Review - Black Widow Volume 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Most Wanted

Faced with the exposure of her darkest secret, Black Widow makes a deal with the enigmatic Weeping Lion to keep it hidden. Under this pact, she’s tasked with stealing intel from S.H.I.E.L.D. and becomes persona non grata in the process. As a result of her actions, a wayward agent from S.H.I.E.L.D. makes it his mission to bring her down. An increasingly desperate Black Widow must decide between ruining her reputation as a hero to keep her secrets safe or dealing with the consequences of crossing the Weeping Lion.

Black Widow Volume 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted collects Black Widow #1-6 by Chris Samnee and Mark Waid.

This collection features an arc that uses the same old premise that just about every solo Black Widow adventure seems to have – she did something awful in her past and now it’s come back to bite her in the ass. Ordinarily I’d be annoyed by the fact that, once again, the creative team on a Black Widow series focuses on the past rather than the present. However, the work that Samnee and Waid do on this book is nothing short of impressive. The plot hinges on a secret from Widow’s past, something so horrible that she’s willing to betray S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to keep it from getting out. By becoming the Weeping Lion’s pet mercenary, she ultimately agrees to go on a mission to Russia and learns of an offshoot of the Red Room program that trained her to become a spy. Before she can accurately process these new developments, she’s forced to deal with the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that’s been trailing her since her attack on the organization.

The plot that the creative team came up with was satisfactory yet it was remarkably light on dialogue and there was just about no insight into Black Widow’s character. She remains fairly impenetrable throughout. It’s not really necessary for her to be such a darned riddle when she’s the lead of this book. What makes up for the shortcomings with the writing is the art, which is absolutely sublime. Samnee’s art is moody and sets a very unique tone for the book. His action sequences are spectacular. Each one is creatively choreographed and pops off the page with a kinetic energy. He also takes great care to give certain scenes their own vibe. Flashbacks especially take on a very hazy, red-hued. It’s brilliant and colorist Matthew Wilson needs to be commended for his contributions. I’m also willing to say that Samnee’s take on Black Widow is quite possibly my favourite version of her visually so far. I love that she’s not drawn to be in this painted-on oil slick of an outfit that’s zipped down to her navel. Given that she’s a character that’s more grounded, it’s necessary (and more in character) for her to have a look that’s practical. The construction of her suit seems tactical and the lack of sheen to it implies that it’s potentially padded for protection. I love the visible soles on her costume and the holsters around her shoulders. The cropped hairstyle is also super chic and is reminiscent of the hairstyles she’s worn in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black Widow Volume 1: S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Most Wanted is probably the best start to a Black Widow series that we’ve ever had (not that her series get to last that long in the first place). The art was really engaging and some of the best I’ve seen in mainstream comics for a while. The story was a little predictable and followed the same path most other writers do when they write a Black Widow story, but the twist towards the end of what her dark secret is was admittedly quite unexpected. It connected her with another character’s origins, which further complicates their relationship. Overall, it’s a surprisingly enjoyable read that manages to offer progression for the character while also taking a look back at her past.

RATING: A-

Review - Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra

During the first few months of her freshman year at college, life seems to be idyllic for Elektra Natchios. She makes new friends and falls in love with law student Matt Murdock. Everything begins to unravel for Elektra when one of her best friends is assaulted on campus. After the police fail to press charges against her friend’s attacker, Elektra decides to seek out justice on her own.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra is a four issue mini-series, written by Greg Rucka and illustrated by Salvador Larroca.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra reimagines the college years of the titular characters, plotting their romance from its beginnings to its end. While the series gives Daredevil top billing, it is Elektra who is undeniably the main character. It is through her perspective that the events are filtered through. It’s a nice reversal of her original introduction, where she was a supporting character in Daredevil’s narrative. Rucka and Larroca present Elektra as the daughter of a middle class businessman who owns a dry cleaning company in Queens. She enters college uncertain of what she’d like to study and spends much of her time building friendships with her roommate Phoebe and fellow student Melissa. During this time, she meets Matt Murdock and starts dating him shortly thereafter. Their relationship strains as Elektra’s focus shifts to exacting justice (with a slice of vengeance) for the sexual assault of one of her friends at the hands of a privileged rich boy named Trey Langstrom.

