Broken Frontier

The events of Ultimatum have left New York a devastated mess. The survivors are trying to put themselves back together as best as possible. Through the chaos, a tired and confused Spider-Man tries to save as many people as possible. Oh yeah, the Hulk shows up, too.

Ultimatum is an interesting event. It really is. It is the end of the Ultimate line. Of course, in true comic fashion, nothing really dies - Ultimate Comics will rise out of the ashes of this death. The Ultimate Universe had lost its way. It had become a meandering reflection of the 616 universe. Nothing made that more apparent than the retread of the Clone Saga. Originality was gone, identity had given way to stale redo.

So bring in Jeph Loeb and let him destroy the blasted thing. He’d already lead the Ultimates on a disastrous course by taking careful double entendre and making it a creepy plot device. Who better to bring the whole Universe in on itself. Along the way, Marvel announced the end of two of the three core titles. It was not difficult for observant fans to figure that Fantastic Four and X-Men would be the titles let go. Ultimate Spider-Man made too much money and was too well loved. However, the whole Universe seemed to be ailing. It had lost its vibrancy. So when this event made the titles exciting again from a story standpoint, it was a delightful surprise. Seemingly the best was saved for last.

The devastation of New York is handled with great skill here. Bendis scripts the various survival instincts with amazing acuity. Ben Urich professes his hidden love. Jonah finds remorse and a new meaningful story. Banner looks for fault and reason. The masses are confused. And poor Peter Parker reaches down deep and gets to the business of being a hero, even when the Hulk is breathing down his neck.

The destruction is enhanced by Immonen’s skillful panel work. Splash pages lay out a panoramic view of the havoc that has brought one of the world’s great cities to its knees. Between skillful layouts and dense narrative exposition, not a page is wasted. There are no vain but empty artist statements here. When the picture crosses the page, there are other panels framing it, or there is an amazing amount of detail or even emotional context expressed so that it never feels superfluous.

Bendis also flexes his dialogue muscles. He has a natural cadence and knows where breaks should happen. There is a keen ability to find where people would interrupt, an uncanny knack to stop on the right syllable. It feels like these people are actually talking. Despite a tendency to resort to kitschy slang, the words Bendis fills the balloons with is his greatest talent. While "hulkify" and "bestest day ever" may be cringe worthy, he picks these things up from the message board that he runs. The idea is to use it as research and the fact that he can voice today’s youth with such accuracy shows that it serves him well.

Again, Immonen is the perfect complement for the writer’s skill. The youthful vibe of the script is accessorized by his unique styling. He even gives Aunt May and Jonah a youthful glean. It gives the book an energy that would otherwise not be present.

It seems a shame that the pairing is relatively short lived. They have created a symbiotic relationship that showcases both their strengths. The book is an example of two creators running with a great idea. They make the most of it. It is kind of a shame that the quality is derived from a stunt event. It would be interesting to see the duo work in a more organic setting.