Ultimatum Ultimately Badly Done

Marvel Comics' "Ultimatum" #1 was the most ordered comic for November. While it wasn't the king of Star Clipper's racks for that month, it was still a noteworthy release. The comic kicked off the first line wide crossover for Marvel's Ultimate imprint and promises to truly shake up the Ultimate Universe. Marvel has already announced that "Ultimatum" will see the cancellation of "Ultimate Fantastic Four" and "Ultimate X-Men" as well as the launching of two new titles: "New Ultimates" and "Ultimate Avengers."

In the two issues of "Ultimatum" that have been released so far, it really looks like things will get shaken up in the Ultimate world. Several characters appear to be dead or at least at death's door. New York has been destroyed and the Earth has been thrown off its axis. It is exciting to see a storyline with the guts to really have some high stakes; it is just too bad that it is so poorly executed.

The writing and art both are lacking in the miniseries. The events that have transpired in the last two issues have been played up for shock value, especially the grisly fate of one of the members of the Ultimates at the hands of the Blob. On top of the sensationalism, writer Jeph Loeb's characterization is off for many of the Ultimate characters. Characters like Hawkeye or the Hulk read more like their regular Marvel Universe counterparts than the versions seen in previous Ultimate books. The penciling by David Finch fell as flat for me as the issue's script. I will admit that most of this is due to personal taste. Aside from a few sloppy storytelling moments, Finch is competent at delivering the story. It is the fact that I personally don't enjoy how he renders things that leaves his artwork cold for me.

"Ultimatum" isn't all bad, however, as it will give readers an Ultimate universe that will have truly started to diverge from the templates of the regular Marvel Universe. Hopefully putting some familiar characters in brand new predicaments. It has also delivered a pretty enjoyable tie-in issue of "Ultimate Spider-man," #123. If nothing else, it should be interesting to see how this crossover shapes the Ultimate-line of comics for the future.

-Nick