This mini-series reads like an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (there’s even a detective who resembles Mariska Hargitay’s Olivia Benson that shows up). Its remains focused on the central theme of how privilege and wealth are used as tools to evade justice, as well as weapons against those without or with less privilege. I struggled with the use of sexual assault as a plot point in this mini-series especially since it was used as motivation for Elektra, which taints the story with the whiff of fridging. I think that the creative team could have come up with a different reason for Elektra to go after Trey Langstrom, but I also understand that it could also be of importance to acknowledge the very real problem of sexual assault on campus colleges and how perpetrators often get away with their crimes. Rucka and Larocca do ensure that the story never strays too far from Elektra and her friends. The decision to have her supporting cast as two women and to portray them as layered individuals was smart. It was neat that Stick was reimagined as a woman as well, which helped to further populate Elektra’s world with a female presence. This is especially noteworthy as this character has largely been devoid of such friendships in the main Marvel Universe. It’s refreshing. It’s also nice to have an origin story for Elektra where she isn’t fridged at the end.

Larocca’s art pairs well with Rucka’s writing. He’s able to accurately present the necessary range of emotions that occur throughout this trauma-filled mini-series. While there aren’t many action scenes, the final fight sequence between (spoiler?) Elektra and Daredevil. One of the things that interest me most about Larocca’s work on Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra is his redesign of Elektra. She’s given a mane of curly hair, which recalls Mike Deodato Jr’s version of the character from the ‘90s. She’s also given a black leather costume that looks suspiciously similar to the one Jennifer Garner wore in Daredevil (which came out the year this mini-series was published). The costume is totally impractical as she’s bearing her stomach and it only has one strap, but it’s kind of cool. As a side note, we never actually see Daredevil in costume aside from on the covers, which is a bit odd and mildly anti-climactic.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra is an admirable attempt at updating Elektra’s origin story. It re-centers the narrative to be about Elektra and gives women the most prominent roles in the story. I like Rucka’s take on Elektra since she isn’t presented as an emotionless assassin without any interiority. As I said earlier, I’d have preferred if the narrative eschewed the use of sexual assault as a plot device and motivation for Elektra. That’s the one major issue I had with this otherwise topical and layered mini-series.

RATING: B

Review - Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 7: Irresponsible

When Peter and Gwen sneak out to attend a house party, they encounter a student named Geldoff from another school who possesses the ability of combustion. After an incident where Geldoff was causing cars to explode, Peter intervenes as Spider-Man in an attempt to get Geldoff to recognize the severity of his actions. Before he can sway him one way or the other, they are confronted by the X-Men, who are determined to bring Geldoff back with them to Professor Xavier.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 7: Irresponsible collects Ultimate Spider-Man #40-45, written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Mark Bagley.

One of the most notable aspects of Irresponsible is the total lack of supervillains within its narrative. Instead, Bendis and Bagley take a more human approach to storytelling as they present Peter with a dilemma instead of a full-blown superheroic conflict. This results in a rather slow and somewhat torturous read. The premise is basically “what happens when the awkward foreign student gets powers and becomes popular?” There’s no real stakes since Geldoff doesn’t come across as a real threat. He blows up some cars, but that’s about it. The majority of the issues that make up this arc are essentially characters standing around talking to each other. Aside from the fact that Peter and Mary Jane reconcile after breaking up for a while and Peter meeting the X-Men, it feels like nothing of import actually happens. That’s not to say there aren’t some memorable moments. The X-Men’s inclusion in this arc really adds some much needed energy to the otherwise limp narrative. From Kitty’s fangirling over Spider-Man to an impressive action sequence involving Jean and Storm saving Spider-Man, Kitty and Geldoff during an impending plane crash, the X-Men create a sense of urgency and dynamism that really intensifies the world that Spider-Man occupies.

