Customer Reviews

The Ultimates 2, Vol. 1: Gods and Monsters

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The long awaited new tales of the Ultimates are finally here. The first volume, plagued by shipping delays which spaced issues months between each other, achieved excellence during it's second half. As this arc starts off (with the series being re-titled Ultimates 2), writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch weave a complicated new threat to the government funded super team, with consequences for all involved. Hank Pym is off the team and no longer Giant Man. He assumes a new identity as Ant-Man, and continues to make progress on his Ultron creation (longtime Avengers readers know where this is headed), and later has a tenure on the ill-fated Defenders team. In the meantime, the Ultimates themselves are enjoying their lives as super hero celebrities: Captain America and the Wasp have been dating, Nick Fury makes further advancements in the ranks, and Tony "Iron Man" Stark and the Black Widow are engaged. All this however comes crashing down when it is revealed to the public that Bruce Banner is the Hulk, leading to a short trial of Banner with grave consequences. The leaking information leads to the mysterious Thor, whose origin is revealed, with more questions than answers. By the end of Gods & Monsters, it is apparent that there is a traitor in the ranks, and by the time you reach the last page, you'll be salivating for more. Millar's writing is top notch, pulling out surprise after surprise and plenty of shocks, while Hitch's art continues to impress. All in all, this TPB marks a new chapter for the Ultimates, and it's clear tbat this is one that won't end well for anyone.

Ultimates 2 vol. 1: Gods and Monsters does something I didn't think was possible, it is better than either of the previous Ultimates volumes. Truly epic in scope, the second Ultimates series picks up one year after the previous tome. Banner is still a prisoner of Shield, Pym is on the outs with the team, though he's now Ant-Man, Iron Man and Black Widow are in love, and Thor has left. Though Wasp and Captain America are still together, not all is perfect with their relationship.

Nor is this the end of the Ultimates troubles. Loki provides a foil that even the Ultimates can't destroy, and their own group dynamics threaten to drive the team apart. The characterization and fight scenes are easily some of the best in comics, bar none. To see Thor take on the entire Ultimates is worth the price of admission alone. There's also plenty of glimpses of things to come, such as Vision making a brief appearance. Also, the trial of Banner for crimes as the Hulk provides readers with something rare in comics, consequences.

Reprinting Ultimates 2 #1-6, I can't describe to you just how good this volume is, only that I would place it in the same elite grouping as Watchmen, Preacher, and Miracle Man. It has my highest possible recommendations and can easily be read by fans or newcomers. Due to plenty of mature themes, it would probably be best for an audience 14 and older.

Why are you still reading this review? Treat yourself and start reading Ultimates!

WOW! The team of Millar and Hitch sure do know how to turn a comic book fan's head. Gods & Monsters definitely gives bang for your buck. Collecting the first 6 issues of Ultimates 2, this TDP is an example of stylized comic book grandeur at its very best. Bryan Hitch's dynamic art provides the perfect complement to Millar's grandiose type of storytelling. The synergy between the writer and the artist just makes the pages explode with BIG moments.

The Ultimates suffer the highs and lows of being raised to celebrity status. Picking up a year after the events in the Ultimates, Bruce is still incarcerated by SHIELD, Cap and Jan are now an item (though cracks are starting to show), and Iron Man and Black Widow are engaged. Initially universally lauded for their past heroics fending off the rampaging Hulk and an alien invasion, the team has little time to wallow in champagne and caviar dreams before the other shoe drops: a traitor in their midst has leaked the inside info that the Hulk's alter ego is a federal employee in SHIELD, the powerhouse entity that runs the Ultimates. Now Bruce Banner must be tried for murdering over 800 people. Not to mention, Thor has quit the team and persists in his deploration of the Ultimates, who he claims is one hair away from denouncing their domestic status and instead becoming an international pre-emptive strike force. His paranoia and ever increasing "dementia" force the Ultimates to try to take him into custody. And that's a donnybrook you have to see! Meanwhile, Hank Pym has been ousted from the team and goes to seek his fortune elsewhere. He develops his Ant-Man identity, while continuing to tinker with his Ultron program (ouch!). He even finds time to join the lowly Defenders, where he discovers he's the only one with a legit super power.

There's so much stuff that happens in here! You get to witness the nationally televised trial of the Hulk, as defended by Matt Murdock; the "origin" of Thor and the appearance of the crafty Loki; a cameo by Captain Britain (also Captains Spain, France, and Italy); the debut of "Cybernatrix" ("Iron Maiden"?); the cage match between the Ultimates and the "God of Thunder"; and the hilarious debut of the pathetic Defenders (though Valkyrie is a hottie, but the Black Knight is always late for meetings, being eternally stuck in traffic).

