Ultimate Comics Thread - Part 1

[THANOSRULES]

prediction: 616 Spider man and Miles

 

[CConn]

People have been predicting that since 2001.

 

[moraldeficiency]

Miles hasn't been around 11 years.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

If it's a separate mini, count me out. 3.99 is already too much to pay for this book. I'm not going to pay $8 a month for one story.

Multiple title crossovers can be fun when used in moderation (see Waid's recent Spidey/DD crossover). But it happens far too often, for both of the Big 2 companies.

 

[Drz]

Courtesy of Bleeding Cool, June Ultimate Comics:

ULTIMATE COMICS SPIDER-MAN #11 $3.99

(W) Brian Michael Bendis (A) David Marquez (CA) Kaare Andrews

Spider-Man teams up with the Prowler?
Isn’t he a bad guy?!

ULTIMATE COMICS ULTIMATES #12 $3.99

(W) Jonathan Hickman, Sam Humphries (A) Luke Ross (CA) Kaare Andrews

Reed Richards: World’s Most Wanted!
How will Tony Stark survive the City without Iron Man?
Plus: the fate of Nick Fury!

ULTIMATE COMICS X-MEN #13 $3.99

(W) Nick Spencer (A) Carlo Barberi (CA) Kaare Andrews

CLASSIFIED!

 

[Drz]

Ultimates #10 preview AND New writer teases!

Shifting gears to the Ultimate line for a moment, SpiderX wanted to know, "Is there any chance we will see former Ultimate Fantastic Four Members Sue and Ben show up in the new Ultimate Comics? I'm sure they would be interested to know about Reed as the Maker of the Children of Tomorrow and Johnny's whereabouts. I was also thinking since Sue is a biotechnologist, Fury could get her to come in and help analyze Miles. She could give an explanation as to how his abilities work and maybe even discover those webshooters that he so desperately needs. *wink* *wink*"

Alonso: Spider X, have you been bugging our offices? I'll give you this: One of the characters you've mentioned will show up in "Ultimates" #10 and play a big role in the stunning conclusion to the war with Reed Richards' City in issue #12. As for the web shooters, all I can say is, if -- and I mean, IF -- Miles gets web-shooters -- or anything like them -- you'll know the same time he does.



He followed up asking, "With 'Ultimate Hawkeye' finished are there plans for another Ultimate Universe Mini-series?"
Alonso: All I can say is we have some very special plans brewing in the Ultimate Comics Universe, with new blood like Sam Humphries ("The Ultimates") and an exciting writer whose name will provoke ooh's and ahh's at WonderCon coming into the mix -- it's a great time to be an Ultimate Comics reader.

So Reed Richard's city story concludes with #12 and Ben/Sue will appear! It's likely going to be Sue i'd say, unless it's Clobbering time! I wonder who the scarfaced guy truly is?

 

[CConn]

Miles hasn't been around 11 years.

Lol.

 

[kguillou]

Is that War Machine in that preview art?

 

[sabetoonth]

Is that War Machine in that preview art?

If it isnt, I'm Santa Claus

 

[storyteller]

So Mr. Clause we need to talk about some numbers that just aren't adding up on your tax report.

 

[Drz]

Is that War Machine in that preview art?

Yep. We haven't seen him since Avengers vs. Ultimates.

Well this doesn't come off as a big surprise. Marvel has canceled so many Nick Spencer's projects, Spencer's most acclaimed work is either indie or DC related and his two-year contract with Marvel was coming to an end, hope Spencer goes back to DC comics, his Jimmy Olsen story was off the roof.

Brian Wood: the new Ultimate X-Men Writer! Run starts in June

One of the things that make "Ultimate Comics X-Men" & "X-Men" so different are the worlds of each book. Let's talk a little bit about the world of "Ultimate Comics X-Men." It's a nightmarish one where mutants are being rounded up, imprisoned, and killed. What's it like writing the X-Men against this back drop? Is it harder for them to be heroic in this world where survival is such a struggle? Or does the adolescent nature of the book's teen cast mean they're a bit more idealistic?

