Review: Superheroes With A Ticking Clock In ‘The Ultimates’ #1
by Tony Thornley
Marvel’s Ultimate Universe has had a countdown haunting it since the end of Ultimate Invasion. In The Ultimates #1, we finally see earth’s mightiest heroes start to do something about it.
Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee, and Travis Lanham fight the ultimate war.
Decades ago, the Maker interfered with the natural events of the timeline, preventing the birth of Earth’s heroes. Six months ago, Howard Stark sacrificed his life to trap the Maker in a time bubble. In eighteen months, the Maker will be free. That means Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Reed Richards and Thor have eighteen months to create Earth’s mightiest heroes and stop the Maker.
The Ultimates may be the universe’s only hope.
This concept is clever as hell. We’ve known about the ticking clock of the time bubble since Ultimate Invasion ended. Making it an actual plot device is a great approach from Camp. It creates an urgency that prevents this story from just being an Avengers story, which is added with the group’s outlaw status. Camp makes it all interesting without leaning backwards into harmful tropes that hinder the storytelling.
I really like Frigeri’s line art here. He’s house style, but he has a clean line that makes the storytelling pop off the page, especially when the action picks up. His redesigns for the Ultimates are all interesting even if not all of them totally work (the Iron Lad armor is frankly a bit bulky). He also has a great eye for layouts that make the storytelling work really well. I think it’s clear that he’s going to grow with the series, and work towards something really special.
Blee’s colors get stronger every time I see them. He uses blues to make the Ultimates’ headquarters feel ultra-modern, and illuminates the fight scenes with harsh light. It adds to Frigeri everywhere he touches. Lanham does a fantastic job with a lot of exposition, making it feel like it has a spoken rhythm, as the characters try to make sense of everything.
The Ultimates #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
The plot is clever, the characters are interesting, and the art looks really solid. This is a worthy addition to a line of titles that are getting better by the month.