And all the while, the group dynamics of the Ultimates are slowly crumbling away. Repercussions? Why, surely.

I'd just very recently raved about Ex Machina, a comic book grounded in reality. Well, the Ultimates reside on the other spectrum, where over the top is not extravagant enough. Millar and Hitch take this comic book and raise it to such resplendent levels that it takes on overtones of a Viking opera. Which is a good thing. The folly, for the comic book writer and artist, lies in being somewhere in between the two extremes, where 90 percent of the complacent comic book world dwell. I highly, highly recommend Gods & Monster.

This one is set one year after the original storyline ends with The Ultimates now under public scrutiny after it is mysteriously leaked to the media that Dr. Bruce Banner is The Hulk and that The Ultimates were behind the cover-up! Now, the public is calling for Banner's execution!

Captain America and The Wasp have been in affair while Giant-Man has been outed from The Ultimates due to the domestic problems between him and The Wasp and the P.R. mess it made. Still, The Wasp still shows some mercy towards her former husband though she hasn't shown any interest in hooking back up with him. This hasn't made old-school gentleman Cap happy at all.

Getting back to the leak on the Hulk, it may be coming from none other than Thor himself, who was already not very well trusted to begin with! Plus, we discover some new revelations about this Thunder God!

All in all, a good follow up to the original Ultimate storyline!

I'm not going to regurgitate what everyone else has said about this book.They are all right.You got Hitch,one of the most talented artists in the industry today who rightfully gives this story a cinematic feel with beautiful settings and spreads.Millar has outdone himself giving us some of his finest Marvel work to date.I wouldn't say he has reinvented these timeless characters,but they are all true to their original counterparts with a modern day realistic edge.The politics are evident in the story,but do not bog the story down.

This volume deals with the Ultimates first deployment into foreign territory which causes serious reprecussions later in the story,the outing and "execution" of the Hulk,the takedown of Thor(similar to the arrest of Jesus),and the revelation of a traitor in the fold.The action scenes are powerful and striking while the rising tensions among the group are illustrated just as well.

While being a great story on its own,this truly is only the beginning.The series is currently 4 issues into the storyline after this and all I have to say is WOW.I will not spoil it for you,but the current volume which will probably be entitled "Grand Theft America" is and will be a MUST READ.Stay tuned for it or go out to your local comic shop and buy it!

Gods and Monsters,highly recommended along with Ultimates Vol.1.

Basically an updated version of Marvel Comic's classic Avengers lineup, The Ultimates is the closest comic book out there to a big budget action movie. The art is hands down astronomical. Bryan Hitch can draw anything and make it look both dynamic and realistic at the same moment. And Mark Millar (whom is often hit or miss for me) writes snappy dialogue that really sets the characters apart from one another. While his overall plots are nothing terribly original, his new takes on classic characters like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk have been tremendously entertaining. We now have heroes in very much the twenty-first century, with all the neurosis, greed, naiveté, and self-doubt that comes with being a denizen of the modern day.

As I said, the overall plots are predictable, but it's the subplots where the genius rests. Each character has their own story, and it's those personal stories and interactions that prove captivating. However, when it's time for the big action of the overall plot's climax, strap yourself in. That's where Bryan Hitch saves the day with his art and Mark Millar makes it fun with his dialogue.

If you want to experience super hero comics at their <ahem!> ultimate in terms of action and art, the Ultimates is what you're looking for.

~Scott William Foley, author of Souls Triumphant

This is Mark Millar's best work and one of the best marvel volumes ever. The plot was thick and branchy and never once was I lost in the intricate work. Brilliant piece of work. I usually stick with the graphic novels because I'm a reader not a collector and I may go out and grab the smaller trades to get my 'fix'.

