Wow, that’s quite a cast I listed in the tags and I tried to just list those characters that made an impact on the story. The full cast list would account for almost every Marvel Hero of consequence. It seems only fitting though to have such a prestigious cast when you end an era. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the Avengers were rebuilt not real long after they broke apart, but things could never be the same. In an attempt to modernize the book Marvel will inject popular characters from other series into the Avengers, they’ll add more of a real feel to the book and probably make it darker as well. According to Marvel, it had to be done to keep the book alive so there’s no point in complaining about what has been lost.
I knew going into the book that Avengers Disassembled was going to be the breaking point of the team and I had heard mumbled rumors as to what happened in the book, but I wasn’t exactly clear how it would go down. I was very worried that in order to get to where they wanted to go in the book that it would feel rushed and very contrived. When I finished the book I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at the story but still saddened by the loss of what had been, exactly how I think Marvel wanted to end the series.
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The end of the Avengers comes at the hands of the Scarlet Witch. Her powers have grown to where she can alter reality whether she realizes it or not. As anyone would, she feels disappointment with how certain parts of her life has gone, the difference is that her subconscious can do something about it. I don’t think I can do justice to the story by merely recapping it — I know a first for me. Seriously, as one would imagine when the Scarlet Witch wants bad things to happen whether subconsciously or not, she makes things go very bad. Imagine if the Kree attacked the Avenger’s mansion on the same day that a handful of Ultron clones attacked the mansion, for example.
It is Dr Strange who eventually come forth to help rectify the situation but by that time the damage has been done. The Avenger’s mansion has been destroyed and several members have been killed. It isn’t that there are not enough members for the Avengers to go on, but instead their spirits are broken and many feel that they must move on.
I’m sure there are others that did not enjoy Avengers Disassembled as I have, it’s too controversial an event to make everyone happy. It is a more important book than first blush indicates when multiple Avengers titles launched not too long after. Any fan of the Avengers or just a fan of Marvel in general should pick up this book even if you became a fan after the original Avengers era had ended.
Tags: Ant Man, Captain America, Captain Britain, Dr Strange, Falcon, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Jack of Hearts, Kree, Ms Marvel, Nick Fury, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, Ultron, Vision, Wasp, Wonder Man, Yellowjacket
Avengers, Marvel | admin | 
November 4, 2009 7:38 pm | 
Comments (0)
The Ultimates 2 starts off with a bang. Captain America leaps out of a helicopter and kicks some terrorist ass to free some hostages. But that really has nothing to do with what this book is about. There are some smaller side story lines, like Hank Pym coming back with his Ant Man persona, the relationship between Cap and Janet gets more involved and Tony Stark falls for the Black Widow, but the core of the story revolves around two characters; one is a god and the other is a monster.
Just when Dr Banner seems to be getting the Hulk under control we finally the consequences from Ultimates 1 come to fruition as the Hulk is held responsible for killing over 800 people on his rampage through New York. Was it really his fault? Does that even matter? There is always a need for a scapegoat and Banner, deservedly or not has become just that. Now he must be tried before a jury of his peers.
On the other end of the spectrum, Thor is being more vocal in his discontent with the US Government stating his belief that they will eventually send the Ultimates to the Middle East despite the fact that it is prohibited by their charter or something. He publicly removes himself from the team right before confidential documents about Bruce Banner being the Hulk get leaked to the media. This brings him into conflict with the Ultimates and besides that Thor’s delusions of godhood appear to be getting worse, will they be forced to fight another teammate?
The book is written at the same pace as the other Ultimate books which may be a bit slow for casual readers but that’s because it’s not meant for casual readers. This series wants us to take a look at these super heroes and discover just how human they are. They have faults, desires and fears that impact their lives and the story.
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Hank Pym wants back into the program badly. He creates the Ant Man hero which is a flop and also designs two robots that he freely offers to Nick Fury, but unfortunately for him, his time with the team is over.
Bruce Banner is held on trial for his murderous rampage. It’s really just a show because everyone knows he’s going down for what he did. Fury doses Banner with a bunch of tranquilizers and they set him on a ship which they blow up with a nuclear bomb. There’s no way he could have escaped that, right?
Tony Stark asks the Black Widow to marry him and Janet has moved in with Captain America. Not really important spoilers but there you have it.
Thor learns that Loki has escaped and seeks vengeance against his brother. Loki apparently has reality-altering powers and he reconstructs recent events to paint Thor as just a mental patient with a big heart who stole some equipment and now is on a rampage. This brings out the Ultimates to get Thor under control and they do manage to best him and lock him up so that he can be observed and offered therapy. Loki stops by Thor’s new prison for a chat and passes on the knowledge that one of the Ultimates is a traitor. Then again, all of this could exist only in Thor’s mind for all we know.
After an embarrassing outing as Giant Man which ends up painting Hank Pym in a bad light he gets a visit from one of the Ultimates, the one that is a traitor. Of course, we can’t see the traitor’s face so as to who that person is… we’re just going to have to wait and see.
Again, it’s another good Ultimates read that I’d recommend and it leaves you with one Hell of a cliff-hanger that will have you itching to get the follow-up book Grand Theft America.
Tags: Ant Man, Black Widow, Captain America, Giant Man, Loki, Nick Fury, the Hulk, Thor, Wasp
Marvel, The Ultimates, Ultimate Marvel | admin | October 16, 2009 12:46 pm | Comments (1)
Wow, that’s quite a cast I listed in the tags and I tried to just list those characters that made an impact on the story. The full cast list would account for almost every Marvel Hero of consequence. It seems only fitting though to have such a prestigious cast when you end an era. Don’t get me wrong, I understand that the Avengers were rebuilt not real long after they broke apart, but things could never be the same. In an attempt to modernize the book Marvel will inject popular characters from other series into the Avengers, they’ll add more of a real feel to the book and probably make it darker as well. According to Marvel, it had to be done to keep the book alive so there’s no point in complaining about what has been lost.
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