How would you rate Ultimate Nightmare overall?

How would you rate Ultimate Nightmare overall?

  • Excellent

    Votes: 9 15.8%

  • Above average

    Votes: 29 50.9%

  • Average

    Votes: 13 22.8%

  • Below average

    Votes: 6 10.5%

  • Poor

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    57
Goodwill said:
Colossus is a seasoned fighter with the Russian mob, right? I don't see why he couldn't have done better with that, either... I mean, sure, Falcon seems to me like a very intelligent person and the whole 'brains over brawn' deal was cool, but let's be more realistic next time. Colossus could've KILLED Falcon.
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So just because he's strong he can't have a weakness? And of course he could have killed Sam Wilson, but it's not like he's a coldblooded killer. Just because someone can kill someone doesn't mean they will.
 
Excellent. Warren Ellis' writing was excellent. Watch out Millar, Ellis is rising. The art was a massive improvement from U6. And the cool ultimizations of Vision and Falcon leave me wanting more...
 
Yes, but I couldn't imagine Colossus holding back against the Ultimates, who have pretty much openly oppressed them because of a gut feeling they had sided with Magneto in Ultimate War. I'm not second guessing Colossus' sentimental side (It's quite apparent) but I really doubt he would really hold back that much.
 
i think somewhere down the line shield and the x-men will part ways and start hating each other more and finally the x-men will beat the ultimates in a fight
 
I think the X-Men really could beat the Ultimates in a fight, however, I think that SHIELD and the Ultimates have two things that the X-Men don't. 1.) Numbers-- Although we may complain that the X-Men cast is too big (For one title), I think SHIELD's got a vast number of heroes. Take, for example, Falcon... He was a RESERVE. Imagine what other super heroes Fury's got behind him that we haven't seen yet. AND another thing, 2.) is that SHIELD has pretty much everything the X-Men has and then some. I think the X-Men have the strength to beat the Ultimate, but they aren't fighting the Ultimates, they are fighting SHIELD, and they are a force to be reconned with.
 
UltimateE said:
Now that Ultimate Nightmare is over, we've seen some new Ultimizations and some new events, as well as what this trilogy is about, how would you rate it as a whole?

Post to explain your vote.

This thread will contain spoilers for the entire series and likely for the rest of the trilogy.
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I voted below average.

I am not putting down people who liked it. Good for them. It's good to enjoy comics, there should be more of it. But this is my opinion for now.

And since UltimateE said to "Post to explain your vote." ...

The art was satisfactory, mostly because of excellent colour, paper and general production values. This was good teamwork. The appropriate art created a good, creepy atmosphere for the Ultimate Nightmare.

So much for what went right.

The plot proceeded in a V. Both teams got an alert, assessed it, assembled a team, got to the obvious location (the snowflake-shaped base), passed through simple challenges - mostly trial by combat, according to good old comic-book tradition - and fought for the prize.

Unfortunately the teams were poorly presented, their progress was unimpressive, and their final fight was unmotivated and very badly handled. For the rest, we'll see what happens to the prize later. It might still work out well.

Sam Wilson made a poor first appearance. He spent a lot of time acting like he was still in the army, when he wasn't. General Fury saluted him back, while pointing this out. The Russian super-spy handed over her name for no obvious reason.

Still, this is better than taking apparent pride in one's ability to skewer one's own hand-held video game. Maybe the time spent on not learning how to win against the Hulk game (is the Hulk considered a suitable topic for games in this world?) would have been better spent playing Dungeons and Dragons.

I do not think I have met a regular D&D player of any age, however young, who would not have planned this dungeon crawl much better than either team did. The mutant warriors did not think to bring so much as a light source. The Shield geniuses were aware that radio transmission was contra-indicated because they were on top of nuclear mines that might be radio activated, and so General Fury carried a radio in and tried to transmit out anyway.

