The personification of multiversal law has been murdered, and cosmic forces are on the loose. Will even the power of the Ultimates be enough to hold back the tide? Your Major Spoilers review of Ultimates 2 #3 awaits!
ULTIMATES 2 #3
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Travel Foreman
Colorist: Dan Brown
Letterer: VC’s Joe Sabino
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Ultimates 2: The heroes known as the Ultimates (Blue Marvel, Captain Marvel, The Black Panther, American Chavez and Pulsar) helped the world-eater known as Galactus to evolve from Devourer to Lifebringer, and now he travels the universe seeding new life on dead worlds. This has caused consternation among the highest powers of the Marvel Universe, leading Galactus to make the argument that, since the entire universe was reborn post Secret Wars, that the rules no longer apply.
Order and Chaos agreed, and since those rules were gone, immediately murdered the Living Tribunal, embodiment of law and justice…
BRAVE NEW WORLD
Things are getting intense in the superflow, as Galactus watches in disbelief as the personifications of Order and Chaos finish off the embodiment of justice and turn their attentions to him. Galactus is barely able to hold off their existential attack, thanks to the newly revamped Marvel Universe and the rules thereof, which sends Master Order and Lord Chaos off to make a new hierarchy, one where the rules allow them to turn Galactus back into the Devourer of Worlds they believe he should be. Elsewhere, on Earth, we are introduced to Jim Tensen, Justice Warrior, who is recruited by his old friend Phillip Vogt to be a part of a team of Troubleshooters, designated to keep The Ultimates in check. Those selfsame Ultimates are in deep space, examining Galactus’ worldship when the Troubleshooters arrive, prepared to take Anti-Man (the new herald of Galactus and associate of the Ultimates) into custody. As the issue closes, Order and Chaos find The In-Betweener, their balancing factor and merge with him and each other, creating a whole new cosmic creature known as Logos!
THE NEW UNIVERSE RETURNS?
This book is nuts in all the best ways, taking the madness of Cosmic Marvel and using the fact that it’s a whole new universe to build a new universal order. Speaking of New Universe, the antagonists of this piece are all derived from the characters of Marvel’s much-maligned 80s publishing venture, The New Universe. Led by Justice, the team includes members of the cast of Psi-Force, DP 7 and the other books, but with the Al Ewing twist to make things fresh. On the art side, Travel Foreman does a beautiful job this issue, delivering complex visuals that stay clear and readable, and in the case of the final page reveal of Logos, breathtakingly beautiful. The most difficult part of this story is in the fact that our main characters are nearly absent, with only a few pages actually showing us the team members, and those devoted to the question of whether America Chavez is working for Galactus, with Galactus, or something entirely different.
THE BOTTOM LINE: WILD, WEIRD STUFF
In short, this is the kind of world-building that the Marvel Universe hasn’t been party to since the 1970s, with the recent restructuring of the world (that has mostly been forgotten in other titles, thanks to the march of big crossover events) making for excellent drama. Ultimates 2 #3 is well-drawn, well-written and intriguing, with the only real complaint being a shortage of Ultimates, earning 3.5 out of 5 stars overall. I’m still a little taken aback that the creative team has brought back as much of the New Universe as they have, and I’m hoping for even more…
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