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Ultimates
File:Ultimatestwo01.jpg
Members of the Ultimates, on the cover of Ultimates 2 #1. Art by Bryan Hitch.
Publication information
PublisherMarvel Comics (Ultimate imprint)
First appearanceThe Ultimates #1
Created byMark Millar and Bryan Hitch, based on creations of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
In-story information
Base(s)Triskelion

The Ultimates is a comic book published by Marvel Comics, part of the Ultimate Marvel line featuring classic Marvel Universe characters re-imagined for a modern audience. Its current run, The Ultimates 2, is written by Mark Millar and drawn by Bryan Hitch, as was the first volume. The Ultimates 3 will be written by Jeph Loeb with art by Joe Madureira. The first series was first published in 2001 on a very sporadic schedule, despite being a monthly. The second series has been more regular in its publication.

The Ultimates is the Ultimate Marvel Universe version of the superhero team The Avengers. It shares similarities to its source material, but like the other Ultimate titles, has undergone deconstruction and reimagining. The stories take place outside of the regular Marvel Universe and bear no relation to the latter's continuity. They also have a darker, more cynical tone and resemble more a large-screen action movie than a traditional comic book. In this respect, it also resembles The Authority, another comic book that both Hitch and Millar worked on, but at different times.

The Ultimates' lineup initially consisted of the Ultimate Marvel Universe versions of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, The Wasp, and Giant-Man (a.k.a. Ant-Man, Yellowjacket and a couple of other aliases), with General Nick Fury as their government liaison. Later members included The Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.

Template:Spoiler

Characters

The Ultimates

  • Captain America is Steve Rogers - patriotic, nationalistic, and prone to violence (as are most of his teammates). He has more of a 1940s attitude than the original version did (even in the 1940s), which often makes him look reactionary. Rogers underwent six months of surgery and steroid treatment during World War II to become America's first Super-Soldier. At the end of the war in 1945, he led a mission to sabotage a prototype hydrogen bomb developed by the Nazis with extraterrestrial technology, and was thrown into the North Atlantic Ocean, where he was frozen. He remained in suspended animation until his body was rediscovered in the present day and revived, just in time to take the field leadership of the new government-sponsored superhuman force known as the Ultimates.
  • Nick Fury is the Ultimates' government liaison and head of S.H.I.E.L.D., the branch of the U.S. military devoted to metahuman threats (Hawkeye has stated its original purpose was to bring down the Soviet Union). General Fury is an African American (the original Fury was Caucasian) in this universe, but still wears an eye patch (due to an injury in the Persian Gulf War) like his mainstream counterpart. While Fury usually leads the team via a comm-link from their home base, he has occasionally joined the team on field missions, where he employs advanced spy technology (e.g. invisibility) to stay alive. He also makes various cameos throughout the Ultimate Marvel Universe, more so than the other Ultimates. His characterization and image is reportedly loosely based on Samuel L. Jackson by both Millar and Hitch.
  • Iron Man is Tony Stark, a billionaire industrialist, playboy and inventive genius who created the Iron Man powered armor. Stark has an inoperable brain tumor which will kill him anytime between six months and five years and wants to do something of worth before he dies. He is portrayed as an alcoholic, as he was for a time in the original comics. He has recently become engaged to the Black Widow, giving her a suit of armor as an engagement present.It has been suggested that the third series of the Ultimates will involve Stark's brain tumour as an important plot point.
  • Thor is a man who claims to be the exiled Son of Odin. He has built a cult of personality around himself with his preachings of a political conspiracy orchestrated by the New World Order. According to his dossier, he is an ex-nurse who suffered a nervous breakdown, spending 18 months in a mental institution. He appears to have super-powers which include flight, the ability to manipulate the weather, super-strength and also exhibits a degree of omniscience. He also wields the allegedly magical hammer Mjolnir, which can teleport objects into other dimensions. One of the mysteries behind Thor is whether or not he really is the Thor of Norse mythology. The later appearance of Loki who mysteriously appeared repeatedly to taunt Thor and then his appearance with a opposing supervillain team appears to give credence to Thor's claims. He refuses to be an official member of the team, which he considers pawns of the military-industrial complex, but offers to be on call anytime there is an emergency that requires his help. Mark Millar claims to have based the character loosely on conspiracy theorist David Icke.
  • The Hulk is Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, who attempted to rediscover the Super-Soldier Formula that created Captain America. Insecure and neurotic, he used an experimental version of the formula on himself and transformed into the mindless Hulk. In addition to being childlike and violent, the Hulk is shown to be not only a perpetually horny maniac with no morality or restraint, but a cannibal as well (In the Ultimate War issue of the Ultimate X-Men, he escapes and eats his six person nursing staff). As the Hulk, he is also virtually unstoppable, but easily manipulated. Banner was thought cured of his adverse condition, but recreated the Hulk because he was resentful about being surrounded by people with super-powers. Although not technically a member of the team, the Hulk was kept in isolation for safety reasons and was called on as a living weapon only as a last resort.
  • Giant-Man and The Wasp are Henry and Janet Pym, a married couple as they were in the original comics, but here they are emotionally and physically abusive towards one another. As in the mainstream comics, Henry Pym is a world-famous scientist, but the Wasp is secretly a mutant and much more wasp-like than the original. Giant-Man's powers are derived from hers, which was apparently a source of resentment to him.
  • The Black Widow and Hawkeye are Natasha Romanova, a former KGB spy and assassin, and Clint Barton, an archer with almost superhuman accuracy. They were originally part of the Ultimates' covert operations ("black ops") team, but were subsequently moved to public status after their backgrounds were falsified for public consumption. The Widow seems to have genetic or cybernetic enhancements. She also appeared to have a romantic interest in Tony Stark, but it was revealed in Ultimates 2 #9 that she was merely using him, and was in fact working as a spy against the Ultimates.
  • Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, are Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, a pair of mutant siblings. Pietro has the power of super speed, and Wanda can affect probabilities with her powers. Unlike the original mainstream versions of these characters, they have not abandoned their ties to Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants; they still believe in mutant supremacy. Because of their mutant status, they remain a part of the black ops section. They are often depicted touching each other intimately, which has led to fan speculation that the two share an incestuous relationship.

