This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us
This Town Ain't Big Enough For the Both of Us
I am going to talk to you today about something i mentioned briefly in my previous Comic Store Cowboy, Marvels new comic book line The Ultimate titles. This is been a massive project by Marvel, where they take some of our most beloved titles and start them over in a year one style. This new series is completely separate from the normal Marvel universe. Some of the titles in this new series are; Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Spiderman, The Ultimates (which is the Ultimate universe equivalent to the Avengers), Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra, Ultimate Six (which is the Ultimate universe equivalent to the Sinister Six), and hot off the shelves Ultimate Fantastic Four.
Ultimate X-men is great in the fact that they have gone back to the roots of mankind’s hatred and racism towards mutants and the X-men's fight against prejudice as well as those who would prove the human's right: Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Everything I thought was great about the X-men comes to the forefront in this new venture. It is a great read.
Ultimate Spiderman starts with our young, wise-cracking hero back in high school. Called a geek and a spaz by his classmates, Peter Parker finds it is difficult to fit in. For the most part this comic follows the original origins of Spiderman with just some modern day twists. There are plenty of classic villains and themes to keep Spiderman fans happy. Peter’s struggles with his secret identity, job, school, social life, Venom, Dr. Octopus, The Green Goblin, and Kraven the Hunter just to name a view.
The Ultimates, as I mentioned, are the equivalent to the Avengers. Nick Fury is not part of this team, but he does play a large part in the story as The Ultimates are a team of super heroes that are brought together by the government to act as a military force. The team consists of Dr. Bruce Banner, Dr. Henry Pym “Giant Man“, Mrs. Pym “the wasp” I do believe, Captain America, Tony Stark “Iron Man”, and The Incredible Thor acts as an ally to the group.
Ultimate Daredevil and Elektra is one that I have not read very many of, though I wish I had. We have Matthew Murdock “Daredevil” and his friend Foggy Nelson in law school together. It is here that Murdock meets the beautiful and strong willed Elektra Natchios, the daughter of a small businessman. The two hit it off immediately. Things go sour, however, when the campus jerk rapes Elektra’s friend. In their search for justice, Elektra and Murdock have to go head to head with the accused and his powerful father, who makes the police and justice system less than cooperative. When they push too hard, Elektra’s father’s business gets torched by goons. This starts the first real rift between Murdock and Elektra. To find out the rest, you must do yourself the favor of reading this fabulous series.
Ultimate Six and Ultimate Fantastic Four are the newest titles, so I have not have had the opportunity to read them yet. If they are half as good as the other titles under this new Ultimate series, then they will be well worth the investment.
Overall, The Ultimate line has a more “real” feel to it. Things seem a little more dark, carry a little more gravity. It is the kind of thing that Marvel fans deserve for the years of sub par stories wrapped in glossy covers. If you don’t think this may be your thing then you can get a taste of some of these titles by going to dotcomics.marvel.com and sign up for a membership. You won’t be disappointed. Enjoy.