View Poll Results: Rating "The Ultimates" (2002)

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  • 5 * Masterpiece

    10 26.32%
  • 4 * Good

    14 36.84%
  • 3 * Average

    3 7.89%
  • 2 * Bad

    5 13.16%
  • 1 * Disaster

    6 15.79%
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  1. #1
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    Default Rating and thoughts on "The Ultimates" (2002) by Mark Millar

    Personally this is not only one of my favorite Ultimate imprint stories but one of my all time favorite Marvel comics. The art work is amazing and the story and action are pretty solid. I'm probably in the minority but I actually like most of the Ultimates better than their Avengers counterparts outside of Ultimate Thor who is still an alright character. The story was a little slow since it takes until the second half of the series to reveal the main villains but it was still an awesome story. It sucks that Millar didn't have any plans for Ultimates 3 considering the stinker Loeb gave us

  2. #2
    IRON MAN Tony Stark's Avatar
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    I thought it was good fun. I just reread it about 2 weeks ago and I still had fun reading it. I don’t think it’s a masterpiece, but I would give it to someone who wanted to have a good time reading a comic. Also it gave me Ultimate Iron Man which I will always have a special place in my heart for it.
    "We live in a world of cowards. We live in a world full of small minds who are afraid. We are ruled by those who refuse to risk anything of their own. Who guard their over bloated paucities of power with money. With false reasoning. With measured hesitance. With prideful, recalcitrant inaction. With hateful invective. With weapons. F@#K these selfish fools and their prevailing world order." Tony Stark

  3. #3
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    I liked it, but felt the female characters kinda got shafted. Actually, the entire team -- including Captain America -- were unlikable. But it was an interesting take on the Avengers -- one that the films used as a blueprint, but thankfully, did not mimic completely.

  4. #4
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    At the time I thought it was pretty good and I'll give Millar credit for pushing the envelope a little. But after Ultimatum Millar came back for Ultimate Avengers, there he was in complete shock/sensationalism mode.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by kcekada View Post
    I liked it, but felt the female characters kinda got shafted. Actually, the entire team -- including Captain America -- were unlikable. But it was an interesting take on the Avengers -- one that the films used as a blueprint, but thankfully, did not mimic completely.
    I still fail to see how the Ultimates are unlikable. I also disagree, Ultimates made a lot of the female heroes way cooler, specifically Janet making her a scientist and mutant though I will admit she could've done more in the final fight (at least she goes giant in Ultimates 2)

  6. #6
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    Ultimates by any chance is less than a masterpiece and era defining of 2000s Marvel stories. It's the pinaccles of Marvel at that time that introduce not only decompressed book, but also a cinematic approach of comic book storytelling that will become the blueprint of Marvel Cinematic Universe. But, again this book like any other Millar's books in the existences of this planet had the worst characterization that feels like a chep action actor of Hollywood movies.

  7. #7
    see beauty in all things. charliehustle415's Avatar
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    It was good for its time, but now it reads as a woefully outdated notion of "heroism"

  8. #8
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by charliehustle415 View Post
    It was good for its time, but now it reads as a woefully outdated notion of "heroism"
    I can agree with that to some extent, at least in the sense that the idea that "superheroes would be dysfunctional, maladjusted screw-ups at best, and outright horrible excuses for human beings at worst, if there really were such a thing as superheroes" has long since ceased to be fresh or innovative.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  9. #9
    Incredible Member Cap808's Avatar
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    I loved the first two volumes of the Ultimates. The stories were grandiose and the characterizations made all of our heroes the coolest guys in the room, yet very flawed. What more could you ask for? I can remember as a kid when Gyrich chose a roster of 7 for the team. It was exciting and it was fresh. That's what I got with the Ultimates. As someone who loved the trial of Hank Pym storyline, this new take on Hank blew me away. Thor while still a powerhouse, was humanized, and I think now we all knew someone like him. Tony Stark was a combination of James Bond and Hugh Hefner, and we all wished we could be him. And Captain America? He was now more than the tired boyscout caricature. He became a super soldier again. Sure, Thor could probably take Cap in a fight, but this Cap would at least give Thor a reason to pause to consider the repurcussions. The characters were all the same, but different!

  10. #10
    Ultimate Member Riv86672's Avatar
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    I went w. GOOD.
    It was a heck of a reimagining and i was free to enjoy it because it wasn’t the 616 characters.

  11. #11
    Better than YOU! Alan2099's Avatar
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    I hated it.

    The book often felt like it was trying to be edgy for the sake of being edgy and left the impression that the writer didn't believe anyone could actually be a good person deep down.

    Most of the costumed were overly redesigned garbage as well (although there were a few that worked.)

  12. #12
    Mighty Member LifeIsILL's Avatar
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    Pretty amazing.

    But I hated what they did with Hank Pym and his wife.....wtf is up with that?

  13. #13
    Formerly Assassin Spider Huntsman Spider's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Alan2099 View Post
    I hated it.

    The book often felt like it was trying to be edgy for the sake of being edgy and left the impression that the writer didn't believe anyone could actually be a good person deep down.

    Most of the costumed were overly redesigned garbage as well (although there were a few that worked.)
    Especially the last part. The costumes didn't bother me nearly as much as the characterizations and the utter nihilistic bleakness at the root of it all.
    The spider is always on the hunt.

  14. #14
    "Comic Book Reviewer" InformationGeek's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by kcekada View Post
    I liked it, but felt the female characters kinda got shafted. Actually, the entire team -- including Captain America -- were unlikable. But it was an interesting take on the Avengers -- one that the films used as a blueprint, but thankfully, did not mimic completely.
    So basically what Hollywood does with most of Millar's comic to movie adaptations then. Follow the blueprint and cut out the bs.

  15. #15
    Better than YOU! Alan2099's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by InformationGeek View Post
    So basically what Hollywood does with most of Millar's comic to movie adaptations then. Follow the blueprint and cut out the bs.
    Once you cut out the BS from the Ultimates, you really just have the classic Avengers. The BS is what made the comic Ultimates and not just The Avengers.

    Maybe you could argue that a few minor details have changed, but those would happen in adaptions anyway.

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