Aaron is his usual deft self here. His guile is properly bemused as he paints the obvious underdog Magneto into a hole…but Erik pulls a few aces from his sleeve to shock Stark a bit. Limitless resources or not, Aaron delivers quite solidly here…and I thought it was Fraction writing for a while. It was pretty impressive coupled with Kubert’s nifty art schemes. Aaron’s aptitude for snarky yet un-cheesy dialogue and Kubert’s apt style make an enthralling read. It shows that even Magneto realizes that biting off too much than they can chew will be a profound way to
extinction…and he realizes this for both warring factions. Masking the obvious banter, there’s something special about Kat Immonen’s dialogue. It’s prolific when she writes an exciting Namor vs Thing clash but where’s the FF4 and Hulk? I thought this encompassed the proliferated hero population of MU? Well, Stuart Immonen’s art depictions are pretty much alternated from his usual style and it matches his maiden’s script well. Sad thing is Namor should defeat Ben Grimm underwater with some ease…you would think! The end makes no sense here…the guise that the X-Men may actually stand a chance is really not well worked over in this issue. But if you want jokes cracked and a lot of fists pumping…this is the fun kinda thing for you. (7/10)
It’s impressive to have an art team like Deodato, Will Conrad and Rain Beredo drawing an AvX tie-in where the secrets of K’un Lun speak of dire consequences and severe ramifications of the impending Phoenix Force. There’s a search on for a new Iron Fist here which makes the old Danny Rand, with upgraded mystical costume, seem what…pointless? After Brubaker, Aja and Fraction left Rand…Bendis mucked him up terribly and here, they don’t even make him a focal point…not yet, anyways. I don’t see why the mystical kingdom had to be pulled into the Phoenix monsoon but if Bendis’ tornado wants the city…he gets what he wants I presume. I’d feel better if Fraction handled this as I sense a lot of nonsense as he did with Sentry in Dark Avengers. It’s hard not to draw parallels to the DA books as this is one of the most tiresomely whimsical dragged-out issues Bendis has ever done. It’s a tedious and boring read. (4/10)
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed Gillen’s run ahead of Fraction’s on this book. Land appears on the AvX tie-in and seeing the POVS from Namor and Colossus is well worth-it. Land does well on art duties although lobster-Piotr is a bit pitiful. It stands aghast again that Rulk chalks up another win for the Avengers when Iron Man and Thing already scored two goals. So it’s 3 nil to Rogers’ team. The hard hitting inner turmoil of Piotr is well-matched by the hubris and chagrin of Namor…but it makes no sense to see him stand against a man he admires in Steve Rogers. This is highly dubious to have Namor an X-Men wildcard. So is having Abigail Brand and SWORD blackmailing Summers into housing the villain called Unit, who proves as arrogant yet effective a villain as ever. His influence on Hope is alarming but he’s more fun to read than Sinister. Carlos Pacheco is a hoot on art also so seeing Gillen force Rogers into thinking Scott has the best interest of mutants first is well-put…and to me, wasn’t it obvious? Overall, good stuff from Gillen (8/10)
Yost and Eaton pen the finale where we see Coulson and Samuel Jackson appearing in the comics…thus affiliating with the movie. How they insert them into mainstream-616 while not depreciating the Ultimate Fury…I shudder to ask. This isn’t a retcon…it’s an uncalled for and downright hideous finale. Seeing Orion perish to Marcus aka Nick Jr is dastardly and the fact that we gain two credible associates into Daisy Johnson’s SHIELD unit…is pretty hilarious. This would be a better story had there not been the need for Fury’s jungle fever. It steps on the established Ultimates work I revere. (2/10)
Hickman just oozes a degree of intelligence that makes me think he’s Reed Richards in the flesh. This run is bold and daring. Esad Ribic is original, majestic and flourishes in his own creative bubble. If you want a dynamic duo reshaping, retooling and revamping stories…these guys are the jackpot. Dean White helps color the landscape where the Ultimate Reed and his Children of Tomorrow annihilate Europe and place Fury in gridlock…Reed checkmates SHIELD. When Fury turns to Xorn and Zorn to aid the cause and stop Reed’s dominance and tyranny on Earth, there’s a lot of twists and turns that sees SHIELD, the US gov’t, Hulk, Falcon, Steve Rogers, the Ult Avengers…and the Asgardians…in places that you never saw coming…and I’m convinced Hickman is ULTIMATE REED. It’s that brilliant! This is a game-changer and I don’t ever use that word (10/10)
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