Ultimate Comics Thread - Part 1

[El Bastardo]

What happened?

 

[Drz]

#160 is coming next month, but obviously Fraction got a look at the script and liked it. Bendis also tweeted how Bagley is killing on the art. So does anyone want a new Hellfire Club or Ultimate Azazel after seeing First Class? Ultimate Azazel would be a great addition to the Avengers atleast, or mainstream Thunderbolts. ^^; Anyhow Ultimate Spidey #159 PREVIEW! This is it! The second final issue of the chapter as Death awaits! Oh and super duper über mc groover spoilers on what happens on the next page when that preview ends, thanks to Balfro from CBR forums:

Spoiler

 

[Drz]

Hickman talks Ultimate Thor

Hickman's story of how he got involved the Ultimate Universe's version of the character had to do with one of the legendary Marvel retreats -- at a Brazilian meat restaurant. "I was minding my own business eating meat, and Joe Quesada leaned over and said, 'So Jonathan, we're thinking about you doing" Ultimate Thor."' And I said I didn't know if I would like to do Thor, but then he said, 'If you do "Ultimate Thor," the plan would be for you to be the writer of the Ultimates.'" Although Hickman wasn't in love with the character at first, since writing the character's comic, he has become a large part of Hickman's "Ultimates." "He has turned into the centerpiece of what's going to be the 'Ultimates' run," he said.

Hickman was then asked if he had more freedom doing "Ultimate Thor" since he was in a different continuity than Marvel's main universe. "I guess [I had more freedom]," he answered. "They asked me to do an Ultimate Thor origin book, which was insanely difficult because there were little bits and pieces that Mark and Bryan built and there was this other stuff that Jeph was doing at the same time and it didn't all jive. My job became making the two of them work together, adding to it and make it not seem like patchwork. I haven't done another book like that. It was an interesting book in problem solving."

The floor then opened up to questions from the audience, with the first involving the family dynamic between Thor and Odin. Langridge's particular ethos in "Thor: The Mighty Avenger" was party a reaction to superheroes in general. "I did want to have a Thor who was thoroughly decent and didn't know why he was getting dumped on from a great height," he said. "I'm sure [kicking out Thor from Asgard] comes from love, but people express love in different ways." Fraction, as stated in his "Fear Itself" panel, is a huge proponent of the gruff, grumpy version of Odin, while Hickman flipped that dynamic in "Ultimate Thor." "I made Odin benevolent and loving. It's purely self-serving because when he dies, it's got to mean something. You'll see a little bit of that more in 'Ultimates.'"

One of the more interesting questions of the panel saw Hickman discuss Ultimate Thor and the politics associated with the character during Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's original "Ultimates" run. "I thought the brilliant thing about Ultimate Thor is that he was a man who thought he was a god, and you didn't know if he was or he wasn't," said Hickman. "I'm going to get into more of that. I like tree-hugger Thor. I thought it was a fascinating take.

"My 'Ultimates' is gonna be that kind of stuff, but done my way," Hickman continued. "Thor is such a huge part of it. All his political positions and all of that comes back in a way that makes sense with all the junk that's happened, since 'Ultimates' volume 1 to post-'Ultimatum' Jeph Loeb stuff -- all of it gets squished together in a way that I think is going to work really, really well. I'm just excited writing Thor."

Liberal Thor is back? Sweet!

 

[Drz]

#159 of Ultimate Spider-Man was very emotionally packed, it's like a Rocky Balboa comic where the crowd (us readers) keep cheering for the champion to make that one more punch before getting KO'd himself, the big finale is next month! And yeah as some people predicted, this is how Spidey truly dies.

 

[Spider-Nerd]

#159 of Ultimate Spider-Man was very emotionally packed, it's like a Rocky Balboa comic where the crowd (us readers) keep cheering for the champion to make that one more punch before getting KO'd himself, the big finale is next month! And yeah as some people predicted, this is how Spidey truly dies.

Ultimate Pete has been one of my favorite character for a long time. I'm gonna be sad to see him die, but even if he doesn't die his identity has been revealed to the general public anyway. I'm curious as to how this is going to turn out but regardless of how it ends I'm hoping Bendis and Bagley do a great job on 160. The book just wasn't the same to me without Bagley's art.

 

[Drz]

Source, i didn't add all covers because i assume most of you have seen them, just added the new ones, well again "new" for me, but if you wanna see them all, click here.

