ULTIMATES #1

Capsule Review

Takes many of the things I dislike about modern comics — complicated backstory, steadfast refusal to tell an origin story in the first issue, an assumed familiarity with continuity I do not understand — and somehow manages to shoot the moon by brewing up a book that I like! And this despite a three-page introduction that is entirely about theoretical comic book physics. It’s a miracle. It helps that this new super-team is built around characters I like, such as Black Panther and Captain (nee Ms.) Marvel. Vox praised the book for it’s lack of a straight, white, male character … so there’s that, too. It also helps that this team is founded to do more than punch people in the face — their mission is to “solve problems of cosmic scope before they become an issue for earth and the wider multiverse” … you know, the kind of thing the Fantastic Four used to do, before Marvel put them in the penalty box. This first issue walks the walk, with the Ultimates promising a new approach to the oldest and biggest threat in the Marvel Universe (and I won’t spoil it by naming it … but he’s right there on the cover, holding the team in his hand). Our heroes are supremely confident throughout the book, which either means they’re never going to fail, or that storytellers Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort are setting them up for a hubris-driven fall of epic (Ultimate?) proportions.

Approachability For New Readers

Good luck with that.

Read #2?

Sure. I want to see where this goes.

Sales Rank

(#27 November)

Read more capsule reviews of Marvel’s All-New All-Different rolling reboot.