The Ultimates, Vol. 2: All Power to the People

The Ultimates (2024)

by Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri (Artist), Alessandro Cappuccio (Artist)

A perfect jumping-on point for new readers eager to learn about the Ultimate Universe's mightiest heroes! Following recent explosive events and the loss of a teammate, the Ultimates regroup in their secret HQ and launch their bold new plan to change the world! But are they ready to meet the galactic travelers from a far-flung, Maker-free future known as the Guardians of the Galaxy? America Chavez is caught right in the middle, but where will her loyalties lie? Then it's time to meet Ultimate Luke Cage, who has been quietly sabotaging the Maker's Council from behind bars! And when Captain America and the Human Torch lead a team to find their old comrade Namor, they'll have to get through the Red Skull Gang first! But when the time comes to remove Loki from his seat of power in Asgard, Thor, Sif and She-Hulk journey into mystery for blood, glory and rebellion - but discover a surprising new ally!

Collecting Ultimates (2024) #7-12 and material from Ultimate One Year In.

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

176 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of stories.
Mostly good.



I enjoyed the issue featuring Nick Fury. Somewhat self-contained, and even if the ending wasn't exactly surprising, I still got a kick out of it.
The one with Thor and Sif? Oh, come off that bullshit with the poetry. Ugh. It was a pain in the ass to read and it was boring.



The rest kind of went into what was happening with the Ultimates after Tony was "killed" in that fight. We see Red Skull, Namor, Luke Cage, and a few other cool cameos. Plus, America meets up with her old teammates, the GoTG.
It ended with a decent twist, too.
I'll keep reading.



Recommended for fans of 6160.

[Oscar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this volume and all the characters! 🌎 🌏 🌎 🌏 🌎 6160!

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good continuation of the Ultimate Universe and the Ultimates in particular. This is the book that ties all the books together. All the different teams' work shows in the different styles.

H.A.N.D. and the Maker's council are planning the demise of the Ultimates, however, having the team on the back foot they are still active and using gorilla tactics to make small gains, but they know they are outmanoeuvred and outgunned. How will the team deal with the knowledge that they are destined to lose?

Both sides have traitors in the midst as well as trust issues. Who will win the information war, who will survive and is there anything worth saving anyway? I like the spotlight style issues/chapters. The countdown continues but is it utopia or armegeddon?

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a somewhat lacklustre first volume in every respect, Camp and Frigeri shift into high gear. The recruitment phase is largely complete, and the stories—still fragmented, with each issue covering one month in the characters' lives—are finally moving forward.

And here we are with a volume containing some good issues and others I liked less, but all gave me the impression that the plot was progressing towards something, with a predictable yet appreciable cliffhanger.

All in all 3.5* rounded up without regret

[Rory Wilding · Rating 5 out of 5]

While Jonathan Hickman has rebooted the Ultimate Universe for Marvel, which he has been writing Ultimate Spider-Man, as well as other creators have been putting their own stamps on characters in their own solo titles like the X-Men and Black Panther, Deniz Camp has been exploring the wider universe with The Ultimates. Following Tony Stark/Iron Lad as he assembles a covert ops network to fight back against the Maker's Council and take back their world, this resistance of underdog superheroes having been put through the ringer, through their exploration of this dystopian world that have shown radical takes on well-known Marvel characters.

Before we see the internal struggles that the Ultimates are going through, Ultimate Universe: One Year In #1 shifts the focus towards the universe’s version of Nick Fury, who resembles more the classic Jack Kirby design as opposed to the Samuel L. Jackson model used in the original Ultimate Universe that would influence the character in the MCU. Depicted as the Director of H.A.N.D. – implied to be a reorganised S.H.I.E.L.D after a takeover of The Hand – Fury proceeds to meet with the Maker's Council, his current superiors, giving reports of the current efforts to eliminate the current wave of super-dissidents. While it is later revealed for Fury to rebel against this system, it turns out that he is just a simple cog in that system as a Life Model Decoy that the council can just reproduce on the reasoning that the expandable nature of the Director position helps ward off potential traitors within H.A.N.D.

As we return to the main series, the team takes time off to recuperate after their devastating battle against the Hulk who has mortally wounded Iron Lad, leaving him confined to a healing machine. With numerous members within the team questioning their role and actions, this becomes a major theme throughout this volume. In issue #7 where the Ultimates meet the Guardians of the Galaxy, which leads to a misunderstanding in the shape of a “pointless fight” as described by Doom, as well as some heavy cosmic ideas, it leads to a question about why would you fight for a timeline whose fate seems predetermined.