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #1 & #2
Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Penciled by Sara Pichelli
Covers by Kaare Andrews
(Issue #1 Cover will be POLYBAGGED)>br>Issue #1 Variant Cover by Sara Pichelli
CLASSIFIED!
32 PGS. (each)/Rated T+ …$3.99 (each)

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #1
Written by Nick Spencer
Penciled by Paco Medina
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS (POLYBAGGED)
Variant Cover by Paco Medina
The biggest mutant cover-up has gone public as the true history of the x-gene is revealed. As an identity crisis rocks the mutant world, the mistrust between man and x-man gets deeper. But a bigger question remains: who are the X-Men? Nick Spencer and Paco Medina make their thunderous Ultimate debut in one of the most anticipated series yet!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #2
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by ESAD RIBIC
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
With S.H.I.E.L.D. at its limits and the Ultimates one man down, Nick Fury’s having a little trouble maintaining the super in super power. As a new kind of threat looms over the weakening empire, will Fury have something up his sleeve? Creative masterminds Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic bring back the Ultimates in all their blazing glory!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

ULTIMATE COMICS HAWKEYE #2 (of 4)
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by RAFA SANDOVAL
Cover by KAARE ANDREWS
Tasked on a covert and dangerous mission, Hawkeye finds himself in the middle of an international arms race where the stakes are higher than ever. At the fringe of obtaining a serum that will change the course of mutant history, has the eagle-eyed hero aimed too high to succeed? Fan favorites Jonathan Hickman and Rafa Sandoval deliver another high-octane, high-intensity thriller!
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99

So hurm, Nick Fury is back as the top dog but he can't pull the strings and Thor's liberal activity might see this as a good potential? Thor won't trust Nick but it does seem he relies on him more than China and Russia, and then on Hawkeye theres a new mutant serum? What could it be? Does it expand their powers or is it some mutant dna killer serum? Anticipation begins now!

 

[El Bastardo]

Esad Ribic and Rafa Sandoval. Be still my heart.

 

[Drz]

Ultimates #1 teaser:

 

[Roose Bolton]

I waaaaaaant it nooooooow!

 

[El Bastardo]

Here's to hoping it doesn't fall victim to endless delays.

 

[spiderbob]

MAJOR SPOILERS ON USM ISSUE 160

Read at your own risk.

 

[Roose Bolton]

I really hope Bendis dosent pull any punches, and gives us one of the most emotional comics ever. It could be the Marvel book of the year. maybe even the Marvel book of the last 3 years.

 

[El Bastardo]

Wowzas.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

So glad I started reading Ultimate X . Just put this universe out of its misery.

 

[terry78]

Whoa, that's pretty crazy if they are in fact not doing any takebacks with that storyline. The 616 would retcon that somehow down the line.

 

[kguillou]

Wow Bendis is taking a huge risk here...

Spoiler

if Peter really is dead, are people still going to want to read Ultimate Spiderman? Plus its such a depressing way to end Peter Parker's story don't you think?

 

[Spider-Nerd]

I don't see how this is going to work. Pete's the center of the book, maybe the ultimate universe. You can't just kill him off and see the fallout and hope it's interesting. That'd be like killing homer simpson off on the simpsons and replacing him with ned flanders.

The entire cast of ultimate spidey from friend to foe is there for their interactions with the main character, pete. Sure it might be fun to see Apu interact with Ned for a little while, but without Homer that universe falls apart.

I'm not gonna write it off. I'll keep picking up the issues as I've bought USM since #1. For the long term health of this book however I just don't see it lasting without Pete. I'm talking his death will likely be shorter lived than Dick's time under the cowl. I'd be shocked to see him stay gone for more than 1 year.

 

[terry78]

Truth be told, I smell a clone. Just saying.

 

[kguillou]

I don't see how this is going to work. Pete's the center of the book, maybe the ultimate universe. You can't just kill him off and see the fallout and hope it's interesting. That'd be like killing homer simpson off on the simpsons and replacing him with ned flanders.

The entire cast of ultimate spidey from friend to foe is there for their interactions with the main character, pete. Sure it might be fun to see Apu interact with Ned for a little while, but without Homer that universe falls apart.

I'm not gonna write it off. I'll keep picking up the issues as I've bought USM since #1. For the long term health of this book however I just don't see it lasting without Pete. I'm talking his death will likely be shorter lived than Dick's time under the cowl. I'd be shocked to see him stay gone for more than 1 year.

Exactly, i dont see how this is going to work. I mean, admittedly, its a very bold move that hasn't really been done in mainstream comics before, but there's a reason. I guess the sole exception is captain america. When Steve died, the book actually did better when Bucky took over, but that was because Brubaker really built Bucky up and made him an interesting character. Who the heck's gonna replace Peter Parker? His female clone? Is anyone going to really care if Spider-man isn't Pete?

 

[The Batman]

I've bought USM vol 1-8 and vol 18. I'll probably get vol 9, and this death of tpb, but i dont really wanna own ALL 22 volumes of USM. Are there any volumes between 11-22 that're must haves?

