The Ultimate Universe - Grading the Trades

Nas-T!

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Heya!

Wizard did this in a relatively recent issue. They had articles on all the Ultimate projects (including the trilogy) and had little sidebars where they "graded the trades".
I thought I'd start a thread where we could do the same. I'll start it off by naming as many trades as I can remember in order of series (so first USM, then UXM, and so on) and give em a grade.

The grading process isn't in numbers but in letters (like in school) and, according to me, you can't grade anything lower than a G.
I will, of course, only be grading the arcs I can actually remember properly. I'll get back to the others as soon as I've reread them more recently or something. I also don't own every single issue (like DIrishB does) so, while I'll include stuff like "Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra" I won't grade those either. That's up to you.

Now...on with the show!

Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility"
Vol.2: "Learning Curve"
Vol.3: "Double Trouble"
Vol.4: "Legacy"
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny"
Vol.6: "Venom"
Vol.7: "Irresponsible"
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings"
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six"
Vol.10: "Hollywood"
Vol.11: "Carnage"
Vol.12: "Superstars"
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin"
Vol.14: "Warriors"

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People"
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X"
Vol.3: "World Tour"
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone"
Vol.5: "Ultimate War"
Vol.6: "Return of the King"
Vol.7: "Blockbuster"
Vol.8: "New Mutants"
Vol.9: "The Tempest"
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf"
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game"
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons"
Vol.13: "Magnetic North"

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman"
Vol.2: "Homeland Security"
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters"

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic"
Vol.2: "Doom"
Vol.3: "N-Zone"
Vol.4: "Inhuman"
Not sure how the rest will be collected so:
"Crossover" and "Tomb of Namor"

Ultimate Adventures:
Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier"

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due"

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1:
Vol.2:
Vol.3:

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret:


I decided to grade them after listing them because I don't know how the quoting system will work for the rest of you. Oh well...


Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility" - The arc that introduced the concept, the universe and a brand new Spider-Man all at once! The characters and dialogue were all new and inventive and, despite being spread across 5 issues, the origin was very well done. Unfortunately, the arc's main villain was Norman Osborn doing a Hulk/Abomination-riff complete with hideous purple pants and a belt that was just...inexplicable! The best moment for me had to be when Spidey is falling to his death and he suddenly realizes he has webs! - A-

Vol.2: "Learning Curve"
Vol.3: "Double Trouble"
Vol.4: "Legacy"
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny"