After I finished this chapter in the continuing "Ultimates" saga, all I could do was shake my head and go "wow". I have never seen or read anything like this, and that is high praise. The last volume was absolutely incredible and really set a high bar for realistic characterization and incredible battles in this series. What comes about in this volume is the near-disintrigation of everything that was built up in the earlier volumes. There is not one legitimate villain to fight in this story: no rampaging Hulk, no alien invasion, no Nazis, no Kang, Magneto, Galactus or any other uber-villain one would expect Ultimate Marvel's team of "persons of mass destruction" to face. Their biggest enemy at this point is themselves. Giant Man no more, wife-beater Hank Pym (now old-school Ant Man) is a pathetic mess in this volume who joins a group of superhero wannabes (the Defenders; originally an actual Marvel superteam -albeit a 2nd rate one- who are reduced to incompetent posers in this version) in what proves to be an amusing but ultimately annoying chapter after what proves to be the main attraction here: the arrest of the mighty Thor, who resigns from the team, believing SHIELD's secret agenda is to use them to attack foreign countries . After Thor's anti-war activism goes too far, the Ultimates are grouped with their fledgling European counterparts to take the god of thunder down in what proves to be a battle of epic proportions. Thor is clearly portrayed as a Christ-like figure here in spite of his apparent mental illness (but is he actually insane as his origin -finally revealed- insinuates, or is his brother Loki truly "shuffling reality" and poisoning the Ultimates against him?) and several shots in the sequence are difficult to look at as he battles his own friends. The fact that you truly don't know whether a classic character like Thor is insane in this re-imagination or if his classic nemesis Loki is a figment of his imagination is a true credit to the writing here. Kudos. The trial of the Incredible Hulk, which commences after Bruce Banner is outed by an unknown traitor as a member of the team, proves to be an interesting but too brief episode with a memorable and unexpected finale. More kudos. So far, "The Ultimates" has kept me rivetted and while this volume has much going for it, I hope for a return to the more simplistic awesomeness of "Homeland Security" in future volumes because all of this infighting, while brilliantly executed, takes away from what I really want to see: Earth's Mightiest Heroes battling the most powerful villains around. Also, the political commentary is getting a bit out of control at this point too. We're all tired of the war in the Middle East, and this issue aims this team of classic heroes in a corrupt, fascist direction that could soon border on villainy. It's a bit depressing to imagine the Avengers as government lapdogs fighting for imperialist interests. Will then next chapter have me rooting for the traitor in SHIELD's ranks? And, on a lighter note, Quicksilver gets his moment to shine here, but would it kill them to give the Scarlet Witch something to do besides look hot and hang on her brother's arm suggestively? When you look at every panel they appear in together, their relationship seems a bit creepy to say the least. I keep waiting for Tony Stark to make an Angelina Jolie remark at their expense. However, there is one line Quicksilver delivers to his sis involving one of Hank Pym's new creations that is quite humorous if you know your Avengers lore, so I'll let this stuff slide....this time. But Scarlet Witch's only moment of note in the big battle is threatening to create a reality where Thor is a baby seal getting clubbed before she gets promptly clobbered herself. Come on, Wanda, do something cool! I also wasn't thrilled about Iron Man's birthday present to fellow Ultimate and current lover, Black Widow; her very own custom-made supersuit. Personally, I loved her just the way she was before. Iron Man has a habit of making other characters clones of himself and it's a bit annoying in a title where a diverse array of superheroes is the big draw. Minor fanboyish complaints aside, "Gods and Monsters" proves to be a shocking and unique continuation of an already bold new take on a classic comic franchise. I've honestly never seen anything quite like it and I'd highly recommend picking this one up after catching up on the past volumes of this increasingly intriguing saga.

It is official.. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Ultimates is the best widescreen superhero comic out there.. even better than Warren Ellis/Bryan Hitch run on the Authority( as well as Mark Millar/Frank Quitely run)..The Authority now is a pale shadow of it former self.. the Ultimates is what the Authority should be! You think that the Ultimates' earlier battle with the Hulk was big?? Wait till you check out the team's battle with Thor.. it is the best comic fight sequence ever.. simply mind blowing stuff.. even in the aftermath, you will be keep asking yourself the question.. is Thor really mad? Is Loki even real? Or is Thor really mad.. Millar writes it so well that even though you know that Loki is a real character in the Main Marvel Universe.. you will keep asking yourself if the Ultimate Loki is just a frigment of Thor's imagination.. I never experience this kind of intrigue before in other comics! Can't wait for this story to end.. better grab this one boys and girls cos when Millar and Hitch is done with the Ultimates, it will be comic history and no one can ever follow in their footsteps.. not even Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira!

Somehow, even better than the previous volumes in the series; the art and the storytelling is some of the best anyone will find in any current or previous Marvel book out there, the Ultimates is rising/has risen to be one of the Ultimate Marvel Universe's stalwart pillars, filling the void following the infuriating creative demise of the Ultimate X-Men.

All the players get their fair share of time in the story, except for Hawkeye, but the man of the hour is truly Thor this time around. Loki finally enters the Ultimate Universe, and long-story-short Thor has one hell of a fight in this book! Along with all the sweet fights with Thor and, well, everyone else, the Defenders show up in full force, kind of... and the Hulk gets put on trial for killing about a thousand people and a baffling cliffhanger ending to finish us off with a bang!

All in all, this book is great. I know the "if super heroes were in the real world..." thing has been done to death, but this is by far the best book of that vein (except for maybe "The Watchmen", but its less depressing), if not one of the top three storylines being published in comics today.

Honestly, if you don't like the Ultimates, you just don't "get" comics, or else you need to get over what has already been and enjoy one of the few astonishing NEW comics out there.