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Tweak says, "Ding dong the witch is dead."

cyberghostface (cyberghostface) wrote in scans_daily,
@ 2009-03-21 20:03:00

Entry tags:

char: hawkeye/ronin/clint barton, char: iron man/tony stark, char: wasp/janet van dyne, creator: david finch, creator: jeph loeb, event: ultimatum, publisher: marvel comics, title: ultimatum

Ultimatum #3

Last issue ended with the Blob going "nom nom nom" on poor Wasp. (And don't worry, I deleted my previous post and I'm only posting four pages here...)

Huh. So much for Blob being developed by Bendis as being Liz Allan's father. (Also, am I the only one who remembers that the Ultimate line was once targeted towards younger readers? Did they just give up on that?)

So anyways, the Multiple Men are trying to suicide-bomb the Triskelion. Hank manages to lure them all on him.

Oh, and Thor dies (off-screen) to save his underage girlfriend and Captain America. Cap decides to get every available hero to save the world.

And jeez, does everyone want to kill Magneto. I wonder how much is going to be left of him at the end...

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freeman333
2009-03-21 08:09 pm UTC (link)

I have to admit, as annoying as all this nonsense is, I don't remember a time when the Ultimate line was marketed towards younger readers, at least in terms of content. I remember the first time I read an issue of Ultimate Spider-Man, thinking, "Now this is an origin for Spider-Man that an adult can read and not feel that their intelligence is being insulted." I liked that about the Ultimate line; it had a more grown-up feel, and the stories and characters held together better, being less bogged-down by conflicting continuity.

That was then. Now, I just wish Ultimate Spider-Man had remained it's own universe without spawning all these spinoffs. Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and the first Ultimates series all started off so good, and then devolved into crap (to be fair, once Land got off art, UFF didn't remain crap, it just became largely mediocre, which is still a big step down from how it started). Now, this. Please, Marvel, allow Ultimate Spider-Man to stay good and keep it from being infected by this terrible plague that seems to be eating away at the rest of the Ultimate universe.

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cyberghostface
2009-03-21 08:27 pm UTC (link)

When they first came out, the intentions were to

A.) Attract new readers who were scared to jump on titles bogged down by years of continuity
B.) Attract younger readers who wouldn't read comics otherwise
C.) Reinvent the Marvel universe as to make it more 'realistic' and grounded in reality--I.E. less flashy costumes and fantastic origins

There was this whole "mission statement" concerning the Ultimate line at the back of the USM HC, and one of the biggest perogatives was to promote it to younger readers in places outside of comic stores. USM #1 was reprinted and sold with a lot of Spider-Man related toys. I used to see quite a few Ultimate-related kid's merchandise at stores. There were also kid digest versions in some bookstores. (With Ultimate X-Men, the sex and the gore were cut out.)

One of the things that USM *was* criticized in this regard was that a lot of Bendis's early arcs were lengthy in set up and would have issues where Spider-Man wasn't in his costume at all. But it still attracted young readers--a five year old wrote in to one to the letters once. USM has gotten a bit more risque over the years, but it's the *only* Ultimate comic that I'd still recommend to a young reader.

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freeman333
2009-03-21 08:47 pm UTC (link)

Be that as it may, the fact that they had to cut out "sex and gore" from UXM implies that, whatever the mission statement, the writers were writing the stories they wanted to read, rather than what they thought kids would want to read (which, in my opinion, is a much better idea, both from a creative and from a marketing standpoint). I agree, though, that for quite a while (even somewhat still today) it was the Ultimate versions of familiar characters that were advertised in products; even without the Ultimate label, most things that had pictures of Spider-Man or the X-Men on them had pictures of the Ultimate versions of the characters, rather than the classic versions.

I'm not surprised kids read USM and UXM; regardless of the content, they were well-written, engaging stories, and the fact that the pacing was slower (Spidey not wearing his costume, etc.) than one might expect simply shows that the writers were giving the readers, and the story, enough credit to stay with them as they moved the narrative along at the pace it needed to be moved. Regardless of what marketing departments would have us think, kids of all ages will generally prefer good stories to stupid ones, which makes it all the more mind-boggling that most things marketed at a young audience are deliberately stupidified to make them more palatable.

It's anyone's guess who the Ultimate titles are aimed at now. Not kids, certainly, and not people who enjoy intelligent storytelling. Maybe people nostalgic for the early Image days? Do those people exist?

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cyberghostface
2009-03-21 09:01 pm UTC (link)

'Be that as it may, the fact that they had to cut out "sex and gore" from UXM implies that, whatever the mission statement, the writers were writing the stories they wanted to read, rather than what they thought kids would want to read (which, in my opinion, is a much better idea, both from a creative and from a marketing standpoint).'

That's what I was trying to say--USM was (and still is) the only "Ultimate" title that fit the criteria that Marvel was trying to establish for the line. I'm not saying that they should be dumbed down for preschoolers, but it's not necessary to see Wolverine skewering Magneto, Magneto ripping out someone's pacemaker from his chest or seeing a Sentinel obliterate a mother and her child in a title that's used to sell lunchboxes for preschoolers.

USM, on the other hand, manages to be accessible to both young and old readers and really doesn't go much farther than the Spider-Man movies (or PG-13 films in general) in terms of sex or violence.

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freeman333
2009-03-21 10:27 pm UTC (link)

True that. As an adult reader, I don't mind a little gore in my stories if it works narratively, but USM is a great example of how stories can be told in a way that is appealing to adults but doesn't include a preponderance of inappropriate material. If more titles could pull off that balance, the comic medium would get a lot more respect than it does today, I'd wager.

Ultimatum, here, being a prime example of why.

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	foxhack 2009-03-21 09:35 pm UTC (link)
	The Adventures universe is now the "kiddie" universe. I can't wait until it's canceled in a few years because it's not edgy enough. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-03-21 09:47 pm UTC (link)
	No no no, it'll get edgied up. The writers have already incorporated Janet and Greer and are now just biding their time. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	neuhallidae 2009-03-21 09:49 pm UTC (link)
	Fuck, I hope not. I like Superhero Valhalla as it is, thanks. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	foxhack 2009-03-21 09:58 pm UTC (link)
	The Marvel Adventures line-up: Growing up along with the reader's puberty! (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-03-21 10:01 pm UTC (link)
	"The girls at school all think I'm boring and ugly and stupid and rude. Oh look, Tigra's getting the shit kicked out of her! KICK HER BITCH ASS, PARKER!" (Reply to this) (Parent)

	freeman333 2009-03-21 10:25 pm UTC (link)
	From what I've read, the Adventures universe manages to avoid being too painfully dumb (that great scene with Cap/Iron Man taking on the Enforcers comes to mind) and remains actually worth reading, to its credit. Hopefully it will avoid the dire fate of the Ultimate 'verse. (Reply to this) (Parent)

	likeaminx 2009-03-21 11:42 pm UTC (link)
	Ultimate Fantastic Four pretty much came down to all the same plots: "Someone (Most likely Reed) attempts some sort of SCIENCE!! It comes back to bite them in the ass or they're evil. Fantastic Four save the day" I adore Ultimate Spider-man though. Aside from Gwen coming back that is. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	scottyquick 2009-03-22 04:35 pm UTC (link)
	Ult! Spidey isn't my cup of tea, but my friend loves it, it's his favorite series. To be fair about the Gwen thing, her death was stupid. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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