Given my issues with this dialogue heavy arc, it’s a surprise that my favourite issue in this collection is one that features almost no action and that’s essentially start to finish dialogue. Set in a therapist’s office, issue 45 sees Aunt May reflecting on the current state of her life and making several revelations about her feelings towards Peter, Gwen, and Spider-Man. It’s a truly intimate issue that gives readers a rare glimpse into Aunt May’s world and shows us the remarkable interiority of this character. It’s shockingly quite riveting as a read as it offers us different perspectives on supporting characters that are otherwise only ever seen through Peter’s lens. Getting to see how Aunt May is dealing with the grief of the loss of her family members, of Captain Stacy, and how she’s “using” Gwen as a coping mechanism is absolutely fascinating.

In these issues, artist Mark Bagley had to ensure the characters were as expressive as possible. Since much of this arc relied upon the feelings and thoughts of the characters involved, he had to narrow his focus and illustrate a lot of close-up reaction shots. This is especially evident in the aforementioned therapy issue. He carefully crafts each of Aunt May’s facial mannerisms to accompany the dialogue, which helps plot how she’s feeling at any given moment. There’s also a scene where Peter and Mary Jane are passing notes in class. Each panel is kept tight on their faces as they react to what’s being written. It’s really engaging since we’re seeing how they feel without being told. Beyond that, we’re seeing Bagley allowing the characters to grow through the visuals. Mary Jane is adopting a shorter hairstyle that is more refined, while Peter’s odd wispy bangs aren’t quite as jagged as usual. It’s also worth mentioning that we get to see the Ultimate versions of the X-Men in Bagley’s style. For the most part, he does a great job. I quite like how he captures Kitty’s youth and he really makes Jean pop on the page, but he struggles to make Storm’s hair a consistent style since he gives her weird bangs and the colorist doesn’t make her skin dark enough.

Ultimate Spider-Man Volume 7: Irresponsible is a bit of a chore. It has a lot of pacing problems and it struggles to maintain the momentum that the previous arcs built upon. Since it’s very heavy in dialogue, it may be a deterrent to some readers who are looking for something that’s less introspective and has more in the way of action. The issues with the X-Men are the most entertaining, but the Aunt May-centric issue 45 is also worth reading. Otherwise, it’d be quite easy to skip over this collection.

RATING: C

Review - Birds of Prey Volume 1

A series of horrific attacks on projects fronted by the charismatic industrialist Nick Devine prompts Oracle to hire Black Canary to investigate. With the terrorist group known as the Green Brotherhood claiming responsibility, Black Canary is charged with finding out why they’ve targeted Devine and stopping them before they can cause any further harm.

Birds of Prey Volume 1 collects Black Canary/Oracle: Birds Of Prey #1, Showcase '96 #3, Birds Of Prey: Manhunt #1-4, Birds Of Prey: Revolution #1, Birds Of Prey: Wolves #1 and Birds Of Prey: Batgirl #1, written by Chuck Dixon and Jordan B. Gorfinkel with art by Gary Frank, Matt Haley and Greg Land.

Birds of Prey Volume 1 chronicles the earliest adventures of the eponymous Birds of Prey, the superhero duo consisting of hacker supreme Oracle and then-former Justice Leaguer Black Canary. The issues collected consist of a variety of mini-series and one-shots that eventually led to the now-iconic ongoing series later made famous by Gail Simone. These initial stories are largely written by veteran Batman scribe Chuck Dixon, with assistance from editor Jordan B. Gorfinkel. Though the narratives vary from story to story, the overall common thread linking these comics is the blossoming friendship between the two lead characters. Through these stories, we’re able to track the evolution of their partnership from its uneasy beginnings to a place of mutual understanding and respect. Specifically, the rigidly logical Oracle learns to accept Black Canary’s impulsiveness and vice versa. It’s an unusual through line for an era that was admittedly light on friendships between women characters.

