THE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE-JUST HOW GOOD IS IT?

Again, die-hard fans shuddered. Would this be the end of the characters they had grown up with? Would this be something akin to the HEROES REBORN fiasco of years before?

But when ULTIMATE SPIDERMAN became the breakout book of 2001, fans and retailers alike knew that a new market had been tapped and a success had been born-one which ran parallel to the classic line of Marvel heroes. Big name creators and bold new ideas drove these series.

So how good are they REALLY?

Well, take ULTIMATE SPIDERMAN. We all know the story: high school student Peter Parker gets bit by a radioactive spider and gains strange new powers. His Uncle Ben gets killed by a burglar and our hero decides to devote his life to fighting crime. Been there-done that. But in this Ultimate Universe, Peter is more of a foil to Flash Thompson and company than he ever was. And Uncle Ben? He sports a graying pony tail while Aunt may looks more like actress Gena Rowlands than the old biddy we’re used to. While on a school field trip to a Osborn Laboratories(yes,,,owned by Norman Osborn; the man who, in both versions, would become the Green Goblin(although, in this version, the lab accident, creates a horribly mutated Goblin-not just one in a costume), our hero gets chomped on by a spider bearing a 00 marking.

When Peter finally goes back to school following the incident, he discovers his amplified powers. So does someone from Osborn Labs who steal a blood sample which, when tested, shows that Peter is being killed by the OZ serum in his veins. So a hit is put out on the student, which is eventually called off by Osborn. Peter does his homework(this is the digital age, so he researches it on the Internet) and discovers, in one of the series coolest moment, he can climb walls. trying to adjust to his new found strength, Peter gets into a fight with Flash Thompson-one which ends with Flash breaking his fist on Peter’s hand. Peter also finds himself the star of the basketball team and soon works his way into the wrestling ring, to help defray the medical expenses he has caused Flash Thompson.

And if that wasn’t enough, he is also trying to juggle his blossoming relationship with his 15 year old red haired friend Mary Jane Watson and his wrestling career, complete with what is his now familiar “superhero” costume.

With Norman Osborn obsessed with being injected with the same OZ Peter has been subjected to, an explosion occurs which causing major damage to the lab. Osborn goes missing, only to eventually turn up as a horribly transformed beast we know as the Green Goblin. One of the scientists working in that lab, Doctor Otto Octavius is injured and sometime later wakes up in a military installation where his mechanical arms have been grafted to his body. The poor man eventually goes insane and seeks revenge.

but, as history remembers, there’s Uncle Ben. Once again Uncle Ben is killed by a burglar-one which Peter didn’t stop when he had the chance. Once again, the long told lesson of “with great power comes great responsibility” is taught and Peter begins to live his life by it.

And all of that takes place in just the first five issues! Of course, back in the Sixties, the origin of Spider Man took only ONE issue.

In the months that followed, our hero had to deal with the fury of the Green Goblin, his first new job at the Daily Bugle(where he meets altered version of classic characters like JJJ, Ben Urich and Betty Brant), the introduction of the Kingpin, the Enforcers, Kraven the Hunter, Electro, Gwen Stacey, the birth of Doc Ock, a first kiss and a revelation of his identity.

Yeah...this book is a ton of fun! Brian Michael Bendis, in the title which has helped to make him a household word, has taken everything he crafted in his self published days on stuff like JINX and turned them loose here. The dialogue is hip and biting and often tows the line between smart, smarmy and racy. Mark Bagley handles the pencils and we all know HE knows how to draw Spider Man, even one as young as this one. His lines are clean and his backgrounds loaded.

It’s a book which knows when top pay tribute to a legend and when to carve out a new one.

Bendis, as he likes to be known, also gets to write Spidey in ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP. Much like the old “classic” MARVEL TEAM-UP, the web slinger gets to share an adventure with a member of the Marvel Universe-in this case the Ultimate Marvel Universe. What makes this series is the usual assortment of artists who end up working on projects. First up, there’s a tale with Wolverine illustrated by GRENDEL creator Matt Wagner. Sabretooth is the villain and Pete gets a new doo. Next we get the Ultimate Hulk in a Phil Hester/Andy Park tale. Then it’s off to Iron Man by Mike Allred. And there’s a great three parter co-starring Daredevil and The Punisher(who REALLY has an anger management problem) in a tale illustrated by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz. And SWAMP THING artist John Totleben’s take on Marvel’s version of the swamp creature, Man-Thing. Or how about seeing Terry STRANGERS IN PARADISE Moore’s take on the Black Widow(who looks an AWFUL lot like Francine!).

