SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld].  Welcome to my comic book review blog - where you’ll always get recommendations on what to read, but you’ll never get any spoilers.

 Today we’re taking a look at the latest Ultimates title, Ultimates III.  It’s written by Jeph Loeb - who’s resume in comic books such as Batman and TV shows such as Heroes is way too long to even begin listing - and drawn by late 90’s Uncanny X-Men artist Joe Madureira.  Ultimates III is a current mini-series being published by Marvel - so far we’ve received 4 out of the 5 issues.  One of the biggest hooks of the series is that is the prelude to the upcoming Ultimatum event - which will, according to hype, destroy the entire Ultimate Universe.

For those not familiar, Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is essentially a relaunch of everything Marvel.  I must admit that when I first heard about the Ultimate Universe I thought it was a cheap ploy to get more money by recycling old stories in a year 2000 setting.  However, once I gave them a chance I saw that the Ultimate Universe had developed into something completely separate from the Marvel Universe.  Certainly all of the characters take their creative inspiration from their 616 (or core Marvel Universe) counterparts - but they are by no stretch of the imagination identical.  Many characters even have different origins in the Ultimate Universe, and certainly different personalities.  For example, Ultimate Nick Fury isn’t just different because he’s a black man - he has a whole different attitude about super heroes with his own secret agendas that 616 Fury never had.  I have read every Ultimate title released to date, and as a whole I have thoroughly enjoyed them.

But not Ultimates III.  Let me say this: if you enjoy senseless sex and gratuitous violence then this is the title for you.  And I don’t mind sex and violence - as long as they’re part of the story.  But Ultimates III doesn’t seem to have a story.  You’re just along for this fast paced adrenaline rush of a ride without really understanding what’s going on.  People seem to be acting out of character.  People who were supposed to be imprisoned show up with no explanation.  And then everyone’s fighting each other.  One of the main reasons this is so terrible is that the first two volumes of Ultimates are some of the richest character driven comic book stories out there - I can’t help but constantly think of how Ultimates III falls short of the standards set by its predecesors.

To Jeph Loeb’s credit, the end of issue 4 did sort of explain why everything has felt out of whack.  But I really would have enjoyed the first three and a half issues more if I hadn’t been confused the whole time - feeling like I had been left behind or that essential information was revealed between each issue.

 I’m afraid that I can’t give this series my recommendation.  I’ll pick up the 5th issue and let you know if it resolves itself well.  However, given the pace of things so far, I’m fairly certain the end of issue 5 won’t be a resolution so much as it will be a precursor to Ultimatium.

As always, thanks for reading - see you next time.
-Searnold

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