Similar to what Hickman has been doing with Ultimate Spider-Man with each issue taking place over the course of a month, Camp succeeds more with the episodic structure here as we see the expansion of the world-building, as well as individual storylines that focus on certain characters. The two most notable issues from this volume experiment with the format of comic book storytelling, from ##9 (drawn by guest artist Chris Allen) that tells the origin story of Luke Cage through every page told through the nine-panel grid, to #11 told entirely in splash pages as Thor and Sif return to the Nine Realms with the goal of spreading a revolution against Loki.

As densely packed Camp’s writing is, The Ultimates is not the most action-heavy given the number of characters that feature in every issue. Whilst you have guest artists like Jonas Scharf and the aforementioned Chris Allen, it is the main series’ artist Juan Frigeri who reigns supreme, especially when it comes to drawing radically different interpretation of well-established characters who you can see some familiar iconography. Given the darker subject matter than what you usually expect from a superhero comic, there is some graphic imagery which actually serves a purpose and not just there for the sake of edginess. Full plaudits for Frigeri who opens the tenth issue with a six-panelled page, in which Hitler is burnt to death.

Halfway through this series, the Ultimates themselves are expecting the return of the Maker in six months, and they realise they need to change their methods if they are hoping to fix the world. This continues to be the most exciting superhero team comic that Marvel is currently publishing, and with the recent announcement that the Ultimate Universe will be officially ending next year, it’ll be interesting how Deniz Camp will cap off everything.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.9 stars

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second half of the first year of the Ultimates concludes, as the resistance builds. While not as maybe, exciting or potential as the first half, it still keeps building on the idea. It's conclusion isn't as exciting as the hulk confrontation from vol 1, but it's turning the corner.

With the introduction of a Ult Nick Fury, and his sad tragic role, it's revealed there is a traitor in our team's midst. Doom/Reed continues to claw at a solution as Iron Lad claws himself back together. Being introduced to new versions of the Guardians, Luke Cage, and Red Skull leaves potential for later, but you never get stay long enough to tap into it. The one shot focusing on Thor's crusade against Asagard takes a real swing at TRYING to be a epic poem, but falls a bit short (points for trying!)

There's still a lot of potential with what the Ultimates could be, let's hope Camp can solidify it in the next volumes.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of the Ultimates continues the inevitable countdown towards the Maker's return, as new versions of familiar characters, like the Guardians of the Galaxy, Luke Cage, and Daredevil make themselves known.

Camp's storytelling continues to be top notch here. Each issue is a complete story that fleshes out the world of the new Ultimate Universe, and the ever-present threat not just of the Maker but of the Council that do his bidding is like the Sword of Damocles hanging over everything. There's an urgency, but also a sense of scale to the book that the first volume also had - it reminds me, oddly enough, of Hickman's X-Men run, which accomplished similar things in single issues as this series does.

And with only six months left before the Maker gets back...the next volume is going to be interesting.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75
If you're not reading this, you're missing some of the best Marvel. And the best Avenges since...I'm not even not sure. A long time, Waid's run? Hickman's?

Almost every issue has complex and interesting turns of events that move the overarching narrative forward and developed multiple character arcs. I'm not even sure how Camp does it.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this seemed to open up the Ultimates Universe even more.
issues included:
this Universe's Luke Cage.
the discovery of Namor .
Thor and Sif rallying troops.
the Guardians of the Galaxy.
plus that click keeps ticking ...six months..

[Elliott Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Feels right at home in Hickman's new Ultimate Universe. More consistent that what I've read of Camp's work in the past.

If you like Hickman's approach to comics, where macro scope is the focus, then you will enjoy this book. That said, it does have a bit more attachment to characterization than much of Hickman's work, which I take as a positive.

[MannyLikesPie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome, sometimes the issues are weird on how they tell a story but because it’s the avengers book I feel it only works here. My meaning is the introduction of new characters but I like it a lot, my favorite for right now

[c · Rating 4 out of 5]

LUKE MF CAGE!!!!

