Written by Brian Michael Bendis
Illustrated by Rafa SandovalTHE ULTIMATE UNIVERSE GAME-CHANGER! Reed Richard’s has declared war on science and technology and by doing so he has endangered or murdered some of the most important people in the Ultimate Universe. The only people standing in the way of him completing his mission are what are left of the Fantastic Four. In this shocking conclusion to the
Ultimate Enemy trilogy you will be witness to a Marvel Comics story unlike any other. Heroes will fall. New heroes will rise. But will the man they once knew as Mister Fantastic pay for his crimes?
Brian Bendis’ trilogy event comes to a close as the heroes of the Ultimate Marvel Universe go up against Reed Richards. This story is quite a stark contrast to the other Fantastic Four related title I reviewed earlier today, but it’s the kind of tale you can only get in the Ultimate Marvel U. I guess it helps to know that the man who helped pioneer the universe’s existence is so willing to destroy all that you hold dear within it as well, doesn’t it?
Click behind the cut for some thoughts on the finale, as well as some on the event trilogy as a whole. As a note, some spoilers are discussed, so be sure to read the issue before this review.
The Ultimate universe has been in disarray since Ultimatum, there’s no doubt about it. Magneto turned the world topsy turvy, and in doing so he tore apart some of the classic foundations that had always stood true within the universe, including the existence of several founding groups within the shared world. Of course, as Ultimatum came to a close and the new Ultimate universe came into being, Brian Bendis began an event trilogy in the same fashion that Warren Ellis once did with the Ultimate Galactus Trilogy – except this time the enemy was not only a familiar character within the Ultimate Marvel U, it was a hero.
At the end of Ultimate Mystery, Reed Richards stood forward as the nefarious villain for our heroes to overcome, and as Ultimate Doom comes to a close that is exactly what the various heroes of the Marvel U do. This issue is in many ways a tribute to powerhouse finales, essentially featuring one of the biggest smash ’em ups since Millar and Hitch did the Ultimates 2. It also serves as the wrap-up to the various threads that Bendis had been weaving in this multi-layered tale of deception and science. In many ways, this is a good example of Bendis bringing the oomph back into the Marvel Universe, because it finally brings to a head threads Bendis had woven previously in Ultimate Origin and Spider-Man, and seeing the Ultimate Marvel U be a large and cohesive entity once again is certainly the selling point of the story. That is what made the Ultimate Marvel U so great in the first place – reading a grand action in one comic meant you’d see the reverberation in another, and considering Bendis is the main Ultimate writer right now, it’s safe to say that whatever is in store for the Ultimate Fantastic “Four” by the end of this story will be safely under his pen.
Unfortunately, there are a few things about the issue that end up a tad too open for comfort. The first is that Bendis had introduced a lot of characters to the Ultimate Marvel U with this story, and almost none of them make an appearance outside of a mention at the end. It’s a shame, because one would assume characters like Ultimate Layla Miller and Samuel Sterns would be a huge help in stopping the ultimate scientific villain, but it ends up being a bit of a deus ex machina from Ultimate Rick Jones, who is rather unsure that this was his “purpose” in the first place. In that regard, we’re given two open ends: was this Rick Jones purpose, and will we see those characters again? On top of that, the final moment of the issue is essentially the ultimate (no pun intended) “they’ll be back ending,” because if there’s one thing you can be sure of in comics it’s that you need to see someone die to be sure that they’re dead. For a comic that had a decidedly large amount of elements to finalize, this comic sure does leave itself wide open for a sequel. On the one hand, that open ended-ness is nice because there are rooms for more stories. However, on the less positive hand, it feels like Bendis was a tad too unsure to finalize some of the elements he had begun in this story.
Continued belowBendis is a writer who is on top of his game lately, but this issue is decidedly middle ground for him. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – Bendis’ middle game is still leagues above other writers in the business. However, the rather indecisive nature of this issue – in that it doesn’t want to take a firm stance on elements – is a tad disappointing. No matter what you thought of the Ultimate Galactus Trilogy, Warren Ellis created a trilogy that ended with it’s final issue (despite it getting a continuation from Mike Carey). The Ultimate Enemy Trilogy brought a LOT to the Ultimate Universe (whose future is certainly uncertain at the moment, what with the main character of the Universe – Spider-Man – on the verge of death), but as it draws to a close it doesn’t seem like Bendis was entirely sure where to place everyone. Jessica Drew gets a new home, as does Doctor Octopus, but the future of characters like Rick Jones and Captain Marvel and Doc Ock’s “Intelligencia” (for lack of better term) are left to lines of dialogue and assumed off panel moments. Plus, in a universe where there are no rules, the ending does feel a little “safe”, especially for a writer like Bendis who has shown he’s not afraid to kill a character or two (and I suppose this is my way of saying I want to see more death in comics!).
That being said, Bendis still does do a good job with the issue. Bendis’ strength of dialogue is still present, and there are some great moments – especially between the new Ben Grimm and the new Reed Richards. Richards insisting that he finally cured Ben much to Ben’s dismay is probably one of the more powerful scenes of the issue, especially for those that have been following the Ultimate Fantastic Four for a considerable period of time. As much as the safe nature of the comic is a tad irking, it’s still got enough of Bendis’ patented goodness that ultimately these plot elements can be forgiven under the notion that this is the Ultimate Universe, and things are never supposed to be what you expect. At least Bendis still shines in some of the more key aspects.
However, the supreme champion of this issue is Rafa Sandoval. Bendis essentially gives Sandoval an open playground of art with this issue. Splash pages galore allow Sandoval to illustrate some absolutely fantastic battle sequences, and the scientific nature of the N-Zone sees Sandoval playing with the page in a very Pasqal Ferry way, which ends up looking absolutely gorgeous. Sandoval has certainly shown that he is no artistic slouch for the entire 12 issues of this story, and going out with a send-off like this honestly makes you hope that Sandoval will get more consistent work from Marvel. While a new Ultimate FF is probably too far off, seeing Sandoval perhaps on a some future Ultimate storyline would certainly be a welcome treat, especially if he is allowed to go as all out with it as he did with this story.
Ultimate Doom is perhaps not the ending you’d immediately expect, but it’s still a fairly good wrap to an otherwise enjoyable series. The Ultimate Universe is not as large as it used to be, so having an excuse to enjoy the extended universe a bit more is an opportunity to take. There is a lot of room to go beyond the finale here, and while on the one hand it’s disappointing to see an ending so open, on the other hand it should be interesting to see what pays off elsewhere. If the story is never revisited, I suppose the ending will leave us all a tad cheated on a firm resolution, because there are certainly elements here that differ rather starkly from the Marvel Universe proper. It’d be a waste not to see more pay-offs.
Cross your fingers, everyone.
Final Verdict: 8.2 – Buy
