The anticipation for Ultimates is high, and for good reason. It not only expands on what Jonathan Hickman has set up involving the Maker and the new Ultimate Universe, but also reveals that it’s crafted by two of the hottest young creators in comics: Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri. It’s also quite clear for anyone who grew up in the ’90s and experienced the original idea of the Ultimates that this series is truly important to the larger world-building – something Black Panther, Spider-Man, and X-Men haven’t dug into yet.
Don’t expect spoilers for Ultimates #1 as an advance review beyond what we already know. Due out in comic shops on June 5th, I can safely say this issue will sell as well as Ultimate Spider-Man or Ultimate X-Men. That’s because this issue expands on the world quite a bit – we already know Iron Lad is the architect that gave Spider-Man his powers – and reveals a take on Avengers in a world where they’re more a secret covert operation than anything else.
As we’ve seen in the trailer and Free Comic Book Day issue, the Ultimates is comprised of Captain America, Doom, Iron Lad (Tony Stark), Lady Sif, and Thor. Thor is down for the count, so their heaviest hitter can’t aid them. The issue is divided into two parts. The first is Iron Lad and Doom’s plan to create an Ultimates v2.0. The second involves an attack by one of The Maker’s placed rulers of a select sector of Earth. In these two parts, we see a team willing to do anything in their power to give heroes an edge in a world where most of them were never created or died outright.
“We’re putting together a team.”
Credit: Marvel
That includes the Pyms, who as we see in the trailer, are working as pest control. I’ll say no more, but Camp is doing some compelling stuff with character in the regards of Pym. You can see he’s taking into account what we know about the 616 versions of these characters and standing it on its head. That makes it familiar and a touchstone to connect you to the characters while doing something entirely different. There’s interesting psychology to back what Camp is doing with Pym as well, which should play out in an interesting way.
This series is set in a world where all the heroes that should have come to be are no longer on the table, yet it appears superheroes are rising up, and powers are manifesting regardless. One might say fate is involved, although with the Ultimates led by Doom and Iron Lad—two super smart folks who may have immoral compasses — how they shift the power back to heroes could go in any direction.
As was seen in the Free Comic Book Day issue, named heroes are wiped off the map. That creates a heightened sense of stakes, aided by the fact that there’s a literal ticking clock as to when the Maker will come back. Given Iron Lad’s youth and Doom’s history, it’s interesting to see how they lead this team. Throw in Captain America, who is from a time when punching Nazis in the mouth was his go-to and now lives in a world where America isn’t at all where it was when he left, and there’s a lot of power dynamics in play that’ll be great to follow going forward.
Art by Frigeri lives up to the epic nature of the only superhero team in this universe. Frigeri has great strength in drawing a lot of characters on the page, which helps when there’s a big showdown in the issue. There’s also a good sense of scale and realism, which was customary in the original Ultimates and is seen here in a key few moments near the end of the issue. Panel layouts are well crafted, with cinematic wide panels running down pages to classic nine-panel grids. Even though this issue is heavier on dialogue and character work, Frigeri always keeps your attention with not a single boring panel when it comes to the talking heads.
As seen in this first issue, the skies are the limit with Ultimates. The creators fundamentally understand superhero comics while building on what we know about the characters and putting new spins on them. Ultimates is one of the most exciting superhero comics you’ll read all year. It’s ambitious, with deep ideas and awesome action.
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