Ron RoweReview: Ultimate Origins #1 (of 5)
June 14th 2008 20:32
Review: Ultimate Origins #1 (of 5)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Butch Guice, & Justin Ponsor
Summary:
The opening scene of an early meeting between Spider-Man and the Hulk sets the stage for the series, with a rattled Bruce Banner telling Spider-Man that "it's all connected. That's it. That's the secret." That is the theme for the entire five issue series - exploring those connections and revealing THE secret.
After the scene between Spider-Man and Banner, which ends with Banner turning into the Hulk and bounding off, We go back to World War II, where America's first super-soldier is gunned down in battle. Unfortunately for him, he was all soldier and no super, meant as a symbol but not endowed with any super-human powers. His death marked the beginning of the US government's efforts the create a real super-soldier - more than a man.
A year later, Nick Fury, Jim Howlett (who will become Wolverine), and a man named Fisk (the Ultimate Kingpin? I'm not sure about that one.) a profiteering by stealing jewelry from an Italian home during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They are caught by Fury's CO and dragged off to face their punishments. Fury unwillingly becomes the first successful test subject for the Super Soldier program and uses the resulting power to escape. Howlett is returned to Canada and used as a guinea pig for their own efforts to create a super soldier.
SPOILER ALERT: This book has a big surprise at the end. Don't read any further if you don't want to know.
A scientist at Weapon X, Canada's answer to the Super Soldier program, brags to a Mister Colcord that they have created a mutant gene. According to him, they have mutated Howlett's genome and gave him his increased healing factor and animal-like senses. Weapon X has created a new species and "James Howlett... is mutant zero."
Review:
Ultimate Origins is an ambitious project on several fronts. First, it's stated goal is to tie together the back stories of nearly all the Ultimate Universe characters into a single cohesive history. More daunting is the unstated task of making us forget that Ultimates 3 is both poorly written and months overdue. The book is at least partially successful on both fronts.
I'm not as up on my Ultimate Universe history as some, and this book does a great job of filling in the blanks without re-treading too much ground that has already been covered. The bombshell at the end is enough to bring me back for more. (Actually, with his recent track record, putting the name "Bendis" in the credits would probably have been enough. Pick up anything he's been writing lately and you'll see.)
The art is fine, if unexceptional. There's a terrific two-page spread of the soldiers at Guadalcanal. Spider-Man and the Hulk looked more like the Marvel-616 versions than their Ultimate counterparts. That was an odd artistic choice that pulled me from the moment, just a little.
It is always hard to judge a series or story-arc by the first issue, but on first read this seems like one to keep up with. If you're reading Ultimate titles, this is must-have history. If you're not, this is a good jumping on point.
8 out of 10
By Brian Michael Bendis, Butch Guice, & Justin Ponsor
Summary:
The opening scene of an early meeting between Spider-Man and the Hulk sets the stage for the series, with a rattled Bruce Banner telling Spider-Man that "it's all connected. That's it. That's the secret." That is the theme for the entire five issue series - exploring those connections and revealing THE secret.
After the scene between Spider-Man and Banner, which ends with Banner turning into the Hulk and bounding off, We go back to World War II, where America's first super-soldier is gunned down in battle. Unfortunately for him, he was all soldier and no super, meant as a symbol but not endowed with any super-human powers. His death marked the beginning of the US government's efforts the create a real super-soldier - more than a man.
A year later, Nick Fury, Jim Howlett (who will become Wolverine), and a man named Fisk (the Ultimate Kingpin? I'm not sure about that one.) a profiteering by stealing jewelry from an Italian home during the Allied invasion of Sicily. They are caught by Fury's CO and dragged off to face their punishments. Fury unwillingly becomes the first successful test subject for the Super Soldier program and uses the resulting power to escape. Howlett is returned to Canada and used as a guinea pig for their own efforts to create a super soldier.
SPOILER ALERT: This book has a big surprise at the end. Don't read any further if you don't want to know.
A scientist at Weapon X, Canada's answer to the Super Soldier program, brags to a Mister Colcord that they have created a mutant gene. According to him, they have mutated Howlett's genome and gave him his increased healing factor and animal-like senses. Weapon X has created a new species and "James Howlett... is mutant zero."
Review:
Ultimate Origins is an ambitious project on several fronts. First, it's stated goal is to tie together the back stories of nearly all the Ultimate Universe characters into a single cohesive history. More daunting is the unstated task of making us forget that Ultimates 3 is both poorly written and months overdue. The book is at least partially successful on both fronts.
I'm not as up on my Ultimate Universe history as some, and this book does a great job of filling in the blanks without re-treading too much ground that has already been covered. The bombshell at the end is enough to bring me back for more. (Actually, with his recent track record, putting the name "Bendis" in the credits would probably have been enough. Pick up anything he's been writing lately and you'll see.)
The art is fine, if unexceptional. There's a terrific two-page spread of the soldiers at Guadalcanal. Spider-Man and the Hulk looked more like the Marvel-616 versions than their Ultimate counterparts. That was an odd artistic choice that pulled me from the moment, just a little.
It is always hard to judge a series or story-arc by the first issue, but on first read this seems like one to keep up with. If you're reading Ultimate titles, this is must-have history. If you're not, this is a good jumping on point.
8 out of 10
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