The Ultimates has been my favorite of all the Ultimate titles. Millar has done an impressive job delivering summer blockbuster style action in this title. The past several issues have been incredible. There is no doubt that Ultimates #12 is going to be a sweet read. Let’s check out the review.
Creative Team
Writer: Mark Millar
Penciler: Bryan Hitch
Inker: Paul Neary & Bryan Hitch
Art Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Synopsis: The issue starts with the Hulk rampaging on the Liberators’ army of robots and soldiers. The Abomination locks horns with the Hulk and Abdul al-Rahman squares off against Captain America.
We shift to Hawkeye getting pounded by the Liberators’ speedster, Hurricane. Quicksilver races to the rescue and pulls Hurricane off Hawkeye. Quicksilver races to such a high speed that it kills Hurricane in a gruesome fashion. This entire battle scene occurs in the time it takes Hawkeye to fall to the ground after being punched by the Hurricane.
We shift back to Captain America and al-Rahman battling ferociously. We then cut to a super soldier task force from Europe led by Captain Britain arriving New York to help kick ass on the Liberators’ soldiers.
We then cut back to Washington, DC, with the Hulk and the Abomination and their massive brawl. We see Nick Fury and the Ultimates struggling against the Liberators’ soldiers. Suddenly, a massive laser from the heavens strikes down a bunch of the Liberators’ soldiers. We see Iron Man 6. It is a massive warship with tons of laser cannons. Tony Stark mentions that he is totally wasted, but still an excellent shot. (Gotta love Ultimate Tony!) Iron Man 6 starts wreaking havoc on the Liberators’ army.
We shift back to the Hulk getting the upper hand on the Abomination. The Hulk rips off the Abomination’s arms and then smashes his head open with one punch. We then see Henry Pym reveal that he has simply been a spy who purposely infiltrated the Liberators. Pym then commands his Ultron robots to attack the Liberators’ army.
We cut back to al-Rahman battling with Captain America. Captain America starts kicking al-Rahman’s butt. Being a total coward, al-Rahman has a bunch of his soldiers gang tackle Captain America. The soldiers hold Captain America while al-Rahman gets ready to chop off Cap’s head. The Hulk grabs Captain America’s shield and throws it full force at al-Rahman. The shield slices off both of al-Rahman’s hands. Captain America then breaks free of all the soldiers trying to hold him down. Captain America then grabs al-Rahman’s light saber styled sword and impales al-Rahman through the chest.
We shift to Loki rising into the air and revealing to the Ultimates that he is the mastermind behind this entire attack. The Scarlet Witch then uses her powers to increase toe odds of someone showing up to kick Loki’s ass. We then see a bunch of lightning and then we get a two page splash shot of Thor. End of issue.
Comments
The Good: Ultimates #12 was a blast to read. Millar delivers an issue that has the same feel as a summer blockbuster action movie. This was one fast paced action packed issue that rocked from start to finish. Millar is one of the best writers at delivering a dramatic and wild action story. I loved the pacing and flow of this issue. Millar also delivered some solid dialogue. Millar has such a great feel for each of these characters. It is impressive how well Millar has been able to develop each of the Ultimates into their own unique personalities without them being carbon copies of their 616 counter parts.
Let’s get to what made this issue so much fun. Action. Bloody action and lots of it. There were so many great scenes. Quicksilver killing Hurricane in a brutal fashion by running so fast that she gets crushed to death by the pressure. The Hulk tearing off the Abomination’s arms and smashing open his head. Iron Man swooping down in the largest war machine you have ever seen, completely drunk and blasting everything that moves. And best of all, Captain America impaling al-Rahman with a light saber style sword after the Hulk sliced of al-Rahman’s hands with Cap’s shield. Ultimates #12 had more ballsy action than you could imagine.
What is so cool is how interesting Millar makes characters that are kind of lame in the 616 universe. For example, Quicksilver. Millar makes him considerably faster and much deadlier. The Hulk. Millar makes him the savage killer that he should be. Tony Stark. Millar makes him the heavy drinking suave playboy billionaire who is always in control of the situation. Much better than the lame 616 Tony we are getting in the Civil War storyline. Captain America. Millar makes him the hardcore right wing fascist ass-kicker that he should be. I love Brubaker’s Captain America, but I think that Millar writes the best Captain America. I think it is great that a Scotsman is better at writing the Star Spangled hero than any American writer. For my money, the Ultimates beat the Avengers hands down. It isn’t even close.
I was glad to see Henry Pym reveal himself to be a spy and not an actual traitor. I really like Pym’s character and I feel like he has continually gotten a raw deal both in the 616 universe and in the Ultimate universe. I liked the army of Ultron robots.
Millar delivers a huge bomb at the end of this issue with the return of the mighty Thor in all his glory. That ending definitely hooks the reader and it certainly got me all excited to read the next issue. The Loki versus Thor showdown should be very entertaining.
Hitch’s artwork was incredible. His art a great match for Millar’s summer blockbuster movie style storyline. My favorite scene was where Quicksilver pulled Hurricane of Hawkeye and then battles her and kills her all before Hawkeye hits the ground. That was so well drawn. It is the little details like that that make the Ultimates such an exciting title to read.
The Bad: No complaints at all.
Overall: Ultimates #12 was a kick-ass read. This was a fun issue that had me cheering for the Ultimates during every fight scene. After seeing our heroes take a beating over the past several issues, it was great to see them dish out some serious payback. I am really going to miss Miller and Hitch when they leave this title. They have made the Ultimates one of Marvel’s top comics. This is definitely a comic that is well worth your money.