The quality of the stories themselves varies widely. The opening one-shot, Black Canary/Oracle: Birds of Prey #1, sees Black Canary acting as a bodyguard for businessman Nick Devine while he is being targeted by the Green Brotherhood. It’s an excellent introduction to the duo of Black Canary and Oracle, effectively establishing who they are, where they were at that point in their lives, and gives them a global crisis to address. This storyline presents Black Canary as a down-and-out superhero with mounting bills and a personal life that’s in the toilet. Oracle gives Canary the opportunity to pull herself out of this situation and go back to being the hero she was meant to be. This character work is quite smart and speaks to the resilience of Black Canary. With that said, there are some ickier elements to the story as well. Canary ends up going to impoverished countries, which are primarily populated by people of colour, and it taints the narrative with the whiff of the white saviour trope. We also get Lynx thrown into the mix as an antagonist and the Green Brotherhood are clearly coded as East Asian. As such, it feels like it’s pushing some kind of notion of Yellow Peril. This trend will continue with successive stories in Birds of Prey, especially since we get a lot of Dragon Lady-esque villains and international adventures where Canary is placed in a role of helping impoverished (mostly non-white) nations.

For the most part, the one shots collected in this trade are fairly unremarkable. Revolution sees Black Canary investigating a human trafficking ring based out of Santa Prisca. While the storyline itself tackles a very real problem in the world, it does so by framing white people as the victims at the hands of Latinx-coded individuals. Given that it takes place on Santa Prisca, the fictional island nation that is characterized by the worst stereotypes associated with Latin American countries, it should be expected that the narrative is going to be problematic. Wolves, by contrast, doesn’t even attempt to delve into real world issues. Instead, the entire thrust of the story is that men are trash (which is true) and that both Oracle and Black Canary needed to be convinced of this in order to bond as friends. Black Canary’s ex-husband comes back into her life and attempts to con her into helping him after he steals money from some gangsters. Meanwhile, Oracle gets targeted by a scam artist who seduces her with the intention of burgling her apartment. Wolves fails to feel like its story is of any import due to its day-in-the-life approach and uses men as the catalyst to the cementing of the characters’ friendship. Batgirl is the most engaging one-shot (aside from the opener). In it, Oracle is kidnapped by the illusion-casting villain Spellbinder in an attempt to manipulate her into giving away Batman’s hideout. As a villain, Spellbinder is dynamic and her motivation is quite clear. We also get to see Oracle’s determination and resourcefulness when the time comes to physically take down Spellbinder. However, the story hasn’t aged well particularly due to the evolving language around disabilities. There’s this pervasive obsession with Oracle being disabled in this one-shot. She’s consistently referred to in ways that aren’t appropriate by today’s standards and it’s really uncomfortable to read.

Amidst the one-shots in this volume, there’s a four issue mini-series (Manhunt) that sees Black Canary teaming up with Huntress and Catwoman. Canary forms an alliance with the anti-heroines due to their shared desire to take down the criminal Archer Braun. Canary and Huntress want to ensure that he is brought to justice for his misdeeds against women, while Catwoman is adamant about retrieving the money he owes her from a previous caper. At first glance, this is the kind of story that would appeal to me on every level since it’s starring three of my favourite DC Comics heroines. Unfortunately, the execution of the storyline is all wrong. First of all, the initial impetus for Canary and Huntress chasing down Braun is that he ghosted them after briefly dating them. Even the way they learn that he’s a criminal is pretty flimsy (they recognize his butt on security footage – really?). There’s even an inconsistency that doesn’t quite make sense. Namely, Canary and Huntress act as if they’re meeting each other for the first time even though they’d actually worked together before (in the 1993 series Black Canary #9-12). Manhunt otherwise features a ridiculous amount of incredible action and highlights just how mighty the trifecta of Canary, Huntress and Catwoman can be. I love their dynamic as a group, particularly how they act as a kind of gradient scale of morality. Under a better creative team, this would be an amazing trio whose adventures would be stellar.

