Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Ultimates (The Ultimates hardcovers #1)

4.14 of 5 stars 4.14 · rating details · 3,531 ratings · 70 reviews

A teenager is climbing walls in Manhattan. Mutants are attacking the White House. Nick Fury, head of the elite espionage agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., knows the only way to combat these strange new threats is with a team of hisown superhumans. Backed by a billion-dollar budget, Fury recruits Giant Man, the Wasp, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. And while the team is str...more

Hardcover, 376 pages

Published May 24th 2006 by Marvel (first published October 27th 2004)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Best Graphic Novels

63rd out of 1,495 books — 3,010 voters

Required Reading Graphic Novels

133rd out of 575 books — 922 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 3,000)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Aug 12, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic_novels

I love the idea of the Marvel Ultimate universe. They wanted a chance to reboot the series without actually doing so, and to start over in a more modern and realistic way, and they managed it well.

I don't know what they were thinking when it came to the Avengers, though, because this is not them. Apparently, realistic, darker, and edgier means "everyone is a giant asshole and pretty much completely unrecognizable". Thor and Iron Man are the only ones who come off as likable, and both are wildly...more

like 2 likes · see review

Aug 29, 2012 Scott Calibraxis rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you want to read something that comes closest to the Avengers movie in terms of spectacle and modern sensibilities, The Ultimates is for choice.

This is a sort of a modern re-boot of the Marvel universe, set in the so-called "Ultimate" universe. It re-imagines the origin of the Avengers, but updated to the present day. A lot of tweaks are made to the characters, so don't expect a perfect adherence to the characterizations you might be familiar with. This is definitely new take.

Writer Mark Mill...more If you want to read something that comes closest to the Avengers movie in terms of spectacle and modern sensibilities, The Ultimates is for choice.

This is a sort of a modern re-boot of the Marvel universe, set in the so-called "Ultimate" universe. It re-imagines the origin of the Avengers, but updated to the present day. A lot of tweaks are made to the characters, so don't expect a perfect adherence to the characterizations you might be familiar with. This is definitely new take.

Writer Mark Millar's vision and style is pretty glib, and directly informed by Hollywood blockbusters. There's a general sense of everything being over-the-top and overblown. There's kind of a Michael Bay sensibility going on. While that might seem off-putting at first, Millar's total commitment to the extreme balls-to-the-wall style is incredible fun, once you get used to it.

Millar's view of human nature is pretty nasty-- he doesn't take the proceedings too seriously, and has fun re-writing the characters stripped of the goody two shoes mentality that they were created with in the 60's. The characters are flawed, and some are self-centered and mean.

The good news is that the new characterizations allow for a more realistic human drama-- as there is room for rivalry, jealousy, greed, egotism, sexuality, and many other elements that the mainstream Marvel comics don't incorporate very well. None of these characters are born heroes- they have to earn that status in spite of some darker aspects of their natures.

The glib tone can take some getting used to. Millar doesn't take anything too seriously, and a lot of his ideas about, for example, how the military functions, seems to be drawn more from Hollywood blockbusters than from reality. Furthermore, there's clearly very little attempt to be realistic in terms of technology or physics-- there are a lot of flying aircraft carriers.

The action is on a truly epic scale. Millar's shallow conception of military and political matters is balanced by the artist Bryan Hitch's commitment to a realism, sense of scale and detail, and fantastic action choreography. The artwork perfectly captures field of vision and type of action that rivals a big-budget movie experience.

There's another great thing about this book: neither Millar nor Hitch exploit the sexuality of the female characters. The women are written and drawn realistically. There's none of the gravity-defying breast physics or skin-tight costuming that can be seen in a lot of super-hero comics.

The character of the Wasp is frequently naked, for example (you'll see why), but that's never done for the sake of titillation-- she's not drawn with some sexy body, with her butt always in the air, her body drawn in a very understated, non-sexual manner. This is a comic which respects the female characters and doesn't pander to the make audience.

To wrap things up, I highly recommend this comic. Don't take it too seriously, realize it is an alternate take on the characters, know that a lot of the characters are jerks-- with those caveats in mind, I think you'll enjoy this as immensely as I did.(less)

like · see review

Apr 29, 2009 Bradley rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

in 1963, Marvel comics consisted of a group of unconnected superhero titles, which, for the most part, ignored eachother. Only in Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four had they even hinted that all these characters existed in the same world. Then Stan Lee created a new book, the Avengers, which threw these powerful heroes together for the first time. They were really just a superhero club, hanging out at there rich friends house and occassionally fighting bad guys.

