Broken Frontier

This is a difficult review to write because if you go into Ultimates Volume 3 expecting the same brand of political satire that superstar duo Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch nailed in the previous two story arcs you’re bound to be disappointed. Writer Jeph Loeb doesn’t fail at one upping Mark Millar because he doesn’t even try. Volume 3 is an all out classic Avengers yarn that doesn’t hide that it’s not supposed to be taken all that seriously. However, for what it is, Loeb’s opening foray into the world of the Ultimates packs quite a classic punch.

The issue opens one year after the events of the previous volume. The team now calls Tony Stark’s mansion their headquarters, and from the very first page it’s apparent that this version of Ultimates is vastly different from the one we remembered. The entire lineup almost always wears costumes now, a stark contrast to the previous volumes where they rarely, if every suited up (Hawkeye, I’m looking at you). Then, after one sole page of the team bemoaning the release of an Iron Man/Black Widow sex tape, Venom knocks Thor through the walls and a fight breaks out that takes up the majority of the issue.

Much of the success of the book has to be attributed to Joe Madureira’s art. His work here is incredible and Loeb knows when to get out of the way, giving the artist plenty of room to explore the battle and show Venom and the Ultimates in all their splash page beauty. Joe Mad’s pencils even excel in the quieter scenes, and it’s this beauty that pulls the reader along.

Once the battle ends Loeb spends some time showing just how far the Ultimates have fallen since parting ways with SHIELD and Nick Fury. Cap’s bitter and unresponsive, Tony’s on the worst bender of his life, Hank’s developed a drug problem, and following the murder of his family in the previous volume, Hawkeye’s got a bit of a death wish. Add to that a final page murder of a team member and you’ve got a recipe for a pretty engaging five part series.

There are some problems though such as the unexplained addition of a completely silent Black Panther and a mostly pointless Valkyrie. Loeb also undoes much of the realism from the first two volumes by stamping his trademark 90s era bombast into nearly every scene. However, readers shouldn’t expect the complexities of Ultimates Vol.1 and 2 from a man currently penning Onslaught Reborn. Most critics would agree that Jeph Loeb hasn’t hit a solid rhythm since leaving DC for Marvel (remember that recent Wolverine arc? Yeesh.), but here Loeb has a chance to really shine, delivering the kind of white knuckled blockbuster that made Batman: Hush such an undisputed success.

The story might not appeal to the legions of Ultimates fans as it lacks all the subtlety and commentary Mark Millar has managed to imbue into everything from Civil War to Superman: Red Sun. But what it lacks in brains it makes up for in muscles. This is a knock down drag out Avengers story mirrored after the good old days of Stan and Jack. And since the classic Avengers have long been disbanded in the core universe, this is the perfect opportunity for Loeb and Madureira to hit an unsuspecting fanbase with the equivalent of an explosion filled summer blockbuster. For a man who’s been referred to as the "Michael Bay of comics," there may be no Marvel series better suited to his strengths than The Ultimates.