Houston, We Have a Solution!

Book: The Ultimates – Vol 1: Super-Human
Pen: Mark Millar
Pencil: Bryan Hitch

At the turn of the millennium Marvel comics was coming out of a tough phase where it had filed for bankruptcy. They made a decision to ‘go Hollywood’ with their main titles. The term didn’t stand for adapting their comics into movies, but changing the comics in a way that they appealed directly to most of new generation, not just the few that read comics. Like Hollywood, they decided the only people that mattered were the 18-to-25-years age-set and the comics were to reflect that.

Enter the Ultimate Marvel imprint. By basing their comics in another one of the infinite alternate universes in the Marvel Multiverse.(Essentially, a lazy excuse to churn out stories that did not fit into the continuity of the characters.A devise like ‘warp speed’ in sci fi!) All the major characters – Spider-man, X-Men, Fantastic Four – underwent the Ultimate treatment, which meant that almost all the characters became of high school age! When it came to the Avengers they realized they couldn’t just reduce the ages. A more thorough re-imagining was necessary. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch were the people in charge and they were also asked to rename the Avengers as the Ultimates.

Nick Fury, the eye-patch-wearing boss of SHIELD, decided to get a team of highly capable individuals together in order to deal with threats that could not be handled by the military alone. He gets Dr Bruce Banner, who was holed up in a dingy research facility trying to recreate the super soldier serum that was responsible for turning puny Steve Rogers into Captain America almost 60 years ago. Also joining were Dr Hank Pym, who was researching how he could change size into a 60-feet giant, called Giant-Man, and also how he could control ants.His wife Jan, aka the Wasp, could size-shift into the size of a wasp. (Don’t you like it when the superhero names are accurate to the point!)

Fury was thrilled, but suspicious, when billionaire inventor Tony Stark decided to join in along with his entire Iron Man tech. He also tried to recruit a charismatic hippie eco-messiah called Thor who was leading a bunch of activists against consumerism and capitalism. Thor was widely known to be an ex-nurse who had spent time in a lunatic asylum. But he was also known to possess some powers. Unfortunately, Thor had no intention in joining up, definitely not when America still had a president called George W Bush! And then, they suddenly fish someone up from the Atlantic Ocean!

The Ultimates is extremely fast-paced. It also explores real-world issues, and also very convincingly. Captain America was always supposed to be a fish out of water, having woken up decades later. But few comics have explored that theme with such pathos. The characters are well-rounded, not just Nick Fury, who was actually modeled after Samuel L Jackson, with his permission. And this was before the movies. 

It is a thrill-a-minute ride that leaves you stunned with its audaciousness. Millar reinvents the classic characters, in imaginative ways, but at no time does it seem forced. While remaining true to the spirit of the Avengers, the Ultimates end up being different. Complementing the story is the incredibly detailed art of Bryan Hitch. You end up staring for minutes at each single panel, even if you are artistically challenged like yours truly! 

Of all my comics, The Ultimates is the one I have read most times. It is likely to continue being so. This is what superhero comics should be. Incredible situations, crackling wit, memorable characters, just enough gratuitousness, and, above all, lots of fun. In that way, this is a comic that is worthy of its name.