(read in single issues)

[Benji Glaab · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of hard to follow, but it uses that "Save Point" idea of story telling where the team has a chance to reset the past. I didn't recall much from the previous volume so despite the final issue setting most things straight this volume is quite Mid for me. the overall art and presentation is fairly good and Deniz Camp is a rising star among the comic book industry. I'll give Vol. 3 a shot, but hopefully I retain more details this go around

[Alex Sarll]

Unusually for a contemporary comic, Ultimates does work better read spaced out – not necessarily in its real time, month by month structure, but certainly not a whole trade at a sitting. Even then, a lot of the formal work (nine panel grids locking down the Luke Cage issue about the prison industrial complex; splash pages with bardic narration for the Nine Realms) come across a little forced and mannered, and my ongoing frustration with the mismatch between Camp's ambition and his weakness for clodhopping politics has now crystallised into a suspicion that he's American comics' answer to Pat Mills. The sinister secret rulers of the world manipulating the media to brand the Ultimates a terrorist network? A year ago I'd have been wary about some of the real-world implications of that, but given the self-evidently absurd treatment of antifa lately, yeah, fair enough. Trying to rechristen them the Ultimates Terrorist Network, though? Somehow, even in 2025, that's gilding the lily. And fuck knows why Ultimate Ultimate Jim Hammond has Quentin Quire's haircut.

Set against that, though, the times when it comes off. The Nick Fury issue, with its dark background gags and even darker twist. The meta digs at nobody reading comics anymore, pointless fights as precursor to team-ups, and most damning of all, "These twisted, depthless re-creations? These sad mockeries of what should have been?" That from the brilliant issue which re-imagines the Guardians of the Galaxy in the style of Grant Morrison at their boldest and most fantastical, and mostly pulls it off, not to mention creating my favourite new Marvel character in a long time: Cosmo Starstalker, the Ultimate Good Boy.

[Pruett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A less focused outing this time with more ambitious ideas. I didn’t love the Guardians of the Galaxy, Loki, or (heresy, I know) the Luke Cage issue, but Ultimate Namor and issue #12 were really well executed.

This is one of the boldest books on shelves, but man do I wish we got more time with these characters between month-long time jumps. Especially with how big this cast is, most characters don’t get too much in the way of characterization. I don’t remember the last time America Chavez spoke in an issue before this one, for instance.

Anyway! It’s still heaps of fun. On to the third and final arc before things get nuts!

[Spencer Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a huge fall off for me. The guardians issue throws tons of cosmic time travel crap into the mix that you just can’t possibly care about in the 10 pages it’s introduced. Then they go away. Really forced. The Thor issue was in poetry and obnoxious to read along with being boring. Overall I still care where the main plot line is going and there’s some great stuff in here from Doom and the other leaders. This should be the strong core book that’s benefitting from the storytelling in the other titles, but they just tried to do too much here.

[Andrew Golab · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way Camp reimagines and updates superheroes to fit modern problems and modern solutions is simply amazing. A special shoutout goes to both issue 9 and especially issue 10.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

More terrific one-shots that slowly build the Ultimates universe and lead inexorably towards the big showdown with the Maker and his council. I especially enjoyed the surprise arrival of the Guardians of the Galaxy - very different from our familiar friends, and with a complicated cosmic backstory involving America. They could get their own spin-off series, please.

Other notable plots see Cap taking on the new version of the Red Skull and Luke Cage as a victim of an unjust criminal justice system. The one issue I couldn't wrap my head around featured Thor and Sif battling Loki. The flowery, poetic language, all delivered in dense narration, served a as a barrier to ever entering the story.

This volume includes the One Year In issue, in which we see a traitorous Nick Cage working to take down the Council from the inside (and failing miserably since he's an LMD that does this ever year, much to the Council's amusement). Fun stuff with a great, dark twist.

[Zachary Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series uses the month by month chapter basis the best. It’s such a strong comic, and it’s wild to me that it is all ending now. This team is so fantastic, and it’s cool seeing avengers that aren’t just the usual six or seven they use!

[Brandon Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

I continue be a little irked by the breakneck pacing of this book. We get drip fed the main story, so, even though the standalone issues are arguably the best ones, they still feel at odds with the central narrative. Too much is happening between the issues. I really wish the Ultimates book would have stayed a little more focused and we would have had a sister series to allow for these singe issue looks at the broader universe. It would have made issues like the Thor and Sif issue that’s written like and an epic poem more enjoyable if it didn’t feel like it was robbing us from the next chapter in the big story.