Ultimates is a complete reinvention...more

like 1 like · see review

May 08, 2013 Shane Perry rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is my third time reading this story, but my first time writing out some of my thoughts. It's very interesting to read this story and see the huge influence it has really had on Marvel's Cinematic Universe, particularly with The Avengers. The Ultimate universe is one of the best things Marvel has done in the past 20 years and this is one of the many stories to prove it. I love how Mark Millar completely re-imagines the origins of the Avengers from superhero team to government sponsored publi...more

like · see review

Dec 29, 2012 Sesana rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, superhumans

The Ultimates comes very highly recommended, from more than a few people. But for me, it was far from living up to the hype.

The basic concept of the Ultimate 'verse is to make the familiar Marvel heroes more "real" and "edgy". In The Ultimates, Millar attempts to do that by making nearly every single character a complete jerk. Even unnamed extras are jackasses for no other reason than because it's "realistic" (no, it really isn't). Hank Pym is abusive towards his wife, and nobody seems to care m...more The Ultimates comes very highly recommended, from more than a few people. But for me, it was far from living up to the hype.

The basic concept of the Ultimate 'verse is to make the familiar Marvel heroes more "real" and "edgy". In The Ultimates, Millar attempts to do that by making nearly every single character a complete jerk. Even unnamed extras are jackasses for no other reason than because it's "realistic" (no, it really isn't). Hank Pym is abusive towards his wife, and nobody seems to care much. Tony has become even more of an author fantasy character than he could be. Thor, the most bearable character, is horribly smug. Even Captain America, the last likeable character in the book, finally ends up as a xenophobic bigot with a line that Millar assures me in a nearly full-page sequence in the issue following that I should find hilarious. And I just don't find bigotry funny. I could possibly work with all the many, many character flaws if they weren't also sneering their way through every single scene.

But the plot, what about the plot? Well, for most of the book, there is no plot. The character do nothing but sit around and do PR for most of the book. We're about halfway through this large, 13 issue volume when Bruce Banner finally Hulks out. And God, what a horrible sequence that was. With the way he wrote it, I was convinced that Millar really thought that Betty Ross was at fault for Bruce intentionally turning himself into the Hulk and killing 300 people while threatening to rape Betty because she broke up with him and wasn't pleasant to him after. At least, everybody in the book seemed to think so, including Betty, and nobody says that Bruce might be responsible for his own actions or that maybe it isn't cool to terrorize a woman into dating you. Maybe we, the readers, are meant to see that all as reprehensible and take the characters to task because they don't. But I don't give Millar credit for that kind of subtlety.

When an actual threat does show up, it's alien shape-shifter Nazis. Who are suddenly a dire threat despite napping for the past sixty years or so. I didn't find them a credible threat, and I thought that making them Nazis was a lazy way of making them evil without having to do any effort developing their specific threat. And the huge, sprawling, boring multi-issue fight that closed it out was less than compelling.

Oh, and a parting kudos to Millar for his bizarre sense of realism. A woman who can shrink to an inch tall at will? Realistic. Giving her a wardrobe that will shrink with her? Don't be absurd! Except then he admits in the interview after it was just an excuse to have dozens of panels of Jan naked. Thanks for that.(less)

like 3 likes · see review

Sep 01, 2012 Joseph rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: graphic-novel, fiction

I liked this better the first time I read it, before I'd read some of Millar's other stuff. Reading it again, it feels a lot like The Authority or Kick-Ass using The Avengers as a starting point for the characters.

Parts of it work really well: I especially like the idea of Thor as an environmental activist and Captain America feels a lot more like an actual WWII soldier, rather than just a "gee whiz, aw shucks" boy scout. I dig the idea of the Wasp having actual insect traits, even if they didn'...more

like · see review

Feb 15, 2013 Carlos rated it 2 of 5 stars

Vaya esto por los dos primeros volúmenes de The Ultimates.

