Book of Doom That Time Forgot: Ultimates 2 #13
There’s just too much this week. We took on two books at once, and there was just too much reviewing and writing to do, so we only got one done. I read on the internet that Doom DeLuise was almost done with his review, but then I read somewhere else that he isn’t…but the next one will be done tomorrow – I promise. Just a tiny delay…
No actually, there’s just so much Book of Doom goodness to go ’round, that this week’s roundtable is split into two parts! Today, the Legion and guest reviewer Aaron of GeekInTheCity.com take on Ultimates 2 #13, and tomorrow we’ll be back with All-Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder #5.
Although this week’s theme was books that have been notoriously delayed, I really wish Ultimates 2 #13 would have come out sooner.
I was really looking forward to this issue, but when I sat and read it, nothing had much of an impact on me, and I can chalk most of that up to the fact that I had pretty much forgotten what had happened to lead up to this issue. When I sat back and thought about what had preceded this, I thought “Huh, I bet this would have been a pretty good issue had I read #1-12 within the past year or so.” But I didn’t, and my reaction was diminished as a result.
I bet the final revelation that Thor is a god and not a madman was pretty cool for those who remembered it. For me, it was just those first few pages, and by the time I got to the big reveal, I was like “Oh yeah, that’s what was going on.” Bummer.
Those big widescreen battle scenes are where Bryan Hitch excels, but that 8-page gatefold was just excessive. It certainly didn’t help my reading experience that I had to abruptly halt my immersion into the story to unfold and unfold and unfold, then fold and fold and fold. And I’m not sure the big flying rainbow through the sky has the desired awe-inspiring effect on the reader.
I like that, while Millar wrote the mainstream heroes’ transition from independent vigilantes to government agents, he’s here writing an inverse transition from government agents to independent heroes. That’s a shift that will have its own unique set of problems, as Hawkeye here acts like a cold-blooded black ops agent when his team is trying to make the transition into heroes. It shows how the different militarized origin of the Ultimates translates to the “tough moments,” where people are either heroes or flawed, vengeful humans who’ve spent their adult lives solving problems with lethal force.
I enjoyed the conclusion, which reminded us that these two volumes have been Captain America’s story. He “died” and was “reborn” as a soldier, but his ultimate (no pun intended) commitment was to this cause of freedom, and that commitment supersedes his sense of duty and his personal desires.
Ultimates 2 #13 was a bit of a dud for me as far as individual issues go, but I have a decent amount of faith that when I get the chance to sit down and re-read the series, it’s probably a pretty good finale.
Here’s what the rest of the Legion had to say…
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[SFX: Podcast of Doom theme music]
Let’s recap. Jimmy Olsen finds the Red Hood and questions him about events in the last issue. Red Hood directs him to the Joker. The Joker claims he’s never had a daughter. Killer Croc escapes in the last page and looks to be ready to go Sobek on the little guy. Elsewhile, Mary Marvel still has no powers and is instructed to stay away from Gotham; Batman and Black Lightning beat up Karate Kid in the Batcave; the Flash’s rogues are preparing for a big confrontation, as well as snorting some blow for fun; and that’s it.
Up first, it’s Green Arrow #74! This is one of my favorite monthly books and I’ve heard it’s stopping at #75, and it looks like the setup for that finale is that there’s going to be such a huge fight with Deathstroke that the book stops! Not much to say about this book. I think you either like the bow-and-arrow action with the snappy Judd Winick dialogue or you don’t; you either like the action infused with politics or you don’t; you either like the extended 47-page peeky love scene with the Canary being shot by the Arrow or you don’t.
That’s right – in a case of planetary comic alignment – Ultimates 2 #13 and All-Star Batman and Robin #5 (affectionately known here as ASSBAR), two of the most ridiculously and notoriously delayed comics in recent history, both come out on the same week…or at least that’s the plan. If history is any indication, we’ll all come home from the comic shops Wednesday and wonder what we’re going to write about.
