Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch finally bring their extreme vision of Marvel icons back for another run, and this opening issue approaches the super-hero genre with realism and the current global political climate in mind. Millar explores the characters in more depth here than perhaps ever before, but then again, this is the calm-before-the-storm story, so he has that chance. Hitch's richly detailed artwork makes landscapes -- mundane and fantastic -- come to life, and his eye for action is stunning. The term coined for super-hero comics such as these before was "widescreen comics," but the thoughtful layering of real-world politics and media manipulation over the super-hero genre here strikes me more as "wide-brain comics."
A year after the Ultimates saved the world from an alien invasion (not to mention Manhattan from the Hulk's rampage), the superhuman S.H.I.E.L.D. agents are revered like no other celebrities or heroes before them. They are the focus of a media frenzy never seen before, and even Cap's relationship with the Wasp, a married woman, Tony Stark's drinking and the loss of Thor from the team can put a dent in their popularity. But a fall from grace is coming, and the source won't
be a doomsday device or super-villain bent on world domination.
One thing about Hitch's work that's so surprising is how well his meticulous style conveys action and movement. Normally, such a detailed, photo-realistic style would come off as a little stiff, capturing frozen moments in time. Not so with Hitch's work. There's a wonderful energy and flow to the art, and Laura Martin's colors subtly reinforce the quiet but growing tension. I think I most appreciated the look of Bruce Banner here. He looks like a regular guy, an everyday schlub trapped in unreal circumstances.
Millar throws the ongoing war in Iraq into the mix here, and his dialogue touches upon the sort of thing we could expect to hear in the media if super-heroes were real. I thought the term "Person of Mass Destruction" was particularly clever. I liked the dichotomy Millar has instilled in Cap's character. He's brutally violent when doing his job and quite willing to kill, but there remains an innocence to him as well. He's rationalized the ugliness of his violent life to fit in with his strong ethical center.
The Thor scene is fascinating as well, as Millar keeps the reader guessing as to the character;'s true nature. Is he a god walking among men, as his mainstream Marvel counterpart is, or is he a powerful metahuman in the grip of a powerful delusion? Thor's confusion at the end of his scene is just part and parcel of the core premise here, and I think that's the heroes' fall from the high pedestal the world -- and their handlers -- have placed them on. One of the challenges for the heroes in this story arc, it would seem, isn't a villain or monster, but the notion of schadenfreude. 9/10