Mark Millar trata de dar un giro adulto a los supehéroes. Otra vez. Esta vez, haciendo de los superhéroes un agente político, lo que es lo mismo que conviertiéndolos a todos en cretinos fuera de lugar y con defectos "humanos". La política no es así, ni aquí ni con superhéroes. Y no creo que el tratamiento de los superhéroes metahumanos como "humanos" sea posible, cosa que entendió perfectamente Alan Moore en Miracle Man. También Grant M...more

like · see review

Jun 18, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Ultimates is a really fine update to the Avengers to fit them within our modern landscape (social, political and what have you). I've been a fan of many of the main characters, Iron Man, Hulk, and Thor, especially with their cartoon series in the mid-90's, so it was good to see them done with a bit of a twist. I was never into Cap like that - I thought he was some sort of cappie propagandist character - but he came out as being my favorite character in the book. He really seemed just like a...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 21, 2012 Rod Hilton rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've been going through the most well-reviewed limited-run graphic novels lately, and this was one of Marvel's alleged best. The Ultimates is also the inspiration for the recent Marvel movies, all of which I've liked except Iron Man 2, and it's a large inspiration for the upcoming Avengers movie, so I figured now was a good time to read it.

So the basic plot is this: Nick Fury is trying to start a superhero team. Why? No real reason - there is no immediate threat and no need, but there's a lot of...more I've been going through the most well-reviewed limited-run graphic novels lately, and this was one of Marvel's alleged best. The Ultimates is also the inspiration for the recent Marvel movies, all of which I've liked except Iron Man 2, and it's a large inspiration for the upcoming Avengers movie, so I figured now was a good time to read it.

So the basic plot is this: Nick Fury is trying to start a superhero team. Why? No real reason - there is no immediate threat and no need, but there's a lot of discussion about selling action figures and meeting with celebrities, including Freddie Prinze Jr (wtf). Anyway, they discover the frozen body of Steve Rogers, Captain America, which gives them the leader they need. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner, his Hulk days behind him, is trying to recreate the supersoldier serum that created Cap in the first place.

Tony Stark seems more or less on board, as are the Pyms, Giant Man and Wasp. Thor is reluctant, due to an interesting characterization of being against the United States military industrial complex, particularly against George Bush. Oh yeah, Bush is a character in the book, thoroughly dating the material.

Once the team has been announced, they stand around being bored, much like the reader, and begin talking about who should play them in the movie version. It all seems very pandering, like it's asking for a movie to be made of it - the entire comic comes off almost like a hollywood pitch meeting. Nick Fury, who was clearly modeled after Samuel L Jackson, declares that Mr. Jackson should play him, in what comes off as a brown-nosing love letter to the man.

Anyway, after a few issues of nothing happening, Bruce Banner decides to re-inject himself with a modified Hulk serum and become the Hulk. Why? To become more powerful and stop a serious threat? Nope, "to give the team something to do." Not kidding. The man has defeated the Hulk, due to what seems like great effort, and he becomes the Hulk again to give The Ultimates someone to fight. The Hulk, by the way, constantly screams about being horny and wanting to rape Betty Ross. Anyway, eventually it takes Thor showing up to knock him down, reminding me of the greatest trouble I have with the Avengers concept: when you have a near-invincible, ultra-strong GOD on your team, what the hell challenge can you create for the team that is too much for him, but doable by a guy in a robot suit, a boy scout, and a guy with bow and arrows? Anyway, they defeat Hulk, only losing about 300 human civilians in the process. Wait, what? Holy shit, so Bruce Banner injects himself out of boredom and winds up killing 300 people? What a selfish asshole. Surely he's the most detestable character in the book, right?

Actually no. Hank Pym, aka Giant Man, punches his wife in the face because of her sassmouth. Jan shrinks herself down to Wasp size and hides from him. Naturally, he recognizes what a monster he is and leaves, right? Nah, he sprays her with insecticide and taunts her as it burns her skin. Then, and I wish I was kidding, he uses his Ant helmet to command an army of millions of ants to attack her, nearly killing her. What in the actual fuck?

When Book 1 ends, Banner is in a holding cell, Hank is on the run, and Jan is in the hospital. And at no point, none at all in the entirety of about over 150 pages, did The Avengers actually face any sort of enemy other than themselves. I realize it's a staple of Marvel Comics for the characters to be complex and flawed, but that doesn't mean they have to be contemptible.

Eventually they start to face a real enemy, shapeshifters. We are also treated to the sudden introduction of mutant siblings Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, who seem to serve no purpose other than to subtly imply they are fucking, after which they completely disappear aside from an appearance at the very end to even more strongly imply they are fucking. Eventually there is a multi-issue battle against the shapeshifting aliens, highlighted by a moment where the main antagonist tells Captain America to surrender and he points to the "A" on his head and asks furiously if the alien thinks it stands for "France". Classy.

