Scan barcode
A review by manwithanagenda
Ultimate Comics Doomsday by Jordi Tarragona, Brian Michael Bendis, Rafa Sandoval
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The first major multi-arc "event" of the Ultimate Universe since the awful, awful, awful 'Ultimatum' reset button, I wasn't sure what to expect. In the past "events" have been the weak spot of the Ultimate Universe because the characters take a backseat to big explosions and cramming in references to events in the standard Marvel Universe.
I also had reservations because the Fantastic Four were my least favorite of the Ultimate reinventions, because their regular story-lines nearly always involved some otherworldly exploit and very little thought was given to personal development. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that finally Ben Grimm gets some vindication and Sue Storm and Reed Richards have rarely been as interesting as they are here.
Spider-man continues where 'Chameleons' left off, with Jessica Drew continuing to develop her own personality. It's harder to place where in the Avengers/New Ultimates continuity this takes place as 'Blade vs. The Avengers' ended on quite the cliffhanger and, other than Carol Danvers and Fury, those characters are essentially absent.
And speaking of absent. Notice Kitty Pryde on the cover? Doesn't appear. Not once. Isn't even mentioned.
But I did like this series overall, it was well done and much-needed after my disappointments with other post-reboot Ultimate titles that weren't Spider-man. Bendis doesn't neglect the personal interactions between characters (not necessarily romantic, sheesh), such as Peter Parker and Jessica Drew, Sue Storm and Ben Grimm, and Fury and Danvers. With those last two after much boring "I'm in charge." "No you're not, I am." back and forths it seems like we can finally move on.
Whole lot of fun and, again, not giving anything away, the reveal made plenty of sense to me and what I've griped about before in the Ultimate Universe. Not that this was intended all along, but I love when writers will pick up on traits in a character that organically formed rather than making a turnabout in the interest of an "event". My quibbles just have to do with a few oversights in the writing and the art that weren't consistant with the rest of the universe and the inevitable focus on spectacle over story that goes hand in hand with crossover "events" like this.
Sorry for all the scare quotes around events, but I've grown to really dislike the term. 'Doomsday' is worth picking up, as long as you have familiarity with Ultimate Fantastic Four and Spider-man.
Ultimate Marvel
Next: 'Ultimate Comics X-Men: Reborn'
Previous: 'Ultimate Comics Captain America'
I also had reservations because the Fantastic Four were my least favorite of the Ultimate reinventions, because their regular story-lines nearly always involved some otherworldly exploit and very little thought was given to personal development. I won't spoil anything, but I will say that finally Ben Grimm gets some vindication and Sue Storm and Reed Richards have rarely been as interesting as they are here.
Spider-man continues where 'Chameleons' left off, with Jessica Drew continuing to develop her own personality. It's harder to place where in the Avengers/New Ultimates continuity this takes place as 'Blade vs. The Avengers' ended on quite the cliffhanger and, other than Carol Danvers and Fury, those characters are essentially absent.
And speaking of absent. Notice Kitty Pryde on the cover? Doesn't appear. Not once. Isn't even mentioned.
But I did like this series overall, it was well done and much-needed after my disappointments with other post-reboot Ultimate titles that weren't Spider-man. Bendis doesn't neglect the personal interactions between characters (not necessarily romantic, sheesh), such as Peter Parker and Jessica Drew, Sue Storm and Ben Grimm, and Fury and Danvers. With those last two after much boring "I'm in charge." "No you're not, I am." back and forths it seems like we can finally move on.
Whole lot of fun and, again, not giving anything away, the reveal made plenty of sense to me and what I've griped about before in the Ultimate Universe. Not that this was intended all along, but I love when writers will pick up on traits in a character that organically formed rather than making a turnabout in the interest of an "event". My quibbles just have to do with a few oversights in the writing and the art that weren't consistant with the rest of the universe and the inevitable focus on spectacle over story that goes hand in hand with crossover "events" like this.
Sorry for all the scare quotes around events, but I've grown to really dislike the term. 'Doomsday' is worth picking up, as long as you have familiarity with Ultimate Fantastic Four and Spider-man.
Ultimate Marvel
Next: 'Ultimate Comics X-Men: Reborn'
Previous: 'Ultimate Comics Captain America'