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    Marvel

    Review: Ultimatum #1

    Stephen SchleicherBy Stephen SchleicherNovember 6, 2008Updated:November 6, 200816 Comments3 Mins Read

    Everyone else has a crisis, why can’t we?

    ultimatum1picon.jpg

    Ah, the title spanning crisis method of story telling.  Marvel perfected the idea of events happening in one series affecting the universe in another.  While the Ultimate Universe has had a few cross overs here and there – most notably in the Ultimate Spider-Man titles, this particular corner of the Marvel U, hasn’t had a major shakeup since its inception.  Until now…

    ultimatum1cover.jpgThere’s been a lot of hype built around this “the universe will never be the same, again!” tale of shaking up the Ultimate U, and the first issue does deliver on the shake ups.  Reed Richards is about to propose to Sue Storm, Peter Parker and friends are set to see The Dark Knight for the tenth time, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers are hanging out, X-Men are doing X-Men things until all hell breaks loose in the Big Apple in a disaster of epic movie proportions.

    Unfortunately, the ocean spilling into New York City, and everything in Latveria getting the fast freeze treatment would have been more shocking and impressive if we hadn’t already seen it happen in The Day After Tomorrow.  It’s almost like Jeff Loeb gave up on trying to find a great disaster idea, and ran with whatever was in his DVD player at the time.  Those might seem like harsh words, but when the double page splash of the streets being flooded looks like a direct swipe from the movie, one has to wonder what Loeb was thinking when he scripted the story?

    There are some interesting events that occur from the disaster; it looks like some of the bigger characters may have been killed off – for as long as death lasts in comics – but I’m concerned that everyone who appears to have died in this issue are all females (Sue, Janet, Alison).  What’s up with that?

    I also like how Xavier is able to contact all the heavy hitters with that big brain of his, and tell them they must team up to fight Magneto.  We’ve all seen the preview art, and even though we see Thor standing on the rooftops during the disaster, it is still interesting to see Thor’s hammer at Magneto’s feet.

    Considering Brian Michael Bendis basically built the Ultimate Universe, I’m surprised he isn’t the one penning this series.  For me, it almost feels like this isn’t the Ultimate Universe I know and love, but rather an amalgam of 616 and Uu.

    After all the hype and the buildup in the March on Ultimatum mini-series, I was hoping for something great to kick off this series, but ultimately I’m disappointed.  Everything from the writing, art, and pacing is just okay.  It’s better than the stuff we’ve been seeing in Ultimate Fantastic Four, but pales in comparison to Ultimate Spider-Man.   Because of this, I can only give Ultimatum #1 2.5 out of 5 Stars.

    25stars.jpg

    29/29

    dark knight day after tomorrow epic movie Great Disaster harsh words heavy hitters Inception latveria Loeb major shakeup page splash peter parker preview art Reed Richards standing on the rooftops steve rogers swipe tenth time ups X-Men
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    Stephen Schleicher
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    Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment. You can follow him on Twitter @MajorSpoilers and tell him your darkest secrets...

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    16 Comments

    1. Craig M. on November 6, 2008 11:08 pm

      What I’ve found interesting is that in the preview art (and the issue of course) the hammer is the classic 616 style we all know and love. Last I knew, Ultimate Thor had that weird half axe/half mallet looking hammer. Did I miss something by skipping Ultimates vol. 3 or is this weird to anyone else?

      Reply
    2. Stephen Schleicher on November 7, 2008 12:26 am

      I don’t pay enough attention to Ultimate Thor to have paid attention to that. That is an interesting twist, huh?

      Reply
    3. gilbert on November 7, 2008 12:54 am

      Actually in Ultimates #3, it was revealed that Thor has two hammers. The metal axe thing and the classic hammer. Whats the difference i dont know. But he has both and uses both. Kinda interesting.

      Reply
    4. Stephen Schleicher on November 7, 2008 7:06 am

      In that case, my guess is it is at the whim of the artist.

      Reply
    5. steviecool on November 7, 2008 10:17 am

      Oh, good, so it wasn’t just me that thought this was a plot rip.

      For me, the Uu has lost all respect-poitns when it brought back Beast. That would have made this truly “Ultimate” – that death counts here.

      Reply
    6. Cory on November 7, 2008 12:16 pm

      NBC was smart enough to ditch Loeb now why isn’t Marvel/Quesada smart enough to do the same?

      Reply
    7. Cory on November 7, 2008 12:20 pm

      These recent Ultimates abortions really shows that Quesada has no bleeping idea what he’s doing.

      Reply
    8. Gaumer on November 7, 2008 12:29 pm

      On Loeb: I’m dropping the New Hulk book (with the Red Hulk) and I’m pretty sure its because he blows goats

      Reply
    9. Demosthenes on November 7, 2008 2:18 pm

      For what Loeb has done, he must pay the ultimate price-No one buy Ultimatum! Bendis, Millar, and Ellis should be the only people allowed to write in the Ultimate Universe.

      Reply
    10. Maximus Rift on November 7, 2008 8:03 pm

      Demosthenes: Like that will happen. What will probably happen is that fans will buy it and love it. And he’ll probably be praised for doing it.

      Reply
    11. Slappy on November 7, 2008 8:43 pm

      Do you have video of him and the goats? That is something I am very interested in viewing.

      Reply
    12. baal on November 7, 2008 9:55 pm

      What deaths? There was not one single death in this book that was what I would consider a final end to anyone. People washed away? Someone flat on their back? Chuck can no longer sense someone’s minds? I also disagree that this was any better than any of the other works Loeb has produced since coming to Marvel. I know it’s down to taste but this felt like Nu Loeb. Goodbye, Long Halloween. Hello, icky Pietro and Wanda!

      Reply
    13. Demosthenes on November 7, 2008 9:59 pm

      To be honest, I’m just waiting for Ultimate Avengers. Loeb’s Hulk and Ultimates 3 are each a travesty unto themselves that should never have been produced. Sorry if I sound like a hater. I’m just not liking the way he’s writing. Don’t even get me started on Heroes.

      Reply
    14. Stephen Schleicher on November 7, 2008 10:13 pm

      Baal: note I said apparent deaths, not death deaths… :D

      Reply
    15. Ricco on November 7, 2008 11:16 pm

      My only question is if old Magnus wants to end the world why not just rain space debry and satelites on the planet instead of shifting the Earth axis?

      Reply
    16. baal on November 8, 2008 12:10 pm

      Think of my rant as a meta-rant. I got two weeks of books yesterday and had read more than one review of this book that went on about the deaths. After NYC recovered from World War Hulk in between panels my hopes aren’t too high for seeing a devastated city for long. BTW, does Reed have a personal teleporter that’s keyed in only to Namor? The scene transition was worse than even what you get on As The World Turns or Stephanie Meyer these days.

      Reply

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