Most of our heroes' dialogue consist of telling various characters to "shut up" as well as calling them "idiot" and "moron", which I'm pretty sure are words that appear in speech bubbles more often than any other. The Hulk is unleashed once again, this time to beat up, threaten to rape, and then eventually EAT the bad guy. If you think that sounds disgusting, don't worry, the thought of Bruce Banner digesting someone else's intestines gets Betty Ross super horny, so Banner gets laid. Captain America also gets laid for beating the shit out of Hank Pym for Janet, thank goodness for that.

I think it's possible I simply hate Mark Millar's work. I found Kick-Ass to be extremely overrated, and I absolutely despised The Ultimates. It's amazing that the recent round of Marvel films are all inspired by the Ultimates universe, considering how much better those films are than the books. Millar's writing is simply too witty, too unrealistically smirky, and done in complete contrast to dead-serious subplots about domestic abuse, that it's basically intolerable.

There is little redeeming about The Ultimates, I honestly can't recommend it to anyone, and I am utterly stunned that it remains in so many "Top XYZ Graphic Novels" lists.(less)

like 1 like · see review

Aug 08, 2011 Holden Attradies rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sequential-art, favorites, fiction, super-heroes

When I really started getting into reading super-hero comics this was the first thing that simply blew me away. The writing is amazing, the only word I can think of to describe the art work is "cinematic". There were moments that were so emotionally charged it brought me to tears from levels of shear realistic uncomfortableness (the domestic abuse between the Pym's) and pages that brought me to tears of laughter (just about any thing where the Hulk had a line).

There have been comics I've read t...more

like 1 like · see review

Jun 03, 2012 Russ rated it 4 of 5 stars

While not quite as good as Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men, this compilation is quite good. It's timely at the moment, as it bears a remarkable resemblance to the Avengers movie that is currently breaking box office records. There are the heroes that everyone is familiar with (Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man), some heroes that many are familiar with (Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye), and some heroes that only the hardest of the hard core are familiar with (Wasp, Ant-Man). But Miller makes it all inte...more

like · see review

Jul 07, 2011 Grifonus rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-book

Мне кажется, Майкл Бэй, очень любит творчество Марка Миллара, ибо очень схожи стиль и постановка. А главное пафос, тонны пафоса.
И тем не менее, это своего рода революционный комикс, породивший множество подорожаний и нашедший много поклонников.
Жаль конечно, что не прочитал его, когда мне было, скажем 15-16 лет. Уверен, положительных впечатлений было бы гораздо больше.

like · see review

Jan 08, 2011 Maya rated it 3 of 5 stars

A fun take on the original Avengers, however still stale. For some reason this doesn't read as fresh as The New Avengers, and I think it is because they are trying too hard to reframe something old, instead of create The Avengers of today (as Bendis has done). The character treatments are all solid, for the most part. The Sam Jackson inspired Nick Fury really fits. The new Thor treatment worked for me, as well. However, The Hulk is far too articulate and the Hollywood actor storypoints are too c...more

like · see review

Jun 21, 2012 Rick (The Book-A-Week Project) rated it 2 of 5 stars

The world is changing. Crime is becoming super-crime. Terrorism is becoming super-terrorism. Humans are becoming super-humans. Heroes are becoming superheroes.

With the backing of the U.S. Government, General Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D. have assembled a team of super-powered beings to address any potential threat this new world may now face: The Ultimates. Captain America, the Super-Soldier who will lead the team; Iron Man, the personal weapons system of billionaire Tony Stark; Giant Man, able to...more

like · see review

Jan 11, 2012 Jennie rated it 3 of 5 stars

The first volume of the Ultimates is, at its core, a pretty solid superteam origin story. In this universe, the United States government is putting together a team of superhumans in response to a fairly large supervillain attack. Making the Ultimates a government-sponsored organization from the start politicizes them off the bat, and many people question the need to funnel money away from traditional military endeavors in reaction to a single attack. Interestingly enough, Thor is one of the proj...more The first volume of the Ultimates is, at its core, a pretty solid superteam origin story. In this universe, the United States government is putting together a team of superhumans in response to a fairly large supervillain attack. Making the Ultimates a government-sponsored organization from the start politicizes them off the bat, and many people question the need to funnel money away from traditional military endeavors in reaction to a single attack. Interestingly enough, Thor is one of the project's most vocal opponents and refuses to join because he doesn't want to support the "military-industrial complex." Millar did a good enough job creating new origins for characters that comics fans have known for years. We comics readers aren't known for our love of the new and different, and I don't envy him that task.+