The Reserves

  • Rocketmen, who wear customized suits based on early Iron Man designs. 4 of them are members of the Reserves, while the other serve as general super-soldiers.
  • Giant-Men, seven men who use a modified version of Hank Pym's "Giant Man" Formula. Only their leader, Goliath, is officaly part of the Reserves. The others are general super-soldiers.
  • The Four Seasons, four marines who derive their powers from their uniforms. In recent issues, it is suggested that there are now many super-soldiers of this class.
  • Lieberman (deceased), the only one (besides the Giant Men) whose powers were not costume-based: he was injected with the Super-Soldier serum and, as a result, exhibited enhanced speed and strength, as well as nearly indestructible skin. He also possessed a connection to the S.H.I.E.L.D. supercomputer. However, his central nervous system collapsed after he saved several people from a fire in New York City, killing him. His death was a result of the super-soldier serum killing him and not the fire. It is suggested that there have been several other soldiers like him who died the same way.

Other reserves are mentioned, including Thunderbolt and Intangi-girl, but they are not yet operational.

Villains

Aside from the Hulk, Ultimates have fought and encountered several super powered foes, including Magneto and his Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy, the Ultimate Six, and the product of an abandoned Russian supersoldier program. They have also fought the X-Men twice, though it was not until recently that Fury declared the X-Men enemies of the state.

Exclusively, the Chitauri, an alien race closely based on the mainstream Marvel characters the Skrulls, have proven a significant nemesis to General Fury and his team.

Template:Spoiler Most recently in issue #9 of the second series, a massive invasion force, including soldiers from Russia, North Korea, China, and several Arab states, has invaded America. The Ultimates were attacked by a coalition of international supermen allied to the invaders, who have seemingly already dealt a crippling blow not only to the U.S., but also the Ultimates themselves by capturing Hawkeye and extracting information from him and manipulating Tony Stark through Black Widow (who has been revealed as a traitor). The coalition’s strike team is composed of the Ultimate Marvel versions of Crimson Dynamo, the Abomination, Vanguard/Perun, Dr. Chen Lu/Radioactive Man, Sibercat, Fantasma/Fantasia, and Steel-Guardian/Red Guardian, who is the group's leader. This "anti-Ultimates" team seems to be and homage to one of Marvel's old Soviet Union-based teams, “The Winter Guard", which was composed, at various times, of the same members. Only the Abomination appears to be a new addition. Ultimate Loki, who seems to actually be of divine origin, is aiding the "anti-Ultimates" for the chance to "cause mischief" with World War III.