Vol.6: "Venom" - The beginning of this arc gave us an amazing new slant on Eddie Brock, making him a dark and bitter mirror for Peter. The aspect of Peter and Eddie's joint legacy was beautifully touched on and we were introduced to the mystery of what really happened to Peter and Eddie's parents. Then Eddie used the suit to become a walking cancer cure glob who didn't speak much. Yay! - C+
Vol.7: "Irresponsible" - After being promised a brand new villain all we got was a Latverian FES with a kooky accent, a generic set of superpowers and a haircut that would make the members of "Guns N Roses" proud! The X-Men popped by for a unique comedy experience and made up for Geldoff...but was anyone else feeling the lack of tension in an arc where the supposed villain did...nothing...? - C-
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings" - I like to look at this arc in two parts. One is "Kings" and the other is "Cats". As far as "Kings" goes, it was awesome! Peter gets his panties in a bunch over the very real issue of Wilson Fisk being back in NYC and J. Jonah Jameson's revelation about his dislike of Spidey is great.
The second half of the arc, which sort of focuses on the Black Cat, is a bit weaker as it seemed to be designed purely for the gags and entertainment...right up until the end where one of Kingpin's secrets is revealed to the readers.
If the second half was taken on its own as more of a fun arc, then it would've worked. As it stands, it being saddled with the first half (a slightly more serious arc) it doesn't go so well. - C-
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six" - What started out strong soon developed into complete farce when an extra issue was added to the mini for no particular reason except sales. The art was on-and-off for me and yet more villains discovering Spidey's secret identity just to force some tension was just plain dumb. The fight with The Ultimates was pretty good, but did anyone expect the Six to do anything against The friggin' Ultimates!? I didn't! And Harry Osborn swearing vengeance was just...ugh... - D
Vol.10: "Hollywood" - A completely light-hearted arc in which Doc Ock (probably my favorite USM villain) turns up seeking even more revenge on the webbed-one. Plus cameos by Mysterio, Sam Raimi, Tobey Maguire and Avi Arad make the whole story!
And then there's Ock talking to his metal arms and a final issue worth all the laughs and what Fury did was just so cool. And Gwen discovers Peter's secret in a laid back final issue! - B+
Vol.11: "Carnage" - Another grand beginning turns to mush when Gwen dies at the hands of Carnage: a slushy mix of Curt Conners' Human-Lizard DNA, Venom AND Peter's blood...great! Ben Reilly being a black guy was hilarious, but that joke and the further points on Peter's legacy are all that make up for this nonsense. - D-
Vol.12: "Superstars" - The first Wolverine two-parter was utter BS but the Human Torch story was touching and the Dr. Strange one started off stupid but cleaned up nice in its second part. - C+
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin" - The return of creepy Harry Osborn was well done and finally seemed to add some real tension to the title. But an unbelievable retcon and Harry turning out to be a schizo who inexplicably transforms into a giant grinning mute piece of cheese when he hears a codeword he's heard before makes no sense...and then just gets worse.
The final issue with MJ dealing with her breakup from Peter was what helped save the whole idea of them breaking up. That and Mark Raxton being a "Ramones" fan with a band that sang "Molten Man" as a song!! - D+
Vol.14: "Warriors" - Bendis' saving grace is a return to the type of story he does best. As long as he lets the remaining plotthreads from this tale hang for a while, he's got himself a hit. Great guest appearances by crazy Moon Knight, bullet-catching Shang-Chi and, uh, Danny Rand don't hurt much either! - B-

Taking a page out of Bass's metaphorical book, I'm gonna be a lot shorter with the commentary now.

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People" - A! Awesome arc with good action, good character introductions and a mix-match of some of the cooler X-Men from the various incarnations of the team. Plus: Magneto was bad ***! The art switch was there, but hard to notice unless you looked closely.
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X" - B-! It was a good arc but the mysteries of Weapon-X were revealed waaay too soon. Plus the artist that finished up the arc wasn't that good. The only person who can follow a Kubert completely successfully is an Immonen, right? :)
Vol.3: "World Tour" - C+! Proteus was a very weird mix of Legion and Proteus but I think it was exactly the kind of Ultimatization that should be done more often (take two things that work and stick them together!) if done properly. Bachalo pretty much ruined this arc with his horrible art and Colossus' moments of doubt, though relevant, felt like they just didn't fit in with the arc as a whole. (So much for the shorter commentrary!).
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone" - D-! Who knows what was going on here! A stupid Ultimate Phoenix was nicely covered by the introduction of Kitty Pryde, the fights between Cyclops and Wolverine and Magneto's return...but just barely. Oh well, at least Millar killed the Hellfire Club before they became too important!
Vol.5: "Ultimate War" - Bad art and a very strange lack of X-Men vs. Ultimates type stuff until the very end. The last issue was good, but it was also filled with tons of Deus Ex Machinas...the main one being Iceman who suddenly had a HUGE power boost only to claim (in the next arc no less) that he'd never frozen anything as big as a power plant before!
Vol.6: "Return of the King" - B-! A great story but with Finch's crappy fill-ins. Multiple Man and Forge were great and Magneto's plan was awesome...but then the X-Men showed up and kicked his butt but good. Great arc except for the resolution of the Wolverine plot (which felt like Millar JUST had to do it for Bendis).
Vol.7: "Blockbuster" - F-! Wolverine and his Amazing Friends was a waste of my time and was barely able to call itself an Ultimate X-Men arc. And what do we get in return for this drivel? Ultimate Dum-Dum Doogan!?
Vol.8: "New Mutants" - F+! Another waste save for the powerful issue where Wolverine (gag) kills a mutant kid for Fury. Beast, arguably the most freely and well developed character in the entire book, is killed for no reason in an attack by machines that were destroyed by the X-Men, like, 30 issues ago!
Vol.9: "The Tempest" - C! An offbeat start to Vaughan's run, but it was a MAJOR step up from Bendis (except for Vaughan always praising him in some way) and, like Fuzzy B said, the amount of little plot points dropped off in this arc to later be picked up and used is awesome! Plus Sinister throws Xavier down a flight of stairs! YAY! Features the best Iceman/Cyclops exchange of dialogue EVER!!
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf" - D! Kubert's art looked wrong for the book. Gambit was annoying. Rogue was cute as a button...but annoying. Storm and Wolvie hook up only to not hook up and people leave the team left right and center. Plus the villains were The Fenris Twins! The Fenris Twins!? WHO!?!?
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game" - B+! Ultimate Longshot is a complete b*st*rd and i love him for it! The ultimatizations, the twist ending and Dazzler and Angel hooking up make this an awesome read!
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons" - C-! An average mix of a pretty good Xavier story, a weird Rogue/Gambit story (the annual is in this arc, right?) and a pretty good Wolverine/Storm story. All in all, it ties things up nicely for the next arc. Plus: Syndicate is probably the coolest original mutant character (in terms of powers) since Grant Morrison did "New X-Men".
Vol.13: "Magnetic North" - A+! Arguably one of the best arcs of this entire series. Vaughan manages to throw more intense edge-of-your-seat moments into the arc than before. The only thing that didn't sit well with me was that he didn't use Mystique in any way, shape or form before this arc...which seemed stupid.

