Ultimatum Begins!

[ShadowBoxing]

Not quiet, there is going to be a bit of a time shift in all the books. Ultimatum basically is the end of this Universe completely.

 

[mre]

Maybe the Ultimate Universe was a toy owned by Franklin Richards, and all the surviving Ultimate characters are transported to universe 616, and they have to live among the 616 characters?

 

[rnewbz]

Not quiet, there is going to be a bit of a time shift in all the books. Ultimatum basically is the end of this Universe completely.

No its not, even if there was a time shift that doesn't mean its the end of the universe, there's a time shift between Ultimates 2 and 3 and its not a separate continuity.

 

[random_havoc]

No its not, even if there was a time shift that doesn't mean its the end of the universe, there's a time shift between Ultimates 2 and 3 and its not a separate continuity.

Yes, yes it is as far as I'm concerned.

 

[chris moore]

I wish it were. But sadly after all this there will be a slimmed down world where Blob ate Jan, Hank bit off Blob's head, the winged guy escaped the wave while the teleporter died, Beast died (again) thereby negating his resurrection the first time, the return of Nick Fury is suggested to be magic cure for it all, Thor stayed in the realm of the dead in exchange for his bootie call cast off of Hank Pym (would he have done that every single bloody time her inexperienced butt got killed in battle?)... the list of "I can't believe the editors approved that" goes on and on.

 

[TromaFreak64]

No its not, even if there was a time shift that doesn't mean its the end of the universe, there's a time shift between Ultimates 2 and 3 and its not a separate continuity.

Agreed. Time shift does not mean starting the universe over - lots of the comics in the ultimate universe already experienced time shifts like that between ultimates 2 and 3

 

[chris moore]

THE best review I've seen of this issue so far (and that's not "best" in that the reviewer manages some praise when every other hasn't). Every nail hit squarely on the head and "Nuff Said" to its very definition far as I'm concerned. Although I suppose it is an example of how opinions are only really voiced to any real degree when they're negative:
http://uk.comics.ign.com/articles/963/963850p1.html

US, March 18, 2009 - This was a painful, painful read. It's not often I'm forced to stop reading a standard-length comic halfway through. It's even less often I'm forced to stop multiple times. But that's exactly what happened with Ultimatum #3. This entire series has been an ordeal from the beginning. Issue #3 is, in my mind, the worst so far by a fair margin. The ridiculous writing, questionable storytelling decisions, and lackluster art combine to form the perfect storm of comic book depravity. There's really no other word for it.

Where do I begin? How about last month's disgusting spread of the Blob eating the Wasp? That was a hard pill to swallow. But I hope you're prepared for an even more terrible dose of medication, because Jeph Loeb wastes little time before completely outdoing this scene with something even more ridiculous. Let's just say I had to check the cover to make sure I wasn't reading an old issue of Marvel Zombies. And this all begs the question - what purpose does this sort of shock value fulfill? Is it that Loeb equates realism with extremism? That the best way to set the Ultimate Universe apart from the classic Marvel Universe is to load it up with the sort of ludicrous plot developments that would never make it within 100 yards of New Avengers or Uncanny X-Men?

It depresses me to no end to see Loeb toy with the characterization of Ultimate heroes like The Blob, Hank Pym, Thor, Magneto and others who had something legitimately different to offer readers. Mark Millar's Ultimate Blob was weird, but he was interesting in his weirdness. Jeph Loeb's Blob is a fat guy who looks at a superhero and sees dinner. Hank Pym is little better. Thor is busy wasting time in a fantastical scenario that has absolutely no place in a series like this. It's as if someone called up regular Thor and asked him to put on Ultimate Thor's costume, gather up all the sillier elements of his Silver Age comics, and go hog-wild. Ultimate Thor may as well have been the first casualty of Ultimatum. And Magneto, whose emotional struggle should be the linchpin of this story, is little better than a all-powerful bully who found himself a magical hammer.

And the character deaths continue to rack up. I don't mind seeing big name heroes kick the bucket, but those deaths need to be harnessed for something greater. Loeb has eliminated roughly half the X-Men, numerous other A and B-list heroes, and the majority of the population of New York. Where is the emotional resonance? It takes some kind of doing for me to not care when my favorite heroes are dropping like flies. That's the twisted accomplishment of Ultimatum, I guess. With the unlimited freedom Loeb has been granted to shake things up and clean out the Ultimate closet, I just don't feel anything when I see Dazzler, Beast, and Nightcrawler laid out on the ground. Everything is handled in such a blunt, matter-of-fact way that part of me refuses to believe any of this nonsense is going to stick. And yet, Marvel continuously promises it will.

The art continues to annoy, disappoint, and occasionally infuriate. As lousy as the scripting in this series is, a major part of the responsibility falls on and subsequently slides off David Finch's shoulders. Maybe I would care a little more about the deaths of the X-Men if Jean Grey and Cyclops didn't share identical blank, pouty-lipped expressions. Art can elicit great emotion regardless of the presence or quality of writing. To do so, said art needs to actually display emotion of its own. Finch's characters are, at best, lifeless supermodels. At worst, they're not even pretty to look at.

