(2025 Update – Fixed a whole bunch of typos that plagued the original 2002 review. My apologies for such a poorly edited piece of tripe. Now it’s slightly less poor.)
The Ultimates is Marvel’s latest entry in their “Ultimate” line of comics. For the uninitiated, the “Ultimate” line can be considered to be a remake of classic Marvel characters, but with a continuity of their own. So far, the only two remakes in the line are “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “Ultimate X-Men”. There is also “Marvel Team-up” which has Spider-Man teaming up with other heroes and villains in the new “ultimate” universe. Now here is “The Ultimates”, which is an Avengers remake.
The first issues of “The Ultimates” depicts Captain America’s final mission during World War II before being frozen for the next few decades (come on, it’s common knowledge by now). If it wasn’t for the guy on the cover, you could have easily considered this as a war book. The artwork is superb and the dark colors make for a fairly impressive interpretation of a battleground during World War II. It makes you want to flip through the pages and admires the artwork.
Now when a new issue of an ongoing series is release, you expect it would have a good story, and Ultimates #1 doesn’t disappoint. This is a well-written and will encourage you to pick up the next issue. It is a pretty straightforward read and anyone can get into it.
There aren’t’ any real downsides to this book, except for the Captain America costume in this issue. I found it to be ridiculous. Sure, it’s a little different, nut it makes you wonder if Cap was the pride of America or its worst fashion embarrassment. This is only a minor complain that doesn’t hurt the book, especially considering that the costume is only a one-time deal.
For anyone who is interested in the Avengers or the “Ultimate” line of books, The Ultimates #1 is a great issue but even a new reader can enjoy this book. It is well-written, great artwork and you can easily get into the story. It’s still too early to tell for the series as a whole, but if the team behind the scenes can keep up with the quality of the first issue, it looks to be a promising series.
dtm666 