The Ultimates: Super-Human (Classic Review)

Originally released in 2002.

Writer: Mark Millar

Artist: Bryan Hitch

Publisher: Marvel Comics

Collects: The Ultimates #1-6

Ultimate Marvel was based on the simple premise of upgrading classic characters for a modern readership, cut clean from the mire of mainstream continuity. The Ultimates were going to be the frontline team of this new universe -- the all-new Avengers for today's world. Not that, in my opinion, there's anything wrong with the classics, but that's another story.

And just in case you didn't comprehend the ramifications of that concept, the first volume of this series, Super-Human, drives it home with a non-stop "This is a big deal" theme. Straight away, the first issue is almost entirely devoted to introducing the new Captain America with a grizzly war-time sequence that evokes the spirit of the old Kirby/Simon tales, and that praise should not be taken lightly. This hard-punching, wisecracking, yet still heavy-hearted opening sets the tone for the rest of the story.