REVIEW: The Ultimates 3 - 4

This is one of those 'was it worth the wait' books. Issue three came out quite awhile back, but was a damn good read (as were the first two issues), proving well that the book stands up alongside Mark Millar's original Ultimates, and Ultimates 2.

Buuuuutttt... As great as the artwork by Joe Madureira and script by Jeph Loeb is - both would be even better if issues of The Ultimates 3 actually came out on time. Something that seems to be the curse of the Ultimate Marvel Universe.

***SPOILER ALERT***

That aside - you can't deny that Joe's jaw dropping work compliments every tense moment in the book, making some truly awe inspiring moments with Sabretooth / Hawkeye, Juggernaut / Wolverine, and Thor / Magneto.

Sadly, as wonderful and as truly grim (in some places - see Valkyrie's final expression followed by Pyro's errie words) as this book is - I just can't forgive the delay. It took me half the book to remember what was going on - which is never a good thing.

Therefore - Ultimates 3 issue 4 - docked one point for timekeeping.

Pete's Score: 4 out of 5
(late - but brilliant nonetheless)

REVIEW: Ultimate Human - 4 of 4

Weeeeellllll... This could have been a little bit better in my opinion.

I totally respect Warren Ellis as a writer and Cary Nord as an artist - but I couldn't help but feel that this issue just missed the mark. The series had a lot of potential (I mean, just think about the opening of Ultimate Hulk vs. Ultimate Wolverine, then think about how Iron Man's body can re-grow itself) - but as it went through, there was a feeling of confusion about the series.

Sometimes I would ask myself what was happening, and why any given issue (in this case, 3) was seemingly diverting down a strange (but albeit intriguing) path, taking itself out of the built up momentum.

Having reached the end of the series - were I not already buying Ultimate Iron Man II and The Ultimates 3 - I wouldn't be encouraged to pick up another Ultimate mini-series - which is a really sad thing. The Ultimate universe is one of those nice little 'experiments' that turned out quite well. People didn't really expect it to go all that far - but when quality shone through within Ultimate Spider-Man and The Ultimates - we all had a feeling that it was going to be around for awhile.

Now - perhaps I'm taking this a little to extremes - but I can't help but think that if there are more Ultimate universe books that come out like this - it could easily go the way of the 2099 heroes - now not much more than fond memories.

But what happened in the comic?

***SPOILER ALERT***

Well, we cut to the scene at the end of issue 2 (and 3) -  Tony and Bruce, tied up in a dark room, blood being drained from their bodies - Bruce filled full of nanobots keeping the Hulk at bay.

We all expected it - but it was still a little sad to see Tony turning off Bruce's nanobots. It wasn't so sad however to see him facilitate a head-butt fueled escape, and sic the Hulk on The Leader.

There was a nice plane crash moment, with The Leader literally bringing the heavens down on the Hulk's head - but the ending (Hulk bouncing off in the background) felt rushed.

Pete's Score: 3 out of 5
(sadly uninspiring - wouldn't make me want to pick up another Ultimate book) 

REVIEW: Ultimate Iron Man II – 4 of 5

Fantastic!

After only three reviews – I've come across a nice four-star book...

***SPOILER ALERT***

The first Ultimate Iron Man series was something of a curiosity for me. I've always enjoyed reading about Iron Man since I was a kid. Looking back, I now realise that I enjoyed the books so much, because Tony Stark was, and still is, one of the most realistic characters in comics (making a superhero an alcoholic back in 1968 was nothing short of a stroke of genius). So, I was fairly intrigued when my brother suggested that I read Ultimate Iron Man.

Having read The Ultimates a month or so before his suggestion, I was fairly sure that I knew what I would be getting before I read it - an offshoot / mini-series of Millar's story. Consequently, I didn't read the book a chance for nearly six months.

Looking back – this was a colossal mistake.

The first Ultimate Iron Man series qualifies (in my humble opinion) as a four star (and almost five star) graphic novel / mini-series. It was nothing like I expected it to be - leaving me gagging for more with its 'not over yet / cliffhanger' ending.

So as you can expect – when I saw Ultimate Iron Man II was coming, it immediately went onto my pull list. 

And you know what? So far - I like it just as much as the first one. The storyline has picked up well from the previous series – and this issue in particular is a good example of how things can twist and turn within the story of young Ultimate Tony Stark.

I won't go into great detail (as it will thoroughly ruin it for you) – but if I said to you in this issue alone that you'd see, a nuclear bomb on an unmanned plane, a limb-wrenching explosion and the suggestion of a familiar (but very unlikely) enemy – I'd hope that I'd said enough to pique your interest.

Buy this book. Read it, bag it, board it and store it carefully. Then buy it again so you can read it whenever you want to.

Pete's score: 4 out of 5

(quality through and through – excellent writing from Orson Scott and wonderful artwork from Pasqual Ferry)