STORY: Mark Millar
PENCILS: Bryan Hitch
INKS: Andrew Currie
COLORS: Paul Mounts with Bongotone
LETTERS: Chris Eliopoulos
EDITOR: Ralph Macchio
EiC: Joe Quesada
COVER: Bryan Hitch
32pp, Color, $2.25 U.S., $3.50 CAN (March 2002)
The Ultimates created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch; Avengers created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee
“Super Human”
The Ultimates was a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics as part of its “Ultimate Marvel” imprint. The series ran for thirteen issues, cover date: March 2002 to April 2004. Created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, The Ultimates were both a modernization and re-imagining of Marvel's Avengers comic-book franchise. Organized by the United States government, the “Ultimates” were an elite military task-force of super-humans and special agents.
The regular creative team of The Ultimates was comprised of writer Mark Millar; artists Bryan Hitch (pencils) and Andrew Currie (inks); colorists Paul Mounts and Bongotone; and letterer Chris Eliopoulos. The Ultimates' mission was to combat the growing threats – human and non-human – to the United States and also to the Earth in general.
The Ultimates #1 (“Super Human”) opens over the North Atlantic, 1945, where the 101st Airborne division streaks towards Iceland. There, inside a seemingly impregnable fortress, the Nazis are building their “super weapon,” which could end the war in days. Aboard one of the troop transports is America's own super weapon, the “super-soldier” known as “Captain America.” With him is an entire division of American soldiers … and his friend, Bucky Barnes, a war photographer. What neither Rogers nor Barnes realizes is that this mission is so dangerous that it might be his last.
THE LOWDOWN: It has been two decades since I first read The Ultimates #1, and reading it again for the first time since then, I find it to be about eighty percent different from how I remember it.
Except for the last three pages, The Ultimates #1 is entirely about Captain America's final World War II mission. So, I must admit that I find this first issue to be one of the best Captain American comic books that I have read in years – although it was published twenty years ago.
Millar's storytelling is slick, but brings the grit one would expect of a “real war story” type comic book. It is dark and sad, mostly because Millar makes it clear that a lot of American servicemen are going to die on this mission. Bryan Hitch's photo-realistic pencil art gets a smooth finishing from Andrew Currie's lush inks. The colors are beautiful, but are a tad too dark for my tastes. Luckily, Chris Eliopoulos' quirky lettering work stands out and helps to establish and reinforce Millar's moody tale.
Over the course of this series' thirteen issues, it is clear that Mark Millar made Steve Rogers/Captain America the centerpiece. The Ultimates #1 isn't a prologue; it is the foundation of the series, and that is a good thing. Millar's Captain America is the most human, the most heroic, and the most idealistic of the Ultimates. He is the standard that his teammates cannot achieve, if for no other reason than that they are too broken to match Steve Rogers. Captain America brings color to this dark re-interpretation of the Avengers. He is the one holdover from the early Marvel Comics' sense of wonder and fantasy in this series that is dark and edgy, though not cynical.
The Ultimates #1 was the kind of first issue that encourages readers to come back for more, which they indeed did for this series. I originally did come back for a few more issues, but, back then, I never finished The Ultimates. I didn't even bother with its follow up, The Ultimates 2. I rectified that this year and read the entire first series over a few days.
I READS YOU RECOMMENDS: Fans of the team of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch will want to read The Ultimates.
A
9 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
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