The Ultimates 2, Vol. 2: Grand Theft America (v. 2)

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Tony and Natasha are on the eve of their wedding... but when Nick Fury makes his move against the mysterious traitor that's been plaguing the team, the team will never be the same! Also, Captain America and Wasp hit a serious snag in their relationship...is this the end for the Ultimate Universe's hottest couple? Is this the beginning of the end for the Ultimates? Collects Ultimates 2 #7-13.

Customer Reviews: Read 7 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

So how do you top this now? September 8, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful

How do you top a superhero title that has already been lauded as, pound for pound, possibly the most thrilling, the most action-packed, and the most panoramic in scope? Why, by eliminating the "possibly" from that last sentence, of course. Hot damn! Can I pleeeease talk about the Ultimates for a minute? Do I even have to persuade you to pick up the second volume of ULTIMATES 2? Because this must've been the one where both Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch stopped taking their meds and proceeded to go full out berserk. After these awesome concluding seven issues, I don't really know how they could possibly improve on things.

THE ULTIMATES 2, VOL. 2: GRAND THEFT AMERICA collects issues #7-13, and it's early on apparent that this creative team's ability to generate awe and glee from their readers remains impeccable . Basically, the events which unfold here are what could happen if real life superheroes existed and are sponsored (read: bossed around) by the U.S. government. In view of the very tense current events, the Ultimates are mandated to target certain countries (*ahem* the Middle East) and rid them of their nuclear capabilities. This, naturally, doesn't sit too well with several foreign powers, who're already agitated with the Great Satan, as it is, their state of anxiousness being even further heightened by the U.S.'s mobilization of strike forces consisting of Giant Men and armored Rocketmen.

No surprise, then, that the fallout is the creation of a retaliatory task force, codenamed the Liberators, which boasts super powered representatives from China, Russia, and the Middle East. Interestingly enough, the Liberators are thick as thieves with Loki, whom Thor claims as his brother and the God of Mischief (but, then again, Thor being loony, no one takes him seriously). The Liberators' master plan (or is it Loki's?) is soon applied, and, in a shockingly brief span of time, the Liberators and their forces have humiliatingly laid low the Ultimates, taken into custody the other costumed heroes (the X-Men, the F.F., Spidey, etc), inflicted unthinkable casualties and structural damage, and decisively taken control of New York and Washington, D.C. The rest of this series then tells of how the Ultimates, our military troops, and the rest of the superhero community eventually repel the invasion.

Meanwhile, there's sufficient breathing room for the personal story arcs, so why not catch up with all the soap opera? Firstly, Cap and the Wasp's romance plummets to its nadir, even as Janet, bored and tired of hanging out with the elderly, sneaks behind Steve's back to have lunches and fun conversations with her ex-hubby, the Ant Man. Natasha, the Black Widow, preps for her upcoming nuptials with Tony Stark. Thor, still believed to be suffering from dementia, is yet incarcerated in the Triskelion and drops dire warnings on Tony. And Nick Fury remains grumpy and eyepatched. Anyway, by the end of this epic arc, hearts will be broken, bones will be broken, the issue of whether Thor is a nutjob or a messiah will be settled indisputably, the traitor within the team will be revealed, Cap will meet his Middle Eastern counterpart, and Bing Crosby will be dissed.

What ballsy writing! Mark Millar writes himself into a corner and then exhilaratingly extricates himself from the mess. He dreams on a massive scale and, consequently, folks like him (and Warren Ellis) continue to sweep fanboys (like me) off their feet. Not only do we have an all-out invasion at our very doorstep, seemingly unparalleled in scope and devastation (although, of course, we've seen the likes of it before in THE AUTHORITY), but almost as a coda, we're even treated to a whiff of Ragnarok. Needless to say, the all-encompassing action opens the door for a host of other Ultimate superheroes to make cameos. Millar allows his cast to cut loose as he reminds us once again that these characters possess abilities near incomprehensible to normal ken. It's pretty humbling to see humans grow to the size of an edifice or shrink to a gnat-like substance, or summon lightning and fly in armor. Uncertainty also wafts in the air as the rampaging Hulk stages a late appearance; I wasn't quite sure which side he'd end up on, even though Banner states that he'd reached an accomodation with his inner green child (but we've heard that before).

In Millar's hands, Clint Barton, who'd always been deemed a secondary character, shows off his wares with staggering results. I just became a big fan of Ultimate Hawkeye in these seven issues; in fact, he's my favorite character here. Millar gives Clint Barton ample chances to shine even as he shreds the poor man's life to tiny bits. Hawkeye demonstrates that, even shorn of all weaponry and in shackles, he's still frighteningly lethal. The mainstream Marvel Universe marksman's got nothing on this savage Ultimate version.

