Homeland Security starts right where Super-human left off. The Ultimates have now successfully established themselves as America's premiere crime fighting unit after putting a stop to the Hulk's rampage through Manhattan. Unfortunately the unity of the team is not nearly as solid as the public trust in them would indicate. Wasp is currently lying in a hospital bed after the shocking attack from her husband has left her in critical condition. Giant Man is currently a fugitive from justice for assaulting his wife. Captain America has gone AWOL as he attempts to track down Giant Man and show him how they dealt with wife beaters in the 50's, and Bruce Banner is currently in S.H.I.E.L.D custody after his decision to retake his Hulk serum resulted in the deaths of 800 civilians. In the name of all things PR S.H.I.E.L.D are keeping the Hulk's identity very hush hush .
That leaves just Iron Man and Thor showing up for a meeting with Nick Fury where he explains to them the emergence of an old threat to the world. The Chitauri, a species of shape shifting aliens who have been interfering in human history for thousands of years; including the rise and almost victory of The Third Reich. The last time these creatures were seen it took the sacrifice of Captain America to stop them, and S.H.I.E.L.D are going to need all of the Ultimates at full capacity if they want to prevent a similar outcome this time.
This is also the book to introduce us to S.H.I.E.L.D's Black Ops division. Natasha Romanova (Black Widow) is a former KGB spy with genetic enhancements that make her far better in combat than a regular soldier could be. Her partner in the team is Clint Barton (Hawkeye) a former Olympic archer with Superhuman accuracy. Both are waiting for falsified backgrounds to be finished so that they can move up to the public side of The Ultimates team. Natasha also has the privilege of an almost instant build up of sexual tension with Tony Stark, even going so far as to openly question the wisdom of flying his Ironman armor into battle drunk. Stark's response to the argument is absolutely priceless and works as another example of why Ultimate Tony Stark is one of my favorite characters ever.
The other 2 members are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) who are kept strictly off the books due to their being Magneto's children, but who still perform covert missions for S.H.I.E.L.D in exchange for the release of certain 'political prisoners'.
With this new team being established Homeland Security has the set up to be a far more action packed installment then its predecessor. In the very first issue you get to Witness an extremely cool Matrix inspired raid on a Chitauri owned office building. Like the first book though this action is treated in a very mature way. Hawkeye and Black Widow's initial raid on the office lobby features just as much death and destruction as the classic scene it emulates. Then when Captain America does catch up with Giant Man you have a scene that is both emotionally engaging, disturbingly believable, and utterly exciting in equal measures. It also further proves Captain America to be a man not to be messed with.
However it's not until the closing stages of the book, with the final few issues of The Ultimates first run, that things really kick into top gear. I don't want to spoil anything here, but needless to say when things kick off with The Chitauri they really kick off in what is a surprisingly well written event. Captain America's history with the race adds the needed depth to their conflict, and the team find themselves again needing to come together as a coherent unit if they are ever going to pull off Captain America's absolutely genius military tactic. It's not too much to say that, while you may not end up liking the guy after this book, you will have to respect him as a man who knows how to get the job done and is not afraid to take all of the necessary steps to do so. Like I said before, Jack Bauer, blue tights, very cool!
Once again Bryan Hitch and Paul Neary do a fantastic job on the art work to. The detail shown in these character drawings continues to stagger me. It's a realistic look that adds a realism to the violence you wouldn't normally expect, but thankfully is never gratuitous or overly offensive either. I continue to sing the praises of their work because the tone set by the stories just wouldn't work if it wasn't matched by the tone of the artwork, and they really do set up the story as something dark, gritty and intense, but also coherent and enjoyable. An extremely rare talent these days.
Same warning as last time though. This book is definitely not aimed at children. The occasional use of language and moderate violence continues to be a prevalent as ever. Teenagers (15+) should be fine with the content and will likely enjoy the action provided, while adults will be able to appreciate the mature writing on top. With very young children though discretion is definitely advised.
After reading your first review on them, I'm becoming more tempted to pick them up.