And while the concept of rotating artists sounds like a good idea, it ends up hurting the series. It finds itself constantly losing some steam as it feels like a title populated with fill-in artists. At least in the old MARVEL TEAM-UP(and, for that matter, MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE) you knew you were in for continuity AND a continuing artist for more than an issue or two. So while it’s cool to see such great talents on this title, it’s hard to go from the beauty of Terry Moore’s art to the obtuse and quirky charm of Mike Allred.

On the other hand, ULTIMATE X-MEN, is a truly solid effort with strong writing by Mark Millar and some of the best art of Adam Kubert’s career. And, if you’re going to introduce characters and start your series off with a bang, I guess you do that by having the Sentinels attack L.A. and take out some poor mutant kid walking his dog(which is achieved by crushing him under their feet-NASTY!)

From there, you introduce your cast. Jean Grey is on a mission recruiting mutants. She picks up Beast in a pool hall he has just demolished. Storm is biding her time in a jail cell. Colossus is working for the Russian Mafia and selling arms. Back at the mansion, Scott Summers and Professor X clue them in on their mission in life and off they go: to battle the Sentinels where they save future X-Man Bobby Drake.

So off they go, to search for the most dangerous mutant in the world: Wolverine. They help him escape from the Weapon X project and a madman named Magneto begins his own mutant agenda. To accomplish this, and bring an end to the reign of the Sentinels, Magneto and his mutant band kidnaps the Presidents daughter-something Professor X and the X-Men fight to reverse. Questioning all, Cyclops leaves to join Magneto...or at least to go undercover. Wolverine confesses, while in bed with Jean Grey no less, that he was sent here to assassinate Professor X. The battle between Magneto and the X-Men is a bloody one, with Wolverine proving his merit and joining the team as an official, if not hot-headed member.

As recognition of his loyalty, the team begins to search for the missing pieces of Wolverine’s past: a search which leads them into the clutches of the Weapon X project. The Weapon X group is populated with villains we already know and love, like Sabretooth and Juggernaut. With their help, their commander, Colonel John Wraith, takes the X-Men captive. And a new mutant is discovered. His name is Nightcrawler.

With his help and those of the Brotherhood of Mutants, the X-Men free themselves, Wolverine fights Sabretooth to a bloody death dance and Nick Fury arrives to quell the violence. Before long, Gambit arrives in the mix(in a two issue fill-in by Chuck Austen and Essad Ribic).

And just what is the problem with Charles’ son?

A fun ride with characters still new enough to be fresh. There’s no baggage here. For the most part, they are still teenagers trying to BE teenagers, not adults who’s creators are trying to WRITE as teens. It’s neat to see supporting characters from this Marvel Universe pop in to the story,. thus laying the groundwork for their roles in other Ultimate series yet to be written.

And what of THE ULTIMATES-this brand’s take on The Avengers? The first issue presents us with the final days of Captain America. he’s a super soldier in regulation GI uniform who carries a shield and has a picture of his fiancé pinned up in the airplane he flies in. His partner Bucky Barnes is part PR man, part combat photographer and part teenager. he and Cap go way back-to when they grew up together in New York.

Cap and his fellow soldiers are leading an assault on the Nazis at a base in Iceland where they discover a prototype hydrogen bomb, which Cap single handedly destroys, apparently costing him his life as he plunges into the icy waters below.

No Red Skull. Bucky doesn’t die. Nothing close to it.

Nearly 60 years later Cap gets fished out of the Atlantic Ocean and thawed out by Dr. Robert Bruce Banner and S.H.I.E.L.D. Consequently the man who has spent 57 years in suspended animation is a little upset and confused. But that confusion is eased with a visit to his old friend Bucky Barnes. Barnes is in the Golden Age of his life while his long lost friend hasn’t aged a day. Bucky is also married...to Steve Rogers’ former fiancé Gail.

Nick Fury(yes...he plays a role in this ULTIMATE title too) convinces Steve to join his new super team, which is created through the thoughtful gifts of the American taxpayers and Tony Stark. The super team is composed of Hank Pym and his lady Janet. He pops Prozac on his way to controlling matters of super size while she buzzes around dressed in something straight out of Madame Hydra’s closet. Tony Stark is primed to join too, having developed an armor which will help compensate for deep military budget cuts.

And you can’t forget Dr. Banner who has already embarrassed himself with a little episode as a rampaging monster in another ULTIMATE title. It’s an incident that leads to a demotion on the Super Soldier project he has been developing. And what of the mysterious Thunder God who is yet to make his presence felt.

And by the way: who let a certain bespectacled reporter and his red haired photographer from another comic company into that crowd scene in issue #3? And since when did the estranged Betty Ross Banner become a PR person for this whole thing?

