The Ultimates (A Retrospective Review)

[FFJamie94]

Ultimates #3

Following on from last issue’s Captain America reveal, we have an issue built around the perspective of Steve Rodgers, waking up after 50+ years in a World that has left him behind. After the blockbusters that were the previous two issues, this one sets to have some quiet time, focusing instead on how someone from 1944 would deal with being in 2002.
I actually found myself enjoying this issue a lot. Maybe it has to do with the fact I’m reading this series weekly and analysing each issue or the fact that I’ve read it before and can just appreciate what this issue brings, but this second time round reading made me realise what Millar is best at, creating tragedy.

There are some great moments with Captain America and Nick Fury, the first is where Fury takes him to see his old friend Bucky who is now married to his fiancée. The passage of time is felt here and there is a beautiful moment where Steve and Bucky embrace each other, showcasing their friendship survives even through Cap has been missing for half a century.
The next moment comes in the form of a Graveyard where Nick Fury reads off the deceased family members that Steve missed out on. It’s a powerful scene and showcases that he has missed out on so much with the passing of his family. The only People he has left from his old life are themselves, aging.

The rest of the Ultimates take a back seat this issue, this is purely a Captain America and Nick Fury adventure, but they get given some action. There is a sequence where, upon waking up and being told he is 50+ years in the future, Captain America tries to escape but is stopped by Hank Pym. Hitch does a wonderful job of fluidly passing the action, making every panel feel big and epic until it reaches its conclusion.

Finally, we cut to the launch of the Triskelion where it’s a huge media circus. Betty Rose is finally introduced as the Ultimates PR Woman as she boasts about how this would do well for their ratings.
And in a last scene, George Bush asks Cap what he thinks of the 21st Century.

Again, I really enjoyed this issue, but I feel it highlights an issue I have with Captain America in this series, Millar has stated that the Ultimates is essentially a response to Bush politics and that Captain America himself is supposed to be what happens if someone has actually missed 50 years of social and political change, effectively making Captain America is the “Bad Guy”.
I think this issue does a lot to humanise him, which is a good thing, it creates depth for the character, but sadly he is never portrayed as wrong in the series. I get where Millar is coming from, and this isn’t strictly his fault either (although I can put most of the blame on him).
The way Hitch frames Captain America in this series showcases that Captain America is the voice of authority, and instead of coming across as a massive bully to everyone else, many issues would end with a big one panel page where Cap is the voice of authority.
If Millar wrote him to be an exact bully, someone who uses that authority to push others around then it would make the statement clear. But Mark has stated that soldiers have approached him saying they were inspired to join the army because of Ultimate Captain America. While I’ll have to take that statement with a pinch of salt, it doesn’t reflect well on the series as a whole.
Satire is supposed to critique and mock the subject it is focusing on. If this inspired People to join the army, then sadly it did its job poorly. I get that it’s hard to portray a negative Captain America, especially considering there’s a subset of Comic fans who’ll not notice subtext and instead voice an opinion that otherwise hurts the integrity of the book, but if that’s the story you want to tell, you have to look passed all of that and give People something you want to tell.

Outside of that small rant, I do feel like this issue is improving in a lot of ways. It has a lot of small moments which I think Millar excels at. I just wish the rest of the series followed on with this heart.

Next: We meet Thor, and the Ultimates movies gets its cast.

[Witchfan]

If Ultimates is a template for the MCU, then the movie producers must have judged against Hank and Jan, for they left them out of the Avengers and demoted them to supporting players in the Ant-Man movie. The other eight Ultimates made it into the Avengers movies.

[FFJamie94]

If Ultimates is a template for the MCU, then the movie producers must have judged against Hank and Jan, for they left them out of the Avengers and demoted them to supporting players in the Ant-Man movie. The other eight Ultimates made it into the Avengers movies.

I think that's the case. It's easy to see where a lot of the early MCU took its inspiration from, especially in regards to the designs Hitch gave each of the characters.
Honestly, Jan and Hank are two of the more... problematic aspects of the Ultimate Universe. Plus I think Scott is a much more interesting character than Hank. With Hank, you'll be adding another science based hero, much like Stark and Banner, and unlike those, I don't think he has the charisma.

[ed2962]

If Ultimates is a template for the MCU, then the movie producers must have judged against Hank and Jan, for they left them out of the Avengers and demoted them to supporting players in the Ant-Man movie. The other eight Ultimates made it into the Avengers movies.

My understanding is that they were left out because of complications with the Ant Man movie. The producers weren't sure if those characters were going to be available for them to use in the Avengers movie.