SuperSearnold - Comic Book Reviews

Greetings from your friendly neighborhood Searnold [Shár- Nŭhld]. Welcome to my comic book review blog - thanks for tuning in. Today is Wednesday, September 24th, 2008.

Today’s Issue:
Ultimate Origins #1 - #4 (okay - it’s 4 issues - sue me) (Okay, changed my mind, please don’t.) Published by Marvel as part of their Ultimate Universe (an alternate universe which is an incredibly good recreation of classic Marvel characters.) This is the latest Ultimate title and is going to be a 5 part mini-series. The fifth issue isn’t out quite yet, but I wanted to throw in my 2 cents on the story thus far. Ultimate Origins is written by Ultimate Universe creator and guiding force Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man, Secret Invasion) with art by Butch Guice (X-Factor, Captain America).

Premise:
Ultimate Origins is supposed to reveal the origins of the Ultimate Universe. Bruce Banner famously (and mysteriously) told Spider-Man WAAAY back in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #3 that “it’s all connected” and “they don’t want you to figure it out.” This series was hyped as though it were going to finally explain what he meant. However, the series feels more like an Ultimatum prequel (Ultimatum is the NEXT giant crossover happening throughout all the Ultimate titles which is being hyped as the end of the universe.)

The Awesome Parts:
Bendis sure is a great writer. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever read a book by him that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy. And a good origin story is always fun - to get a new perspective on where a character is coming from. We’re definitely seeing some of the very first superhumans and learning more about their stories. Overall, it has been an enjoyable read.

The Not-Awesome Parts:
But the idea that it’s “all connected” is bull. Each issue has essentially told the origin story of a different aspect of the Ultimate Universe - Nick Fury, Captain America, Magneto, and Hulk (in that order.) Don’t get me wrong - the stories are certainly RELATED. Nick Fury is involved in a lot of stuff that’s going on (big shocker there - Nick Fury is involved in EVERYTHING). And baby Peter Parker was certainly present when The Hulk was created. But the idea that these events are CONNECTED - that implies an incredibly awesome conspiracy with some sort of hidden devious intent. That’s certainly the way I believe Bendis intended us to take Banner’s mysterious warning. Also - how come we haven’t seen ANYTHING about Roxxon and Osborn Industries and their race to create a super human? Maybe I’m jumping the gun - maybe the 5th issue ties it all together. That’s certainly something Bendis would be capable of. But overall - while the stories have been nice - and it was fun to see young Banner, Storm, Pym, and Parker (Spider-Man’s dad) working together… I have been SORELY disappointed in the lack of conspiracy and connection.
The reason that this mini-series feels like an Ultimatum prequel is because of the few pages each issue devoted to what is happening in the here-and-now. There’s some sort of mysterious alien device causing shenanigans - and I don’t think it counts as a spoiler for me to tell you that it’s going to have something to do with Ultimatum. And it also had SOMETHING to do with all these origin events, as well. But that does NOT count as a connection. Trust me - I’ve read all four issues - I know where Bendis is going with this.

My Recommendation:
Don’t mistake my disappointment as this series fails to live up to its hype for disapproval of the story. This mini-series is incredible. I love Brian Michael Bendis - I would go so far as to say he is a comic book genius. Finding out these characters’ origins has been a fun ride and I highly recommend the series to anyone who follows the Ultimate Universe. But this book is definitely NOT a jumping on point. If you don’t ALREADY know who Dr. Storm, Dr. Parker, Dr. Banner, and Dr. Pym are, then you aren’t going to care that they’re all working together. If you don’t know who Wilson Fisk is, then the appearance he makes doesn’t even seem RELEVANT. This is definitely a book for fans. (And I’m not saying that’s a bad thing - either. Sometimes you can’t pander to the least informed denominator. Sometimes a good story for those of us who have literally read EVERY issue of the Ultimate Universe can be a lot of fun.)

That’s all for today. If you’ve been looking forward to Spider-Man: Brand New Day week - I promise, it’s on the horizon. Until then - thanks for reading - see you next time.
-Searnold

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