by Randy Lander

THE ULTIMATES #3 "21st Century Boy" Highly Recommended (10/10) 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 Another new title, another success for the Ultimate line, as Millar, Hitch, Currie and the rest serve up a fantastic new take on the formation of the Avengers, with twists that make the Ultimates different enough to earn their own team name. While this book is looking like a team story overall, however, the focus is still squarely on Captain America, in particular how he adjusts from the 1940s to 2002, a much bigger adjustment than the one he originally had between 1940 and 1960. Despite Millar's reputation for outrageous characters, this story features some very touching moments between Captain America and those he left behind... but those wanting the more extreme style that Millar brought to Ultimate X-Men and The Authority won't find anything missing from the issue either. What has really struck me about the Ultimate line in general is that these characters, from Spider-Man to the X-Men to the Ultimates, realize just how cool it is to have super-powers. It's sort of like the effect that heroes have when translated into movie or TV form. In the Marvel Universe, there are hundreds of people who can fly, shrink, grow, lift cars, what have you. In the Ultimate universe, it's still relatively new. The scenes of Hank Pym enjoying his newfound size and super-hero role make for an entertaining prologue to the issue, and are a perfect example of what I'm talking about. The other thing that strikes me about the Ultimate line, and the Ultimates most of all, is the more realistic approach to the world and powers in it. There are the small details, like the Wasp flying around nude because her costume didn't shrink with her or complaining about the lack of fashion choices for a sixty-foot tall man, and then there are the large ones, like the military budget and support personnel for the Avengers. I particularly enjoyed Betty Banner's take on PR, and hiring male models to populate the crowds at the team's gala opening. At the end of the day, though, while I love the take on the other characters in the book, this issue is Captain America's show. The expertise he has is shown in his desperate escape from the hospital, and the feeling of being out of time is brought home very effectively with a visit to the home of Bucky Barnes. There's also a very sweet and touching feeling about the Captain's meeting with his old friend and his old girlfriend, and Nick Fury's reminder that not everything Cap has loved is gone was a very powerful reminder of what the character stood for. In addition, though I would have preferred that they keep the entirely military-style uniform that Cap wore in the first issue, Hitch and Currie have designed a nifty cross between military utilitarianism and super-heroic flair in the new costume, which makes for a nice final image. Hitch and Currie, of course, are stunning, and that will surprise no one. The action sequence that features Cap's escape is beautiful, cinematic in pacing and style, and the detail on backgrounds, whether it's a house in Jersey where Cap meets up with Bucky again, the coastline where Hank and Janet Pym enjoy his newfound powers or the jaw-dropping shot of the Triskelion, the Manhattan-based home of the Ultimates, is fantastic. The Ultimates is a combination of the media savvy of X-Force with the widescreen style of The Authority, something that comes through in every single panel. Email Randy Lander comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.