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman" - A+! A brilliant start to the Ultimate Universe's best series and characters! As if it wasn't doing well by #4, Ultimate Hulk MAKES the entire arc worth it!
Vol.2: "Homeland Security" - A! The team's new enemies are a race of Alien Nazis. Can you beat that?! Then there's the fighting, the explosions, the tension, the new members AND another grand appearance by the Hulk!!! Plus, Janet Pym spends a few issues naked!
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters" - A! The series was back and it was better than ever! A great read complete with drama, realism, twisted romance and action...and the damn comedy with them Defenders and Pym.

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic" - D-! The origin itself was clever but the whole arc was Bendis with Millar's name for the tourists! Kubert's art is good, but it doesn't suit the nature of the book. Especially not when its accompanied by a Hitch cover or two. The resolution doesn't live up to the word "resolved" and nothing about the villain or anything he babbles about is clearly defined.
Vol.2: "Doom" - C+! It felt stretched out and could have easily sacrificed some of its content to give the issues to the much more deserved N-Zone arc. Ultimate Doom was just silly, but at least he had some entertaining dialogue! Loved the bit where he shot Ben in the chest with the rocket launcher. Unfortunately, the ending was pretty rushed because of the amount of time it took the story to get to that moment. Immonen's art was good though. And Reed's explanation of the accident...and his lack of internal organs...was AWESOME sci-fi stuff!
Vol.3: "N-Zone" - B-! A good arc plagued by its decompressed nature. It also made a good few jumps in the timeline. Nihil was cool, but his defeat was also a little too quick. It suffered from the same timing issues as Doom, except that here it could've been longer instead.
Vol.4: "Inhuman" - The two-parter by Mike Carey was great! The art style suited the story even though it felt like, when I was watching Reed, I was watching Kevin from "Sin City". An "A" for the Mad-Thinker! The Annual was just wasted potential and felt rushed and silly (E).
Not sure how the rest will be collected so:
"Crossover" Though this may change after Millar's run is complete, it seems like it deserves a "C-" for a good start, an average middle and a weak end.

and

"Tomb of Namor" Also deserves some time to percolate, but it was just too wacky with its overexposed and unbelievable sci-fi (perfect for the 616 FF, but not the UFF) and the ending was a complete waste. So a "C" would do.

