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library_jones's review
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
voidpunk's review
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
tbr_the_unconquered's review
1.0
So after much dilly-dallying I finally finished the second volume of Jonathan Hickman’s run of the Ultimates. Most of the loose ends are tied together in this volume and yes eventually our heroes do manage to win the battle. The specifics of the battle are quite immaterial as far as the review goes but overall this volume is a big let-down. While I was not aware of it initially, there were two writers who worked on this volume and there is a jarring discontinuity during the plot which is a complete dampener. As a reader I have not done enough research to understand which writer wrote which volume but somewhere along the course of the journey, the whole thing gets flung out of the window.
The final battle between Reed Richards and what is left of the Ultimates finally arrives and it is disastrous to say the least. Richards, his city and its inhabitants are set up as an unstoppable force during 75% of the series and all of a sudden in the space of about ten or so panels they are all vanquished. Rewinding the whole series in my mind was like watching someone paint themselves into a corner or more like watching a movie which suddenly jumps to the conclusion offering paper thin explanations. Here is my take on how the key characters play their roles out :
• The Hulk and Reed Richards : The arrival of the Hulk to Richards’s fortress is like watching a hammer fall and it all deflates as suddenly as it started. The way that the Hulk is used for the rest of the story is rather frivolous and ridiculous. It was an absolute waste of the character and his motivations. There is also a short revelation scene between Tony and Susan Storm which had zero value add to the overall plot.
• Nick Fury, Black Widow and Hawkeye : After a series of fits and starts, Fury and the two Ultimates go rogue and then finally…disappear. As the tale reaches the end they are nowhere to be seen even as they had been driving the plot onward initially.
• Tony Stark, Thor and the United States Government : It is rather preposterous that Tony does not suit up even once during this volume. It is fun and games to watch Tony Stark the man but what brings me to a book is Iron Man and not Stark himself when there is an Ultimates storyline in the offing. This surprisingly is an unfulfilled wish and there is no armoured avenger in the series. Over the course of the two volumes, Thor gets much more of screen time than any of the others but that is saying a lot too. The less I say about the storyline featuring the US Government the better for the whole administration is made to look like sock puppets.
• The children of tomorrow and The People : This is the funniest bit of story. We are told of the awesomeness of power with both of them and they both head for an apocalyptic showdown and poof ! The entire plot disappears and there is no more mention of this anymore.
Why is it that most Avengers storylines are so dreadful ?
The final battle between Reed Richards and what is left of the Ultimates finally arrives and it is disastrous to say the least. Richards, his city and its inhabitants are set up as an unstoppable force during 75% of the series and all of a sudden in the space of about ten or so panels they are all vanquished. Rewinding the whole series in my mind was like watching someone paint themselves into a corner or more like watching a movie which suddenly jumps to the conclusion offering paper thin explanations. Here is my take on how the key characters play their roles out :
• The Hulk and Reed Richards : The arrival of the Hulk to Richards’s fortress is like watching a hammer fall and it all deflates as suddenly as it started. The way that the Hulk is used for the rest of the story is rather frivolous and ridiculous. It was an absolute waste of the character and his motivations. There is also a short revelation scene between Tony and Susan Storm which had zero value add to the overall plot.
• Nick Fury, Black Widow and Hawkeye : After a series of fits and starts, Fury and the two Ultimates go rogue and then finally…disappear. As the tale reaches the end they are nowhere to be seen even as they had been driving the plot onward initially.
• Tony Stark, Thor and the United States Government : It is rather preposterous that Tony does not suit up even once during this volume. It is fun and games to watch Tony Stark the man but what brings me to a book is Iron Man and not Stark himself when there is an Ultimates storyline in the offing. This surprisingly is an unfulfilled wish and there is no armoured avenger in the series. Over the course of the two volumes, Thor gets much more of screen time than any of the others but that is saying a lot too. The less I say about the storyline featuring the US Government the better for the whole administration is made to look like sock puppets.
• The children of tomorrow and The People : This is the funniest bit of story. We are told of the awesomeness of power with both of them and they both head for an apocalyptic showdown and poof ! The entire plot disappears and there is no more mention of this anymore.
Why is it that most Avengers storylines are so dreadful ?
tomcork's review
4.25
A mostly strong run by Hickman that gets bogged down by mixed art and a rushed conclusion by its end. All the Ribic issues are eyeball melting.
the_graylien's review
4.0
This book was pretty much the second part of the story begun in the first volume (Ultimate Comics: Ultimates by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1), so go back and read my thoughts on that one, if you're so inclined.
Everything is pretty much the same, though I think I enjoyed the first volume just a bit more.
The one great new thing about this volume is that I discovered the art of Luke Ross, who kind of had a Steve McNiven feel. Good stuff. Colors by Matthew Wilson & Matt Milla were spot on, too. Beautiful work.
*- I read this book as digitally downloaded single issues of Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #s 7-12.
Everything is pretty much the same, though I think I enjoyed the first volume just a bit more.
The one great new thing about this volume is that I discovered the art of Luke Ross, who kind of had a Steve McNiven feel. Good stuff. Colors by Matthew Wilson & Matt Milla were spot on, too. Beautiful work.
*- I read this book as digitally downloaded single issues of Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #s 7-12.
josephodoran's review
4.0
Art - great. Story - big and a little complex. Overall - I enjoyed it. I feel maybe like the big conflict was over a bit too soon, but there's still plenty of crises going on in the Ultimate universe right now, that I don't think that should be too much of an issue. I'm really loving how interconnected Ultimates and X-Men is at the moment, without it being some trashy, poorly thought out cross-over "Event".
This is how the Ultimate universe should work - a manageable group of different comics, interwoven in a way that makes for great meta-reading, but that can also be enjoyed as individual series as well.
This is how the Ultimate universe should work - a manageable group of different comics, interwoven in a way that makes for great meta-reading, but that can also be enjoyed as individual series as well.
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