Ultimate Six #7

[cyclopsfan]

Writer- Brian Bendis
Pencils- Trevor Hairsine
Inks-Danny Miki

Spoilers.


I'm sorry, but the "Big bang" that BMB was talking about needing the extra book to finish this series just isn't here. It was the most disapointing ending i have ever read. All the fuss and ado about this book being late, in truth, i'd have rather waited longer and gotten more. To have the entire book only accomplish Norman getting shot down, and the other members of the 6 being going back into custody, and then just releasing peter and aunt may. I dunno. I think this issue was a complete failure in accomplishing anything worth reading.

F -

[CountD]

I had to read the second half of the book 2-3 times, I couldn't believe what a dull let-down the ending was.

I was expecting much more drama, a major out and out fight, or a surprise twist at least. Not Aunt May screeming at the top of her lungs "I'm gonna SUE!" and everyone returning back to normal as the dust settled. A little unfulfilling.

Uggh..I agree, Cyke.

Regrettably, an F, b/c I think it could have easily been a A or B!

[gOgIver]

Make that three that agree. Dull disappointing dud ending.

[Caramuru]

I also thought US #7 was disappointing. There wasn't anything in the book I couldn't see coming from a mile away, but even so, it was handled without "punch." Altogether, I didn't think this was a justified separate mini-series. It could have been published as part of The Ultimates book to fill-in the gap between volumes 1 and two maybe.

[Godfather]

I haven't read this yet. I have to say though, having this issue be so late and everything else going on in USM just didn't help at all.

[CountD]

Not to sound like a smartass, but I'm really curious to read from any of you that did like it (and why).

D~

[Daedelus]

Well I really liked Hairsine's Green Goblin! The art was really good, but I have to agree that I felt the same way after reading this that I did after finishing Ultimate War: ok, that's it? There is no real conclusion here of any kind. And how in the name of god does this fit into the current continuity? I assume this is after the second Ultimates arc (Homeland Security) but before the current Ultimate Spiderman arc with the Spiderman movie? I think it's kind of rediculous that both "returns" of Docter Octupus involve him just "willing" the arms to him and killing everyone. Some one at SHIELD storage had better be fired after this. I also agree that this should have been saved for a "filler" between Ultimates Vol 1 and 2. Nice art, good dialouge, but hardly the ending we've been waiting for...

[Prozac Man]

I have to agree that the end of the story was a let down. If it was part of the last issue it may have read better. The end bit after the long wait was anticlimactic.

[skywatcher]

Originally posted by Prozac Man
Anticlimactic.
This word sums up the whole issue. The art is good, though.

[Xaraan]

Yeah, I think my expectations might have been a bit up after waiting all this time for the final issue and this issue did not meet them.

It wrapped things up alright and might have just been blah if it had come out with no delay; but that is what killed it for me.

[cyclopsfan]

Originally posted by Xaraan
Yeah, I think my expectations might have been a bit up after waiting all this time for the final issue and this issue did not meet them.

It wrapped things up alright and might have just been blah if it had come out with no delay; but that is what killed it for me.
To me the biggest part was the Bendis claimed he went to the 7th issue because there was too much action to put in 6.... my question is.. where was the action? Any action? Goblin standing still 6 pages and getting shot on the 7th was not my idea of action.

[Terram]

And so our heroes pull one through for shadow governments withholding civil liberties and masking it from the public's eye. But Cap hurts Nick Fury's feelings in the end, thus everything all works out.

[TheFoo]

*gasp* are you people doubting the infallacy of Bendis?!? How can you?!?

[Somniator]

Boring as shit. The worst Bendis issue of anything I think I've ever read.

I mean, it wasn't shockingly bad... it was just incredibly dull, and came across like a broken pencil...













... pointless.

[YDLM]

I liked the issue but it was hardly what I was expecting.If you added like 5 to 7 pgaes to the last issue then it could have ended at six. I have to say that Hairsine did a great job, but since that he take a little while I would love to see him on just bi monthly and mini series, other that I would keep off most books.

[cyclopsfan]

Originally posted by YDLM
I liked the issue but it was hardly what I was expecting.If you added like 5 to 7 pgaes to the last issue then it could have ended at six. I have to say that Hairsine did a great job, but since that he take a little while I would love to see him on just bi monthly and mini series, other that I would keep off most books. if we could let hitch do an issue, and Hairsine do an issue we could have ultimate's 3 times a year instead of 2 :)

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by cyclopsfan
To me the biggest part was the Bendis claimed he went to the 7th issue because there was too much action to put in 6.... my question is.. where was the action? Any action? Goblin standing still 6 pages and getting shot on the 7th was not my idea of action.

