Broken Frontier

Johnathan Hickman continues to mold his corner of the Ultimate Comics universe.

And here we were thinking that mysterious figure in the dark desert cave was Apocalypse, or something equally terrifying. It was Steve Rogers, who has given up his heroic ways and prefers to stay in isolation so that his morals won’t suffer anymore offenses. Meanwhile, Tony Stark hears about the financial conspiracy behind The World, and Captain Britian gets some unexpected screen time that shows a more heartfelt side to his character. Yet the moment of the issue goes to Reed Richards when he shows what he looks like under that cone-head helmet of his. Ugh, gross.

As is Johnathan Hickman’s layered style, these many small moments all combine together to push a larger plot forward. Some writers follow one thread from beginning to end, while others might go with a few threads that are interwoven. Hickman rolls up all the strings into a giant ball and never stops to untangle it, yet the overall product is something coherent and admirable. He has also picked up plot points from Ultimate Comics: X-Men and Hawkeye, making the whole Ultimate Comics line feel interconnected, which rewards readers of the entire line. The re-re-launch of the Ultimate universe has been a solid effort, with this title by far leading the pack.