Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates, Vol. 2

Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates (Collected Editions)

by Jonathan Hickman, Sam Humphries, Esad Ribić (Illustrator)

Collects Ultimate Comics Ultimates #7-12. As the Hulk makes his raging return, the Ultimates encounter the People! S.H.I.E.L.D. is taken over — but where does that leave the Ultimates? Can Nick Fury pick up the pieces of his broken team? As a decision is made that changes the Ultimate Universe forever, nations begin to tumble — and the United States could be next to fall! Then, it’s the beginning of a new era — but how do Nick Fury and the Ultimates move forward? Reed Richards becomes the World’s Most Wanted, Tony Stark must survive without Iron Man and Fury’s fate is revealed!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Superheroes, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

This new world, one dominated by two cities is not like the old one as it finds itself perpetually on the brink with Ultimates, Fantastic Four No More and the mutants lives all becoming entwined in a world continuously under threat by Xorn, Zorn, Celestials, The Maker... and The Hulk!

The world is past being on the brink, so what does the US Govt.? ...it goes after the Ultimates and Fury!!! I get the expansive story that Hickman and co. are trying to tell, but there's just too much happening and little left for any coherent characterisations, not even of Tony Stark.'s condition. A Three Star 6.5 out of 12.

2022 read; 2017 read; 2013 read

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

All kinds of craziness in this one.
Nick is being hunted by an enemy S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who has moved up the ranks, the United States government is in shambles, the Ultimates are scattered, no one is sure what Xorn & Zorn of Tian will do next, and Reed is seemingly unstoppable with the Tomorrow Children.



Also, Tony's brain tumor is back.
And better than ever? <--very cool twist.



This was actually a bananas story but in the very best way. I'm not always happy when I go back and dip my toes into the old Ultimate universe, but Hickman did a good job telling this one.



Recommended.

My reason for reading this one was because I've been trying to read everything I could about the Ulitmate Universe's Reed Richards, who is now in the 616 universe as the Maker. This was the last (maybe?) on my list to finish out his full metamorphosis from hero to villain.
So.
I left this list on the last volume's review, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to leave it here as well.
After some trial and error and a lot of searching the internet, this is what I managed to cobble together for myself. If you're looking for a basic reading list that has the progression of Ultimate Reed Richards' slow turn into the villain Maker, then this will get you from point A to point B. There may be more out there, but I think this covers most of his transformation.

Ultimate Fantastic Four: The Fantastic
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Doom
Ultimate Fantastic Four: N-Zone
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Inhuman
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Crossover
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Frightful
Ultimate Fantastic Four: God War
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Devils
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Silver Surfer
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Ghosts
Ultimate Fantastic Four: Salem's SevenUltimatum: X-Men/Fantastic FourUltimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem #1
Ultimate Comics Doomsday
Which will lead you to Ultimate Comics Ultimates vol. 1 and then finishes off with this volume.

[Lost Planet Airman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this several years ago and never logged it. Nearing the end of the Marvel Ultimate run read, so I read it again. Pretty good stuff this time around, as a twisted hero seeks revenge on those who wronged him -- the Ultimates.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was such a great volume!

SHIELD allies itself with Tian in order to get assistance from Xorn and Zorn to take out reed and the president sends all the nuclear options to the city and a black hole is also there and they sort of destroy it which leads Reed to destroy Washington and with new administration, the Ultimates are declared rogue and they have to run while also a make a plan to take out Reed in order to save the world and the way it happens is so awesome.

This kicks everything into high volume with every option being exercised and has elements of Espionage and at the same time shows "What will men do in situations when facing the end" but the way it ended was cool I guess. Tony coming out with a solution and seemed like a logical end. This was like a hardcore volume and the art is just so amazing and everything kicks into high gear with this one!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This turned out to be better than I thought it would. Also, I like evil Reed. With his misshaped head and sprawling elasticity. He's so brilliantly comic book cliche villain.

[James DeSantis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a meh followup to a great start.