Ultimate Adventures:
Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier" NEVER READ IT.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1 NEVER READ IT.

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due" I HATE Elektra and this was just a waste. Further squandering of Ultimate Matt Murdock.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up: - This entire series was wasted potential and served to mess up the timeline completely. Sheyah whatever! A "G+" for the whole thing, saved only by #11.
Vol.1:
Vol.2:
Vol.3:

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare Good tension for nothing but a nice intro to Ultimate Vision and great creepy Red Guardian. The change in art wasn't too noticeable so it worked out fine. B-!
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret: Started out great with McNiven and Ellis but the lack of MCV's art in the second half and Ellis' loss of the desired tone for the mini made it fizzle. Also, the ugly Kree was just kinda weird.

RIGHT! Back to finish up that USM stuff soon.
 
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Ultimate Spider-Man:
I find the biggest problem with USM is that it seems to be written more for the TPBs, with overly long winded, repetitive stories. Self contained story arcs are all well and good, but when you look at the potential in Venom, it's a shame that the story couldn't have run in the background for a couple years before hitting it's climax. In other words, paradoxically, the stories are too long but not long enough. Plus, Peter's a whiny prat.


Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility": B; Bagley on top form, but an overlong, overly similar origin take this down a notch for me. I'm one of the ones who actually likes GG's new look too.
Vol.2: "Learning Curve": A; I liked seeing the Kingpin and the Enforcers, and Electro is always good for a laugh.
Vol.3: "Double Trouble": A; Doc Ock was handled greatly, and Kraven got the respect he deserved, i.e, none.
Vol.4: "Legacy":A; Norman is a fruit loop. Well played.
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny":B; Nice to focus on the publics opinion, and Captain Stacys death was a well handled, and later, very important plot point.
Vol.6: "Venom": D; A brilliant start, a great character in Eddie, but I feel Peter's wearing of the suit should have lasted longer throughout the series, with Eddie becoming a propeer friend to Pete. It would have made the eventual face off that much more powerful.
Vol.7: "Irresponsible": C; I like the idea of Geldoff, and Spidey meeting the X Men is interesting, but it lacked that something special.
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings": D; never liked Black Cat or Elektra, so that's personal bias for you.
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six": B; for the most part, great. Just overlong and anti climactic. Should have been some serious repercussions for the characters.
Vol.10: "Hollywood": D; the only thing that stops this from dropping even more is seeing Spidey wearing a fluffy hat and mittens. Sticking Raimi, Macguire and Arad in there was weak at best, and Ock seemed to have lost his flair.
Vol.11: "Carnage": E; Do I even have to explain? A lot of potential, down the drain for some 'important character development' for Peter.
Vol.12: "Superstars": D; I'll admit, I liked the Wolverine switchover for what it was, but the rest just seemed forced.
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin": D; I liked the idea to make Harry Hobgoblin, and I've already said I like the more literal take on the Goblins, but all the flashbacks and the weak ending hurt it too much.
Vol.14: "Warriors": D; I like the idea, but it was far too long, the whole thing could have been finished in a few issues. Wasted potential with Moon Knight, Iron Fist, Shang Chi et al. And more bloody Elektra. Ugh.


Ultimate X-Men:
UXM suffers from 'too many cooks' syndrome. Too many mutants introduced by writers only to be abandoned when another takes over; likewise plot strings. Bendis' startling inability to write teams really hurt the title, and Millars run lacked direction, but it was Vaughan who shone.

Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People": B; a solid start, and an interesting team up, but I would have preffered the original five. Throwing Magneto in with the Sentinels felt like they were trying to rush it.
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X": C; faaaaar too soon for this type of story. The artists switching was a bit annoying, but at least we got Nightcrawler out of it.
Vol.3: "World Tour": B; again, too many artists, and a little too soon for this type of story, but it worked well, with Proteus being a serious threat, and some characters shining.
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone": D; I'm not entirely sure where Millar was headed with the Hellfire Club and Phoenix, but their potential was wasted in my opinion.
Vol.5: "Ultimate War": C; Bachalo... ugh. Some great moments, but nothing really happened.
Vol.6: "Return of the King": B; a little over long, but generally well played. Switching artists is a bit annoying again.
Vol.7: "Blockbuster": E; Good Lord. 6 issues of the Wolverine and his Amazing Friends show, all of which could have been told in a single issue.
Vol.8: "New Mutants": E; despite the potential, the story goes absolutely nowhere, and Bendis gets to sadistically kill off one of the best and most promising characters in the series. Not to mention that the last thing we needed at this point was more bloody mutants.
Vol.9: "The Tempest": A; despite a couple of cheesy moments, this arc gives the title the kick that it needed. Solid art, great writing and a wonderful ultimization of Sinister. Plus, in hindsight, the amount of characters and plot threads that were introduced here to be utilised later is exactly what a lot of titles lack.
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf": C; Vaughans worst arc, with poor art from Kubert and a forced storyline with Gambit and Rogue.
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game": A; I lurve me some Immonen, and like the Tempest arc, every ultimization here was handled almost pitch perfectly, from Krakoa, Genosha, Mojo, Arcade, Longshot.... all well played.
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons": B; all well done, if not the most interesting stories. Xaviers issue benefited from Dillons artwork, and Deathstrikes appearence was memorable.
Vol.13: "Magnetic North": A; what a way to sign off, most of those plot threads professionally tied up, and a generally interesting, edge of the seat story.

The Ultimates:
Ah the Ultimates. A wonderful, but still flawed series, that is often too in your face. It does however, feature some of the best ultimizations yet seen.

Vol.1: "Superhuman":A; great origins, a wonderful interpretation of Hulk, and a seriously riveting fight scene make for one of the best trades in the Ultimate line. Hitch on top form.
Vol.2: "Homeland Security": A; after all the in fighting of the last trade, a common foe is exactly what the Ultimates needed here, and the Chitauri are pitch perfect. Hawkeye, Wanda, Pietro, and a stunning finale.
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters": A; I hate to give this series all A's, but while it's still flawed, and quite heavily in places, when it works, it really works. The death of Hulk (that issue with Bruces eulogy is really touching), the passion of Thor (breath taking) and the fall of Hank (go Defenders) are all some of the best work this line has seen.


Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Ah.... UFF, I still don't know what to think of this one.

Vol.1: "The Fantastic": C; overlong, and over Bendisified. Not too keen on Kubert either.
Vol.2: "Doom": A; excellent stuff, if a little decompressed. Ellis writes the FF like nobodies business, and Immonen draws like a devil. Speaking of which, I love Dooms new take, a lot more frightening for me than some campo king.
Vol.3: "N-Zone": C; this arc came too soon for me, and I really hate the idea of aliens in the N Zone. Coupled with my distaste of Kuberts art....
Vol.4: "Inhuman": B; the Think Tank arc was wonderful, and a great example of how a solid story can be told in just 2 issues. The annual..... a load of wasted potential.

I don't want to comment on the rest of the series yet, as I feel it's gonna look a lot better on hindsight when it all ties together, but right now, I'm not impressed.

Ultimate Adventures:
Apart from the dumb villain, I love this series, and would welcome more Hawk Owl with open arms. Those using it's similarities to Batman as a reason to dislike, should really open their eyes.

Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier"; A; funny, well written and drawn, a light hearted but also mature take on a wonderful character.

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1: D; I didn't know this was an Ultimate title......

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due": D; see above. DD was wasted, when he could have ultimized more interestingly. Plus, I hate Elektra.

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1:: D; Bendis almost single handedly ruined the Ultimate line before it even took off with this series. Pathetic origins, all too similar to 616 (in a bad way), and an inexplicable focus on Spiderman. Some issues had lovely artwork though, which is all that saves this shambles.
Vol.2:: D; see above
Vol.3:: D; see above

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare; A; despite it's delays and anti climatic ending, I found this to be a genuinely creepy, involving mystery.
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret:: B; beautiful setup and artwork for the first half, but it all fell down in the second half. Shame.
 