 

[WolfCypher]

Spider-Man is dead. MJ had such a bad-ass moment here, and Peter showed his greatest strength level despite his failing health. It was all good. But all so sad at the end.

 

[Colossal Spoons]

Why did Johnny looks so different in this comic? That's not how I remember Ultimate Torch looking.

 

[Jennifer Walters]

When he joined the cast, Aunt May and Gwen gave him and Bobby make-overs.

 

[Mr. Marko]

Great final issue of USM. I think the transition to "New Spider-Man" will be interesting. Bendis has said he knows some people are going to be pissed at it. A quote from a recent interview:

This feels very unique to me. I’ve had a lot of very cool experiences in comics; I’m kind of amazed when I think back on it. This one is certainly the most scary and exciting for me; even if it completely tanks—which I don’t think it will because it’s really beautiful—it’ll stand as a bold attempt at something different. If you’re going to go out, then this is how you go out. Working on this has been a big breath of fresh air for us working on the line.
What we’re doing is telling stories that haven’t been told before. This Spider-Man represents something special to me and a lot of people at Marvel; it’s what we should be doing, finding new stories very much in tune with the characters but pushing it further. Getting to these new stories opens up new challenges and new reactions from the readers. What we’ll show in ULTIMATE FALLOUT is something that will cause a nice debate online, but it’s a debate worth having opposed to being about something trivial.

Source: http://marvel.com/news/story/16153/wednesday_qa_brian_michael_bendis#ixzz1Q3xf5Ahi

I think it will be interesting to see how the death influences the entire universe moving forward. My bet: Steve Rogers takes on the mantle of Spider-Man after Peter saved his life. We don't have any information on what is happening to Cap in the future, since he won't be a part of the new Ultimates book. It would be very interesting to see him try to fill Peter's role and see how much he actually did.

Other interesting sidebars: two clones still exist of Peter Parker. Spider-Woman will be in the new Ultimates, which will be really interesting considering she is the only sane version of Peter around. Talk about crazy psychological issues. The other clone is Scorpion (left in the Baxter Building last time we saw him). His DNA is still around, so its not out of the realm of possibility to see a normal clone of Peter come back in the future (a la Gwen Stacy).

 

[Drz]

MAJOR SPOILERS ON USM ISSUE 160

Read at your own risk.

Despite reading this article, the issue itself is really badass and the ending makes me think of the Dark Knight, where the villain wins even tho the hero saves the day. Here's my thoughts on #160:

Spoiler

Ultimate Spider-Man #160:
I think this whole arc had everything, you had the emotions, you had the big action, drama, villains and the scale was huge considering how big connection Green Goblin has to Dr. Octopus, Spider-Man, Mary-Jane and even Aunt May, this really would argubely be "the Dark Knight" kinda movie for Spider-Man, and yes the villain just like the Joker arguebly wins even after the hero saves the day. Issue picks up right after #159 with Green Goblin making his last desperate attempt to murder Spidey, he saves his aunt and calls out for Human Torch to help him out, but boy is Petey being dizzy since fire vs. fire just makes Norman win, we also see Mary Jane sneak out to see Peter as she's scared for him, and you know Mary-Jane has always been afraid of Norman since the bridge incident at the early volumes of USM, but here she overcomes that fear because love (and happy feelings) always outshine the negative ones, so ofcourse she helps in the fight in a very very absurb way, its hilarious how nuts the action goes, it's very over the top and the hero always takes the last kiss too, but yeah Mark Bagley's art has never bene this good, it still suffers from same-facing here and there, but the colorists and inkest have really breathe a new life for Bagley's art, but yes the big finale between Spidey vs. Green Goblin concludes with deaaaaaath! Peter is happy that he got to save his Aunt because he never could do so with Uncle Ben, he rescues his dear aunt whos like a mother to him and then he passes out with his heart stopping, BUT WAIT! Thats not the final page! No the sweet final page and final panel is the dying Norman smiling as he hears everyone freak out, and thus Norman dies with a smile on his face, knowing he succeeded in murdering Peter Parker.

So glad I started reading Ultimate X .

Yeah it's been great hasn't it? Next week we finally get Loeb's conclusion and then Nick Spencer gives us a brand new Ultimate X-Men with new life to it, a world where mutants aren't fightning for Charles' or Magneto's ideals but for survival, while also being government creations instead of evolution.

Just put this universe out of its misery.

How about we end the misery that is 616? You know the universe where Human Torch is dead and theres FF instead of Fantastic Four? It's irrelevant since once the live action movie comes, its all back to the normal status quo, or how about that Bucky Captain America? Yeah he was awesome, so awesome that Matt Fraction decided to have a Red Skull murder him, because hey thats what happens in the live action movie with Skull murdering Bucky, cool creative writing right? Ah well Steve's back as Captain America just in time for his own movie! How about that Thor with Thor and Odin having daddy issues? JUST LIKE in the movie, so awesome!

