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darthfishbag's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
guimos's review
4.0
That was some hard-core Avengers story... Great story, more adult oriented... heroes with glaring flaws and all. Art was also great. Super enjoyable and entertaining read with some minor flaws that don't negatively impact the rest.
germancho's review against another edition
5.0
Holy crap, they did it again! Just as good as the first one, with a very satisfactory ending.
joeprog's review
3.0
I liked how it starts, off of the cliffhangers in Ultimates 1, but the end is rather messy. I'm staying away from Ultimates 3, as I've read it;s not good at all.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
OMGOMGOMGOMGetc.
After much consideration, I've decided that even if I truly can't gush enough, that kind of enthusiasm should be expressed...differently.
I was never much of a comics reader growing up, for that you need ready access to a store that sells them and parents willing to finance that kind of habit (my parents didn't believe in allowances, chores were something you were supposed to do). So I remember watching some episodes of the X-Men cartoon, knew the Spiderman jingle, I loved the Batman movies and was familiar with "the biggies", but they were like professional sports and cable TV. My parents weren't interested, so we didn't have it.
You'd think my parents weren't the blue collar folks they are. Aren't us lower middle class types supposed to love sports and drool at television sets? When I was a kid I had to play outside and read books without pictures. Poor, poor, pitiful me.
Not really though. I think my late-education in things super-heroic (junior year of high school) has left me we a great deal of enthusiasm for the genre, and incidentally, make me a perfect audience for Ultimate Comics. I still don't get sports though. Just throwing that out there.
I got into these for the X-Men, but I have to admit, the tight story arcs and action of the Ultimates beats them every time. 'Ultimates 2' starts off a great deal slower than the first, but that just heightened the tension you could see building in each issue. Thor widens the breech between himself and the team, Bruce Banner's identity as the Hulk is leaked to the press, Jan Pym's relationship with Captain America slowly disintegrates, Henry Pym must try to salvage his career in the wake of his, to say the least, bad conduct, and, most surprisingly, there are plenty of little moments that show the various members of the Ultimates bonding together and becoming friends and forging new relationships, from the formerly withdrawn Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, to Hawkeye and his family, to Iron Man and Black Widow. That process is a hard thing to pull off, and the effort isn't often made in superhero comics.
In the best tradition of Ultimate comics this second series more successfully redefines and explores these characters in a real and modern way. The humor is there, too, bringing in much-welcome appearances from The Defenders as a group of wannabes, and one highlight was Quicksilver's battle with another speedster, which is not only badass, but really underlines how easy it is for allies and enemies alike to underestimate his abilities: "Hey Quicksilver, stop messing around and help me out here!"
I haven't developed the right reviewer vocabulary or something, but I find it a lot more difficult to assess characterization and subtle workings of plot in comic books as opposed to traditionally written stories. But 'Ultimates 2' stands on its own as a 'graphic' novel.
Issues 12 and 13 though are where its at. It all, duh, built up to a show-down of such proportions that I can't do them any justice. I mean, it is everything I could have asked for. That panoramic shot, you know the one, I just stared at it for five minutes. If there's going to be an 'Avengers' movie, let it start here.
Ultimate Marvel
Next: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 2'
Previous: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 1'
After much consideration, I've decided that even if I truly can't gush enough, that kind of enthusiasm should be expressed...differently.
I was never much of a comics reader growing up, for that you need ready access to a store that sells them and parents willing to finance that kind of habit (my parents didn't believe in allowances, chores were something you were supposed to do). So I remember watching some episodes of the X-Men cartoon, knew the Spiderman jingle, I loved the Batman movies and was familiar with "the biggies", but they were like professional sports and cable TV. My parents weren't interested, so we didn't have it.
You'd think my parents weren't the blue collar folks they are. Aren't us lower middle class types supposed to love sports and drool at television sets? When I was a kid I had to play outside and read books without pictures. Poor, poor, pitiful me.
Not really though. I think my late-education in things super-heroic (junior year of high school) has left me we a great deal of enthusiasm for the genre, and incidentally, make me a perfect audience for Ultimate Comics. I still don't get sports though. Just throwing that out there.
I got into these for the X-Men, but I have to admit, the tight story arcs and action of the Ultimates beats them every time. 'Ultimates 2' starts off a great deal slower than the first, but that just heightened the tension you could see building in each issue. Thor widens the breech between himself and the team, Bruce Banner's identity as the Hulk is leaked to the press, Jan Pym's relationship with Captain America slowly disintegrates, Henry Pym must try to salvage his career in the wake of his, to say the least, bad conduct, and, most surprisingly, there are plenty of little moments that show the various members of the Ultimates bonding together and becoming friends and forging new relationships, from the formerly withdrawn Quicksilver and Scarlett Witch, to Hawkeye and his family, to Iron Man and Black Widow. That process is a hard thing to pull off, and the effort isn't often made in superhero comics.
In the best tradition of Ultimate comics this second series more successfully redefines and explores these characters in a real and modern way. The humor is there, too, bringing in much-welcome appearances from The Defenders as a group of wannabes, and one highlight was Quicksilver's battle with another speedster, which is not only badass, but really underlines how easy it is for allies and enemies alike to underestimate his abilities: "Hey Quicksilver, stop messing around and help me out here!"
I haven't developed the right reviewer vocabulary or something, but I find it a lot more difficult to assess characterization and subtle workings of plot in comic books as opposed to traditionally written stories. But 'Ultimates 2' stands on its own as a 'graphic' novel.
Issues 12 and 13 though are where its at. It all, duh, built up to a show-down of such proportions that I can't do them any justice. I mean, it is everything I could have asked for. That panoramic shot, you know the one, I just stared at it for five minutes. If there's going to be an 'Avengers' movie, let it start here.
Ultimate Marvel
Next: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 2'
Previous: 'Ultimate Spider-man, Vol. 1'