Art-wise Birds of Prey Volume 1 is all over the place. The opening one-shot is illustrated by Gary Frank, as are the covers for each subsequent one-shot and the Manhunt mini. His work is absolutely breathtaking. His composition is amazing, the costuming he provides Black Canary with is memorable, and the action sequences practically pop off the page. Matt Haley’s pencils for Manhunt are nearly just as gorgeous as Frank’s. There are plenty of fantastic panels worth remembering, chief among them a rather menacing Lady Shiva grinning while surrounded by flames. I’m also very enamoured with his Catwoman. I love how he draws her hair and the attention to detail on her mask. Beyond that, he seems to really inject a lot of dynamism into her presence and expressions. That said, Haley does include some rather unnecessary butt shots. Greg Land is one of the other artists who handle art chores in this collection. This is from an earlier point in his career, prior to his descent into infamy for his apparent tracing. I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I really quite enjoy his work here. It’s not noticeably trace from anywhere and the women don’t all look like their waists are little more than toothpicks (they’re still small, but not as bad). Land actually appears to put effort into his art here. The other artists whose work is included are Dick Giordano (Wolves) and Stefano Raffaele (Revolution). Their art is mediocre at best here and doesn’t quite match the quality present in the other issues. Raffaele also has some issues with anatomy and includes unnecessary shots of Canary’s posterior.

Birds of Prey is one of those series that I grew up loving as a kid. I collected back issues like candy and remembered those stories through the lenses of rose-coloured glasses. In reading their earliest adventures via this collection, it’s easy to see the many cracks in the foundation of this series. There are a lot of great ideas present, especially when it comes to the development of Oracle and Black Canary’s friendship. Sadly, there are a lot of questionable elements that drag down the overall quality of the work. It should be a surprise to no one given who wrote these stories. Even from a narrative standpoint, Birds of Prey Volume 1 is inconsistent due to the fact that it is mostly one-shots and has no set artist on board. It’s worth a read for the sake of understanding how the team and series came to be, but there are still far better Birds of Prey trades out there.

RATING: C+

Review - The Ultimates Volume 2: Homeland Security

Originally believed to have been defeated during World War II, the invasive alien race known as the Chitauri is discovered operating in secret on Earth. With an impending takeover on the horizon, S.H.I.E.L.D. assembles the Ultimates to take care of the threat. However, interpersonal drama and the Chitauri’s uncanny preparedness may prove to be Earth’s mightiest heroes’ downfall.

The Ultimates Volume 2: Homeland Security collects The Ultimates #7-13, written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Bryan Hitch.

For fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Homeland Security will feel familiar. This seven-part arc served as one of the primary sources of inspiration for 2012’s ground-breaking Marvel’s The Avengers. Both center on a S.H.I.E.L.D.-sponsored team of superheroes forming to stop the invasion of the Chitauri, but they diverge wildly in their execution. Marvel’s The Avengers was a triumphant and exuberant film that celebrated heroism, no doubt drawing from Marvel’s primary 616 universe than the more grounded Ultimate Universe. In contrast, The Ultimates is joyless and cynical. It’s filled with grim and inappropriate humour where its filmic counterpart was more light-hearted. As with many of my other reviews of writer Mark Millar’s work, the issue with this series comes down to a narrative that never quite reaches its true potential due to faulty character work and eyeroll worthy dialogue.

