About Heroes

Writer: Jeph Loeb
Artist: David Finch
Inks: Danny Miki
Covers: Finch and Ed McGuinness

With a Secret Invasion encompassing the entire Marvel Universe, the Ultimate Marvel Universe has been pushed to the side. For about a year now there have been hints as to a huge Ultimate Marvel Universe event looming on the horizon with the mysterious “March on Ultimatum” banner hovering above many Ultimate titles. With the recently concluded Ultimate Origins mini-series and the Ultimates vol. 3 having wrapped up, readers now know that Magneto is pissed. Both of his children (Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch) have died and the master of magnetism has vowed to make everyone pay. Thus, the Ultimatum has begun.

The first issue is a pretty fast read. We open up on a regular afternoon. Reed Richards is about to propose to Sue Storm, Peter Parker and friends ride a train through Manhattan, the Ultimates team drink, argue and bicker and some of the Ultimate X-Men prepare to watch a play. Suddenly, the sky grows dark and a tidal wave floods the city. Within a few pages many characters die. Those who have perished thus far: Dr. Storm, Beast, Dazzler, Nightcrawler and tons of innocent people. The Human Torch is missing amidst the chaos and Iron Man rescues Captain America from drowning. Reed Richards and Sue Storm race to the top of the Baxter Building where Sue uses her powers to repel the tidal wave back into the ocean, yet due to the extreme stress and overload of her powers she goes into some sort of power coma. Ben Grimm races to the roof wondering what’s going on and Reed races off to the ocean determined to pin the blame on Namor. Elsewhere, Kitty Pryde phases Peter Parker to the top of a nearby building and tells him to don his tights and go save lives. Peter is worried about his friends but Kitty vows to protect them against any threats that may occur. Basically, all the ultimate heroes are caught completely off guard.

In Latveria, Dr. Doom is shocked to find his castle and his country suffering from an arctic deep freeze. Reed Richards jets over the ocean surface and confronts Namor, hoping to blame the sea criminal with the recent disaster in New York. Namor scoffs at this accusation and informs Reed that he would never commit any action that would endanger Sue. At Xaiver’s mansion, Wolverine and Cyclops rush to Professor Xaiver’s study. Xaiver informs them that many of his students have died and he knows who to blame for this disaster. Using his psychic powers, Xaiver contacts Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Reed Richards and others telling them they must join forces and face the monster responsible for this attack: Magneto. The issue ends with Magneto sitting on his throne, wanting all the heroes to come and suffer at his hands.

Thoughts/Comments:
For such a hyped up Marvel event, this issue read very fast. Yes, a lot happened in the first few pages. But with all the splash pages (despite being beautifully illustrated by Mr. Finch) the issue felt like a fast paced movie trailer. Also, there was a spoiler regarding the current Ultimate Spider-Man story arc before it’s conclusion (Gwen’s back in the cast) and how exactly has Magneto gained the ability to control the weather to such extents as seen in this issue? Still, the artwork was gorgeous and I really enjoyed the end with Professor Xaiver telling all the heroes to go out and kick Magneto’s ass! I don’t really understand why Marvel is charging $3.99 an issue for this event but it should make for a awesome trade when the story wraps up. Also, despite having a year head start the second issue has already been delayed until next month. That’s not a great way to start an epic mini-series event and it might give a lot of customers a bad taste in following the single issues of this story-line. Overall, I’d give the story a C; the art gets A and the combined score a **B-. **Here’s hoping the next issue amps up the action as the heroes confront Magneto head on.