The cynic in me refuses to believe it's a coincidence that a storyline like this happens right on top of an election either. Hopefully this arc can wrap up soon and we can move on to something else. (And yes I know Ultimates 2 was pretty America heavy but that just felt less irritating than this current "President Cap" storyline).

Personal gripes.

I feel exactly the same way.

[Mutant Mind]

It's been a downward spiral since issue 11 (when Hickman was still in charge). The lineup is deadly boring, I dislike Ross'art a lot, and the world-building stuff took the focus too far away from the characters. Don't even get me started on the sentient tumor stuff. I was excited about Captain Britain - is he even still alive? - and Spider-Woman, and I still am about Sue, but that's about it.
I have nothing against Humphries (I'm actually quite excited for his upcoming Uncanny X-Force) but the book isn't keeping up with the other Ultimate titles, not by a long shot.