Noteworthy Issues: Ultimates #3 (August, 2024)

So, this is probably my last review of The Ultimates that I plan to do for the foreseeable future.  I fell behind on a lot of stuff for one reason or another, so I’ll be trying to do more recent reviews and not be doing constant catch-up.  That means that, yes, I won’t be covering everything I used to.

But hey, one last issue of The Ultimates to review…

Issue:  The Ultimates #3, August 2024

Writer:  Deniz Camp

Artist:  Juan Frigeri

The Plot:  Hulk Island?  Hulk Island!

Commentary:  I said up front that I wasn’t overly impressed by The Ultimates right away.  Then this issue came along, and I started to reconsider the series as a whole.  I wouldn’t call it the greatest issue ever or anything, but the series doesn’t feel quite so rote on some level.  Much of the first few issues have focused on Tony “Iron Lad” Stark recruiting heroes for his team to take on the Maker and his various forces that secretly control the globe.  Or maybe not so secretly.  It may not matter.  There’s a ticking clock for when the Maker will return, and Tony needs to get his army ready.  To that end, he’s going to an island that, he believes, will be covered in Hulks.  Banner used the place for gamma bomb testing, so there may be all kinds of Hulks there.

Alright, so here’s the basic set-up, and it ties into real world actions where the American government tested atomic weapons on or near various Pacific islands.  There’s some light humor at play at first as, due to the gamma radiation, the only figures Tony feels he can take with him are Thor and Sif, but they keep murdering every large animal that they come across as Tony is surprised to see these unique animals, and every death caused by the Asgardians means the extinction of something, and the two gods don’t really care.

But then the issue turns deadly serious as, for the first time in the series, it shows the actual consequences of the Maker’s minions’ actions.  There isn’t really an army here.  There’s maybe two Hulks that could be used in a fight as the rest of the irradiated islanders aren’t really all that useful in any sort of conflict.  But there’s one for sure, a woman who was a girl when the bombs fell, a She-Hulk, who explains things, makes good points, and humbles Tony’s plans while agreeing to help where she can.  Plus, the last page shows Tony isn’t exactly as stealthy in his recruitment efforts as he wants to be, and that looks to be something that could make for a better series.  So, I wasn’t digging the series much, but I like it a lot more now.  I might have dropped this before, but sometimes it is amazing what one good issue can do to change a person’s mind.

Grade:  B+