The Ultimates also have a number of super-villains detained in the Triskelion, including;

  • Magneto (escaped)
  • Longshot (escaped)
  • Mystique (posing as Magneto)
  • Mr. Sinister
  • Lady Deathstrike
  • Ultimate Six
  • Hobgoblin
  • Thor (for alleged treason)
  • Captain America (also for alleged treason)
  • Vision (not really considered a villian, was being held for research, left after telling her tale and recording all of humanity and its culture)
  • Omega Red

Bibliography

Main article: Ultimates (story arcs)

The Ultimates Vol.I

  • Super-Human (#1-6)
  • Homeland Security (#7-13)

Ultimates 2 Vol.II

  • Gods And Monsters (#1-6)
  • The Ultimates 2 Annual #1
  • Grand Theft America (#7-12) (Ongoing)

Ultimates 3 Vol.III (Upcoming)

Relationship to other Ultimate Marvel characters

In the Ultimate Marvel universe the team is connected to other heroes, including Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. The link between these teams is mostly Nick Fury, the President's right hand in metahuman affairs.

It is striking that in contrast to the "widescreen" Ultimates book, where the Ultimates are portrayed as cynical, larger-than-life and near-invincible, the characters are depicted in a much more subdued style.

Spider-Man

Fury knows Spider-Man's secret identity and watches over him, a fact that Peter has experienced as a mixed blessing. On one hand, Fury protects him - in one instance, he sent the Wasp to heal his shoulder after Spidey was shot - and helps him conceal his secret identity, but on the other hand, Fury has made clear that Peter will have to join the Ultimates when he is an adult, whether he likes it or not, or will be seen as a threat to national security.

However, Fury has often shown a soft spot for Peter, partially because he thinks that Spidey will be a valuable asset for the Ultimates, then because Peter is single-handedly tying up most of the New York rogues' gallery, then because he wants to get his hands on the technology and genetic code of Peter's enemies, especially the Green Goblin and Doctor Octopus, contained in the Ultimate Six story arc, and lastly - and maybe most importantly - because, on some level, he likes Peter.

For a long time, Peter - although scared of Fury - tolerated his patronizing. However, after the Hobgoblin debacle, in which Peter's friend Harry Osborn was transformed into a monster, Peter grew extremely angry with Fury, punching him in a fit of rage.

In light of the Hobgoblin incident, Nick Fury believes that it is time for Peter to give up his spider-powers.

X-Men

The X-Men have tangled with the Ultimates several times. Wolverine plays a key role in this relationship. He saved Nick Fury's life in Operation Desert Storm, and fought alongside Captain America in World War Two.

In the Ultimate War storyline, the Ultimates fought the X-Men and could not beat them, despite having multiple backups. On the climax of mutant-human racism, the Ultimates also imprisoned rogue mutants in Camp X-Factor, where the prisoners have no legal rights, an allusion to Camp X-Ray.

After the X-Men's rehabilitation, Nick Fury sheltered them, because he (to an extent) supports Professor X's vision of mutant-human coexistence since the other option is all-out war, which normal humans probably could not win. Fury was also portrayed as less powerful than in the Ultimates books. In the "New Mutants" storyline, it is revealed that there are forces in the military even higher up than him. Fury also secretly assigned Wolverine to mercy-kill a mutant boy whose aura literally killed everything around him.

Recently, the Ultimates and the X-Men squared off a second time, when the X-Men tried to prevent rogue mutants from the Academy of Tomorrow entering the Triskelion. Again, the fight ended in a draw. After Magneto's Brotherhood used the confusion to attack the Triskelion, Fury threatened drastic consequences, but was cut short when Wolverine blackmailed him by threatening to tell the world about the mercykill assignment (see above). Angry, Fury cut his ties to the X-Men.

Recently, however, Fury again tapped Wolverine for yet another covert assignment--tracking down and executing Bruce Banner, aka The Hulk. Wolverine gladly accepted the challenge, since Hulk "sounded tough." It remains unclear whether or not this mission (contained in the Limited Series "Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine") occurs before or after the events in Ultimate X-Men (in the story entitled "Magnetic North").

Daredevil

Matt Murdock served as Bruce Banner's defence lawyer when he was on trial for murdering 852 people as Hulk.

Fantastic Four

Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four has stated ambition to join the Ultimates. The Fantastic Four itself is run and funded by a different department of the government (run by former S.H.I.E.L.D. boss, General Ross). The Fantastic Four recently met The Ultimates when they turned over a group of time-travelling terrorists to S.H.I.E.L.D. custody.

