So I picked up Secret Wars as a sort of conclusion to the Ultimate Universe. Without having read basically any of the leading material in the main Earth-616 lineup.

So… it’s a bit weird and confusing what’s going on.

Eventually, you more or less get the idea, but until then, it’s really like being dropped into yet another crazy chaotic patchwork world, with Doom as God.

It’s actually a pretty cool world–truth be told–with lots of variations on characters we’ve seen otherwise. I enjoy the idea of a whole army of Thors as the local police force. 😄

But eventually, we get a few stowaways from Earth-616 and … well, one* from Earth-1610 (the Ultimate Universe) I’ve been following (*: two technically, we also get Maker–yay…). And that’s really it. Eventually they have to save the day and rewrite time. It’s basically a way to kill off Earth-1610 and a bunch of other universes in order to simplify the overall multiverse?

Kind of sucks that untold billions have to die / never have existed for that to happen…

Overall: Interesting enough story, especially a few issues in where what’s actually going on becomes more clear. Ending is kind of lame. The reason Miles gets to stick around (despite his being the best storyline in a while from the Ultimate Universe) is … hilarious and weird.

I think it’s time to read something a bit less … all encompassing for a while.

Onward!

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And so the Ultimate Universe ends… with a weird confusing mess of a send off?

It’s sort of a companion to Secret Wars, more specifically focusing on what is happening in the Earth-1610/Ultimate Universe part of the Battleworld… but it’s not really necessary.

All you need to know is that this is the … Ultimate End.

(You really can skip this one, it’s all right.)

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Meh. It worked much better in Volume 1.

Same team, same smaller stakes. Not going to lose states (again), but plenty of lives are on the line.

It’s interesting seeing the team dynamics (on again, off again, half a dozen times in a single volume…).

The art for this one got weird.

The Ultimates name still doesn’t really work.

And it’s weird that the Kate Bishop story line almost 100% got dropped.

So it goes.

Onward to the end.

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Making people change because you can’t deal with who they are isn’t how it’s supposed to be done. What needs to be done is for people to pull their heads out of their asses. You say ‘cure.’ I hear ‘you’re not human enough.

Been a bit since I last read any Scalzi. I’m glad to get back around to it though. Lock In is very good.

In a nutshell, Lock In takes place in a near future Earth where a flu-like pandemic (Haden’s Syndrome) has caused locked-in syndrome in some small percent of the world’s population (a small percent of billions is still an awful lot of people). Those affected are completely paralyzed, unable to move, while still being fully aware and conscious.

Luckily(ish) a massive global effort has figured out how to embed computer hardware in their brains so as to allow them to remotely pilot either robotic bodies (threeps¹) or (more rarely) other humans who’ve allowed them access².

This of course is widely accepted by the rest of humanity and causes no issues whatsoever.

😄

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Getting ink felt right, like it would help her put her life in order, to move forwards. It was her body, despite the things that’d been done to it, and she wanted to claim it, to own it, to prove that to herself. She knew it wasn’t magic, but the idea of writing her own identity felt like the closest she could get to reclaiming her life. Sometimes there’s power in the act; sometimes there’s strength in words. She wanted to find an image that represented those things she was feeling, to etch it on her skin as tangible proof of her decision to change.

Well that’s not what I expected.

It’s definitely a sequel to Wicked Lovely. In that it’s in the same world with many of the same characters and takes place after the events of the first book.

It’s … fine? It’s interesting, if a bit jarring, to see more of the world and a broader cast of characters. But the plot is ugly, it’s hard to root for anyone really, and I missed the continuity you get from sticking with a united point of view.

Side note: trigger warning for rape. Off screen, but it’s a major plot point of the book.

I’ll probably try one more in the series, since it’s supposed to go back to Ash. We’ll see.

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Resolution of the Parker storyline: check. Ish. I still don’t like it.

Miles’ father back and a bit of backstory? Awesome.

Kate Bishop’s secret? Also a nice* twist.

*not actually nice.

Goblin? Electro? Sabertooth? Hydra? Doom? Defeated!

It’s a jam packed volume, just at the right scale for Spider-Man. A good one.

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So… Peter Parker is back? And for now at least, they’re going to play it straight?

Seriously?

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Haven’t you ever been in a fairy tale before?

It’s one of those books that just feels like a fairy tale. An ageless story. A story passed down from long ago ages of myth and fantasy. Ages with heroes and villains and wizards and–you guessed it–unicorns.

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Fantastic Four?

Nah, Future Foundation!

It’s a really weird story.

Random incursions from random dimensions. Animal people. Cyclops super heroes. Atlanteans.

And oy talk about tonal whiplash. Death and doom to animal people to kidnapping to quippy one liners to rape. All over the place.

And finally, the art. It starts off, a bit unfinished… but I kind of like it. But then it gets even more unfinished and cartoony. Not a fan.

Overall, a vaguely interesting story wrapped up in a lot of weird.

Not surprised this is all it got.

Onward!

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