I think what he was referring to was Issue #6 -- which was LOADED with action. The artwork on issue #6 was phenomenal, and I think Bendis didn't want to cut back on the artist's ability to portray all of the fighting and action sequences by forcing the fight into fewer pages just so they could do a quick wrap-up at the end.

I think that's why this one didn't work. It was intended to be part of Issue #6, and was obviously padded a bit to make a whole issue.

I agree that this book was a let-down, but I think this mini will read well in a tpb. It was like there were 4 killer issue and 3 filler issues or something. Might work as a whole package, but book by book made it inconsistent. Makes me kind of wish I'd just waited for the trade. And maybe Xaraan's right -- maybe it's more of a let-down because of the wait -- I don't know. But it wasn't the usual exciting comic we see from Bendis, nor did it live up to the issues before it.

(Of course, he's not perfect. We all know there's one regular title he writes that isn't that good. (he he ... not going to say it, but you dudes know what I mean)

[Godfather]

Anyone notice the panel with the White House debriefing and Kraven in bed, there is the link to Danny Miki's website on the clipboard hanging off the bed?

Dunno why I noticed, but I did :p

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by Godfather
Anyone notice the panel with the White House debriefing and Kraven in bed, there is the link to Danny Miki's website on the clipboard hanging off the bed?

Dunno why I noticed, but I did :p

Good eyes!

I hadn't noticed that. But makes sense for him to slip it in there! :)

Thanks for pointing that out! Pretty cool!

[Godfather]

Originally posted by Moonbeam
Good eyes!

I hadn't noticed that. But makes sense for him to slip it in there! :)

Thanks for pointing that out! Pretty cool!

Remember back when cover artists used to put their little signatures in the cover, usually hidden somewhere. I used to be the guy that would always try to find it. I think thats why I notice these things lol.

Also, my thoughts on this issue. I can't say I was as dissappointed as the rest of you, know why? Because its been so damn long since the last issues. I'd have to go back and reread most of this just to remember what exactly happened. This issue was definitely, well I gotta finish the series, issue.

[TheMightyGeek]

Mainly, I'm in agreement with all y'all.

When the big shocker is that Harry finds out that...oh, hang on a bit...


{{{SPOILERS AHEAD, ARRRR YE BE WARNED}}}


...Pete is Spider-Man (which, combined with the events of the latest ish of USM, isn't being such a big hush-hush thing anymore), I don't know, it just wasn't, well...

...you know?

It's a thing. It had a thing. Definite thing-ness.

That, and the art looked rushed. Not bad, just rushed, rough in parts. Scratchy.

I'm working on my Bendis-speak.

Cheerio.

[punkmonkey]

ULTIMATE SIX #7 (of 7)
Publisher: Marvel Comics -- $2.25 / 22 pgs.
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Artists: Trevor Hairsine/ Danny Miki
Colorist: Ian Hannin
Cover Artist: John Cassaday

Reviewed By: Jared Moraitis
Grade: C-

Perhaps Brian Bendis should have exercised a bit more compression and kept this story at six issues instead of seven, or perhaps Marvel should have allowed for an extra-sized sixth issue, because the peak of this series seems to have been divided between these last two issues, in effect reducing the impact of both issues and leaving me with a sense of an anticlimactic ending that should have delivered much more punch.

This issue completely neglects any focus on the members of the Six besides Green Goblin, as they were all dealt with primarily in issue six. There’s an unsettling feeling in the method SHIELD uses to take down Goblin, and in how they choose to handle the recaptured members of the six, but that’s really the only thing that stands out in this issue. Having Peter be the mystery sixth member of the Six was a bit of a letdown, and seems to have been done purely for the shock of it, which didn’t turn out to be much of a shock at all, and took away from the impact of having six major super-powered criminals united as one. It almost seems as if the powers that be or Bendis himself was pushing for an Ultimate Six miniseries before Bendis had a chance to introduce six villains that would be worthy of the role, so he decided to stick Peter in as the sixth member for an unsuccessful twist plot development. The speculations as to who the mystery sixth member would be (guesses ranged from Harry Osborn becoming the Hobgoblin to the return of Venom) ended up being more exciting than the revealed truth.

There’s a very confusing bit in this issue that makes it painfully obvious that Bendis is not writing this series with the clarity of each individual issue in mind -- it involves Thor and the resolution to his battle with Electro, which, for some reason occurs out of sight with unclear results, and I had to flip back to issue six to even remember what Thor was doing when last we saw him. Hardly a fitting climax to their battle.