I really wanted to like this story more than I did. But I had to knock stars off for a couple of reasons. The largest of those reasons being the large amounts of sexism in the book. That really shouldn't surprise me since I'm no stranger to Millar's writing and it's kind of a habit with him. There's enough (not so) subtle sexism from a couple of the male characters, like Captain America saying parachutes are for girls. Yuck! Who wants to be one of those? Or like Nick Fury stating that one of the perks of his job is that the girls are pretty. Because being rewarded for a job well done with trinket women is a good thing. But I could get past that stuff if it wasn't for the awful characterization of the two women in the story: Janet Pym and Betty Ross.

Let's start with Janet. Janet's entire purpose seems to be playing helpmeet to the boys in her life. She doesn't join the team because she cares about saving people or any of that jazz. She thinks that joining a federally funded superteam is the just the right thing to help improve her physically and psychologically abusive marriage. She also spends a good deal of time playing fashion consultant to Steve Rogers. Oh, and she distracts the Hulk from a murderous rampage by flashing her breasts at him. To be fair, she is the one who finally takes Hulk down (with her brains, not with titties). But still, that doesn't quite make up for it in my eyes.

Then there's Betty. Where Janet is an example of unwavering support for her terrible spouse, Betty is an emasculating bitch. She's professional, independent and assertive. Betty ended her probably unhealthy relationship with Nice Guy Bruce Banner and now she's mean to him. Why wouldn't he purposely turn himself into a giant green rape monster? To make matters worse, at the end when everything is over, Betty actually blames Bruce's stalker actions on her behavior and attitude and actually claims that what he did was "kind of flattering." Right. Because your ex-boyfriend turning into a 9-foot behemoth and ripping apart Manhattan while threatening to murder your date and rape you is a pretty flattering thing.

Oh and the book lost the second star for the line "HULK WANT FREDDIE PRINZE JR." I just can't forgive that.(less)

like · see review

Dec 20, 2010 Myles rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sequential-art, ultimate-marvel, superheroes

Ultimate Marvel did it again, I realize I'm almost a decade behind on these titles but I'm impressed at the reinvention that's taken place in these titles.

Unlike the other big Ultimate titles, the Ultimates were more limited story-arcs that can be much easier read apart without worrying about picking up the next trade.

The dark tone was pretty evident here, Hank Pym and Jan in a domestic dispute was almost more fucked up than the Ultimate X-Men one-off with the mutant kid who accidentally killed...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2011 David Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book has Samuel L. Jackson. Done. Nuff said. Everything else is just icing on the cake Beautiful panels check, interesting characters check, compelling story check. The Ultimates is modern and gritty. A retelling of characters that are decades old. Turing super Heroes into super stars of a digital age. Super stars that might have abilities the rest of don’t, but they make mistakes just like everyone else. While vets of the genre may take offence to some of the changes, for new comers this i...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 17, 2013 Geoff rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comic-books, graphic-novels, marvel-comics

Awesome! Treat yourself to this if you haven't read it yet.

However, keep in mind that this book came out prior to and served as the foundation for the modern Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk and Avengers movies. So while there are a lot of differences, the similarities are quite dramatic at certain points. I'm even fairly certain that the casting choice of Samuel L. Jackson in the movies can be traced to this series!

like · see review

Apr 22, 2013 Serial Saudi_00 rated it 3 of 5 stars

fun read , but for the unlikble character , stereotyping and the damn smiles ! that just get my blood pressure . I dont think this is the best book marvel ever published , as some claim . I loved the moment when cap vs gient man . and feel vary bad for bruce bannar , how this book depicted him as loser an all . but nothing cross my heads more than what cap said to the allien when he asked him to surrender .

" Surrender , do you think that letter in my forehead stand for france ? "

I dont know w...more

like · see review

Jan 29, 2013 Kevin Chambers rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's such an endearing and captivating re-imagining of the Marvel Universe... yet it's bogged down by Millar's obsession with shock value, most present in The Hulk, now a primal raping machine. Eh, regardless, it's a great foundation that explores the idea that heroes, like Greek gods are not infallible, regardless of good deeds.