That said, I don’t want that to detract too much from what IS here, which is very good. I just wish we had gotten a little more of it before it so quickly careens towards its end (Assuming, of course, that the end is really approaching, and it’s not, as I am starting to suspect, a ruse of some sort-I suppose we could get a kind of Ultimatum ending where the heroes lose and then the whole thing restarts through time travel. Ultimates 4.0 or whatever one we are at by that point).

[Riley Pilgrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great volume. Camp takes more time to explore the aftermath of the last volume, and expand the worldbuilding too. We finally get to see Thor go back to confront Loki with Sif, America finally confronts her past as a Guardian, Cap finds out where Bucky went, and so on. Camp expands the roster, and world so much more this time. His take on Luke Cage is also really great, and I love how even after everything The Ultimates have done, there still hasn't been much progress in stopping The Maker. This is going to be a lot harder than before, and they're realizing that recruiting heroes isn't going to be enough. Camp has done a great job of creating stakes, and making all the characters so compelling.

I don't have that much else to say. The final issue here sets up a lot of interesting things to come in the next volume. Overall I really enjoyed this, and trust that Camp will keep delivering.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of all the Ultimate books I'm reading, I'm loving this one the least. Just feels somewhat messy, at least in my opinion.
Highlights:
- Team is still reeling from the loss of Iron Lad. While he heals, they all go off an do their own thing to work towards peace.
- The Ultimates meet the Guardians of the Galaxy (Captain Marvel, Star-Lord, Ultimate Nullifier, and Cosmo Starstalker) from the future. They claim to have had America Chavez in their ranks, but she refuses to work with them. They warn that either Tony or Doom will cause unimaginable suffering.
- We get a story of Luke Cage and how he got his powers, ending up using them to help those wrongfully imprisoned.
- The Ultimates go to take down the Red Skull gang when they come across the body of Namor, dead but not decomposing. They defeat Grand Skull (Bucky), who gets away, and then lay Namor to rest at sea. (I'm sure this will come back up later)
- Iron Lad heals himself greatly by integrating the Immortus Engine into his body. I'm predicting this will backfire...
- Thor and Sif begin a revolution throughout the Nine Realms and cause much chaos and strife.
- The team experiences a group nightmare: Hulk killing the entire team. This nightmare is different from the previous "team killed in K'un-L'un" dream, and they find out that Doom used the Immortus Engine to break their rule of no time travel and saved the team from dying.
- The team needs to come back together and work towards a common goal, so they redub as the Ultimates 3.0.
- The Wasp is revealed as a spy for Nick Fury.

The showdown with the Maker draws closer. I hope we don't dive too deep into the time travel stuff.
Recommend.

[Macqueron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comme pour le premier volet, les numéros des Ultimates sont très inégaux, mais avec quelques très bonnes idées narratives par instants. Cela prépare l’aboutissement de l’ensemble de cet univers Ultimate, qui compte par ailleurs de très bonnes séries (X-Men ou Spiderman)

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's that time of year again, when I inflate my books read count with graphic novels.

(this series is really good)

[Hugh Davies Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool stuff on every panel

[Tom Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Camp keeps things moving with head-spinning time travel, world-fixing mayhem for the people who thought Avengers Endgame wasn't complicated enough. I'm interested to see where this goes but I may need a short break for now while I wait for the third TP to come out.

[Odo · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10

[✨! · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like this volume suffers from a lack of focus. It still strives to be ambitious and experimental, but there isn't really any plan or connective tissue. The Ultimates are supposed to be on a strict deadline, so why does this feel like the story is spinning its wheels? What are they even trying to do???

I legit zoned out during the GotG issue (#8). The amount of exposition and weird sci-fi concepts given in like 5 pages was so confusing and overwhelming I stopped even trying to comprehend wtf was going on, and none of it even mattered anyway. The Luke Cage issue (#9) was interesting, but I thought its themes were too on-the-nose. The prose in the Thor issue (#11) felt really forced, and it didn't even make up for the difficult read by being clever. Maybe I'm being overly harsh, but the first volume had such a clear idea of what it wanted to accomplish, idk what changed

One Year In was CRAZY good tho holy shit 10/10

[Charles Korb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ultimates continues to be clear second best series in this universe. Rotating through the different ultimates to allow each one a to be a focus both makes the month to month thing make sense and gives all the characters their own time to shine. Sometimes it gets a little silly but overall still quite enjoyable.

I particularly like Doom, he is a blend of confident and broken that feels very real.