Marvel Month Part 3(of 5)

Marvel’s “Ultimate” line has been one of its more successful experiments to date. I am sure we can all remember things like MC2, and 2099, which seemed like a good idea at the start, but slowly waned in sales and resulted in eventual cancellation. Even recent gimmicks like Tsunami and Epic seem to suffer from lack of long term interest. Whether that is the fault of a poor product, or Marvel’s marketing team, it is impossible to say.

The Ultimate line, on the other hand, has been going full steam ahead since Ultimate Spider-man was first released. Fans ate up the modern retelling of classic heroes, and to be honest, I think it was a great idea. Bendis’s run on Ultimate Spider-man has been hailed as fantastic from all corners. Ultimate X-Men (which Bendis recently took over) has gone through some rocky periods, but has stuck in there rather well. The fourth title out of the line was The Ultimates, an “ultimization” of the Avengers. This title has had more of a troubled history than its two predecessors have, but it has not suffered one bit in quality.

Cast of Characters

General Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., is the head of the superhuman task force called the Ultimates. He is a special blend of military man and political machine- he weighs all his actions in terms of public opinion, and military effectiveness. He established this public group of superheroes on an island off the coast of New York City at a facility called the Triskelion.

Steve Rogers had not lost a fight since 1941. One would presume that it was then that he was injected with the Super-Soldier Serum that made him Captain America. As in the normal continuity, Captain America fought along side the Allies in World War Two against the Nazis. As chronicled in The Ultimates #1, Captain America sacrificed himself by jumping on to a nuclear missile launched at Washington DC by the Nazis, destroying it, and seemingly falling to his death somewhere over the Atlantic. Fifty-seven years later, he is found drifting in the Arctic, encased in a block of ice. He is thawed out, and finds everyone he has ever known to be either old or dead. He joins up with Nick Fury’s super Human task force to continue fighting for his country.

Tony Stark is every bit the eccentric playboy you might imagine, and then some. In his own words, he often finds himself bored if he is not doing fifteen things at once. In Nick Fury’s words – he has never seen anyone who could “conduct a multilingual business deal, satisfy a girlfriend over the telephone, and memorize a six-hundred page military briefing all at the same time.” Tony uses his stunning intellect to design his Iron Man armor- an all-purpose combat suit that he wears while in combat with the Ultimates.

Robert Bruce Banner was the scientist in charge of re-creating the Super-Soldier Serum that gave Captain America his power. The goal of his project is to create an entire army of these soldiers. Unfortunately the original formula was lost along with Cap when he went missing. He injected one of his early versions of the formula into himself, but it was flawed. As a result, he turned into a rampaging monster- the Hulk. He joined up with the Ultimates in the hopes that he could perfect the serum- and the discovery of Captain America made that possibility even more likely. Unfortunately he decided that since the Ultimates were suffering bad PR from the lack of a real superhuman threat, he would help them out by inducing a transformation to the rampaging Hulk. He continues to assist the Ultimates, only in a nice, secure cell.

Thor claims to be the very same Norse God who he shares a name with, but most people just think he is a crazy hippie. No one can deny his abilities, however. He wields thunder just like the ancient deity, and has the very same arrogance you might expect from an immortal. He does not consider himself officially part of the team, as he despises the idea of working for the government, but he is more than willing to lend a hand when the world truly needs his help.

Hank Pym is another of the Ultimates’ bright minds. Two of his more impressive achievements are the development of a pheromone language which allows him to communicate with ants- the other is his Giant-Man technology, which he uses to grow up to sixty feet in height. His wife- Janet, otherwise known as the Wasp, has the ability to shrink down to the size of her namesake. Most thought that this ability was another byproduct of her husband’s research. But as it turns out, she is a mutant- something she desperatly wants to keep secret.

The Black Widow and Hawkeye, up until recently, have belonged to the “Shadow Team” branch of the Ultimates. Both are espionage specialists, and are used primarily in missions of that nature. Two other Shadow Team members are the Brotherhood’s own Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who cooperate with S.H.I.E.L.D. in exchange for the release of certain political prisoners.

Thoughts

Right out of the gate, this became one of my favorite Ultimate titles. Sure I enjoy Ultimate Spider-man a great deal, but I am a lot older now, and teenage angst issues really do not appeal to me as much as they would have ten years ago. The themes they deal with in The Ultimates are much more mature, and much more thought provoking than those presented in Ultimate Spider-man. Ultimate X-Men has suffered, in my opinion, from a real lack of focus and far too many characters for its own good. The Ultimates boast several characters, but have stopped short from crossing that line where the sheer number of bodies coming in and out of the title become a jumbles mess. It is a good balance.

