Comic Review: The Ultimates, Super-human

It's been over 50 years since the birth of Marvel Comics and subsequent introduction of their first new super heroes The Fantastic Four. In that period Marvel comics have grown to embrace many of the worlds favorite heroes including Captain America, Spiderman, Ironman, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Daredevil. Of course with this ever growing cast of characters constantly crossing over into each others publications the Marvel universe has become so dependant on it's own lore as to alienate new readers in the 21st Century. It's for this reason that Marvel comics decided to pull a reset on the Universe with its "Ultimate Marvel" line of comic books.

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The Ultimates is this universe's version of one of Marvel's staple teams The Avengers. It sees a 21st century America so concerned with the sudden appearance of super villains that they authorize the creation of a new strike force of super soldiers who are able to combat these new threats. Supervising this team is Agent Nick Fury the tough as nails leader of the S.H.I.E.L.D (Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division) agency, and making up the team are an alcoholic womanizing billionaire named Tony stark (Ironman). A socially inept scientist named Bruce Banner, whose previous research into the super soldier program resulted in his transforming into a ferocious unstoppable beast known as The Hulk. An anti depressant addicted geneticist named Henry Pyme (Giant Man) and his wife Janet (Wasp). Next comes Thor, an extremely powerful warrior who is either the reincarnated son of the Norse god Odin, or a complete lunatic with a very big hammer. Finally the teams leader is one Steve Rogers (Captain America) the original Super soldier whose success in World War 2 kicked off all of the current research and whose frozen body has recently been discovered just when we need him the most.

Actually I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised with the general tone the story took. You wont find any of the old school boy scouts you may be familiar with from the Marvel's mainstream universe. These are very much flawed heroes striving to fight the good fight, with personal conflicts often getting in the way of that goal.

This change is probably most jarring in the character of Captain America himself. I'll say this now. Captain America is cool. No, you did read that right. Captain America is actually really damn cool. He's still the patriotic all American hero you expect him to be, it's just that he's now the all American hero for the 21st century America that declares war on terrorists and executes tyrants. This is a far more violent and pragmatic Captain America who doesn't mind picking up small arms, driving tanks, or beating up his friends in the name of the greater good. To put it simply this Captain America is Jack Bauer meets John McClane in a pair of bright blue tights, and considering how much I used to loath the character (without ever reading his comics I admit) that comes as high praise indeed.

For other characters the change in tone helps them to make an interesting story despite suffering from, and let's be perfectly honest here, decidedly lame super powers. Giant Man can expand his body up to 59 feet 11 inches in height (60 foot being the point where his skeleton would give way). His wife Janet can shrink her body down to the size of a small wasp and, well, sting people. Neither of which would be of much use against the average super villain, but their self confidence issues and struggle to hold together their failing marriage adds more than enough drama to keep you interested in whether they sink or swim as part of the team.

As for the rest of the team, well they remain pretty much the same as always. The writers are leaving their options open about Thor's true identity, dropping hints throughout the book for both the ancient god and the lunatic explanations in equal measures. Thor himself insists he's the real deal, he just didn't realize he was Odin's son until his first mental breakdown a few years ago. It helps the story that they keep it open ended that way as you can get caught up in the darker, more cynical narrative without worrying about explaining all of the fantastical elements too soon. When you throw in the fact that Bruce Banner and Tony Stark's particular problems are now made even more latent means that often times the lunatics really do seem to be taking over the assylum.

Really though that darker story is what this is all about. There's no real action throughout the first 2 thirds of the story. Instead time is spent developing the origin of the team, and showing the effects this team has on the nation. That's not to say this stuff is boring though. Far from it, the national debates about the necessity of spending so many millions on a glorified police force just stand to make the already turbulent atmosphere that much more explosive.

Of course being a super hero story there will eventually be action. Basically the final third of the book is one big battle scene, and while there's not really a villain in this book this scene is intense. Cars get tossed around like playthings, buildings get smashed and tanks get dropped onto super peoples heads. What more could you hope for?

Well you would probably be hoping for it to look good on the page right? Thankfully it does. The combined artwork from penciller Bryan Hitch and inker Paul Neary looks absolutely amazing. Whether it's something as simple the New look Nick Fury's uncanny resemblance to Samuel L. Jackson, or a full out action scene featuring 4-5 Super powered individuals throwing their powers around, the superb artwork keeps everything rendered beautifully coherent.

Overall I'd definitely recommend picking this book up if you're either a long time comic book fan, or simply someone whose been interested in these stories but was put off by the 50 years of back story. It's a fresh start with a darker tone and it works incredibly well. Highly enjoyable.

I wouldn't recommend it for the younger children though. There're a few moments of bad language (largely censored but we all know what those stars really mean), quite a lot moderate fantasy violence and a few adult themes (like spousal abuse) that children will hopefully not be ready to understand just yet.