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Post by Erik-El on Feb 7, 2011 18:58:45 GMT -5
This is for the Ultimate Enemy Trilogy. I am reviewing the Ultimate Doom segment of that series. When I did Ultimate Doom 1 review, I did not know it was part of a greater series so enjoy the confused review. Ultimate Doom 1  Brian Michael Bendis - Story Rafa Sandoval - Penciler Roger Bonet - Inker Matthew Wilson - Colorist Okay wow. I got this issue because it seemed really cool but I am literally dropped into the 3rd part of a 12 issue story. Reed is a genuine badguy? Huh?! He was a bad guy for a long time based on what he said, ten minutes after Sue broke up with him. This issue has tons of suspense and action but it is like walking into a movie theater 2/3rds through the movie. I will have to read the previous 8 issues just to know what the hell is going on. I did notice one plot hole and it is really just a small thing. Reed said at one point in his fight with Sue that he has always hated physical confrontation. I used to read Ultimate Fantastic Four from the beginning all the way up to just before Ultimatum and Reed has always loved the physical part of being a super hero. It was the main reason he was hesitant to cure everyone earlier in their series. He was basically living out his fantasies. It is just a small thing to get bent out of shape over but I liked how different Ultimate Reed was from 616 Reed. Now... well he is evil so I guess he is REALLY different. So Sue fights him and gets her but wrecked because he is a super evil genius and knew how to ruin her since 10 minutes after she broke up with him. Fortunately Rick Jones was there to save her bacon and threw Reed out of his own party. We then jump to Jessica Drew at Roxxon where the brain trust is revealed to have a familiar villain running the show. Drew is strapped to a table and looks to be in quite a bit of trouble. But it just a quick peek at her situation before we jump back to Sue. She is in the hospital and crashing. We do not get to know what the outcome is because the issue ends right there. A nice hook to force me to get the next issue. Overall the story and art were really good. It felt really short though, probably because there was a lot of action. I am very interested to see what happens to Drew and Sue. I just wish I knew what the hell was going on. Overall, I give the issue a 7 out of 10. It did give a short recap on the intro page but it was not a lot and the issue seemed really short. |
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Post by Erik-El on Feb 7, 2011 18:59:35 GMT -5
Ultimate Doom 2  Brian Michael Bendis - Story Rafa Sandoval - Penciler Roger Bonet - Inker Matthew Wilson - Colorist Alright ladies and gents, I took it upon myself to catch myself up on the 3 part series that Ultimate Doom is a part of. It is called the Ultimate Enemy Trilogy containing Ultimate Enemy as the first part and Ultimate Mystery as the second part. Now that I know what is going on, I can say that I like the series that much more. The whole series gives glimpses into Reed's past, some of which we already knew from his series some of which was planted for plot but now it makes a great deal of sense that Reed is how he is. His dissatisfaction with the world the way it is pushed him down the road that he is on. Geniuses are just so easy to corrupt, it is almost stupid. Spoiler in the next paragraph so skip if you do not want the scoop. Ben Grimm is absolutely kick-ass good. I love the new Ben. We see that the new Ben is somehow able to pass right through Sue's shields and he gets some cool Kirby bubbles while he does it (oh by the way, Sue lives). It seems as though his physical powers are not all he has now. I suspect he will be the ace in the hole against Reed. Just calling it right now. Anyway, they put Reed's plan together. Captain Marvel was used against them by Reed in a previous issue so they are trying to find out how when something else happens. I think it is really an issue that pulls you in. We also find out what happens to Jessica Drew. Right before that mysterious villain from the previous issue is about to chop her into little Jessica bites, Spider-Man makes his entrance and there is a tussle with a Hulk wannabe. If you read Ultimate Mystery, you know the pseudo-Hulk took Jessica out with a surprise attack without much trouble. I will let you know how it went.... Wait no I wont. Go get the issue yourself to find out. The issue is pretty awesome. Good art and solid story now that I read the previous issues. For anyone who is just coming into this issue without reading any back issues, it will be a bit confusing just like the last issue was for me only not nearly as bad because this issue explains things. The Spider-Man scenes were typical Spider-Man humor so if you love that, then you will enjoy this issue for nothing other than that. Overall I give the issue a 10 out of 10. There was nothing I did not like about the issue. I do not recommend this issue if you have not read the previous issues but if you have, this is a great read. |
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Post by Strafe Prower on Feb 7, 2011 22:40:50 GMT -5
Nice reviews!
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Post by Power NeXus on Feb 12, 2011 13:14:15 GMT -5
Sounds cool.