Who ate what down there? Seriously. This was not even a good attempt at a plausible dungeon. The monsters just waited in place to be encountered and killed. Negotiation was no use. Mark off the hit points and go to the next encounter. Someone needed to read Through Dungeons Deep or some other book of advice for gamemasters.

As we reached the business end of the module, the combats became more idiotic. General Fury and friends apparently hosed down the English-speaking Russian with automatic small-arms fire, and the general said: "Well, gee, I guess we should negotiate. No, wait -- let's just kill him." Firing continued (or resumed - the art is not clear, except that there are muzzle flashes) without any result, and the general said: "Cap, I got an idea. Let me run this up the flagpole and see who salutes it. Let's just shoot him a lot and keep going."

Better: the general clearly identified "X-Men!" standing quiet and still, obviously non-hostile, and he immediately opened fire on them. There was mass firing on the X-Men targets, and the general ordered the X-Men to stand down - with no hint that anyone on his side would stop firing for any other reason than being out of ammunition.

It's enough to make me wish that I was a more eloquent man so that I could more adequately express my contempt for this mad dog bozo.

(Meanwhile, Captain America, having abandoned his team and his mission to indulge himself in a duel, lectured his Russian opponent that "Fighting isn't about pride.")

The fight between the teams was excessively stupid in execution.

The indestructible Wolverine was overpowered by not very much. (By the way, why the pineapple grenade, can't the Ultimates afford modern ones?)

The worst of it is that if Colossus is written consistently, which I cannot believe will happen, he is now non-viable as a character. An explosion, or any adverse total environment such as high or low pressure, will find out his "Achilles heel" eyes. Something doesn't have to nail your weak spot specifically to strike at a weakness so severe, any whole-body effect will do fine. The universe is full of hostile whole-body effects, as well as people who can and will target eyes accurately. This is not a difficult trick, or an unlikely one to be tried.

(This is the sort of character change made by a half-smart guy who barely thinks but assumes that he thinks more than everyone else. He sees an idea, arrogantly assumes that nobody but him could think of this, and demonstrates his imagined superiority by executing it without thinking one step further. Of course if you do think even one step further you realise this topic is a sleeping dog to let lie. Maybe nobody else did this before you, genius, because it's a bad idea.)

Colossus waited in place, apparently with his eyes open convenient to be shot dead or at minimum blinded forever (even while Sam Wilson was guarding him most negligently). So either Colossus knew that his eyelids conferred zero protection or he lacked the fire to just screw up his eyes and continue fighting as best he could, blind. This did not create a great impression of Colossus' fighting spirit. It didn't make Sam Wilson any less of a jerk for insulting his apparently helpless captive, but it still looked bad.

And so, the Ultimates won easily. It seems that in this universe, they are the dominant life form. The Ultimate Fantastic Four came up under their shadow, being told not to try to fight monsters, just let the Ultimates take care of it. The X-wimps might have done well to take similar advice. The Galactus warning belongs to the Ultimates now.

So what does the mad dog bozo Fury do? He lies of course, and dummies up, and treats this information as his private toy, at least till he knows everything exactly, which may not happen.

Jeez!

OK, who comes out well? Other than the art team, which I already gave credit to.

Jean can't be condemned, other than for general stupidity. This was a scenario made to shut her down.

Colossus is now not just a wimp (and a moron) but a broken character, however he does come off as some approximation of a decent human being: he has manners and he is against pointless avoidable slaughter, and I respect that. Let's hope for a good future for Colossus.

Professor Xavier was foolish in his threat assessment, but giving orders on little information you're bound to be wrong sometimes, and he was trying to behave decently. I respect him too.

The Black Widow and Captain America did well, though neither came off as a nice human being.

The Ultimates seem not to respect Tony Stark, and to regard him as a nice guy wimp. I like him already, and I think I will buy his series when it comes out in trade paperback form. At least I will buy a volume or two and give it a chance.

The other Ultimates possessed a name brand advantage that has to be acknowledged. This is the Ultimate(s') Universe.