So Evil Reed is about to make his move but shield decides to use their ace up their sleeve. They throw in the Hulk to take down Reed and his City. So what happens? Well, Reed convinces Hulk to join him and get back at the people who tricked him. Then Tony and Thor work together to take down Reed and his army and...well that's what happens because Hickman hops off this book to write main Avengers and Sam takes over so they had to wrap up.

Good: The art is still good. The fights are small but Hulk's rampage is pretty great. The idea of Hulk being reasoned with by one of the smartest man in the world is great. Also, last but not least, Tony going a bit crazy cause of the tumor is pretty interesting.

Bad: The wrap up to the story is kind of weak. Just a simple "Victory" after ALL that great build up. You could tell the story was supposed to be way longer. I also thought the dialog would alter between great and okay.

Overall a okay ending. Still entertaining but not nearly as great as the first part. A 3 out of 5.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

So after the events of Ultimate Comics Hawkeye, Xorn and Zorn run the show with “The People” who took the serum. Fury and company go to them looking for help with The Maker and his city and accidentally get them caught up on all the drama. So they get to fighting, the US government throw everything the have at the Makers city only to have that backfire on a major way. Now everything has spiraled out of controll and it’s up to Stark and Thor to save the day. Dope story. Now I want to read the book that comes next.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this book as a prelude to Hickman’s revisit to the Ultimate universe in 2024. Enjoyed this more the second time around, and not even sure why. In part I think it’s because I know the Maker has a long life ahead of him, and Hickman laying down a solidly emotional character reaps its own rewards.

Maybe it’s more fun reading this when I know the heroes are bound to triumph (pyrrhic tho it may be).

But mostly it’s fun seeing an ultra-genius and an insane genius have a little time to flirt.

=====original review in 2012=====

Enjoyed this but was put off by some aspect of the storytelling that made it hard to really get into the story. Was the pacing off? Did the characters behave oddly? Or was it just the choppy plot threads?

It reminded me of the Authority: Revolution 12-issue series by Brubaker where the heroes were getting their asses handed to them issue after issue, and then almost out of nowhere in the last issue, they almost arbitrarily end up overcoming their foes. Here too - Reed and the Children seem to be unstoppable, except when they're finally not.

I still enjoyed this, and I'd like to see where Hickman takes this very broken universe next, but I can't say this was on the level of emotional engagement that I felt during other big plot lines in the Ultimate Marvel U.

[Angel Torres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty great art.

[Sam D’Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hulk smash America‼️

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Shared Universe Reviews.

The second half of the story that began in Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates volume 1 continues in this volume but only until about half way. As of issue #10 the creative team begins to shift and begins to lead the story into a slightly new direction. More importantly, it announces the end of what was easily one of the more interesting Marvel comics of 2012.

Hickman continues to add more conflict in his story by introducing characters and events from previous Ultimate Universe stories. The big addition here being primarily adding Hulk to the mix. I really like the Ultimate Universe Hulk and the main reasons are that he continues to be intelligent when in Hulk form and he rarely reverts back to Bruce Banner. Hickman also further develops certain elements that were introduced in the first six issues such as Tian, the Heavenly Cities, floating cities populated by newly evolved super humans governed and protected by star headed brothers (quite literally).

As expected, Nick Fury and his Ultimates attempt to stop the growing threat of the Maker and his City. Also as expected, Hickman continues to add new elements to the escalating conflict which surprises the readers as well as the story’s heroes. This is the kind of conflict that makes us wonder what drives these people to continuously put their lives on the line to defend a planet that doesn’t appreciate the difficulties of protecting them. You really have to wonder. The Ultimates go through a physical and emotional hell on a regular basis. They’ve lost members from emotional and physical breakdowns and some have even been killed. I’m not sure how to absorb certain aspects of their behaviour. Thor, Iron Man and Fury’s main superpower seems to be stubbornness. They refuse to give up despite the fact that they’re up against something they barely understand and clearly won’t be able to defeat without more loss than gain. Hickman excels at writing a story set in a world of incredibly unique and powerful beings co-exist and what happens when they’re all participating in a global conflict. I seem to have answered my own question regarding the Ultimates motivation. With a threat so large as the Maker and the City, survival is as much of a reason to fight as any other.