The world that exists right now in the Ultimate books is everything you just said, but if you know anything of my past work you know these are themes I've dealt with before. I can bring something to the table here, a certain POV that I think will work really well. At its core it's still the same mutant/human conflict, but the stakes are incredibly high and with the Ultimate line having more leeway than 616, you can really push it to the edge, and over the edge. With my stories, I'm looking forward to having them push back against this repression in a major way -- not just in one-on-one cases but as a collective whole, a unified mutant push for freedom, for safety, for basic human rights. For the right to be a mutant and live free. What's happening to them now is essentially a genocide, an ethnic cleansing.

And yeah, the cast is young in years but not in experience. And certainly not after seeing all they've seen. Hard to be idealistic when you see your kind facing extermination.

Since we're on the topic of the teen cast writer Nick Spencer brought together in the first arc of "Ultimate Comics X-Men," let's discuss them. What do you find most interesting about Kitty Pryde, Rogue, Johnny Storm, Jimmy Hudson, and Bobby Drake?

I'm finding my own voices for them. These are characters who are so well known and loved, its delicate work handling them, keeping what's iconic about them but figuring out how to fit them into these stories. Kitty is the focus of my run, she's the lead character, and to a slightly lesser extent so is Jimmy Hudson. But the cast will revolve around Kitty as she takes this core group out of the tunnels of NYC and into the fight, literally. You'll see her grow into something you've never seen her as, ever.

Nick Spencer didn't just bring these characters together, he also set up a world full of mysteries like why so many "dead" mutants seem to be appearing alive and well. What was it like taking over the book from Nick? Are you interested in tackling some of the mysteries he set up right away or do you want to deepen these mysteries and let them grow for awhile?

It's tricky, because based on what I've seen, Nick was taking a real longview with his plotting, seeding things that were not likely to be resolved for years, probably. My job, as it was given to me and also as per my own instincts, is to re-focus the book and re-establish the core cast and get it in line with what's happening in the "Ultimates" and "Ultimate Spider-Man." The Ultimate universe is tight, we're all working really closely together to make sure our plots line up and reflect each other and adhere to a common timeline.

The longterm stuff that Nick set up will take a breather for a little bit while we take care of that immediate business.

Speaking of immediate plans, "Ultimate Comics X-Men" #13 hits in June. What's your first issue all about?

We start off with a Kitty-centric issue to re-introduce her -- its been many months since she's been front and center, and as I kick off my run my first order of business is to establish her as my lead. And also to give her a mission, and essentially she is fed up with hiding from the world. The worse it gets out there in the world the less she can stomach just lying low and doing nothing. From that point on you'll see an extremely proactive Kitty Pryde, one determined to lead the group into the locus of the conflict. You'll also see a more "out" Kitty in terms of her identity as a mutant, and her willingness to challenge the forces against her kind out in the open and for the world to see. I hesitate to get into too much detail before I even start, but this should give you a good idea of the tone of it all.

We've talked quite a bit about story and character, so let's finish up by talking about your artists. David Lopez will be bringing to life your "X-Men" scripts and Paco Medina will draw your teen heroes in "Ultimate Comics X-Men." What do you feel are the primary artistic strengths of each? And what's it like working with Paco who has been part of "Ultimate Comics X-Men" since its first arc?

It always takes me a little while to figure out the answer to a question like that, because I really try and study an artist's work and their way of working, to better tweak my scripts to match. In other words, I write to the strengths of the artists (like so many other writers do as well). David and Paco are super talented and enthusiastic. I want to give them great scripts to write and find the best way to collaborate over the long term. As an artist myself, I'm sensitive about it. I don't ever want to come off indifferent to them or overbearing in how I write what they are meant to draw.

June's #12 of Ultimates is the last story co-written by Jonathan Hickman, i'll post the solicitation here again:

http://i41.tinypic.com/f4i9uu.jpg
(W) Jonathan Hickman, Sam Humphries (A) Luke Ross (CA) Kaare Andrews

Reed Richards: World’s Most Wanted!
How will Tony Stark survive the City without Iron Man?
Plus: the fate of Nick Fury!