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Post by Erik-El on Mar 2, 2011 0:47:24 GMT -5
Ultimate Doom 3  Brian Michael Bendis - Story Rafa Sandoval - Pencils Roger Bonet - Inks Matthew Wilson - Colors Okay. I am just going to say it, Reed needs to die. He has tried to kill Sue so many times already that it is pissing me off. Talk about a whiny bitch of an ex boyfriend throwing a tantrum, yeesh! On a serious note, I really do sympathize with the heroes in their feeling of betrayal. Hell, by the end of the issue, I was feeling betrayed as a reader. I spent years reading Ultimate Fantastic Four. For a guy who claims he wants to create a world where only the brilliant are praised, he sure is trying to whittle down the smart guy numbers to one. Nick Fury, Carol Danvers, Rick Jones, Mar-Vell, Sue and Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm look to be all that remain of the Triskelion. The team survived because Sue took them to incredible depths in the ocean after Reed's attack. They escape that situation by having Jones port them to Project Pegasus where Wendell Vaugh is all that remains of the security team there. If any of you guys have been reading Ultimate Spider-Man and earlier issues of Ultimate Enemy, you know who he is already. So he tells them about a lab below Pegasus that is so secret, that even Nick Fury did not know about it, guaranteeing their safety from Reed. Sue needs a sample from the organisms that Reed keeps porting to Earth so she sends Jones to Roxxon to get one. He meets Spider-Man, Spider-Woman and what remains of Dr. Octopus, who was being crushed to death by the monster. Whoops! Spoilers! Anyway, the issue concludes with Jones bringing them back to the lab so Sue can track where Reed is hiding. The issue was actually really really good in my opinion. Sue, the trooper that she is saves the team even though she has been almost killed three times in the week of this arc. Once she literally was flat-lined from the beating Reed gave her. Even through the serious tone of the issue, there were great moments of fun. If you have not been reading this series (why the hell not? I have been praising it enough) you should skip the next paragraph and the picture posted with it as it will contain spoilers. Obviously I implied that Dr. Octopus dies in the above paragraph but we both know he is alive and with the team now so I wanted to note the clear differences between Parker and Jessica Drew. Even after all Doc Ock did to Parker, he still insisted on saving him while Drew wanted to let him die. They are different characters now, obvious gender issues aside. Ben has already professed his love for Sue and he gets Johnny's unexpected and humorous approval. Ben is quickly becoming a top favorite of mine here and here is why:  Overall I loved this issue. I really could not find a single thing wrong with it at all aside from one little thing. Parker is stated to have an I.Q. of only 145. I looked it up and that is barely crossing the line into official genius status. I personally think he should be ranked much higher than that. Obviously, this takes place before the Avengers vs Ultimates arc thing because Fury is still part of the team here. So it is nice to know where this fits in chronologically. But since I have almost no issues with it and the art was fitting and enjoyable, I give this a 9.5 out of 10. Great late-middle issue. |
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Post by cm24 on Mar 2, 2011 6:57:57 GMT -5
Nice reviews. Looks nice. Might check it later.
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Post by Power NeXus on Mar 2, 2011 16:09:33 GMT -5
I need to try to find these. I think I've boycotted the Ultimate universe long enough.
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Post by Erik-El on Mar 2, 2011 17:40:53 GMT -5
I need to try to find these. I think I've boycotted the Ultimate universe long enough. Be sure to start with the previous 8 issues before Ultimate Doom. The Enemy and Mystery minis are actually the first parts of this arc. |
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Post by Power NeXus on Mar 2, 2011 21:47:42 GMT -5
I need to try to find these. I think I've boycotted the Ultimate universe long enough. Be sure to start with the previous 8 issues before Ultimate Doom. The Enemy and Mystery minis are actually the first parts of this arc. Eh, I'll try. The nearest worth-while comic shop is nearly an hour away from me. I don't get many chances to go down there, so I just have to take what they've got. BTW, you said the story involving Scott learning he can control his powers was somewhere in Astonishing, right? I've only read parts of that run, but I just found a f**khuge Astonishing collection book that I'm thinking about buying. |
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Post by Erik-El on Mar 2, 2011 22:02:25 GMT -5
@nexus:
1-24 are the ones by Whedon and completely awesome from beginning to end. The ones after are just meh.
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Post by Erik-El on Mar 27, 2011 23:25:59 GMT -5
Ultimate Doom 04  Brian Michael Bendis - Story Rafa Sandoval - Pencils Roger Bonet/Jordi Tarragona - Inks Matthew Wilson - Colors This issue was a really really quick read. Action almost the entire way. But I was extremely pleased with how the series wrapped up. Reed got what was coming to him but I was a little disappointed that it was not Ben that gave it to him. The art was exactly the same since it was Rafa the entire way. I must say I am pleased with his work. There was only one glaring issue I had with the art and that was Spider-Man. But only in one splash page. It seems Rafa forgot what Spider-Man has on his back. A circle just does not cut it for me. Interestingly enough, Rafa knew what to draw in future panels so I guess the splash page was just an honest mistake.  Even though the issue was a slugfest, the end had a really great moment that made me appreciate Ben and Sue's situation all the more. Ben is an entirely likable character. Does anyone remember when 616 Reed had half his face all screwy? Well we pretty much get that here. Even if the heroes had deviated from their plan, I am pretty sure they could have won though. They brought everyone to the party. I do want to find out what Ben is capable of. He has not had to press his limits once since his change. I am starting to think he might be the most powerful character in Ultimate U now. Overall the art and story were satisfying and stellar. We get a great ending and even a little peek at what could be a possible future story in the making. I give this a 10 out of 10. It left me very pleased. |
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