I think that's about it.

I will read the rest of this story, because Galactus is one of the greatest Fantastic Four villains and I am a Fantastic Four fan. (This is why I bought Ultimate Galactus Book 1: nightmare.) But I think this is a below average issue, by Ultimate Fantastic Four standards. If not for the highly atmospheric art, I would go further and say it was bad.

But the art was appropriate. And there is still plenty of room for the series as a whole to add up well, despite what looks to me like a rough start. I continue to be optimistic on the series as a whole.

Edited to add this afterthought: If Colossus believed his eyelids could not protect his eyes, he could still cover his eyes with a hand or an arm and continue the fight as best he could blind and with one hand.
 
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You rock. You really do.

David Blue said:
The Ultimates seem not to respect Tony Stark, and to regard him as a nice guy wimp. I like him already, and I think I will buy his series when it comes out in trade paperback form. At least I will buy a volume or two and give it a chance.
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DON'T DO IT. If you didn't like this you wouldn't like his series. It is so much crap.
 
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thee great one said:
You rock. You really do.
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Since I'm the guy you quoted, I'll say thank you very much, thee great one.

thee great one said:
DON'T DO IT. If you didn't like this you wouldn't like his series. It is so much crap.
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I'll take that as friendly advice. I'm not saying I won't look or buy, but I'll bear what you said in mind before (or possibly in the end instead of) buying.
 
David Blue said:
I'll take that as friendly advice. I'm not saying I won't look or buy, but I'll bear what you said in mind before (or possibly in the end instead of) buying.
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If you like Ultimate Tony Stark, you'd be better off reading a biography of Barbara Walters than the Ultimate Iron Man series....

I mean...

it hurts your brain with its badness.

Great Post, BTW.
 
Dr.Strangefate said:
If you like Ultimate Tony Stark, you'd be better off reading a biography of Barbara Walters than the Ultimate Iron Man series....

I mean...

it hurts your brain with its badness.

Great Post, BTW.
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Thank you kindly, Dr. Strangefate.

(laughing out loud) You know if I do buy Ultimate Iron Man, I'm not going to say (boo hoo!) "but why didn't anyone warn me?" I've been told! (laughing)

I don't mind "slow". For me, the pace of the very decompressed Ultimate Fantastic Four Vol 3: N-Zone was fine. But sometimes, just sometimes, I do have a problem with "idiotic".
 
Yeah, this is getting a bit off topic, but it's not so much slow as it's delayed, and not so much idiotic as it is brainless cow fodder.
 
Dr.Strangefate said:
Yeah, this is getting a bit off topic...
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You're right.

So, back on topic: how did you evaluate Ultimate Galactus Book 1: nightmare, Dr. Strangefate? What factors weighed heavily with you?
 
I got caught up with all of the hoopla and was excited by the ending, and therefore enjoyed the series... although in retrospect, I enjoyed the actual speculation between issues more than the story.

I wanted Peters brother Mikhail to tie into all of this somehow... and people were arguing about whether it was or wasn't Galactus....

It was fun, but I have had no desire to pick it up and read it since.
 
Pandrio said:
Reading it all in one sitting, it came off as good. I liked the trade, but I don't know if it would have been so good in single issues.
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What did you enjoy most, reading it all at one sitting? (Which is also what I did.)
 
David Blue said:
What did you enjoy most, reading it all at one sitting? (Which is also what I did.)
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OK, I don't think it was one sitting, but there were a crazy number of delays and I didn't have to worry about them. So, the idea of reading it in one sitting was cool.

-What I Liked-
*Just the since of continuity of it, with everything taking place without many time jumps.
*The overall feel of the series, with the horror and action of it.
*The ending. Even picking it up as Ultimate Galactus, I found the ending really cool.

I think the delays would have been a big deal in my enjoyment of the story. So, that I didn't have to worry about them had to be the best. Before I read the thing I didn't know there were major delays.
 
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