Hey i also heard the X-Men are splitting up and Emma is leaving Cyclops, just in time for Jean Grey to come back and die again, while the X-Men will just unite together after 2012's Mutant event, right?

Bottomline:

I've bought USM vol 1-8 and vol 18. I'll probably get vol 9, and this death of tpb, but i dont really wanna own ALL 22 volumes of USM. Are there any volumes between 11-22 that're must haves?

Well pretty much all of Bendis' USM has been regarded as good, i'm personally just waiting for more of "Ultimate Collection" editions since those hardcovers are so darn expensive.

And here are my thoughts on Avengers vs. New Ultimates #5, which really is Mark Millar's Ultimates 3, it's so awesome!:

Spoiler

Avengers vs. New Ultimates #5

Like everyone is saying, this really is Millar's Ultimates 3 with the good ol' power race between different countries and it's a spin on the old classic hero vs. hero until they team up againts the real baddy. So what happened with Nick Fury? Well Nick Fury has always planned for everything, and what he and his Avengers had planned was using the most powerful weapon they could get their hands on: Tyrone Cash' Hulk Serum! The comic begins with a 5 day flashback and shows what happened after the reveal in #2, we see Nick Fury interrogate Tyrone Cash with Blade having this scum all hypnotized, as it's revealed Tyrone isn't really a perma-hulk, but he's created a pill that lasts 24 hours and makes someone like a Hulk while still retaining their intelligence, and it's set off by the person who has the pill, not excitment or anything, it's pretty much the perfect militirized Hulk serum and it really works in the Ultimate Universe, because after all we got tons of Giant Men, we'd have more "Captain Americas" and so forth, so the idea of an army of Hulks while sounding really crazy and silly, really works when you think about it. Millar has always showcased as Hulk and Thor as pretty much the most powerful beings SHIELD has. Anyhow so the Avengers are all Hulked yes, yes its Ultimate Hulked out Heroes! Jeph Loeb must be emailing Millar praising him for seeing the true light of awesomeness that the Hulks are! No, but seriously it really works nomatter how ridicilous it might seem, i mean it could have been a Giant Man serum, super soldier serum, but you gotta remember it's the Hulks that are indestructable! This also does make me curious, is Nick Fury regenerating his real arm back to normal or was his gizmo-hand able to Hulk out too?

Gregory Stark isn't letting anyone ruin his masterplan to rule all the world's superheroes and destroying China+Russia so he can be the king of the world, he's send the Spider (yep, he's finally here and we get to know about him) with approx 100 superheroes to rebel Sung's army, it seems The Spider is a man that Gregory Stark more or less created from the lab, as the dialogue states "this is what i grow him for" so yes the Spider is a chinese man, he isn't Parker's clone (or is he? Like asian with Peter's dna for the powers?) or anyone previously known character, i'd die of laughter if #6 would reveal his name as Takuya Yamashiro which is the name of Japense Spider-Man, so yeah the "rebels" are leading the attack againts China's government and the Ultimates feel obliged to help out, because after all thousands of civillians are dying as colleretal damage. Thor is shocked out and is disgusted the other Ultimates don't see that they should just jump in and help, but it's true it's not a white and black situation and not to mention they would be breaking international laws if they invaded. Gregory Stark is pretty much just insulting his brother, telling him to sit down and wait for him to "deal" with the situation while he's also beating up Nick Fury, the other Avengers got pushed out of the Hellcarrier as Gregory has these cool nanite gizmos that make him like a Superman, totally badass.

The issue concludes with the Spider frekaing out as a thunder strikes and the Ultimates appear! This is a real cool splash page with the Ultimates, the Spider is freaking out asking how many laws they're breaking, but Captain America just says "None, you're here under the orders of Gregory Stark, we know your plans" and that makes the Spider even more freaked out, and then BAM! Last page shows the Hulked out Avengers (honestly Hulked out Blade looks awesome) and the big conclusion is upon us.

So yeah i think there will be alot of mixed feelings on this issue with the Hulk serum, but to me it does make sense in the Ultimate marvel and Millar's run especially when you consider how big part the super soldier serum plays, now my only fear is that #6 won't deliver the big payoff with this 24 issue run and some questions won't be answered, like we still don't know what Gregory did to James Rhodes, we now know who the Spider is but i think we fans hyped his identity too much, whats up with Julius Chang aswell? Is it Nick Fury's son? What will happen to Avengers? Alot of questions and i really do hope we get a proper conclusion for all these arcs, thats what i really wanna see happen, and i'd imagen someone like Red Wasp would be more than willing to actually be on Gregory's side on this rebel act, will we see her too? Big questions and bigger anticipation for the finale!