Ultimates #20 Discussion/Spoilers

[Plawsky]

Ultimates #20, from Sam Humphries and Scot Eaton, is out now. What's going on with Nick Fury? And what about the Infinity Gems? And can Humpries turn his reputation around? Find out after these spoilers...

spoilers:

-Two Hydra soldiers, Skull and Nails, find a dead SHIELD agent in the river. -Scorpio stops them from shooting any more and brings them back to base camp. -He meets with Commander Crimson, who has a new secret item labeled "The Torch." -Carol, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and Cap meet on a helicarrier to strategize. -Meanwhile, Thor and Sue continue looking for the fourth Gem. -Thor inadvertently uses the Gems to teleport the pair to an undisclosed HYDRA location. -Ford (the California Governer's advisor) forces Hugo Lopez to let him into the lab where he keeps the Wackos. -While Scorpio and Nails are keeping watch, an explosion hits the HYDRA base. -Scorpio rushes to Crimson's tent and grabs the Torch. -Nails tries to stop Scorpio, but he claims he's protecting it. -Suddenly, Hawkeye pops in and tries to talk to Scorpio as Nick Fury. -Scorpio denies being Fury, and he and Nails subdue Hawkeye. -Crimson orders Scorpio to kill Clint. To be continued...

end of spoilers

I'll say this much - this is a big improvement in a lot of ways. I'm actually really digging this story. Most of the cheesiness from DWF/UWS is gone, and we're actually seeing some pretty exciting stuff.

Humphries' biggest problem, though, is still the characters. He clearly gets the characters, because their actions and motivations are pretty solid, but the dialogue all lands so flat. Everyone sounds like a weak version of themselves. Although I really liked the conversation between Scorpio and Nails. I feel like that relationship is the saving grace of this issue, and it looks like it's going to keep developing.

The story, on the other hand, is actually pretty cool. I like what's going on with SHIELD vs HYDRA, and the Infinity Gems are looking to be a cool story as well. Plus, we're quickly approaching the appearance of the West Coast Ultimates, which I'm quite excited about. From a plot standpoint, Humphries is doing a MUCH better job than during the crossover. If his dialogue can catch up, this could quickly become a great book again.

Scot Eaton's art is somewhere in the middle. It's good art, it really is, but I'm having a hard time with it on this book. Some of the stuff was fantastic - namely the explosion and Death's Head scene. But others were less exciting, like the helicarrier scene. I think part of the issue might be the colors, because the bright colors on Cap and Iron Patriot really bug me. That said, Eaton is not a bad fit for the Ultimates, but he's not what I would prefer.

As I've said for the past few issues now, this book's really starting to get better. It's still nowhere near the level of Hickman's run, but it's improving. If we're lucky, the trend will continue.

Ratings:

Writing: 5/10
Story: 8/10
Art: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

[TheUltimates09]

this was ok and yaay for the return of Hawkeye crappy a$$ purple costume.

[pinq09]

Yeah, it is getting slightly better. The dialogue is still atrocious though. Especially Hawkeye - Humhpries does not seem to get him at all. Similarly for Widow. Since when is she such an obedient patsy? Plus the "President Cap" thing still makes me cringe. I mean what is the point of even doing this, if all that the "President" is going to do is promenade himself in the uniform and punch people. Such status quo would be much more intersting if he couldn`t just beat the shit out of everyone or join the Ultimates in the field, and deal with, I dont know, politics?. As it is, it just needs to go away.

I thought the story was OK enough, definitely an improvement over DWF. However, ultimately my main gripe is that considering what state UU is in, I simply do not want to read about Hydra or West Coast Ultimates. I want to see Children and People and to see the consequences of their presence on Earth and I do not enjoy at all that it is being swept under the rug. I don`t get why Humphries feels the need to do exclusively his own thing.

Ultimately, the fact remains that were I not invested in the UU, I would not be reading anymore. Which still makes me sad.

[Plawsky]

this was ok and yaay for the return of Hawkeye crappy purple costume.

Yeah, I was bummed about that too. At least it's not a total switch back to the costume, it's just that he was using it as his black ops outfit, which he wore during Ultimate Avengers, the black ops book. At least that's my theory. I'd still rather him not wear it at all, but if it's just temporary then I won't mind.

[Kurolegacy]

Yeah, I was bummed about that too. At least it's not a total switch back to the costume, it's just that he was using it as his black ops outfit, which he wore during Ultimate Avengers, the black ops book. At least that's my theory. I'd still rather him not wear it at all, but if it's just temporary then I won't mind.

Here's hoping that that's the case, that outfit was terrible when it was new and is still terrible.

And I still gotta wonder, why is Sue Storm still in this book? And I agree with her option 3; yes, yes she does suck.

[sage6paths]

Yeah, I was bummed about that too. At least it's not a total switch back to the costume, it's just that he was using it as his black ops outfit, which he wore during Ultimate Avengers, the black ops book. At least that's my theory. I'd still rather him not wear it at all, but if it's just temporary then I won't mind.

