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crystalstarrlight's review against another edition
4.0
This continues the story set up in Volume 1.
Story: I liked how it moved beyond the Avengers/Ultimates working together and focused on an actual enemy, though the enemy did seem to come out of nowhere. Good pacing, interesting story, but I think Volume 1 would be required for jumping into this.
Characters: A little more serious this time around. I was a bit shocked about the Pyms, but liked how Janet didn't let Hank back into her life after what he did. What was the point of having Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the few panels they appeared if they were to contribute so little to the story? (Is this something that makes the fans chuckle?)
Art: Beautiful. Little to no trouble following the panels. Thank God I was (mostly) spared seeing Hulk nom a baddie.
Action: Superb. The stakes are definitely higher, the fight scenes bigger. All the characters seem to have their own place in the group and the events, which is awesome.
Another exciting comic. Now I just have to find some others that are good for a n00bie like me.
Story: I liked how it moved beyond the Avengers/Ultimates working together and focused on an actual enemy, though the enemy did seem to come out of nowhere. Good pacing, interesting story, but I think Volume 1 would be required for jumping into this.
Characters: A little more serious this time around. I was a bit shocked about the Pyms, but liked how Janet didn't let Hank back into her life after what he did. What was the point of having Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in the few panels they appeared if they were to contribute so little to the story? (Is this something that makes the fans chuckle?)
Art: Beautiful. Little to no trouble following the panels. Thank God I was (mostly) spared seeing Hulk nom a baddie.
Action: Superb. The stakes are definitely higher, the fight scenes bigger. All the characters seem to have their own place in the group and the events, which is awesome.
Another exciting comic. Now I just have to find some others that are good for a n00bie like me.
rocketiza's review against another edition
5.0
The pinnacle of the ultimate universe from Marvel. I wish the movies were this good and didn't have to be dumbed down for ESL audiences.
katrinky's review against another edition
3.0
I like how consistently the women kick ass (wasp and widow, namely), and i'm intrigued about how the spousal abuse between wasp and giant man will play out. As is, she won't take his calls. We'll see how marvel handles potential victim-blaming and going back (or not) to an abuser. also: nick fury's lines bordered on shaft-esque blaxploitation at times, just as captain america used france as a symbol of ultimate surrender. Superhero one-liners are not particularly conducive to progressive thinking. Sigh. And the hulk flipping out about being called a sissy boy, and screaming "HULK STRAIGHT!"? I had hoped a giant green biological anomaly would be a little more open-minded. Maybe it's patty of his character arc...
yeoldemandan's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty good stuff. Not sure I like the Ultimate version of all of the characters, but on the whole it's pretty good. Fury is definitely the all star of the group though hands down. From a story perspective this was more entertaining than the first volume. Just felt like there was more going on than all the time wasting that happened before New York from Vol 1.
yasmin_raev's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Gun violence
kabusaba's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book. I like this book better than volume 1. It was less confusing. It had many unexpected plot twists that made the book very interesting to read.
tbr_the_unconquered's review against another edition
1.0
Following the adventures of the hooligans from vol.1, Mark Millar’s characters steps into territory which finally does bring out their heroic side. It left me feeling discontented completely with the only saving grace being the art.
Even before getting into my thoughts on the book, I must admit that the whole gamut of superhero team-up’s have started to become very stale to me. There could definitely be exceptions but then so far what I have seen has been rather clichéd versions of fighting aliens. JLA, JSA, Avengers, Ultimates, Power Puff Girls – everything is about fighting aliens ! A former semi-Nazi/semi-Chitauri foe of Captain America returns with a huge army to take over earth (rolling eyes !) and our misfit heroes beat the crap out of them. Sure enough, the name dropping from the first volume has disappeared to be replaced with the team finally forming an integrated fighting force.
Cap, Tony and Thor do gel together to fight well but that is only for about three panels towards the end. There also seems to have been inexplicable transformations and omissions from the first book to the next with the entire arc on Iron Man disappearing, Thor becoming milder to the mortals and Cap America turning into someone whose dialog resembles a lamentable B-movie (’You think this A on my head stands for France ? ‘ - cheesiness overload). A reviewer here on GR captured it perfectly when she said – We don’t need American realism in Captain America. We have Iron Man for that and Cap is for the American ideal.
Where do I even begin to talk about the Hulk ? The character is not one known for his intellectual skills while in the green giant form and yet here whatever remains of his brains is firmly lodged between his legs. In the last battle the Hulk bellows - ’Hulk not sissy ! HULK STRAIGHT !’ and this was my tipping point. I completely detested the book at this point.
Gritty realism in comics is quite a fancy name to use but the execution by Mark Millar is piss poor. I am done with his run of Ultimates.
Not recommended ! Nope…nope…nope.
Even before getting into my thoughts on the book, I must admit that the whole gamut of superhero team-up’s have started to become very stale to me. There could definitely be exceptions but then so far what I have seen has been rather clichéd versions of fighting aliens. JLA, JSA, Avengers, Ultimates, Power Puff Girls – everything is about fighting aliens ! A former semi-Nazi/semi-Chitauri foe of Captain America returns with a huge army to take over earth (rolling eyes !) and our misfit heroes beat the crap out of them. Sure enough, the name dropping from the first volume has disappeared to be replaced with the team finally forming an integrated fighting force.
Cap, Tony and Thor do gel together to fight well but that is only for about three panels towards the end. There also seems to have been inexplicable transformations and omissions from the first book to the next with the entire arc on Iron Man disappearing, Thor becoming milder to the mortals and Cap America turning into someone whose dialog resembles a lamentable B-movie (’You think this A on my head stands for France ? ‘ - cheesiness overload). A reviewer here on GR captured it perfectly when she said – We don’t need American realism in Captain America. We have Iron Man for that and Cap is for the American ideal.
Where do I even begin to talk about the Hulk ? The character is not one known for his intellectual skills while in the green giant form and yet here whatever remains of his brains is firmly lodged between his legs. In the last battle the Hulk bellows - ’Hulk not sissy ! HULK STRAIGHT !’ and this was my tipping point. I completely detested the book at this point.
Gritty realism in comics is quite a fancy name to use but the execution by Mark Millar is piss poor. I am done with his run of Ultimates.
Not recommended ! Nope…nope…nope.
colinreedmoon's review against another edition
5.0
The Ultimates is one of the best Avengers books I've ever had the pleasure of reading if only because the Ultimate U is so strange while remaining so familiar. Watching the team congeal over these few issues is incredible, and the whole Skrull invasion is like a mini-Secret Invasion (likely a pretty good influence on that arc, as well). It's interesting seeing Cap use the Hulk as a weapon, and while I'm still bothered by Cap's anti-French sentiment (in the original MU, Cap has a great respect for the French), I can overlook it. Likewise the strange homophobia present in his direction of Hulk, which makes sense as a man from the 40's but must have pushed a bunch of buttons for long-time readers of the character. It's further interesting that so little has been revealed about our major players (let alone characters like the Witch and Quicksilver, who are shown very lightly but hint at playing a larger part). Over 13 issues Millar manages to introduce character quirks, flesh out relationships, and introduce a large Avengers roster all without overplaying his hand.