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Chris Walker rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, superhero

The first time I read The Ultimates, I thought the experience amounted to reading the storyboards to the big-budget blockbuster movie-version of the Avengers. Having seen the actual Avengers movie, the book has somewhat lost its charm. Still, an exciting read with great characterization and an action-on-the-big-screen feel.

like · see review

Mar 25, 2008 Jace rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Generally I try to avoid Marvel's "Ultimate" line of titles, as I see them as a ploy to sell more issues rather than a medium to tell engrossing stories. While most of the "Ultimate" titles manage to devolve familiar Marvel trademarks into bland pre-teens dramas, THE ULTIMATES actually succeeds in providing a darker, grittier look at heroism through a re-imagining of the Avengers. The characters of this book are complex, and even the most heroic and well-intentioned among them operate in shades...more

like · see review

Aug 18, 2007 John Wiswell rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Comics readers, political readers

The provocative modernization of classic comics heroes, asking what would happen if they started their careers today instead of thirty years ago. Captain America becomes comics’ Archie Bunker, Thor is an anarchist hippy (and no one believes he’s actually a god), and the Hulk is as much as product of one man’s strife as he is of America’s need for enemies. The art is staggeringly cinematic, with exquisite detail, angles, coloring, and with some “heroes” clearly remodeled in the likeness of popula...more

like · see review

May 31, 2012 Theo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comics

An interesting reboot. I still vastly prefer the MCU and 616, but it was cool to see what things changed. (And it was also fun to see what the MCU culled from both 616 and Ultimates.)

The art was awesome and the story was good, but the characters were *so* different from what I have come to expect and enjoy from the Avengers that it was hard to get into the comics. I kept being jolted out of the story. I mean, Cap was a little more... 1940s, I guess, but there's a reason I love MCU/616's Cap. Tha...more

like · see review

Dec 12, 2012 Sarah Therese rated it 5 of 5 stars

Boyfriend got me this after my obsession with The Avengers film. Illustrations are phenomenal and although Captain America isn't as much of a heart-throb as in the films, The Ultimates remains packed with laughter and adventure!

like · see review

May 08, 2011 Craig rated it 5 of 5 stars

Now this is what you'd expect from a comic that dare calls itself "the Ultimates." Awesome artwork and a pair of stories worthy of big-screen treatment. Hopefully, the Avengers movie, when it comes, will be half as entertaining.

like · see review

Aug 17, 2012 The Broken Zebra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Pretty much the Avengers movie and I think a hint of what's to come in the cinematic Marvel world. Interesting take on some of the characters, though. Wasn't a fan of Banner or (Mr) Pym, and Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man is better, in my opinion. And his suit in this is hideous. Just saying.

like · see review

May 23, 2012 DB rated it 4 of 5 stars

Looking for the comic of the Avengers movie? This (more or less) is it. Different textures, but similar skeleton and structure. Swap the Pym's for Loki, and the biggest difference between them is this book's R rating.

like · see review

May 21, 2012 Rob added it

Really liked the artwork and the story.
I like the Hulk story, as well as the depiction of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America.
I didn't care for the Wasp or Giant Man, however I do like how Millar rounded out the characters with weakness in personality.

like · see review

Jan 13, 2012 Don Bernal rated it 3 of 5 stars

stylish, movie-style story-telling; characters are re-imagined as flawed, conflicted and modern; the result are action-packed stories with witty lines from characters you mostly don't have any attachment to

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 99 100 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (5)

More editions...

Genres

Sequential Art > Comics

147 users

Sequential Art > Graphic Novels

81 users

Superheroes > Marvel

29 users

Comics > Comic Book

18 users

Comics > Superheroes

14 users

Graphic Novels Comics

8 users

Science Fiction

3 users

Adventure

2 users

Action

2 users

Adult

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Mark Millar

Mark Millar is an award-winning Scottish comic book writer born in Coatbridge. Now a resident of Glasgow, Millar has been the highest selling British comic-book writer working in America this decade. His best known works include: The Authority, Ultimates 1 and 2, adaptations of Jack Kirby's and Stan Lee's Avengers, Wanted, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, and Civil War. In Augus...more

More about Mark Millar...

Books by Mark Millar

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Ultimates

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Ultimates

“Naked guy think Hulk stupid?” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

title link	preview: The Ultimates
avg rating	preview: The Ultimates Goodreads rating: 4.14 (3531 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160852.The_Ultimates?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1320641976l/160852.jpg[/img][/url] [url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/160852.The_Ultimates?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Ultimates by Mark Millar[/url]

The Ultimates (The Ultimates hardcovers #1)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website