I think that the story itself for Homeland Security is actually really interesting and engaging. I like the Chitauri as villains and the backstory they’re given works well. I also find this universe’s version of the Avengers being put together by S.H.I.E.L.D. to be a nice twist to the mythos. As such, the introductions of Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Quicksilver are much more streamlined and comprehensible than their 616 counterparts’. What I don’t like is just how poorly Millar treats the characters he has. For instance, when she’s not being portrayed as the team’s resident markswoman, Black Widow’s sole purpose in the narrative is to flirt with Iron Man. We get a great action sequence early on where she jumps from a building and grabs onto a sniper rifle that’s been dropped from a helicopter to save Hawkeye from an attack, but she’s sidelined after that. Wasp gets a similar treatment. Even though there’s a very brief action scene for her, Homeland Security devotes her panel time to transitioning her from Giant Man’s love interest to Captain America. There’s even an entire issue where Captain America beats up Giant Man for having assaulted Wasp in the preceding arc. Even that conflict is a fumbling mess since it seems like a typical man’s approach to trying to resolving domestic violence – with more violence. There seems to be this idea that readers are supposed to regard Captain America as some kind of saviour for “defending Wasp’s honour” by bashing her abuser’s head in, but it’s symptomatic of the bigger problem with Millar’s approach to the character. His Cap’s solution to everything is to punch it. It’s absolutely exhausting. Let’s also not forget the groan-inducing one-liner Cap spouts towards the end when he says “You think this letter on my head stands for France?” This version practically sweats toxic masculinity. There are also instances of homophobia, like where Iron Man makes joke at the expense of Elton John and where Cap employs homophobia as a means of getting the Hulk further enraged. Truthfully, there’s very little that’s redeemable about Millar’s portrayal of these characters. Why should anyone enjoy this comic when almost all the characters are trash human beings?

Where I have a warmer opinion is Bryan Hitch’s artwork. Though rough and inconsistent at times, he manages to maintain a cinematic style that is energetic and appealing. One of his strong suits remains his rendering of action sequences. Black Widow and Hawkeye’s takeover of a Chitauri hive in New York City serves as an early example of how brilliantly Hitch is able to deliver edge-of-your-seat action scenes. The smackdown between Captain America and the Chitauri leader towards the end is another memorable moment. Hitch also excels at telling a story through expressions and body language. Towards the end of the arc, we get a scene where Wasp and Giant Man have a conversation over the phone while the former is at a salon getting her hair done. It’s tense even from just a visual standpoint. Another moment that emphasizes Hitch’s body language skills is when Bruce Banner and Betty Ross discuss the aftermath of the Hulk’s involvement in the Chitauri invasion. The scene itself is actually quite unsettling since Betty basically admits to finding the Hulk’s literal devouring of aliens to be a turn-on, but Hitch is able to convey that even without Millar’s gross dialogue.

The Ultimates is one of those frustrating books that should be great, but sabotages itself due to poor characterization made by its creative team. It is hopelessly trapped in a perpetual state of trying (and failing) to be hip and edgy. It’s rife with tasteless jokes, riddled with homophobia, and doesn’t respect its female characters. If we stripped away Millar’s dialogue, The Ultimates Volume 2: Homeland Security would be stellar. Hitch’s artwork is really something to behold, his designs are some of my favourites for these characters (across any universe), and we’ve got a fantastic cast. Unfortunately, this arc crumbles under the weight of its toxic masculinity and its significant misunderstanding of how its cast should be portrayed.

RATING: C-

Review: Ultimate X-Men Volume 5: Ultimate War

Having been freed from the rehabilitative mind control that Professor Xavier put him under, Magneto resumes his war against humanity with a fury previously unseen. The X-Men have gone underground to avoid questioning from the government, but are pursued doggedly by the Ultimates. With an inevitable conflict on the horizon, the X-Men must outwit Magneto and avoid being apprehended by the Ultimates.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 5: Ultimate War collects the four-part mini-series Ultimate War, written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Chris Bachalo.

As with much of Mark Millar’s Ultimate work, Ultimate War proves to be an excellent idea in theory, but incredibly flawed in execution. It builds off the events from the pages of Ultimate X-Men. After their original conflict with Magneto, Professor Xavier made the difficult decision to spare Magneto’s life and attempted to rehabilitate him through psychic therapy. In doing so, he lied and allowed the world to believe the world that Magneto was dead by psychically projecting false images of his demise. His plan backfired when Magneto regained his memories, which subsequently resulted in the restarting of his campaign against humans. Both the X-Men and the Ultimates are working towards bringing Magneto down, but the former are wanted by the government for their role in the faking of Magneto’s death. All of this works as the impetus for a conflict between the two teams. A fight between the Ultimate Universe’s two major teams is a great idea, especially when using Magneto as an ideological catalyst for the conflict. While I appreciate Millar’s pared down approach to telling this story, his delivery is off due to the deeply off-putting way he portrays the characters involved.

