Danvers and the Ultimates vs Fury and the Avengers.

Man that’s a mess.

Worth the read. They’re finally hitting their stride on more Ultimate Universe titles than Spider-Man. Which I suppose they had better be…

Onward!

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Zeroes, not Heroes.

That was fun.

In a nutshell, it’s the story of six American teenagers who discover they have superpowers. And fairly atypical ones too. A Voice that says exactly what needs to be said–for better or for worse. Being immediately forgotten. Crashing electronics all around you. Controlling mobs. Leadership (somehow different from mobs). Seeing through others’ eyes.

Maybe Flicker’s power made her think differently than most people. She saw the world from so many perspectives, and seeing was half of enlightenment.

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Death of Spider-Man.

So. Is he finally going to hang up the mask for good? (again) A metaphorical sort of death?

Or, given that it’s the Ultimate Marvel Universe… is Peter Parker himself the next on chopping block?

Oy.

Of all the Ultimate Marvel titles, Ultimate Spider-Man (continued) has been by far the most consistently good. Often great. He’s a good kid and consistently tries to do his best.

Well worth the read.

Oh Peter.

All that time living a double life and causing absolute chaos along the way…

We all know what’s coming. It’s in the title for crying out loud.

But for once, it’s nice to see things sort of working out.

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Pride can become arrogance. Arrogance is the father of cruelty. But in the beginning, there was also an idealism, a hope that he could change the human condition.

Victor Helios (né Frankenstein) is dead. Victor Leben (né Helios (né Frankenstein)) is alive.

With the events at the end of Dead and Alive, we all knew there would be another book. Here it is!

It’s … fine. It’s got all the bits you’d need for a thriller, but I don’t feel the villains as much. And there’s not really and ending. It’s very much part 1 of 2. At this point, you could easily stop at book 3… or read on to finish book 5. I suppose I’m in the latter camp. Onward!

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Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.

Take the extremist end of the American Protestant religious right. Give them everything they want (plus some) over the span of years (if not months).

Men have taken absolute power. In a world with (dramatically) declining birth rates, women are owned by the state. Their bodies are nothing more than a vessel for their wombs. They can’t travel alone, can’t be seen, can’t own property.

Like any good story of this sort, it takes a potential problem–an idea–and turns it up to eleven. It goes steps further than anything we’ve seen in modern times–or at least differently. The closest analogue I’m aware of is probably the events around the Iranian Revolution in 1979. By 1981, hijab were mandatory (there’s more to the history there; even before, hijab were seen as a method of protest against Westernization). Given this book was released in 1985, it seems… potentially related.

It’s… terrifying.

All the more so, for all those men (often in positions of power) that even today see it less as a cautionary tale and more something to aspire to.

Oy.

Don’t let the bastards grind you down.

You’ve heard of Marvel Zombies? Well if that wasn’t terrifying enough… what about Marvel Vampires!

It’s actually a really neat story. Blade shows up, so vampires are real. Only this time around, they’ve figured out that turning Super Vampires might just be their big shot.

Neat idea. Solid execution. A few more deaths. Marvel Ultimate yo.

By far my favorite Ultimate Avengers so far.

Onward!

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Stories always begin the same way: There was and there was not. There is possibility in those words, the chance for hope or despair.

Take Persian mythology and worldbuilding, more than a touch of fairy tale feel, a cursed princess, demons, div (what in a Euro-centric story would be probably be fae), a touch of romance, and the spark of revolution.

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Ultimate Thor. Ages ago, in Asgard. Decades ago, attacked by Nazis. And not that long ago, having a conversation with Dr. Blake—an old friend?

It’s not a bad story, although it feels weird as both a stand-alone and where it is in the Ultimate universe. What with Thor dead in Ultimatum and all.

Or is he…

Well that’s a thing.

No matter the universe, Marvel seems chock full of Super Soldiers. Here’s one more.

Given the subject matter, it could have used a bit more nuance. A bit more time to breathe. Captain America represents what America could have/should have been. Vietnam is anything but.

Onward!