Reading the synopsis of the previous six issues, it seems rather obvious that it shouldn’t have taken six issues to cover such a small amount of plot. The overall threat of the Six seemed genuinely severe only for a brief moment before the Ultimates became involved and stole the show away from Spider-Man, and Harry Osborne ends up being the one most deeply affected by these events. Maybe the entire story will read better in collected form, but as a single issue, there’s not enough power to make this a fully-rounded climax/ resolution.

Overall, this series was fairly disappointing, and I think having the Ultimates involved, though it made sense given SHIELD’s ties to these villains, took away from the overwhelming power this story could have had and the overwhelming odds against Peter Parker were reduced. I would have rather seen Peter Parker driven to exhaustion and the end of his wits forced to confront the united Six on his own (or at least with some help from Daredevil or Black Cat) than have the odds stacked against the Six by having the Ultimates enter the fray. The structure of the story needed some ironing, but most of the excitement came from the fresh and dynamic art of Trevor Hairsine, who turned in some mostly great work (despite drawing a pretty ugly Peter Parker early on). Here’s hoping we’ll be seeing some more Marvel work by Hairsine -- I’d vote for having him alternate storylines with Brian Hitch on ULTIMATES to keep that book on a monthly schedule.

[aries_insaneus]

there was not point to a seventh book, this book was the biggest let down of the year. i was expecting a big finish after the long wait that we had and the ending was a dud. i wish i could get my money back

[Auron]

Ultimate Six #7
How much potential is blown here in this last issue? This took much longer than it should
have to hit stands, and I have to say I don’t see why this story needed seven issues.
I complained about last issue that the Six were
defeated too easily. That would have been acceptable had this ending possessed the
emotional or physical impact that was expected. It didn’t. Iron Man, despite being a smart man,
comes across as a trigger-happy jock in his treatment of Osborn, and the fate of Osborn
himself is unclear. Even the parts I did understand I didn’t appreciate. Harry’s vow of personal revenge against the Ultimates and Spider-
Man is a brief moment that should have been fleshed out, does not provide an accurate or
moving depiction of Harry’s feelings, and worst of all is a plot element from the
originals that I had hoped to avoid altogether in Ultimate. Is it a crime for Peter
to have a best friend?
Worst of all is that this adventure, like every other one they have, does not seem
as though it will have any effect on Fury and his team. All the lessons that could be
learned are ignored and the incident is swept under the rug, unless you count a briefly considered worry from Cap. Still, I guess it’s
an accurate depiction of our government right now, or any other time, for that matter.
Even a man like Captain America gets his concerns completely brushed off by Fury. Yet
another problem plaguing the entire series is a lack of Spider-Man’s involvement in it.
These are his enemies, yet he just doesn’t appear that much or have that big a part in
their defeat.
Hairsine’s art is the same as always here. It’s impressive in the movie-like scenes but
falters in the dialogue-driven bits. Harry, Peter and Jan Pym don’t look anything like
their Bagley and Hitch counterparts, and one agent looks too similar to Kraven,
presenting temporary confusion. There is also some confusion over the ending. When
our government today is so quick to blame everything on Terrorists, it seems like the
mutant issue would be a perfect scapegoat for the attack on The White House, not to mention that's how it's always played in Ultimate XM,
but it isn’t played that way. It SHOULD happen how it does here, but sadly that’s
rarely the case these days. Of course, if mutants had been blamed, this series would have had some impact on the Ultimate universe in general, and it seems to want to avoid that. Even in the Hollywood arc taking place now in Ultimate Spider-Man, Ock has either forgotten about this or is pretending it didn't happen. All in all, I think the fundamental problem with this entire series was that it came too early. When it started, the only villain we really had built
up enough was Osborn. The rest haven’t gone anywhere in the regular series, and it
tends to dull a story where they need to be interesting.
5.5 out of 10 (D)

[Heffaloo]

Perhaps the whole series would have been better done as issues of USM, between #'s 53 and 54.

[Skyldt]

i read Ultimate Six#7, and it did suck. but one of the big questions i have is this: did i miss an issue?!?!?!
last issue i read, it had Cap saying "you're trespassing" on the last page. and then in #7, the battle was just about over?
what the hell happened?

[YDLM]

Skldt. it seems like you miss issue #6 that where all the butt kicking took place.

[Christian Otte]

Originally posted by Godfather
Anyone notice the panel with the White House debriefing and Kraven in bed, there is the link to Danny Miki's website on the clipboard hanging off the bed?

Dunno why I noticed, but I did :p You talking about www.crimelabstudios.com ? He also slipped a link into Ultimate Fantastic Four #2 - it's in the big splashpage out in the desert, in the lower left corner on a coffee cup.