THE ULTIMATES #3
"21st Century Boy"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: Bryan Hitch
Inks: Andrew Currie
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $2.25 US/$3.65 CAN |
When Marvel and Mark Millar launched Ultimate X-Men, they threw the reader into the thick of things. Tons of action. A plot that galloped forward. That frantic pace has been maintained over the course of the series (save for that two-issue Gambit story). On The Ultimates, though, Millar has taken a different approach, similar to the one that Brian Michael Bendis has employed on Ultimate Spider-Man. Here, we're getting to know the characters and their circumstances slowly. There's a stronger emphasis on character and instilling logic into the world of a super-hero team. It makes for great reading.
While Nick Fury is encouraged that he may have found a field leader for his new team of super-heroes, Bruce Banner is like a kid in a candy store, elated at the prospect of studying the original Captain America and the super-soldier serum coursing through his veins. Unfortunately, Cap doesn't adjust all that well upon emerging from his suspended animation. Steve Rogers is faced with some harsh realities, including facing a best friend and former lover who are barely recognizable to him anymore.
Hitch's art here is onthing short of awe-inspiring. He makes it a lot easier to believe that these fantastic figures and their abilites are real. He presents us with a Captain America costume that looks plausible and practical. And he doesn't just present us with characters who are paragons of power and beauty. Just look at the aged faces of Bucky and Gail. I've seen those people. Mounts's textured work with the colors reinforces that sense of reality throughout the book.
I was surprised that Cap came off as rather like his mainstream-continuity counterpart. In the first issue of this series, there was more of an edge to him, almost a reckless nature. Here, he comes off as the perfect soldier, as an emotional rock who can adapt to anything. I hope in future issues we see a chink in his armor. Perfection isn't nearly as interested as flaws. I expect Millar will take us down that road, though.
The issue ends with the Ultimates' debut, and it's not an adventure or a climactic battle with a super-villain. It's a PR stunt, albeit a huge, elaborate one. Millar takes a Hollywood-premiere approach, and it reinforces that plausibility and logic that's setting this book and its characters apart from its inspiration, The Avengers.
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