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| Tomorrow Men (The Ultimates) | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Jan Friedman
Publisher: Pocket Star
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $4.17
You Save: $3.82 (48%)
New (25) Used (21) from $1.80
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 513472
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 336
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.6 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1416510656
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9781416510659
ASIN: 1416510656
Publication Date: August 29, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
The Ultimates -- the first government-sponsored cadre of Super Heroes -- was assembled to face threats to humanity too insanely powerful forother operatives to handle.Led by a general who gave an eye in the service of his country, the super-powered roster includes a billionaire playboy in a high-tech suit of armor, a World War II super-soldier whom fate has thrust into the twenty-first century, an environmentalist icon who claims to be an ancient Norse god, and a scientist whose mutant powers allow her to shrink to the stature of an insect. But even the Ultimates are unprepared for a quintet of mysterious visitors who appear in the midst of the team's top-security base of operations, claiming to be emissaries from the future. These "Tomorrow Men" say Earth's civilization is at a crossroads -- on the verge of enslavement by a secret, immensely efficient organization known in the future as Tiber. Only the Ultimates have the skills and the firepower to ferret Tiber out of its nests around the world and crush its plans for global conquest. But there is much more the Tomorrow Men will not say. After all, they don't want to alter the timeline any more than they have to. But wealthy Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, is dying by degrees of an incurable medical condition. For him, the temptation to make an additional change in the timeline may be too great to ignore -- though mankind's future might be damaged in the process.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Ultimates-Lite September 14, 2006
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Set between the first two comic books series starring the Ultimates (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Wasp, Black Widow, Nick Fury, Hulk, Quicksilver, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Giant-Man), TOMORROW MEN involves a time traveling group who have journeyed back to present day to stop the rise of a terrorist organization that wreaks havoc in the present-day world.
Michael Jan Friedman is no stranger to tie-in novels or comics. He's contributed to the Star Trek universe in prose as well as scripts. He's written Superman, Fantastic Four, and X-Men novels, and even a cross-over novel starring the crew of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION and the X-MEN.
Friedman always has clean, easy-to-read prose. He obviously loves playing with the characters, but really comes across more strongly with Tony Stark (Iron Man). The dialogue between Stark and Jarvis is really good, and the mission feel of the book emulates what goes on in the comics side of the franchise.
THE ULTIMATES is an on-going comic book series by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch. It was created to be a reboot on the Avengers under the popular Ultimate comic line. The focus of the series is on the Ultimates, the first-ever government-sponsered superteam. The monthly comics are a huge success, and the books are always gathered into a graphic novel as soon as the story line is wrapped. The line has also spawned two made-for-tv DVDs.
TOMORROW MEN suffers from having too much that has gone on before it and too much that happens after it. As a result, it exists in a weird kind of limbo, especially to comics fans who have read the first graphic novel and are now following the second wave of Ultimates' adventures. Although set at a frantic pace featuring short, choppy scenes, all too often a lot gets said but nothing gets done.
Fans of the series will want to pick the book up to complete their collections of all things Ultimates. People who've seen both DVDs and haven't picked up the comics might want to give the book a look. Friedman firmly establishes the Ultimates world and backstory in the novel.
 Not Millar, but not that bad either... January 23, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The Ultimates: Tomorrow Men bridges the gap between the first 12 issues of Ultimates and the second 12 issues. It is a fun, energetic story written by Michael Han Friedman. That is the only fault of the story, is it's written by someone other than Mark Millar, and therefore, some of the magic is missing.
The plot, without giving too much away, involves a band of white and green clad figures with shaved heads showing up, claiming they are from the future. Whether they are or aren't is up for debate over the course of the book, while the Ultimates engage a host of menaces and traps from without and within. There are plenty of thrills and chills, though not as epic a scale as is avalible in the Ultimates comics.
The characters are what make me give the book 4, not 5 stars. Friedman does a good job relaying the characters, and even polishes some of the details left fuzzy by the comic books. But unfortunately, some of the twists that took place in the second Ultimates series make moments in this book ring completely false. This is unfortunate and I'm sure not Friedman's fault- I know this novel took a long time to publish and he didn't have all those last moment details. Still, the `pink elephant' of conflicting plot is there, and hard to miss.
If you're like me, an avid reader and rabid Ultimates fan, this book is an amusing way to pass the time until Millar comes out with another Ultimates series (oh, please soooooonnnn) and frankly, I am going to buy the other novel that comes out late 2007. But reading this book is akin to being ravenously hungry and eating popcorn when you want stake. Does this take the edge off your need? Yes. Does it satisfy your craving, not completely.
Buy the book and enjoy it, just don't expect something as good as Millar's Ultimates.
Recommended for comic junkies in need of a fix....
Not much to say November 20, 2006
The Ultimates was an interesting read if nothing else. It didn't really pick up towards the last half of the book. I will comment that the characters were nicely developed.
Likeable Ultimates Tale Featuring Iron Man July 22, 2007
This here's an Ultimates (rebooted Avengers for a new generation) adventure that takes place between the 2 volumes of the comic books by Mark Miller. It's a pleasantly written tale that's not earth shaking, but enjoyable none the less. Although Captain America is featured on the cover the main hero of the story is Iron Man and his budding romance with the Black Widow. All of the characters (Thor, Wasp, Giant Man, Hulk, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Quick Silver)are spot on for the ultimate line of comics. Lightly recommended for hardcore Ultimates fans.
Not the Ultimate Ultimates August 28, 2007
The book, as stated by the other reviewers, is a nice little interlude between the two series of comics. The characters were written the way they should have been, and that is the problem. It is obvious, after reading the second series of Ultimates, that there is a huge character problem. I don't think it was the author's faulth though, since he probably didn't get any input from Marvel or Millar on what was coming.
My biggest problem with the book is that the villains are sorely lacking in the "We're going to destroy the Earth!" department. There is no real threat that would make it necessary for the Ultimates to be involved with these guys. Granted, it could be a nice lead in for the Maggia, AIM, Hydra, or some other group, or if you stretched it, Kang. But the villains were just too subdued and not threatening enough. I never felt that the Ultimates were the ones for this job, it was more of a FF book to me.
And for those who haven't read it, stop here, a spoiler follows....
In the future, why wasn't there anything based off of Tony's armor? Why was he the most powerful person, when everyone was from his company? There should have been all kinds of technology that made him obsolete.
Oh well. The author did a good job of using the characters and turning things around on them a bit, and then putting them back none the worse for wear.
All in all, not a bad book. Save the money and go check it out at the library.
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