FEBRUARY 2016 Th e M et a-Co ol O f Homag e Lay er s of Fidel it y w it h Ult imat e Wolv er ine Vs Hul k U ltim ate Wolverine vs. H ulk Illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu Coloured by Dave McCaig PRÉCIS Lettered by Chris Eliopoulos W ritten by Damon Lindelof A miniseries set in Marvel's Ultimate An essay in which Ryan K Lindsay Universe, this began publication in attempts to dig deep and understand some December 2005 but soon took a hiatus four colour funnies on a deeper level. when #3 did not hit its April 2006 Not to be taken seriously. release date. It was delayed monthly for Not to be taken orally. the year until everyone involved pulled Copyright Ryan K Lindsay [c] the pin and admitted it was disastrously delayed. All characters/comics discussed are Copyright of their respective At SDCC in 2008, it was announced creators/companies that the title would return, with #1-2 Quote the hell out of this being rereleased in February 2009, and issues #3-6 running from March-May Share the PDF if the of that year. feeling takes you. Comics for life. Cover image by Leinil Francis Yu and Dave McCaig, taken from the ULTIMATE WOLVERINE V HULK #1 reprint, 2009. The Ultimate Universe only works ?improved.? The Ultimate U, by as a pastiche of that which we analytical definition, is an know. It was purposefully created in experiment in taking something that 2000 to play upon the prior was and harnessing the distilled knowledge and desire of an ?cool? of it. Luckily, it was also aimed established fan base. The entire at a generation that viewed the premise of the publishing venture world through layers of reference was to be a ?new and improved? and repurpose. The Ultimate U was version of the regular (616) Marvel a success, but it was never original universe. As with most things, it and never could be. Quite honestly, was often neither ?new? nor perhaps it never should be. There is a dense posited in a ambience to the narrative world Ultimate U that is that zooms by maintained even with bombastic though the actual action and world building is always-clever shallow by dialogue. Having a definition due to doppelganger its nature of only world to write in borrowing and means the tweaking and not creators can truly inventing. choose to either Most aspects, be drastically change they characters, a character for companies, or dramatic irony or technology, are mildly reliant upon the differentiate reader?s aspects of the understanding of world for sneaky what is being improvement or tweaked or riffed humorous effect. on. This shorthand is built by juxtaposing the 616 against a new metric of cool Peter Parker managed to stay in high hair beneath his chin. Sometimes the school for years of fantastic Ultimate U did things well; sometimes teenage-based stories without aging they did not with laughable results. him too fast. However, we also got a Either way, without prior knowledge ?new? Iceman who sported an ?edgy? of some sort, the shorthand of the do-rag, and he even fought alongside stories/characters/ an ?improved? Wolverine who was worlds does not work and the exactly the same except for the meta-Easter egg jokes fall flat. addition of a ?current? soul patch of Sometimes the Ultimate U did things well; sometimes they did not with laughable results. "When I got hired, I literally thought I was going to be writing one of the last, if not the last, Marvel comics" -Brian Michael Bendis via Vulture [LI NK] The Ultimate U had to Betty Ross turned away feel current and it had from the Hulk and started to connect to the dating Freddie Prinze Jr audience. It wanted to and Peter Parker visited be another cultural icon Sam Raimi on the set of along with the the Spider-Man movie. By ubiquitous film, drawing connections, the television, and music Ultimate U laid down an reference points all cool easy base on which any teens know about. To do culture nerd could feel at this, it dropped in home. constant references to real world events, pop culture icons, and then other tangential 616 moments and events. Th e Ult imat e U is a sc ient if ic bat t er y t est t o see w h at t h e ma jor c ompo nent s of w h at w e k now a nd l ov e c a n be used f or w it h l ess inh ibit io ns. That?s not to say the evident when you People want to be games, turn all the stories don?t work ? know all the reminded of screens off, and just the craft is evident ingredients that have something good while focus on reading ? an and clear in every gone into it. The also being presented archaic form of title ? but the true Ultimate U is a with something ?new? entertainment, even layer of cool in the scientific battery test and ?improved.? when paired with Ultimate U is the to see what the major Crowds have grown pretty pictures ? we winking eye. It lures components of what more fickle in this have to deliver in new readers and it we know and love can future of constant something to the makes established be used for with less interaction and brain on multiple readers stick around inhibitions. It?s like entertainment levels. The text needs with a grin. The creating an Olympics through various to be layered and it Ultimate U is fun and for drug users just to platforms, often at the has to make the sometimes amazing see how fast a man same time. If we audience care and be but the true proof of can really run. expect the audience entertained on all of the pudding is only ----- to step aside from the those layers. This six issue miniseries is an Ultimization of the original Hulk and Wolverine battle from The Incredible Hulk #181 (Vol. 1 Nov 1974) others can sound The Incredible Hulk #181 (Vol. 1 accusatory but it has still Nov 1974). What previously took managed to produce up one sequence in a single many good comics, some issue suddenly becomes even great. Ultimate enough ground for six whole Wolverine Vs. Hulk issues. The book, quite (2006-2009) is a perfect honestly, almost shouldn?t work title to dissect this and yet through sheer force of phenomenon as it tried its style it crosses the line with a hardest to be extremely smirk and a tip of the hat. This cool and ended up book is exceptional fun if read actually being fantastically alone but when paired with a enjoyable and well decent knowledge of the 616, crafted. This six issue and the wider world in and miniseries is an around the book, it becomes a The analysis of constant Ultimization of the original text full of hidden codes. name-dropping and minor Hulk and Wolverine battle from tweaking of the hard work of If you ever wanted to see a make it feel novel and exciting television show, like LOST, also condensed, and visual, blueprint for new readers while also has a very similar structure in of the Ultimate U, and its winking heavily at established each episode. Every single page structure of cool, then this is the readers. It also takes advantage in that issue ends with some book for it. Lindelof and Yu of the fact Lindelof was primary form of beat, something to deliver a mountain of narrative a television writer and so the ensure the reader is going to hooks and splashes and so much structure certainly feels applied turn that page. This should be in media res you are left to and methodical. This is nowhere standard practice in all comics, figure out a lot to make this more evident than in #5, titled and mostly is, and so Lindelof whole assembly work. It?s flashy, ?Episode 5: As Told In Five uses it to perfection in this it?s fun, and it?s condensing the Parts.? There is likely little issue. best and twisting as needed to coincidence that a one hour It is also a perfect example of how the Ultimate U rolls. T h e M ir r or t o t h e 616 Even from the had a winking eye, the decompressed of the 616 is still a impetus of an idea, the Ultimate U just storytelling era but highly debatable topic. Ultimate Wolverine added a few elbow aside from stories the He?s even the sort of Vs. Hulk is informed nudges and characters nearly governmental big wig by the 616. The book, ?honka-honka? sound always have more that needs to make and most of its effects. The Ultimate added to them in the himself seem surrounding U wants you to feel adaptation rather impressive by universe, wants to included, it wants you than stripping the hanging a massive ham it up to the to feel special, and it character or situation Bosch fresco in his audience and it wants your knowing down) and so ?the office, offering fine sensibly chooses the approval. government,? a boring cigars, and bragging home crowd as its ----- and non-descript about Bill Clinton mark ? there is no group, becomes having an office in point playing to a In The Incredible Hulk S.H.I.E.L.D., though the same building.