What is strength? That’s the core question running through the final issue of The Ultimates, and something that writer Deniz Camp has been exploring throughout the series. He mostly sticks the landing, with artist Juan Frigeri’s vivid action scenes enhancing the heart of what makes these heroes tick.
Title: The Ultimates #24
Creatives: Deniz Camp (Writer), Juan Frigeri (Artist), Federico Blee (Colorist), Travis Lanham (Letterer)
Characters: She-Hulk, Wasp, Giant-Man, Shen Qi, Danny Rand
Villain: The Hulk, Crane Mother of the Bomb
Format: Ongoing Series
Our Rating: 8.0/10 Stars
The Ultimates Take The Fight To Bruce Banner
The Ultimates have turned their attention to the strongest member of the Maker’s council, The Hulk. Shen Qi, the rightful wielder of the Iron Fist, moves to confront him in Heaven. Frigeri’s Hulk is genuinely monstrous, dominating the panels over his much smaller opponent as he throws giant punches and kicks. But Shen is undeterred. Tapping into the knowledge of his past lives, he quickly counters the Hulk’s attacks before banishing him to Monster Island. Using an anime-style approach, letterer Travis Lanham accompanies each fighter’s moves with their name in a bold yellow box, almost like a vocalization.
The Hulk soon finds himself face to face with She-Hulk, Wasp, and the creatures that inhabit the island. Colorist Federico Blee paints the landscape with ruby-red blood as Banner seamlessly tears through dinosaurs and giant crabs. Our heroes fight back, with She-Hulk using the gamma from the land to overpower Banner. She asserts that her island and its people are no longer the Hulk’s playthings. He can never understand what it means to her, because her existence and those like her are simply a commodity to him while she’s fighting for the right to exist. It’s a cathartic moment for her and the reader when she stands over his brutalized corpse, finally freeing her people from a horrible tyrant.
The True Meaning Of Strength
Camp keeps questioning what the true meaning of strength is throughout the issue. He cleverly juxtaposes the resistance’s momentum directly against the Hulk’s physical strength. Showing the various factions of the rebellion clashing against Marvel’s strongest character proves how the power of collective action can overcome almost anything. Hulk didn’t lose because he was physically weak. He lost because he had nothing real to fight for.
The Ultimates was a special book because it challenged you to question the world around you and what kind of person you should be. Camp highlights all the ways the Ultimates are strong that the Hulk is not. Their cooperation, mercy, growth, and forgiveness all led them to this victory. Strength for strength’s sake is born out of fear and weakness. And in the end, that’s all the Maker’s Council turned out to be. Scared and weak.
What Doesn’t Work?
This is the final issue of the series, yet it doesn’t evoke a sense of closure. The final panels contain Tony’s broadcast from Ultimate Endgame #4 warning that the Maker has broken free. Our heroes still have the ultimate battle ahead of them. It makes sense if you’re reading monthly, but it will likely cause whiplash to anyone picking up the trades later. I also feel like Banner’s end came about too quickly. This is the same man who brutalized the entire Ultimates team back in issue six, so seeing him taken out by a fraction of the team was a strange choice.
Verdict: Should you buy The Ultimates #24?
The Ultimates #24 affirms that purpose is the defining trait of true strength. Altruistic qualities fuel the Ultimates’ collective action, and that makes them unbeatable. I cheered once She-Hulk finally ended Banner, even if it undercut the Hulk’s threat from earlier in the series. The Ultimates concludes as one of Marvel’s better runs of the past two years. I’m going to miss it.
‘The Ultimates’ #24 Review: What Is Strength?
The Ultimates #24 affirms that purpose is the defining trait of true strength. Altruistic qualities fuel the Ultimates’ collective action, and that makes them unbeatable. I cheered once She-Hulk finally ended Banner, even if it undercut the Hulk’s threat from earlier in the series. The Ultimates concludes as one of Marvel’s better runs in the past two years. I’m going to miss it.