Cool thread Nas-T.

So these are essentially, ranked out of 21? (A+ to G-) Odd. I won't bother with +s and -s. :wink:

Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility" B (Amazing, but the ending is crap.)
Vol.2: "Learning Curve" A (Absolutely amazing.)
Vol.3: "Double Trouble" A (Very, very good.)
Vol.4: "Legacy" C (Bollocks ending.)
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny" B (Good, solid arc.)
Vol.6: "Venom" F (A villain who does nothing. Whatever.)
Vol.7: "Irresponsible" G (As Nas pointed out - a villain who does nothing.)
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings" B (JJJ's confession to Parker is bollocks, otherwise the whole Mayor storyline is brilliant.) E (Black Cat and Kingpin and nothing happens. Whatever.)
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six" F (Started out great, but when Parker becomes a villain and then Green Goblin loses by accident, I go home.)
Vol.10: "Hollywood" C (Could have been one of the best arcs, Doc Ock was very clever, but the whole thing ended stupidly, with Bendis throwing out a bunch of stories at the end.)
Vol.11: "Carnage" G (Gwen dies in a cliche after removing all conflict from the series and Bendis chucks out a good year's worth of arcs for this.)
Vol.12: "Superstars" F (Okay. Strange was boring, Torch was boring, the Wolverine thing was funny as hell, but then ended like a wet turd. Unsatisfying on any level.)
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin" G (Good night.)

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People" A (Top notch action. Very good.)
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X" C (Not very exciting, but still enjoyable.)
Vol.3: "World Tour" B (Proteus was a very unnerving villain indeed.)
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone" D (Stupid ending. "It's all in your mind, Jean." "Oh, you're right. Let's go home." I'm sure that's what made the original Phoenix arc so good. The Cyclops/Wolverine stuff was fantastic though.)
Vol.5: "Ultimate War" C (Exciting, but stupidly marketed. Everyone thought it was The Ultimates vs Ultimate X-Men vs Magneto and it was actually "Ultimate X-Men guest starring The Ultimates". There was no reason for this to be a crossover mini. It should've just been four issues in the main title and it would've been fine. Instead, they pretended it was an event and while exciting, it wasn't the event they pretended it was.)
Vol.6: "Return of the King" C (Cool - but I'm still not sure what happened at the end, except Millar mistaking kinesis for drama.)
Vol.7: "Blockbuster" G ("I'm your wife!" The only good scene in the damn thing.)
Vol.8: "New Mutants" G (Dull as hell, except for the one issue that is quite good involving the kid Wolverine kills.)
Vol.9: "The Tempest" D (Should've been better.)
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf" D (Same here.)
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game" A (Top arc. Made me like this title again.)
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons" C (Wasn't bad. Nothing amazing though.)
Vol.13: "Magnetic North" D (Extremely anti-climactic.)

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman" A (The best of the best.)
Vol.2: "Homeland Security" A (Wicked exciting.)
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters" A (Poor Thor.)

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic" G (Boring, boring, boring.)
Vol.2: "Doom" A (Loads of fun, but the ending is a bit lackluster.)
Vol.3: "N-Zone" A (Truly exciting, and unlike Doom, had a good ending.)
Vol.4: "Inhuman" A (Mad Thinker was brilliant.) G (The Annual was stupid.)
"Crossover" E (Trite.)
"Tomb of Namor" E (Not bad, but not enough.)

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1 F (Boring.)

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due" F (Boring.)

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1: Vol.2: Vol.3: A (I didn't get the trades, but I loved Team-Up. It got me into Ultimate Marvel.)

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare B (Exciting, but lacked a proper ending.)
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret: C (Two great issues - then I don't know what happened.)
 
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Love this kind of thread!