The biggest disappointment of this volume is on the art side of things. Ribic’s last issue on art is #9. After his departure he’s followed by five other artists led by Luke Ross. Ross’s art is unpleasant after reading nine issues of Ribic. There is a heavy and obvious use of photo reference that serves only to make everything, especially the characters, look uncomfortably stiff. Some pages are much better than others and he draws certain characters better than others as well but overall it’s too dependent on photo references for my tastes. By issue #10, White has also left. He is replaced for one issue by Matt Wilson and, for the last two issues in this collection, Matt Milla. Wilson and Milla’s colouring styles are similar to one another but very, very different from White’s. The new colouring no longer fits the tone of the story that began in the first issue. Things, including people, are too bright. Instead of helping the comic’s narrative, the colouring distracts and forces me out of the story. Faces are overly coloured, different shades and hues are added to further demonstrate expressions and to put it simply the storytelling suffers as a result of the new colourists.

I don’t think I’ll be picking up the next volume. After the decreasing quality of the art and Hickman’s departure after the conclusion of this story in issue #12, I have no reason to return for the third volume. I have nothing against Sam Humphries in particular. He collaborated with Hickman for the last three issues and I would assume he was primarily responsible for the scripting and the dialogue and Hickman mostly took care of the plot. It’s difficult to say for sure, of course, but that’s the feeling I got while reading it. The main difference in scripting was that there were more jokes included in the dialogue and that demonstrated once more how the new creative team didn’t understand the tone of the story being told. From the bright colours to the stiff character poses and the unnecessary attempts at humour, Humphries and Ross will be continuing their work on The Ultimates without me. I’m just glad I took the time to read the first 12 issues of the series which are excellent, despite some of its flaws. If you enjoyed volume you’ll no doubt be reading this volume as well and I hope the changes in the creative team don’t bother you as much as I bothered me. Either way, it’s nice to know that daring stories, such as this one, can still exist in the modern comics industry even if they are short lived.

[Aaron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woof. I've rarely read a series that started with so much promise and squandered it so suddenly. Volume 1 blasted out of the gate full throttle with action and tension, building to an amazing cliffhanger centered around an insurmountable enemy.

Then, Volume 2 completely shits the bed. The tension is held for about 2 issues, then for some reason Sam Humphries takes over as writer, and just keep up with Hickman. The story falls apart like a house of cards, and ultimately is resolved by one of the stupidest deus ex machina "twists" I've ever read in comics. It doesn't make a lick of sense, especially since Hickman went to great lengths to set up that there is absolutely no way to sneak up on Reed Richards or his City of Tomorrow. And yet, just to get out of the story, the Ultimates somehow do it anyway.

Add in the fact that The People, who Hickman meticulously established in the previous volume and his Ultimate Hawkeye storyline, just completely disappear from this volume with no explanation of where they went. The plot very clearly centered around a huge confrontation between The People and The Children of Tomorrow, but that stuff just vanishes. Instead we get a sub-par Avengers plotline that barely feels like it exists in the same universe as the previous volume.

Also, this comic kills off Barack Obama. It's not directly stated that it's Obama, but the art very much indicates that it's Obama. What an insane thing for a bad comic to do without ever really living in the consequences!

Skip this whole thing. The terrible payoff in this volume totally undermines everything Hickman was doing in Volume 1. I feel like Christmas was canceled.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part 2 of the story of the City, and the Children of Tomorrow. The City is a fully evolved sentient construct city populated by advanced bred humans, genetically engineered for 1000 years in a much shorter time. (Yes that's right) The man who designed this Fantastic world, "The Maker" is someone you'll all recognize and it sort of makes sense, but I still think more background reading would have helped me. It also features the arrival of someone you wouldn't like when he's angry, and continuing efforts of Nick Fury and his Ultimates/SHIELD people: Thor, Iron Man, Black Widow, Falcon, Hawkeye. After being utterly spanked by the City, they turn to a possible ally in the People (mutants, led by Xorn and his twin Zorn). Washington DC is destroyed, all Congress and the President, dead; Nukes have destroyed sections of South America, Southeast Asia is destroyed after trying to get rid of the People, and the City has rooted itself in Europe and destroyed most of Germany, France, Belgium, etc.
With all this breaking loose, what will the 'good guys' do to get out of this one? How will they defeat the Maker and the City? Or will they have to bow down?
The ending to this book is in so many ways a brilliant idea, that it earns the extra star. Such an interesting premise I really enjoyed it, even if some of the rest of the story left some gaps.
Recommended, but start with Vol 1, it sets the stage for this.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.

