Review: ‘The Ultimates’ #10 Punches Fascists

The Ultimates has been a deep exploration of superheroes, a post-human world and how the paths of some of our favorite superheroes could have gone a little differently, among other sci-fi high concepts. But The Ultimates #10 takes a step back for something we can all relate to. 

Always punch Nazis.

Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee and Travis Lanham show us all why that’s important.

Tony Stark is finally awake and recovering. While he does, Captain America leads the team on a little detour. The Red Skulls have spread hate all across the former United States. Captain America and the Human Torch are going to lead the Ultimates on a mission to do one of the things they do best- punching and toppling Nazis.

The rest of the series has been high concept science fiction, with some interesting explorations of how timelines could have gone differently. Here though, this is just a good old-fashioned superhero brawl, with a little sci-fi icing. And that’s the best part of it — sometimes you need to combat misinformation, psychological warfare, corrupt systems and dictators. Other times you just need to dismantle a fascist militia with a bunch of superheroes.

Camp does a fantastic job here of showing just why that’s as important as everything else the series has accomplished. It’s a big loud brawl, but we get some interesting science fiction ideas — such as exploring Jim Hammond’s artificial nature or how the Red Skulls have a leader that uses mind control tech to sway impressionable young men. We also get some great character beats — I’m finding myself interested in Jim Hammond for the first time since I’ve been made aware of the character, and Tony Stark’s brief appearance still gave the character fantastic layers.

Frigeri is able to stretch some of his old action muscles in this issue, and I love it. He choreographs everything well, and he always makes sure each page and panel is full of detail. It could be a team shot, in which every member is doing something different, or an extreme close-up of Ant-Man or Wasp, showing them using their powers to their advantage. The designs are also fantastic. Ultimate John Walker and the Grand Skull are both great twists on classic characters — both visually distinct from the original but with recognizable details that act as visual shorthand.

Blee does some great color work with the running fight. He mixes the twilight lighting with color effects like explosions to great effect, and each of the heroes pop in page thanks to his work. Lanham fills the pages with information, but it never feels cluttered or obtrusive, translating the script into the right story on the page.

The Ultimates #10 is available now from Marvel Comics.