I'm a big fan of Marvel's Ultimate line; there's greatert intensity and more grounded and plausible take on classic super-heroes to be found in Brian Michael Bendis's and Mark Millar's scripts... most of the time. It seems that the limited "event" series aren't quite as strong. Millar's Ultimate WarUltimate Six. Still, the writer quietly includes some intriguing right-wing politics here that speak volumes the current climate of fear in America.
Somewhere in a deep, dark corner of S.H.I.E.L.D. that few people know about, Nick Fury has imprisoned four men who share something in common. Each has developed superhuman powers as a result of tinkering with their genetic makeup or bodies in some way. Fury is holding them for a reason... Norman Osborn, Otto Octavius, Flint Marko and the unnamed young criminal with electrical powers can work for the government and earn some luxuries. Meanwhile, the Ultimates are on the trail of another individual suspected of tampering with his genetic makeup in order to become a human -- and prohibited -- weapon.
Joe Quesada provides the artwork for a prologue sequence that first appeared in the pages of Wizard #0. Unfortunately, the shift from his style to that of Trevor Hairsine, the main penciller for this series, is not a smooth one. Hairsine's work is rather inconsistent overall as well. Sometimes, his work reminds one Bryan (Ultimates) Hitch's work, and at others, it's more distorted and exaggerated, a la Phil (Howard the Duck) Winslade. The villains don't boast nearly the same level of menace that we've come to expect from them, though the artist does manage to convey the intimidating, larger-than-life presence of the Ultimates quite well.
There are a few scenes in the book that don't ring true. Doc Ock's tearful confessions before his fellow innmates is actually laughable than genuinely emotional, and for some reason, his references to Osborn are in the third-person, as though he was unaware the man was standing next to him. Osborn's prediction about an unseen, sixth inmate makes no sense in this context either, and the reprinted sequence that opens the book adds nothing to the story, save for a little redundancy.
Where this story redeems itself is in its presentation of right-wing politics and the abuse of due process. Though the more traditional super-hero/villain genre elements hide the fact, Bendis is really writing a story here about terrorism and how government uses fear as justification to break the rules. The most chilling element in the book is Nick Fury's admission. He says he's making laws, but what he's really saying is that he's breaking them. Instead of writing new laws to adapt to a new global reality, Fury is bending and breaking existing ones. As I read this issue, Nick Fury comes off as the bad guy, and that's by far the most fascinating element in an otherwise conventional story.
