Broken Frontier

Ultimate Vision is off to save the universe from Gah-Lac-Tus. But, as is the way with epic journeys, there is an obstacle or two she must first overcome . . . .

Ultimate Vision begins shortly after the end of the Ultimate Extinction saga. After bidding a fond farewell to Sam Wilson, also know as Ultimate Falcon, Vision sets off on her mission to save the universe from Gah-Lac-Tus. However, on her way out of Earth’s orbit a strange thing occurs; she hears a signal with a distinct signature that brings her to a space station and the latest revision of a classic Marvel organization. Naturally, this leads to some ultimate action, drama, and intrigue as Vision comes face to face with a madman and the remnants of a defeated monster . . . .

At first I wasn’t a big fan of Ultimate Vision. Don’t get me wrong, she was okay, as a literary device to move the story along, but really nothing more (what we like to call a "flat character" in the business). But she began to grow on me. I saw the bond between Sam Wilson and her emerge. I saw the robotic concern for her mission begin to border on care and despair. Now Mike Carey has taken her a few steps further. In her brief interaction with Sam, in her description and awe of the human race, and in her give-and-take with Ultimate Marvel’s newest villain, Doctor George Tarleton, Carey is showing the human side of the machine. Yes, all of us saw this storyline coming. We knew she would become "human" eventually. However, the way Carey tells the tale, it is anything but predictable.

Brandon Peterson is equally unpredictable. I was under the impression he had gotten as good as he ever would. I was wrong. This is his best work yet. It is as if he has decided to streamline his style. Gone are some of the sketchier, overly crosshatched characters. In their place are heavy dark shadows where appropriate and thin, firm descriptive lines saying more in their simplicity than they ever have before. Additionally and in a show of amazing artistic dichotomy, Peterson manages to make Vision look hard and soft simultaneously. Furthermore, Justin Ponsor continues to wow with popping colors and bold, distinct shades.

While Ultimate Vision began her life as an almost stereotypical, flat character, the magic hands of Carey, Peterson, Ponsor, and everyone else involved in the creation of this book are taking her all the way to archetypal status and making it quite an entertaining journey.