Millar is partnered up with artist Bryan Hitch. Millar can write all the stories he wants, stories which can be shocking and momentous and sweeping, but, without Hitch's cinematic art, it just wouldn't have the same "oomph." Hitch is peerless when it comes to depicting widescreen mayhem. Here, he's given license to go bonkers as he gleefully creates images (and many splash pages) of wanton destruction, massive slaughter, and furious, bone-crunching, no-quarter-given melees. Simply awesome.

So, I'll ask it again: how can Millar and Hitch improve on this? The answer is: they're not even going to try. Having set the watershed mark, they're moving on. There is an upcoming ULTIMATES 3 but it'll be written and drawn by a different team, writer Jeph Loeb and artist Joe Madureira. I say "Good luck" to the newcomers, they've got Shaquille O'Neal size shoes to fill.

4 out of 5 stars

Nearly flawless ending to Millar/Hitch's run November 14, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful

So after burning through the first 3/4 of the series, I tore through this in a day. It was all leading up to this. So many burning question were resting on this finale to deliver. The team was at its ultimate low, and there is definitely a traitor in their midst. Well as the story unravels, so does the mystery. I didn't think it was incredibly predictable, (although it wasn't too difficult), but it felt like it was wrapped up too easily. There were plenty of red herrings and clues to sort of narrow things down, but when it came down to it, I felt it was sort of a cop out explanation.

The cover depicts The Ultimates going into battle with the likes of the X-Men, FF, and Spider-man which leads you to believe those characters are featured. They are, but very briefly. It's a great cover, but to me it was quite misleading. I enjoyed the fact that they only focus on The Ultimates because I didn't want the flow of the character development to be disrupted, but just goes to show you can't judge a comic book by its cover art, its job is to sell the book. Not trying to spoil anything, just don't go in thinking its a team up book and be dissapointed. I would have rather not known they were going to be in it and be surprised by the cameos.

An otherwise good finale, it ties up loose ends while still not skimping on the action (the group finds themselves in the middle of WWIII) and manages to still leave me wanting more. While I think Millar and Hitch were an awesome team (Hitch's work is so consistently good throughout) I'm even more excited that Jeph Loeb will be taking over for Ultimates 3 along with artist Joe Madureira. Loeb had me at The Long Halloween so I will pretty much read anything he's written and if he can continue with the streak he's been having I have no doubt it will be worth my effort. From what I've seen of the preview art, I can't say grabs me nearly as much as Hitch's series defining artwork, but maybe it'll grow on me.

Not the biggest shocker of an ending that I was psyched up for, but still not a complete disaster and is worth picking up to complete the arc. It's nice to be reading Marvel again after so long and remembering what was so great about it. Congratulations to Millar/Hitch on a job well done.

5 out of 5 stars

Awesome - a must read for fans! December 27, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

This volume caps the series and is a Must Read for fans of the Ultimates. The artwork is superb,the story exciting with the sort of writing that is new to the world of comics: real emotions and situations, real relationships that span months (not single issues!) all in a sci-fi world that's not all that different from our own. (Well, okay, the whole super powers thing isn't commonplace around here... but other than that...!)

Great fun, very involving - go get it!

2 out of 5 stars

A pedestrian conclusion to a high-flying title July 4, 2008
1 out of 5 found this review helpful

Largely, the Ultimate universe avoids Stan Lee camp, in favor of a darker, modern style. Characters are deeper, more modern and more mature.

Ultimates (1 and 2) was leading this charge - not just with the revamped Captain America, but with all the Avengers. They lived in a more 'real' world, facing more 'real' challenges - political, ethical and personal - as well as the traditional super-villain shenanigans. Almost (but not quite) Marvel's The Authority.

Then, in the concluding volume of Ultimates 2, the series lazily reverts into old-school Marvel goofiness: The Axis of Evil makes their own Avengers! Super-bun-fight! NORSE MYTHS invade. What just happened? Real problems suddenly have goofy, supernatural sources and everything is neatly solved with an old-fashioned fist-fight.

Not so much... bad (this is the time-honored Marvel tradition), just a disappointment. The Ultimates series is the flagship for the Ultimate universe, and I wanted to see it become more than 'same as before, plus naughty language'.

5 out of 5 stars

The best Ultimate book available... August 21, 2007
Gripping, majestic, violent, heroic, and ripe with political overtones, don't let the delays of the individual issues hamper your enthusiasm - this is a must-own book, even if you're not a fan of the cheesy pre-Bendis Avengers (like me) or a Millar-hater, its worth picking up. The fight scenes, the drama, the emotion, its all here!

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