My next complaint is somewhat minor in the grand scheme of things, but it only contributes to the Ultimatum debacle. What is up with the costume designs in this series? The issue opens with Scarlet Witch in a ridiculous cape and thong bikini ensemble. Magneto seems to be wearing pieces of every costume he's ever sported over the decades. Hank Pym ditched his functional red leather for an even more outlandish version of the Yellowjacket costume. Costume designs don't make or break a book, but they do set a tone. Back in the days of artists like the Kubert brothers and Bryan Hitch, most Ultimate characters wore outfits that - with minimal suspension of disbelief - you could actually picture a person wearing in real life. That was the entire point. If I ever see someone dressed like Ultimate Scarlet Witch in real life, I'll know I've stumbled across an insane asylum for European strippers.

Ultimatum #3 is now the clear front-runner for my worst comic book of the year. At this point, the only real competition I expect it to face are issues #4 and 5. I want this whole travesty to be over, and it depresses me to no end that I have two more issues and countless more months to trudge through before the big Ultimate relaunch ushers in what I can only assume is a far better status quo. I don't care how improved the Ultimate Universe may or may not be following Ultimatum. The greatest of ends don't even begin to justify means like this. I know Ultimatum won't end in a reboot, Marvel, but is it too late to change your minds?

 

[Brainiac 8]

Man, IGN hit it on the head right there. This series is a travesty, and this is coming from someone who honestly likes the Ultimate Universe.

 

[rnewbz]

Yeah, I've collected every single trade concerning the Ultimate Universe, and this by far is a huge dissapointment.

 

[random_havoc]

Yeah, I've collected every single trade concerning the Ultimate Universe, and this by far is a huge dissapointment.

Amen

 

[kguillou]

I wish to god someone would tell me how the marvel editors let Loeb get away with this on a constant basis, I have a hard time believing that the editors thought that this was actually "good work". I bet for some reason Loeb gets a free pass and they let him do whatever the hell he wants no matter how bad it is.

 

[rnewbz]

I love Finch's art but the lack of respect he and Madueria had for existing Ultimate Character designs is horrible. I mean seriously, what happened to Ultimate Thor. Ultimatum makes the Ultimate Universe look like it needs to end, even though it didn't.

 

[THANOSRULES]

It might be the worst comic in the history of comics....IMO.

 

[CaptainClown]

wow I am so disappointed. the ultimate universe has so much potential but it seems Loeb just thinks its an alternate way of portraying characters rather then the rules established before.

 

[Red Mask]

All the eating that's happened.

Who wants to see Ultima Cap bite off an ear from Ultima Mags?

 

[Mogwai]

I love Finch's art but the lack of respect he and Madueria had for existing Ultimate Character designs is horrible. I mean seriously, what happened to Ultimate Thor. Ultimatum makes the Ultimate Universe look like it needs to end, even though it didn't.

that's why i like immonen...he used the existing designs of the ultimates when they appeared in ultimate spiderman.

 

[kguillou]

Its not just the designs either, they dont act at all like they did in Ultimates 1 and 2. I'd be surprised if Loeb actually read Ult. 1&2.

 

[Aztec]

Its not just the designs either, they dont act at all like they did in Ultimates 1 and 2. I'd be surprised if Loeb actually read Ult. 1&2.

I officially dub Loeb's run on The Ultimates: "TUINO" (The Ultimates in name only). The real Ultimates 3 will begin when Mark Millar returns this summer with Ultimate Avengers!

 

[kguillou]

Yeah but the problem is that Loeb will have killed all the remaining Ultimates by then!

 

[Aztec]

Yeah but the problem is that Loeb will have killed all the remaining Ultimates by then!

LOL. True. They will all have been cannabalized by then most likely!

That probably explains why Millar's series will focus on secondary characters that haven't appeared in the Ultimate line yet (or rarely appeared) like: Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Blade, etc.

 

[Blader5489]

Its not just the designs either, they dont act at all like they did in Ultimates 1 and 2. I'd be surprised if Loeb actually read Ult. 1&2.

At this point, I'm convinced that Loeb's knowledge of the Ultimate universe is derived entirely from a quick Wikipedia search.

Just the basic premise of Ultimatum doesn't make sense. Magneto is destroying the world because Pietro and Wanda's deaths were "the spark that lit the fuse." But one glaring piece of characterization that Loeb seemed to overlook is that Magneto hates his kids. He had Logan try to kill them, he shot Pietro in the kneecaps, and Wanda (if Loeb is to be believed) may not even be his daughter!

I'm just hoping that this whole travesty will end with some kind of magic reset button, because I find it hard to believe that Marvel looked at this **** and thought it was a good idea.

 

[chris moore]

They threw out the old Phoenix reset button when they realised they hadn't read far enough ahead in the scripts for the Apocalypse arc and when they skipped to the end there was all kinds of insanely stupid crap going down. But this time? Doesn't seem like they could pull the same trick twice (despite millions of deaths being far more worthy of undoing than Wolverine losing his arm and Angel dying)

 

[lixdexia]

They threw out the old Phoenix reset button when they realised they hadn't read far enough ahead in the scripts for the Apocalypse arc and when they skipped to the end there was all kinds of insanely stupid crap going down. But this time? Doesn't seem like they could pull the same trick twice (despite millions of deaths being far more worthy of undoing than Wolverine losing his arm and Angel dying)

they still have the reed richards builds a time machine bs fix don't they?

 

[Kable24]

LOL. True. They will all have been cannabalized by then most likely!

That probably explains why Millar's series will focus on secondary characters that haven't appeared in the Ultimate line yet (or rarely appeared) like: Ghost Rider, The Punisher, Blade, etc.

Don't tease. Millar writing some Punisher stuff. I think I just creamed my jeans.

 

[Havok83]

Dang, I cant beleive Loeb killed so many X-men characters within the first panel