Here's what we learned at Wonder Con:

Humprhies' "Ultimates" with Jonathan Hickman was up next. Humphries will be taking over as full writer in July. "It's been wonderful," said Humphries. "It's a very wonderful title to write because you tend to be able to get away with a lot. … You just get to put all these characters on a big stage … and do things to them you can't get away with in the 616 or movies. Writing with Hickman has been fantastic -- pun intended! He's just been very generous with his wisdom and his talent. I think this book, you'll really get to experience what a Hickman/Humphries team up is like. … We're going to have a lot of fun with it."

"This summer, everyone will know the name Sam Humphries," said Singh, who showcased some art on "Ultimate Comics Ultimates" by Luke Ross. "It's been a lot of fun to throw all sorts of crazy things in the script and see how he goes with it," said Humphries.

Now what we know about Hickman's last issues are:
- Either Sue Storm or Ben Grimm will appear
- The Reed Plot concludes with #12

So what happens to the Thor & Modi plot? some are under the assumption that the cover's Mjölnir is inaccurate, but what if it isn't? And if it is inaccurate, will we ever learn how Hickman wanted to conclude his Asgardian plot? Will Humphries follow Hickman's vision or as Hickman suggested do his own thing (which he should really do, no matter what).

How do you feel about this? Did you wish to see Hickman stay longer say August/Sept/October or so before he takes over the Avengers franchise? Let the discussion begin!

 

[THANOSRULES]

i thought this ultimates was a one time tale ala the previous ones , so im not disappointed.

 

[Spider-Nerd]

I love Miles, but I hope ultimate pete returns eventually. I know it's sacrilege to say, but I liked him more than 616 pete

 

[DACrowe]

I liked main Peter Parker...until about five years ago around the time of "The Other" "Sins Past" and "One More Day." I just pretend that Spider-Girl is how the story ended and haven't looked back at ASM since.

What I like about the Ultimate universe is that it actually streamlines the characters for the 21st century as opposed to trying to recapture Marvel's glory days of the 1960s-1980s like the main titles do.

With that said, I jumped back into USM/Ultimates with the death of Spidey after being gone for five years or so. I'm loving the City and Reed Richards being a threat bigger than Doom....but how is he a villain? And what happened to Sue and Ben? I assumed they'd been killed off because Johnny was living with the Parkers when Peter died, but they're coming back?

Thanks, in advance.

 

[Drz]

Sue or Ben will appear soon in Ultimates.

 

[CConn]

The Other wasn't nearly as alienating as OMD for me. That's when I lost all interest in Peter Parker.

 

[DACrowe]

The Other made me quit. OMD ensured I wouldn't come back.

Seriously though, what happened to Ultimate FF? I want to hear.

 

[CConn]

If I knew, I'd tell you.

I didn't read it, but from what I gather, in the absolutely awful Ultimatum series, Reed Richards went crazy and evil or something. Johnny moved in with Peter Parker, and Ben and Sue got the hots for each other and ran off together.

 

[Tissues]

And Ben isn't rocky anymore.

 

[Splat]

The Ultimate Enemy mini is basically Reed becoming Dr Doom. The Thing's rocky exterior was a cocoon for his new form which is basically Ultimate Wonder Man. Sue is just hanging with Ben. And Johnny is in Ultimate Xmen now with Kitty and the rest.

 

[Roose Bolton]

Hilarity all around

 

[DACrowe]

Interesting. I kind of want to read Ultimatum and Ultimate Doom. I know a lot of fans seem to hate the former because they kill off a lot of characters, but I kind of like that. The Ultimate universe is supposed to be more "realistic" for lack of a better word. In the "real world" people die. If you have a worldwide disaster scenario where every hero is basically at war, some are going to die. That makes the story sound interesting to me.

 

[Scarecrow_King]

All that FF stuff sounds ****ing stupid.

 

[Splat]

Johnny is actually pretty good in Ultimate Xmen. And Reed is a great villain, of course Ultimates is just great period right now. The Ben stuff might sound lame but he's a total bad ass now.

 

[CConn]

All that FF stuff sounds ****ing stupid.

A lot of it is actually pretty good. The Peter/Johny/Bobby trio was awesome in USM.

And Reed makes an absolutely awesome villain in the Ultimates currently.

It's really just the Sue/Ben stuff that's dumb.