As I’ve mentioned in my review of Millar’s initial arc on The Ultimates, one of the biggest issues with the Ultimate Universe’s version of the Avengers is that they aren’t even remotely close to being likeable as characters. Though it’s not essential for characters to be likeable in order to be interesting or well-written, Millar fails to add layers to the Ultimates. This is especially evident in Ultimate War. For the most part, they don’t receive any development. There’s no interiority offered to Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow or Hawkeye. They’re just following orders. Captain America, meanwhile, remains the grade-a jerk we saw him as in The Ultimates. He lacks diplomacy and seems to relish the opportunity to wage a war with the X-Men. Then there’s Wasp. She seems to have depth where the others do not. She appears to be more conflicted about the events that are going on around her. She’s a mutant, so she feels understandably quite concerned about whether the government and the team will turn on her as well. However, not enough work is done to truly excavate these worries within her character. Instead, she seems to brush them aside after being given a trite pep talk from Captain America. In reading this mini-series, I didn’t feel compelled to sympathize with or understand the Ultimates. There’s no reason to root for them or to feel that they’re justified in their persecution of the X-Men. Perhaps that was the point. Overall, the X-Men fare better than the Ultimates. They’re infinitely more complex, even though I often don’t like how Millar has chosen to portray them (Storm especially). As such, there’s really no denying that they’re the stars of this mini-series. We’re on their side and are with them in their fight for survival.

Chris Bachalo’s re-teaming with Millar is fortuitous as it elevates what could otherwise be a fairly unmemorable reading experience. I truly love the way he portrays the characters involved and the general atmospheric moodiness that his art lends to any given comic. There are quite a few memorable panels, such as the gorgeously illustrated spread of Wasp shrunken down amongst the flowers in Jean Grey’s father’s greenhouse and the stunning shot of Storm unleashing lightning on her enemies in the final issue. Though Bachalo’s art can sometimes have a certain sameness to it, I do like the effort that was put into making sure each character was distinctive and had their own feel to them. For instance, he gives Black Widow a very harsh look with slicked back hair while Jean Grey has a cuter mod-like appearance. As with anything, Bachalo’s work isn’t without flaws. There’s a very glaring mistake in that he draws Kitty Pryde to look absolutely nothing like what she’s been established as physically. In the pages of Ultimate X-Men, Kitty was drawn to be extremely young. She had curly brown hair and freckles. Here, her freckles are nowhere to be found, her hair is straight and blond, and she appears much older than she should.

If I’m being honest, I liked elements of Ultimate X-Men Volume 5: Ultimate War. It’s actually entertaining in a very mindless way. The art is gorgeous, the action is intense, and there’s a lot of dialogue that’s had on the subject of morality. Still, Millar’s faulty portrayal of beloved Marvel characters goes beyond creative re-imaginings and goes straight into “gritty for the sake of being gritty.” The Ultimates have no depth and the reader’s ability to understand Magneto’s perspective (which is always essential) is lost due to just how sociopathic he seems to be. In actuality, this mini-series would have benefitted from an added issue or two to allow for more action and character development. As is, Ultimate War falls short of its potential.

RATING: C+

Review - Ultimate X-Men:Volume 4: Hellfire & Brimstone

Scott Summers and Jean Grey are finally a couple, but it seems that fate is hellbent on interfering with their happiness. Still bitter from Jean’s rejection of him, Wolverine instigates a fight with Cyclops that lands both of them on a mission to the Savage Land in an attempt to force them to make amends. Then, Jean begins experiencing excruciatingly painful visions and seizures. Professor Xavier considers them to be a result of her growing mutant abilities, but a powerful multinational cult believes Jean to be the avatar of the powerful Phoenix God.

