Ultimate Comics: Avengers Vs. New Ultimates #1 – Review

Ultimate Comics: Avengers Vs. New Ultimates #1

Previously in ULTIMATE COMICS: AVENGERS
The Avengers is a Black Ops Initiative lead by Nick Fury with Gregory Stark, Tony Stark’s brother, providing tech. This team (which consists of Hawkeye, the new Black Widow, Nerd Hulk (Bruce Banner’s clone), Red Wasp and War Machine) fights the threats that are too dirty for the Ultimates. After the events of ULTIMATUM, the Avengers came face to face with the likes of the Red Skull (Steve Roger’s son) who got his hands on Reed Richard’s cosmic cube.
Red Skull: Terminated

They even captured the Punisher and forced him to help them out with a White House situation involving Ghost Rider. They even recruited the help of the first Hulk, Tyrone Cash.
Punisher: On the loose (with the help of Hawkeye knocking out his tracking device).
Ghost Rider: He’s still out there. Crisis averted… for now.

Recently the team had a vampire pandemic on their hands when the population of vampires began to grow and recruited the help of Blade. Stick (Matt Murdock’s mentor), Kid Daredevil, Nerd Hulk and even Captain America were turned into vampires. After taking out the leader, Nerd Hulk became leader of the vampires and ordered almost every single vampire to group together and attack the Triskellion. Perun (the Russian Thor) was part of the Avengers before getting his head twisted around by Nerd Hulk. In the end, Cap’s super soldier blood fought off the vampire affection in his body and with the help of Perun’s hammer, he teleported the Triskellion to the Middle East where the sun was up. Every vampire on site was barbequed, including Nerd Hulk, Kid Daredevil and Stick. Iron Man went down during the battle and apparently ended up in critical condition.
Nerd Hulk: Terminated
Kid Daredevil: Terminated
Stick: Terminated
Vampire Crisis: Averted

Previously in ULTIMATE COMICS: NEW ULTIMATES
So the Defenders (consisting of Nighthawk, Son of Satan, Power Man, Black Knight and Hellcat) randomly attack Iron Man and Hawkeye and lure out Zarda, Captain America and Valkyrie so they can steal Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, for Loki. Mean while Thor is in Valhalla ever since he traded places with Valkyrie back in ULTIMATUM. He wants to be with her. Hela wants a son. The two get it on. While Kazar and Shanna are in Central Park with T’Challa and their saber-toothed cats, Loki and the Enchantress open a rainbow bridge before them with an army of trolls… and a dragon. Back at the Triskellion Tony and Director Carol Danvers are sleeping together.

In sum up form for the rest, Enchantress manipulates all the women on the team to attack the men, Hawkeye finds out about Tony and Carol, the Ultimates fight the army of trolls, Valkyrie, Carol and Zarda beat Cap, Iron Man and Hawkeye, the guys escape with the help of T’Challa and the others, Hawkeye fires an arrow at Enchantress which breaks the spell, Loki kills Valkyrie a second before Thor returns. Thor’s pissed. Enchantress ditches Loki. Thor kills the rest of the trolls and the dragon as, again, he’s really pissed off. Hela turns Valkyrie into a REAL Valkyrie. Thor owns people. Thor owns even more people. Tony tries to calm down Thor while Loki attempts to kill the God of Thunder. Valkyrie kills Loki and says her farewells as she takes Loki’s body. Kazar, Shanna and T’Challa head out to Hollywood since Spielberg thinks there’s a movie that can be done about the Savage Land. Zarda returns to her universe. Loki spends some time with his new nephew in Valhalla. The Ultimates track down the Defenders for a little pay back.

A five issue mini that took almost a year to finish and this is what happened. You can’t see, but I’m shaking my head.

In Manhattan, S.H.I.E.L.D has secured an entire block of the city and are using Lenox Hill Hospital as their base until they get the Triskellion back in the U.S. As Director Carol Danvers talks to one of the agents, Thor teleports himself and Steve Rogers; who’s carrying Iron Man in his arms; to the main entrance. At the Black Widow’s apartment, she returns home to see her mother awake, worrying about what had happened with the Triskellion. Monica walks into her baby son, Julius’, room. When her mother asks what happened to Tony Stark, Monica tells her that he’s got a brain tumor. Back at Lenox Hill Hospital, everyone there looks on at Tony Stark lying in bed. This affects Gregory Stark most as even though he did despise his brother, he questions why he would keep this from him. Steve, Carol, Thor, Scott Lang and Gregory enter a meeting room where Carol informs the heroes that there was a break-in at Gregory’s English facility and that the Chinese and Russians are their main suspects. The genetic experiments they got their hands on could lead into the next generation of U.S. super-people. The team moves out.  

I like seeing Cap in character here. He’s defiantly not the Captain America of the 616 Universe but it’s good to see the Cap I read back in Ultimates and Ultimates 2. And as for Thor and his hammer if you’re still confused about his character, I’d recommend picking up his recent Ultimate Comics: Thor miniseries written by Jonathan Hickman and art by Carlos Pacheco, it’s pretty good. 

I’m glad to see Ultimate Scott Lang make his debut in the Ultimate Universe and it’s great to hear he’ll be the next Giant Man. I wasn’t really too fond of Ultimate Hank Pym since he was always set up as a bad person and I know he beat Janet but there’s more to the character than him being a d-bag… well he’s dead either way so it doesn’t matter now. And I was interested to see “The Mimic” used. I didn’t expect to be seeing that at all though the issue never says it’s the actual Mimic from the 616 Universe. 

I liked seeing character development in both Gregory Stark and Monica Chang. It’s a nice twist to see Monica with a child and who knows, since it was revealed that she and Fury were once together that her kid could be his. As for Gregory, it was nice to see him actually care for his brother in a time like this. If he didn’t, that would make him an a$$. Simple as that.

 

 

The Bad
I’m still annoyed that the Ultimate Universe STILL can’t solve their own continuity problems. For instance, when Steve is holding Iron Man in his arms he was not wearing that armor in the third miniseries, hell, when they found him he wasn’t wearing any armor at all. I don’t get what is so damn hard about continuity in the Ultimate Universe. And where the heck was Thor anyway? 

When exactly does this take place? Tony Stark is in the hospital currently because of the vampire attack but yet in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man, he’s there teaming up with Spidey. I know this probably takes place before the recent Spidey issue but they could at least say so.

This “Mimic” guy has a shark mouth! Is it that bad? Not really, I just wanted to point it out since it’s not normal.

 

 

The 50/50 Coin
Nick Fury as the potential enemy. Was I interested? Yes and no considering on one hand this story is titled “Death of Spider-Man”. Nick Fury was told during the Clone Saga by Mary Jane that secretly Peter does look up to him kind of like a father figure. The idea of Fury being an “enemy” has already felt like it’s been done before and I don’t really want to go down that road again. On the other hand it’s Nick “Mother F*%kin” Fury and I wonder how this will tie together with what’s going to happen with our young Peter Parker. 

The Ultimate
The highlight character here I have to say is Scott Lang, simply because this is his debut in this universe and so far I like him. Most of the Ultimates sometimes come off as jerks but not him. Scott is a family man, a scientist and he’s the next Giant Man. I hope he survives in this story, I’d like to see more of him in the future.

Rating
Pretty good artwork, the story has started out in an interesting way though there are a few minor continuity errors in this issue. 3 out of 5 star spangled shields