Ultimates (3) 1-4
Gorgeous art, a difficult story and a departure from what has happened before are the highlights of the new chapter in the Ultimates.
The key problem with this series is that it should be 12 issues long. If you dissect the first four issues, there are several storylines taking place at the same time.
- Invasion of the Ultrons
- Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Wolverine, Magneto and lots of other mutants
- Savage Land
- The Brotherhood of Mutants
That's just too much stuff for five issues. Sure one thing leads to another and ties together, but it would have been so nice to have several issues devoted to each storyline. Add to that chaos the bad items from below and you get a series that could have been as good as volumes one and two but will probably fall short.
The Good
- Joe Madureira artwork is amazing.
- The action sequences are top-notch
- Hawkeye versus Spider-man. Nice.
- Each storyline, when taken separately, builds on the events of volumes one and two and enhances the overall Ultimates universe.
- The subplots are really interesting.
The Bad
- Character designs: Hitch had designed unique characters and costumes. Those designs should have been maintained.
- Wasp isn't caucasian!
- The graphic depictions of sex, incest and rape are too much even for an adult comic.
- Wolverine looks too much like the standard Wolverine design.
Overall
If you can pick apart each storyline, you'll enjoy the Ultimates 3 (even if it's just for the artwork).