Hawk-Owl

In addition, the Ultimates made a short appearance in the mini-series Ultimate Adventures, which starred a Batman analogue called Hawk-Owl. They invaded his secret headquarters and tried to persuade him to stop his vigilante activities. He held his own against Captain America in hand-to-hand combat and used his avian allies to overcome Giant-Man before Thor overcame him with a small electrical discharge.

Awards & Recognition

The "Super-Human" storyline running through the first six issues of the first series won the Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Award for Favorite Story for 2003.

Trivia

In Ultimates #4, a discussion occurs where the characters talk about which actors should play them. The results are:

In the DC comic Superman/Batman, the title characters find themselves involved in a dispute with a group of alternate universe superheroes known as The Maximums, who serve as doppelgangers for The Ultimates much the way Marvel's Squadron Supreme served as substitutes for the DCU's Justice League. The Maximums, unlike the Ultimates, are based out of San Francisco. The (known) members of the Maximums are:

  • Soldier: equivalent to Captain America; leader of the Maximums. A "super-soldier."
  • Skyscraper: (deceased) equivalent to Giant-Man, and lover of Hornet. Killed in Superman/Batman #20 by Superman (though the true identity of the killer is suspect).
  • Hornet: An alien-human hybrid, equivalent to The Wasp.
  • Monster: a.k.a. Becky, a large blue-skimnned sharp-toothed Hulk doppelganger. Alter ego is a small African-American girl named Becky.
  • Viking: equivalent to Thor, a Norse god and claimed son of "ice giants" whose axe is imbued with magical properties.
  • Robot: equivalent to Iron Man. Whether an actual robot or a man in armor is unknown.
  • Bowman: (deceased) equivalent to Hawkeye. In spirit form, is responsible for helping the Maximums reach Superman and Batman's universe; is also in league with the post-Crisis "Mockingbird" Lex Luthor.

In addition, other characters from the "Maxiverse" have been noticed, each with their own ties to the Marvel universe:

  • Bug: equivalent to Spider-Man; has four arms, is able to stick to walls, and has blue skin. Also has a possibly part-Asian girlfriend named Kristen (who is saved by Superman), who may be a subtle nod to Smallville's Kristin Kreuk.
  • Wolfen: equivalent to Wolverine. Part animal, part human.

Interestingly, all the Maximums' dialogue is written in both upper and lower case, as in the Ultimates (and many Marvel comics); Superman, Batman and the other residents of their universe have dialogue written strictly in capital letters.

  • At the launch party for the Ultimates in issue 3 of the first series it is possible to see two characters who bear a resemblance to Clark Kent (Superman's alter ego) and Jimmy Olsen in the background when a female reporter (Lois Lane?) comes to interview Tony Stark.

It is also possible to see copies of 'The Daily Planet' Newspaper on Nick Fury's desk when he is talking to wasp after the hulk incident, just before her fight with Giant Man. Another possible homage to DC is the character of Corporal Bucky Barnes, who Millar and Hitch have altered to fit a similar persona to Jimmy Olsen (from the Superman comics). In The Ultimates, a young Bucky has reddish hair and freckles (just like Olsen) and is a photographer for a newspaper. That, coupled with Millar's elevating of Captain America's physical capabilities and the comics' use of the line "Captain America Created By Joe Simon & Jack Kirby" in every issue (all Superman comics feature the line "Superman Created By Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster"), as well as Bucky being Captain America's "pal" in a similar fashion as Olsen is known as "Superman's pal", paint a picture of Bucky functioning as more of a homage to Superman/Jimmy Olsen than the version of him from the main Marvel Universe.

Ultimates movie

On July 20, 2004, Marvel Entertainment and Lion's Gate Family Home Entertainment announced that they would be producing a 66-minute animated movie titled Ultimate Avengers, based on The Ultimates, which would be released on DVD February 21, 2006. It will not include the member Hawkeye.

Further information: [[:Ultimate Avengers]]

Collected editions

Trade paperbacks

The Ultimates Vol. 1: Super-Human (ISBN 0785109609) collects The Ultimates #1-6
The Ultimates Vol. 2: Homeland Security (ISBN 078511078X) collects The Ultimates #7-13
The Ultimates 2 Vol. 1: Gods And Monsters (ISBN 0785110933) collects The Ultimates 2 #1-6

Hardcover

The Ultimates Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785110828) collects The Ultimates #1-13
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