Ultimates Volume 2: Homeland Security FROM THE PUBLISHER
Still dealing with the aftermath of the Hulkﾽs rampage through NYC, and Giant Manﾽs shocking and vicious attack on the Wasp, the team "welcomes" new members Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, and begins to uncover a clandestine alien infiltration of Earth decades in the making ﾽ and how it may have began during a secret mission Captain America himself presided over in the darkest days of World War II.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
Following their nihilistic run on The Authority, Millar and Hitch turn their attention to reinventing the Avengers, the Mightiest Heroes of Marvel's Earth, into a more contemporary, less optimistic team. As is the current superhero fashion, actions have consequences, and super powers don't confer super ethics. The Hulk is now a lustful mass murderer; Giant-Man, a wife-beater; and Thor, a deranged left-wing hippie. Under the leadership of government tough guy Nick Fury, this ultimate team takes on an alien invasion that goes back three centuries and even caused WWII. Since the aliens can take human form, this conveniently allows the Ultimates to use their powers to beat their foes into piles of pulp. However, the real adversaries are their own personal problems and the enervating power of moral ambiguity. Hitch is one of the top artists in comics and masterfully creates scenes of both wholesale destruction and dramatic confrontation that call for good-looking heroes to flex their muscles. He also excels at the pacing between the two modes. Millar's story plunges onward, but the characterization is curiously flat, even with the quirks and frailties he's given the cast. In the end, this new world of unyielding heroes is just as two-dimensional as the corny do-gooders of yore that they're replacing. Every era needs its own stereotypes, however, and these certainly fit the bill. (June) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
Library Journal
This strong addition to Marvel's Ultimates line features a new version of the Avengers, including Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Giant-Man, and the Wasp. Here, they've been brought together by SHIELD head Nick Fury (a Samuel L. Jackson lookalike) as a government strike force designed to deal with extraordinary threats. In this second volume (following Super-Human), after Giant-Man and the Wasp have had their domestic spat turn dangerously violent, Cap tracks down the missing Giant-Man and gives him a piece of his mind, using his fists. Then the team is called to attack a newly found base manned by aliens who have been infiltrating human society since World War II in an attempt to control the world. Things escalate from there, leading to a titanic battle against invading alien starships, marvelously portrayed by Hitch's finely detailed, Eisner Award-nominated artwork. Millar's writing is sharp, showing more concern for character than he displayed on Ultimate X-Men but retaining that book's exciting widescreen action feel. There's some bloody violence, minor nudity, and sexual undercurrents; the book is rated "PSR+" by Marvel, roughly their "15-up" designation, and it's highly recommended for all fans above that age. Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.
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