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doomfans2014-07-18 12:02 am
nomadicwriter) wrote in doomfans2014-07-18 12:02 am
Ultimate FF #4
One of the last few remaining issues before this series ends with #6. Has a rather striking monochrome cover by Chris Stevens, which I missed before because I didn't notice the preview was out.
The issue opens with a brief flashback as Doom recaps his time in the zombieverse, which really doesn't tell anything new if you're familiar with his backstory from the original Ultimate Fantastic Four run. Dude-whose-identity-I-wasn't-sure-of-last-issue turns out to be UU Rick Jones/Captain Marvel, who I vaaaaguely remember from the Ultimate Origins mini and Ultimate Enemy trilogy, but not very well. Handily, there is a mini recap of his background on the first page to help with this.
The team are trapped in "the space between universes", apparently, and stand around and waffle for a bit. Sam and Sue bond over what they've lost and his desire to make the Vision's death not be in vain, and they share a rather sweet hug. Tony technobabbles that combining Rick's teleportation powers with Doom's portal manipulator might take them home, and they arrive back in their home universe to be confronted by a big bunch of soldiers headed by Ben Grimm. (Sue convinces him that they are who they seem with the immortal line, "Benjamin J. Grimm - did you remember to pick up the dry-cleaning?")
They head off to the Pentagon with the soldiers. Ben asks Doom how he survived, and Doom says that the fake Doom Ben actually murdered was his "associate", who he refers to as "she" before Ben grabs him and demands to know who was in the suit. (Doom responds to being slammed against a wall with, "Interesting. You're cosmically powered now. You might be useful yet.") Ben doesn't get his answer because Sue interrupts, telling them to put "whatever this is" behind them, and so far she still isn't aware that Ben killed the fake Doctor Doom.
Turns out, the Pentagon folk want the FF to deal with an "individual" who's appeared from another universe. Tony wants to be bad cop: "I wanted to be Pembleton." To which Doom responds, "You're no Andre Braugher." Tony: "... Touché." Which is kind of cute, and a nice reminder that this particular version of Doom is still barely out of his teens, spent his formative years at an American school for geniuses, and probably actually picked up a bit of pop culture knowledge while he was there.
Sam and Sue go in to meet their visitor from another dimension, who in a cracktastic twist turns out to be... Spider-Ham. Although not Peter Porker Spider-Ham, no: this one is Miles Morhames, Ultimate Spider-Ham, and he says he's here to save the universe.
...
So. A fun enough issue with a few good lines and some cute moments, but a bit disappointingly slow-moving and light on content with the series this close to its premature end. I like Andre Araújo's art much more than the previous artist's, though there are a few panels where the characters come off a little flat without much sense of depth. But there are also some where I really like the expressions - he draws a particularly great Falcon, and the panel where he and Sue hug is lovely. The colouring works better with this more cartoony, less scratchy style, too: less murky, and more atmospheric.
Overall, not bad at all, but though the art is an improvement and the dialogue is still nice, the story's treading water and it all feels a bit sadly pointless knowing that the series is already cancelled. It's a real shame, because I do feel like the book could have only got stronger given more of a chance to find its feet.
The issue opens with a brief flashback as Doom recaps his time in the zombieverse, which really doesn't tell anything new if you're familiar with his backstory from the original Ultimate Fantastic Four run. Dude-whose-identity-I-wasn't-sure-of-last-issue turns out to be UU Rick Jones/Captain Marvel, who I vaaaaguely remember from the Ultimate Origins mini and Ultimate Enemy trilogy, but not very well. Handily, there is a mini recap of his background on the first page to help with this.
The team are trapped in "the space between universes", apparently, and stand around and waffle for a bit. Sam and Sue bond over what they've lost and his desire to make the Vision's death not be in vain, and they share a rather sweet hug. Tony technobabbles that combining Rick's teleportation powers with Doom's portal manipulator might take them home, and they arrive back in their home universe to be confronted by a big bunch of soldiers headed by Ben Grimm. (Sue convinces him that they are who they seem with the immortal line, "Benjamin J. Grimm - did you remember to pick up the dry-cleaning?")
They head off to the Pentagon with the soldiers. Ben asks Doom how he survived, and Doom says that the fake Doom Ben actually murdered was his "associate", who he refers to as "she" before Ben grabs him and demands to know who was in the suit. (Doom responds to being slammed against a wall with, "Interesting. You're cosmically powered now. You might be useful yet.") Ben doesn't get his answer because Sue interrupts, telling them to put "whatever this is" behind them, and so far she still isn't aware that Ben killed the fake Doctor Doom.
Turns out, the Pentagon folk want the FF to deal with an "individual" who's appeared from another universe. Tony wants to be bad cop: "I wanted to be Pembleton." To which Doom responds, "You're no Andre Braugher." Tony: "... Touché." Which is kind of cute, and a nice reminder that this particular version of Doom is still barely out of his teens, spent his formative years at an American school for geniuses, and probably actually picked up a bit of pop culture knowledge while he was there.
Sam and Sue go in to meet their visitor from another dimension, who in a cracktastic twist turns out to be... Spider-Ham. Although not Peter Porker Spider-Ham, no: this one is Miles Morhames, Ultimate Spider-Ham, and he says he's here to save the universe.
...
So. A fun enough issue with a few good lines and some cute moments, but a bit disappointingly slow-moving and light on content with the series this close to its premature end. I like Andre Araújo's art much more than the previous artist's, though there are a few panels where the characters come off a little flat without much sense of depth. But there are also some where I really like the expressions - he draws a particularly great Falcon, and the panel where he and Sue hug is lovely. The colouring works better with this more cartoony, less scratchy style, too: less murky, and more atmospheric.
Overall, not bad at all, but though the art is an improvement and the dialogue is still nice, the story's treading water and it all feels a bit sadly pointless knowing that the series is already cancelled. It's a real shame, because I do feel like the book could have only got stronger given more of a chance to find its feet.