Ultimate X-Men Volume 4: Hellfire & Brimstone collects Ultimate X-Men #21-25, written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Adam Kubert and Kaare Andrews.

At first blush, Hellfire & Brimstone appears to be Millar and Kubert’s attempt to modernize the iconic Dark Phoenix Saga. It introduces Kitty Pryde into the Ultimate Universe and has her enrolling in Xavier’s school, which is contingent on her never joining the X-Men on any missions as per mother’s request. Furthermore, we see Jean Grey struggling with her growing powers. This manifests in a series of seizures that result in her having hallucinations about the divine Phoenix Force. Millar and Kubert also reinvent the Hellfire Club as the secret investors of Xavier’s school. They are an international organization, largely comprised of billionaires, whose hidden agenda is to resurrect the Phoenix. There are a lot of interesting elements there, specifically the re-imagining of the Phoenix as a mystical force rather than a cosmic one. Millar and Kubert also ground the storyline by making the Phoenix out to be some kind of symptom of a psychic mental illness. For me, the space elements that are occasionally brought into the X-Men have always seemed at odds with the otherwise grounded world that they exist in. As such, I like the attempt to make the Phoenix less cosmic and more divine or psychological in nature. With that said, Millar and Kubert don’t seem invested in actually retelling the Dark Phoenix Saga in any meaningful way. In fact, it’s but one of several storylines going on in this collection.

There are a lot of plots and subplots in this arc, all of which serve to further diminish the impact of and distract from what could have been an interesting contemporary take on the X-Men’s most famous storyline. First, we have Kitty’s introduction. It’s cute and brief, but isn’t quite as interesting as her 616 counterpart’s where she had to rescue the X-Men after they were kidnapped by the White Queen. In this version, we merely see her tour the school and she enrolls without a problem shortly thereafter. There’s no tension or conflict whatsoever. We also have a subplot involving Wolverine and Cyclops going on a mission to the Savage Land to investigate the disappearance of a platoon of marines. This takes up two issues and is a tremendously disappointing diversion from the main plot. It’s basically just two issues of them arguing and being pouty, interrupted only briefly by an action sequence involving them fighting some zombies (yeah, zombies). The Brotherhood also gets tossed into the mix. In a set-up to the arc that follows this one, Beast effectively gets catfished by the Blob and unwittingly reveals that Magneto is alive and well. Of all the subplots, it’s the most random and unnecessary. Then, we’ve got Iceman’s parents suing Professor Xavier for the injuries he sustained while on their world tour. Ultimately, all of these narratives distract from what should have been the main storyline. Instead of having the focus on Jean Grey, the Phoenix, and the Hellfire Club, readers have their attention drawn to all these other places that aren’t contributing in any meaningful way to the primary narrative. As such, the whole arc feels anticlimactic and doesn’t build towards an exciting conclusion like it should. Where the original Dark Phoenix Saga was an epic that spanned several issues, this take has the bulk of its events crammed into one issue.

There’s really no getting around the fact that Ultimate X-Men Volume 4: Hellfire & Brimstone was a mess. It let down the storyline it was inspired by due to its failure to match its grand scale. The creative team is juggling with far too many narratives, creating a frenetic and unfocused arc that will undoubtedly leave most readers cold. In some ways, Kubert’s art matched the haphazard writing. While issue 25 is beautifully illustrated with a lot of effort put into details, the issues that precede it are incredibly inconsistent. Kubert frequently omits lips and the bodies seem hastily drawn. With that said, the one saving grace of this collection is Kaare Andrews. He provides guest pencils on issues 23 and 24. His art is dynamic, colourful, and surprisingly quite cute. It adds a freshness and youthfulness that this series sometimes lacks. Still, it’s not quite enough to rescue the arc.

RATING: C-