Changes from the classic AVENGERS? You bet! The classic team is brought together to through the machinations of Thor’s brother Loki. This team is brought together by Nick Fury and Tony Stark and the US Government..

Expertly handled by the “dream team” of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, who have already both cut their teeth and wowed critics on THE AUTHORITY, this title is a gem! The writing is crisp and clever and completely makes you completely forget that it is a new vision of The Avengers. The dialogue is great, with enough biting sarcasm and innuendoes to appeal to the most jaded comic readers. And Hitch, along with inker Andrew Currie, manipulate the pictures with grace and style and SUPER DETAILING. This book is a beauty to both read and view and could be the best of the ULTIMATE titles. It comes with my highest possible recommendation!

First published in the Spring of 2004, ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR follows the framework of the other Ultimate titles by taking the concepts laid out in the classic Marvel Universe series and liberally updating and distorting them. The creative team of Brian Bendis, Mark Millar and Adam Kubert handled the first 6 issue arc while Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen do duty on the second 6 issue arc.

Just like the Fantastic Four we all know and love, four friends end up getting strange powers because of a cosmic event. Unlike the classic team, the four are much younger than their counterparts. Where Ben Grimm and Reed Richards met in college, the pair meet as pre-teens. Ben is Reed’s only friend and a true techno geek. The government gets wind of a teleportation device Reed is working on, he is invited to join the think tank known as the Baxter Building, led by one Doctor Storm. There life mission is to journey into what is called the N-Zone. Here he meets fellow scientist Sue Storm and her younger brother Johnny. They also meet a fellow member of the think tank-Victor Van Damme.

Among their fellow scientists is a rather disgusting looking gentleman by the name of Dr. Molekevic.. When it is learned his experiments may have dangerous consequences, the military, led by a certain general Ross, steps in and has “Moleman” removed. Meanwhile, Victor begins recalculating Reed’s notes and begins making changes. When the day of the big test arrives, Ben Grimm’s shows up to watch and wish his old friend good luck.

But, as you would expect, something goes terribly wrong.

The four disappear, only to be thrown to the four corners of the Earth. Reed reappears at the test site; his limbs stretching in all manner of directions. Ben, now turned into a familiar orange rock creature, is in the middle of downtown Mexico. Johnny wakes up in a French hospital bed and bursts into flame. And Susan? She ends up underground with The Moleman. The explanation of their powers is simple: they have become like the elements. Reed like water, Ben is rock, Johnny is fire and Susan is the air. Moleman has created an underground city with a combination of strange minions and technology. And, disgusted by how he has been treated, unleashes a monster on the city of New York.

The three defeat the creature and then descend below where they find the missing Sue Storm and defeat The Moleman. But,in all of this, where is Victor Van Damme?

Victor has been disfigured and is plotting and planning his revenge and becoming a bit of a legend in the Freezone near Copenhagen. Van Damme sends a swarm of robotic bugs to attack the four. It isn’t long before the creatures are defeated, but not before Reed discovers the unmistakable traces of Van Damme technology within the remains. So it’s off to Denmark for a battle and hopefully a solution to their conditions.

This book is a hoot as Bendis and Ellis prove why they are two of the best writers in the business. One classic bit of dialogue is between Reed and Ben. Reed asks if Ben can still go to the bathroom in his state. The reply? “Yeah...you don’t wanna know the details.” Truly a princely bit of Ellis writing. The whole series runs this way, dipping between brainy action and teen angst. Doom, as he is truly yet to be know, could perhaps be more vile than his Marvel Universe namesake, as he hasn’t only been disfigured but transformed. At one point, he gasses Sue, saying that what was left of his internal organs now excretes a poison gas. EWWW!

Artwork by Kubert and then Immonen is as expected-knockout fantastic and harking back to classic FF artists like Kirby and Perez. Word is Kubert will be back in the fold for the next story arc and, depending on the storyline, I’ll be truly thrilled to see him return.

This is a great title for fans of the old and total newcomers, as it is peppered with bits of history and some new twists. Frankly, I actually enjoy this title more than the MARVEL KNIGHTS version of the FF, as it seems to have more cohesion and actually READS better.

Overall, this line has tremendous potential to grown and expand on the mythos that is Marvel. It’s hip enough for new readers and not quite diverting enough to ward off members of the Old Guard. With the exception ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP, which has just been too uneven for my liking, it’s a cool read all the way around. So, if you’ve got a couple of bucks extra to blow each month or find yourself becoming more and more lost in the continuing serialization and crossovers of other titles, check these three out(ULTIMATE MARVEL TEAM-UP ended as Brian Michael Bendis took his leave of the series). They’re worth both your time and hard earned money.

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