 The Ultimates was launched following the success of the Ultimates
line of Marvel Comics, a line that existed in a universe unto itself and that rebooted Marvel's
characters in the present but in somewhat altered forms. Interested in creating Ultimate
Avengers, Marvel tapped
Mark Millar, whose work on
Ultimate X-Men and
The Authority
had made him quite popular indeed, to write the title, with Bryan Hitch, famous from
JLA and, in the run previous to Millar's,
The Authority,
to supply the art. Millar wanted to do something different: while featuring the original
line-up, or characters from the Avengers, Millar would have the team be a government-sponsored
group. His plans for the series were radical; his first issue would tell a story of Captain
America during World War II, then he would take time and care in showing the formation of the
team, and only then would he show the team in action. He and Hitch committed themselves to a
two-year run on the title, the outline of which Millar had already configured before issue #1
was published.
The series proved a great hit. It would also prove the most artistically
successful of Marvel's Ultimate titles. Unfortunately, around the conclusion of the first
six-issue storyline, the issues became less and less frequent, sometimes running late by several
months. 2003, for example, saw only four issues. In 2004, with the conclusion of the second
storyline in #13, the series came to an end to be relaunched with a new #1, signalling its new
direction and, hopefully, its more timely publication.
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| IMAGE | TITLE | DESCRIPTION | STATUS |
| The Ultimates #1-13, The Ultimates Volume 2 #1-10:
Mark Millar script; Bryan Hitch pencils and cover; Andrew Currie inks |
wraparound not shown
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #1 | tells a 23-page story of the original
Captain America's death in 1945, followed by a 3-page epilogue occuring in the present; reprinted in
Marvel Must Haves: Truth: Red, White & Black; wraparound cover; cover-dated March 2002; published on Wednesday, 30 January 2002 | 1 |
|
|
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #2 | tells a 23-page story in which Nick Fury brings together Tony Stark (Iron Man, in a new version of his armor), Bruce Banner (Hulk, who previously rampaged in Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #2-3), Hank Pym (Ant-Man, who uses his powers to make ants move boxes and who first becomes Giant Man in this issue), and Pym's wife (Wasp); the body of Captain America, whose powers Banner and the government are trying to recreate, is discovered encased in ice at issue's end; published on Wednesday, 27 February 2002 | 1 |
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #3 | tells a fantasticly good story of Captain America's revival and adjustment to 2002; published on Wednesday, 27 March 2002 | 1 |
| Marvel Must Haves: Ultimates #1-3 | reprints The Ultimates #1-3 | 0 |
without titles, indicia, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #4 | published on Wednesday, 1 May 2002 | 1 |
without titles, indicia, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #5 | the team battles and defeats the Hulk; reprinted in the
Hulk: The Movie trade paperback; published on Wednesday, 10 July 2002 | 1 |
without titles, indicia, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #6 | Thor, Tony Stark, and Captain America talk while Giant-Man and The Wasp practice their domestic violence; Tony Stark reveals that he has a brain tumor, which motivates his helping people as Iron Man but which should kill him in "six months to five years"; The Wasp is revealed to be a mutant | 1 |
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates Vol. 1: Super-Human | collects The Ultimates #1-6; uses the cover to #1 as its cover; softcover
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
without titles, indicia, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #7 | after a funeral in New York City for those killed during the Hulk's rampage, Captain America goes after Giant-Man, who has fled, leaving his wife in the hospital; Black Widow appears; cover-dated September 2002 | 1 |
without titles, indicia, final background colors, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #8 | Black Widow, Hawkeye, Quicksilver, and the Scarlet Witch work for the government as it fights aliens who have infiltrated world society; cover-dated November 2002
[READ MATT MARTIN'S REVIEW]
| 1 |
without titles, indicia, final background art, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #9 | Captain America pathetically beats up Giant-Man while Nick Fury and the rest prepare to attack aliens in Micronesia; cover-dated April 2003; published on Wednesday, 12 March 2003
[READ MATT MARTIN'S REVIEW]
| 1 |
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #10 | begins with a flashback showing Captain America's encounter with the Chitauri during WW2; the Ultimates attack the Chitauri base in Micronesia, only to be apparently destroyed along with thousands of U.S. soldiers in an atomic blast; cover-dated July 2003 | 1 |
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #11 | the alien Chitauri reveal their plans and their belief that they are putting the universe in order; the Wasp is captured and put in a test tube; the Chitauri fleet arrives at Earth, melodramatically under attack throughout the universe; the Ultimates, apparently dead in the previous issue, return and counterattack; cover-dated September 2003 | 1 |
| The Ultimates #12 | Captain America insults France; cover-dated November 2003 | 1 |
without titles, indicia, or borders
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates #13 | final issue | 0 |
| The Ultimates Vol. 2: Homeland Security | collects The Ultimates #7-13; softcover
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
| The Ultimates Vol. 1 | collects The Ultimates #1-13; uses the cover to #1 as its cover; hardcover
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
Larger Version Available
| The Ultimates 2 #1 | occurs one year after The Ultimates #13 | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #2 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #3 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #4 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #5 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #6 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 Vol. 1: Gods And Monsters | collects The Ultimates 2 #1-6; softcover
[REVIEW AND PURCHASE THIS BOOK]
| 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #7 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #8 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #9 | | 0 |
| The Ultimates 2 #10 | | 0 |