[Arun Divakar · Rating 1 out of 5]

So after much dilly-dallying I finally finished the second volume of Jonathan Hickman’s run of the Ultimates. Most of the loose ends are tied together in this volume and yes eventually our heroes do manage to win the battle. The specifics of the battle are quite immaterial as far as the review goes but overall this volume is a big let-down. While I was not aware of it initially, there were two writers who worked on this volume and there is a jarring discontinuity during the plot which is a complete dampener. As a reader I have not done enough research to understand which writer wrote which volume but somewhere along the course of the journey, the whole thing gets flung out of the window.

The final battle between Reed Richards and what is left of the Ultimates finally arrives and it is disastrous to say the least. Richards, his city and its inhabitants are set up as an unstoppable force during 75% of the series and all of a sudden in the space of about ten or so panels they are all vanquished. Rewinding the whole series in my mind was like watching someone paint themselves into a corner or more like watching a movie which suddenly jumps to the conclusion offering paper thin explanations. Here is my take on how the key characters play their roles out :

• The Hulk and Reed Richards : The arrival of the Hulk to Richards’s fortress is like watching a hammer fall and it all deflates as suddenly as it started. The way that the Hulk is used for the rest of the story is rather frivolous and ridiculous. It was an absolute waste of the character and his motivations. There is also a short revelation scene between Tony and Susan Storm which had zero value add to the overall plot.

• Nick Fury, Black Widow and Hawkeye : After a series of fits and starts, Fury and the two Ultimates go rogue and then finally…disappear. As the tale reaches the end they are nowhere to be seen even as they had been driving the plot onward initially.

• Tony Stark, Thor and the United States Government : It is rather preposterous that Tony does not suit up even once during this volume. It is fun and games to watch Tony Stark the man but what brings me to a book is Iron Man and not Stark himself when there is an Ultimates storyline in the offing. This surprisingly is an unfulfilled wish and there is no armoured avenger in the series. Over the course of the two volumes, Thor gets much more of screen time than any of the others but that is saying a lot too. The less I say about the storyline featuring the US Government the better for the whole administration is made to look like sock puppets.

• The children of tomorrow and The People : This is the funniest bit of story. We are told of the awesomeness of power with both of them and they both head for an apocalyptic showdown and poof ! The entire plot disappears and there is no more mention of this anymore.


Why is it that most Avengers storylines are so dreadful ?

[Robby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read this and the previous volume as I was cleaning house, in part because I was not sure if I had actually read it before.

One would think Jonathan Hickman would be a great match for The Ultimates since darker, colder takes on heroes with universe-altering stakes is what he has become known for. And while this story is standard Hickman (with solid artwork by frequent collaborator Esad Ribic), it has much less impact than his mainline Marvel Universe fare, both on the reader and on its respective timeline (see above). In a world where everything (aside from Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man) is always cranked up to 11, Hickman's high concept, high stakes approach does not really standout. Even though this run was meant to be a soft relaunch for the Ultimate Universe (the second attempt of its kind), it still is plagued by the often confusing Ultimate continuity, which somehow quickly became more byzantine than its longstanding mainstream counterpart. Look at this as a transition between Hickman's classic FF and Avengers runs.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a crime that Hickman and Ribic didn't get to finish out their story as intended, be it editorial or just bigger projects being offered. The book and narrative suffer from their absence, and it's notable when the final few issues lack their touch. I'm sure he passed his notes to Sam Humphries, but it's just not written with the same polish, as the actual conflict practically wraps up in only one issue, and with a somewhat bizzare method of doing so. Having said all that, what is done here with Hulk and the outlier nameless child are both striking moments that kinda leave you in awe, so it carries a lot of weight. This second half of the run always has been weaker, but the rule of cool and gravitas hold it up where it counts.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the events of the first volume, the Ultimates are in disarray and are being hunted by SHIELD, now under the control of someone who is definitely not Hydra.