The art on The Ultimates is simultaneously the best and the worst aspect of this title. Bryan Hitch has done a fantastic job creating the imagery for this title- it has a realistic feel that lives up to the ultimate line. Unfortunately, the man is chronically late. It is always a huge surprise to see a copy of The Ultimates in my bin, and that is a very bad thing. Almost two years into its run, The Ultimates has issue #13 solicited for a January release. Ambitious to be sure as issue #12 has not seen the light of day, and I can’t find specific release date info for it on Marvel’s website – in other words, a big fat “I’m not sure when this issue is coming out.” Marvel is making a big hubbub about “Ultimate Starts” month in December, but the Ultimates is strangely absent from this event. The problem? Bryan Hitch.

Now supporters of this title have defended Hitch, propping up his artwork. “I would rather wait for amazing art than have the issue on time each and every month.” I have to admit that for the longest time, I was in this camp. I felt that I would be willing to wait for a quality book, rather than get upset over the fact that it was chronically missing from the shelves. Upon reflection, I have to say that my opinion has changed. There are countless great comics out there today with some really high quality art that still manage to come out on time, every month. The occasional delay is of course forgivable, artists are human and sometimes life gets in the way. But on the other hand, commitments are commitments, and when a book is this late this often, you have to call into question the commitment of the creator.

It all comes down to commitment in the end. And Hitch is not the only person who is guilty of this. Take Kevin Smith, and his ill-fated Spider-man/Black Cat book. Here we have a man who’s work I admire, who made a commitment to write a monthly mini-series for Marvel (A MINI for crying out loud), who just stopped handing in scripts because he got “too busy making movies.” The man of course has his defenders- but quite frankly, Kevin Smith made a commitment to Marvel and to the fans, and for lack of a better description – he flaked out.

Now I may not be an artist, and I may only be a “wanna-be” writer. Some may say I cannot judge because I am not in the situation they are. But I do understand the nature of a commitment. When I take on a job, I make damned sure I can fulfill my commitment. It is a question of integrity and work ethic. If I make a commitment to a client in my real job that I will complete a task by 5 PM on any given day, and I do not, my client suffers. As a result, I suffer because they are less likely to use me in the future. As comic fans, we are essentially these creators’ clients- our hard-earned cash goes to pay for the product these people put out. Creators should be held to the same standards we all are in our normal lives. Marvel has made it very public that any future Kevin Smith projects would be handled under the strictest of guidelines, but I get the feeling that his star-power would override all of these concerns in the future.

In Kevin Smith’s case- his lack of commitment is egregious. The man is not simply late, he simply decided he was too busy to write the book any longer. I spent real money on the first couple issues of that mini-series, money that gave him a paycheck, and I only got half a story. That would be like paying $10 to see a movie, watching the first half, then being shooed out of the theater because the director did not feel like finishing the film. Selling half a story to an audience is breaking a promise. I bought the first couple of issues of that series expecting an entire story, and instead I got nothing at all but a tease. A nine-dollar tease- a lap-dance is cheaper, and at least you know what you are getting when you buy one of those. Maybe you think it is over-reacting, but I will be very wary of buying another comic with his name on the cover again.

Hitch’s sin is less sinister, but bad nonetheless. I do know that Marvel is restarting The Ultimates after issue #13 with a new #1, and they are promising a more strict schedule in the future. In this case, I agree with a fresh start, and it is one of the few times when I will not call them on a cheap marketing gimmick. The Ultimates has a tarnished reputation because of its tardiness, and does need a fresh start. Rumor has it that Hitch was presented with an ultimatum, and has agreed to keep to a monthly schedule. If he follows through, I will be more than happy.

If not, I say it is time for a new artist. Yes, the quality of the artwork is essential to this book, but there are dozens (if not more) quality artists out there that would sell their mother for a chance to work on this book, and who WILL put out this quality of art. Hitch is good, but he is not irreplaceable. Either solicit The Ultimates quarterly or do whatever it takes to make it come out on time… all I ask.

Bottom Line

My anger over the timeliness of this title aside, it is one seriously amazing comic. Especially when you read the issues back to back instead of one at a time, so you get a real feel for the story. I have to say that if you have never read a single issue of The Ultimates, pick yourself up a copy of issue #6 and enjoy the terrible reality this title has to offer- that has to be the most shocking single issue of any comic I have ever read.

With any luck, The Ultimates Volume 2 will keep up the quality and remain on-time – this title will be a real addition to the line that is really over-dominated by Ultimate Spider-man at this point. Marvel seems to have a vested interest in this title (imagine the damage a failed Avengers book would do)… so I don’t see it going anywhere anytime soon.

Credit where credit is due-

The Ultimates is
Written by- Mark Millar
Pencilled by- Bryan Hitch
Inked by – Paul Neary
and Colored by – Paul Mounts

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