Im going with not temperary since thor belt is now gone. Well at least until another artist comes on. I like the purple costume in U Avengers when that thing wasnt on his face but that face mask is really ugly. Also it wasnt stated that he wore it for black ops missions since he wore it throughtout loebs run. He wore it because he wanted to die if im not mistaken. Giant bullseye on his face and all that. Why he would use it now I dont know. Because the red uniform looks like it would be less noticable.

[Plawsky]

Im going with not temperary since thor belt is now gone. Well at least until another artist comes on. I like the purple costume in U Avengers when that thing wasnt on his face but that face mask is really ugly. Also it wasnt stated that he wore it for black ops missions since he wore it throughtout loebs run. He wore it because he wanted to die if im not mistaken. Giant bullseye on his face and all that. Why he would use it now I dont know. Because the red uniform looks like it would be less noticable.

The only reason I point to it being a black ops outfit is because I don't know what other reason he'd have to switch back. Eaton drew him with his Hitch outfit on earlier in the issue, so it doesn't seem to be a full time change. I'm not saying it's a smart black ops outfit, but it's what he wore during his Avengers missions.

[LJ-90]

I'm most likely in the minority but I like his purple outfit, I was like "Oh, hey! Cool!". I think the writing is better now but I just don't care about the conflict, I'm not invested in the whole SHIELD vs Hydra thing, also, I don't like the art at all.

[sage6paths]

The only reason I point to it being a black ops outfit is because I don't know what other reason he'd have to switch back. Eaton drew him with his Hitch outfit on earlier in the issue, so it doesn't seem to be a full time change. I'm not saying it's a smart black ops outfit, but it's what he wore during his Avengers missions.

Then this would have been the best time to introduce a new costume. Oh well. I do think the real reason is that humphries actially likes loebs writing so he wants it to look like loebs ultimates. Considering he was one of the few that actually like loebs writing of ultimatum.

[Robbie_Jee]

Yeah, it is getting slightly better. The dialogue is still atrocious though. Especially Hawkeye - Humhpries does not seem to get him at all. Similarly for Widow. Since when is she such an obedient patsy? Plus the "President Cap" thing still makes me cringe. I mean what is the point of even doing this, if all that the "President" is going to do is promenade himself in the uniform and punch people. Such status quo would be much more intersting if he couldn`t just beat the shit out of everyone or join the Ultimates in the field, and deal with, I dont know, politics?. As it is, it just needs to go away.

I thought the story was OK enough, definitely an improvement over DWF. However, ultimately my main gripe is that considering what state UU is in, I simply do not want to read about Hydra or West Coast Ultimates. I want to see Children and People and to see the consequences of their presence on Earth and I do not enjoy at all that it is being swept under the rug. I don`t get why Humphries feels the need to do exclusively his own thing.

Quoted for truth. Especially on that last part about Humphries ignoring the previous Ultimate ground work which has shaped the recent relaunch thus far. I completely feel your misery of the loss of what could have been the best Ultimate book ever.

I too noticed a slight improvement with this issue. It has potential, and I could see myself enjoying this if only the writing were better. I really dislike Humphries' characters. Some people say that Millar's characters were unlikable (whereas I think they were wonderfully characterised). Well, they were a lot more likeable than what we're seeing here. But still, UC: The Ultimates hasn't been this good for a long time. I hope the quality will continue to rise.

[Codah]

Voted "meh". I'm on the same page as everyone else. Also, Humphries needs to stop having 47 plots going on at the same time. How about just taking it easy, arc by arc? He's doing the same thing with the Infinity gauntlet that he did with the West Coast Ultimates, setting it up way too early knowing he can't get to it for a few months. By then it's old and no one is going to be excited about it anymore.

[Mutant God]

So what Gems have been used so far?

[sage6paths]

Wow I can't believe it. The day actually came when I hate the Ultimates more then KurtW95. That is some pretty funny stuff.

[Kurolegacy]

I never thought the day would come when I'd find something on 4chan to QFT but when it comes to the whole Infinity Gem problem for Sue:

You know who would be able to help you on this witch w**** of darkness?

a man certain man

a certain genius

a certain man you loved once and duped like the ***** you are and no its not Ben

A similar thought came to mind when I was reading the issue.

[thwhtGuardian]

I thought this was easily the best issue of the Ultimates Humphries has ever done, I know some will say that's not hard to do but this was a good read as far as I'm concerned. There's certainly room for improvement as far as some of the dialog goes but at least in my mind the areas of the book that got it right far out weighed the areas needing improvement. I loved the relationship between Scorpio and Nails, I'm excited to see the West Coast Ultimates, the infinity gem quest looks to be fun and I'm not only intrigued by what Fury is doing with Hydra but I'm really interested in what the Torch is.

My guess is it's the ultimate version of the original Human Torch, but who knows?