I've been pretty fast and loose with spoilers as these comics are all at least a decade old, but this period is less well known and more exciting. I'll just say that this book is unhinged. I thought insane things happened in the build-up, but both the collateral damage in fighting The Children and the methods used routinely shocked me. Almost every issue ends with an insane cliffhanger that had me grinning at the page.

We've come a long way from the "realistic" ultimate universe. Now, we have an ultimate universe where anything can and probably will happen. It's utterly insane and I love it.

[Jeff Sitko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore Hickman’s reinvention of the Ultimate Universe with the Maker as a principal antagonist. Some of my favorite Marvel storytelling, full stop. BUT, the tone notably shifts when Humphries takes the reins. And the conclusion rushes ahead with things cleaning up way too tidily and quickly. It’s a shame. And obviously Esad Ribic’s art was a thing to behold… until several other artists took over with the writer change. Ribic’s art more fully echoed Hickman’s tone-setting narrative and the two worked beautifully. I wish that creative team could have seen through the story to its conclusion. Five stars for how insanely brilliant Hickman and Ribic executed the story for its first half.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't love Hickman's Ultimates. He's still got high concept plans but The City, Zorn, Xorn, and the amount of world crushing disasters are just too much. They almost completely overshadow the actual team. Stark's big solution was...odd, to say the least. I did love the Hulk's scenes here and Ribic's art was pretty fantastic. Overall, a strange read that is more concept than payoff.

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

More solid Ultimates action. Ribic doesn't get to draw the finale here, but he does get some highlights. The finale features some questionable anatomical fantasy which clashes hard with the cynical tone, and some of the Ultimates feel a tad underused. The characters who do appear play off each other well as is often Hickman's strength, but enough to be considered one of his best works.

[Jacob A. Mirallegro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Does a good job at juggling all the different characters and storylines but as it is part of a bigger world it can't help feeling a bit open ended. I liked the stuff with Hulk and The Maker is a very interesting/engaging character. I enjoy everytime he interacts with other characters I just wish his moment with Sue Storm was longer.

[Anthony Colwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the end, we have a classic defeat with a lot of spice and entertainment. I think the B plot of the Ultimates being chased by Shield really brings this down compared to the last, but I felt this was a very satisfying end to the first Maker story. Hickman, as usual, is perfection when it comes to stakes and is never afraid to pull the trigger to tell a story.

[Benja Calderon · Rating 3 out of 5]

La gran amenaza de los Niños del Mañana y el Creador no es más que el nuevo plan de Reed Richards para llevar a cabo su venganza.

Con Fury desplazado de S.H.I.E.L.D., parte de los Ultimates en manos de Reed, el panorama no se ve bien, pero siempre hay una carta bajo la manta

[Randall Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Maker continues to be an awesome villain. I'm loving Thor and Tony in this too. This is the end of Hickman's run on this series though so I'm interested to see if I'll still like it as much after this.

[Yusuf Shafi · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

This book is filled with very high stakes, interesting espionage and ambitious risks. I respect the scope and direction Hickman took this story in only 12 issues. Granted, the ending felt kind of like a cop-out, but even then I still enjoyed it.

[Sean Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun watching Reed Richards get his comeuppance, who said cancer is always bad for you?

[Trevor Dailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Maker is a devilishly wonderful villain and a great character. Good read.

[Frans Kempe · Rating 3 out of 5]

The world is in uproar when both America and Xorn & Zorn clashes with the Tomorrow people and evil Reed.

[Josh Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can tell this was rushed but it was still a good read.