Without explaining, :)

Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility" - A-
Vol.2: "Learning Curve" - B
Vol.3: "Double Trouble" - A-
Vol.4: "Legacy" - A
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny" - D
Vol.6: "Venom" - B-
Vol.7: "Irresponsible" - D
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings" - D
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six" - B
Vol.10: "Hollywood" - C
Vol.11: "Carnage" - B
Vol.12: "Superstars" - D
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin" - C
Vol.14: "Warriors" - B+

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People" - A
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X" - B+
Vol.3: "World Tour" - C (disliked the confusing art!)
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone" - B-
Vol.5: "Ultimate War" - B+
Vol.6: "Return of the King" - A-
Vol.7: "Blockbuster" - C
Vol.8: "New Mutants" - B
Vol.9: "The Tempest" - B+
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf" - B
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game" - A-
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons" - B
Vol.13: "Magnetic North" - A+

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman" - A+
Vol.2: "Homeland Security" - A+
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters" - A

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic" - A-
Vol.2: "Doom" - B+
Vol.3: "N-Zone" - B-
Vol.4: "Inhuman" - B+
Not sure how the rest will be collected so:
"Crossover" and "Tomb of Namor" - A

Ultimate Adventures:
Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier" N/A

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1 - C

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due" - B

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1:?
Vol.2:?
Vol.3:?

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare - A
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret: - B-
 
I'm too lazy to explain myself to you peons...

Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility" B+
Vol.2: "Learning Curve" B-
Vol.3: "Double Trouble" B+
Vol.4: "Legacy" B
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny" C+
Vol.6: "Venom" A-
Vol.7: "Irresponsible" C
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings" C+
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six" B-
Vol.10: "Hollywood" C
Vol.11: "Carnage" C+
Vol.12: "Superstars" C+
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin" B
Vol.14: "Warriors" B+

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People" A
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X" A-
Vol.3: "World Tour" B+
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone" B
Vol.5: "Ultimate War" B-
Vol.6: "Return of the King" B
Vol.7: "Blockbuster" A
Vol.8: "New Mutants" C
Vol.9: "The Tempest" A
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf" A-
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game" B+
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons" B
Vol.13: "Magnetic North" B

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman" A+
Vol.2: "Homeland Security" A
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters" A

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic" A-
Vol.2: "Doom" B+
Vol.3: "N-Zone" B-
Vol.4: "Inhuman" B-
Not sure how the rest will be collected so:
"Crossover" A
"Tomb of Namor" A

Ultimate Adventures:
Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier" B+

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1 B

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due" B+

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1: B-
Vol.2: C+
Vol.3: C+

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare B
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret: B-



and you forgot one....


Ultimate Iron Man
Book One: F
 
Done quickly and without putting too much thought into it...

Ultimate Spider-Man:
Vol.1: "Power & Responsibility" A
Vol.2: "Learning Curve" A-
Vol.3: "Double Trouble" B+
Vol.4: "Legacy" B
Vol.5: "Public Scrutiny" B
Vol.6: "Venom" B-
Vol.7: "Irresponsible" A-
Vol.8: "Cats & Kings" B-
Vol.9: "Ultimate Six" B-
Vol.10: "Hollywood" B+
Vol.11: "Carnage" D
Vol.12: "Superstars" C-
Vol.13: "Hobgoblin" D-
Vol.14: "Warriors" A-

Ultimate X-Men:
Vol.1: "The Tomorrow People" B
Vol.2: "Return to Weapon-X" B
Vol.3: "World Tour" B
Vol.4: "Hellfire & Brimstone" D
Vol.5: "Ultimate War" D-
Vol.6: "Return of the King" B+
Vol.7: "Blockbuster" C
Vol.8: "New Mutants" C-
Vol.9: "The Tempest" A
Vol.10: "Cry Wolf" B+
Vol.11: "The Most Dangerous Game" B
Vol.12: "Hard Lessons" B-
Vol.13: "Magnetic North" A-

The Ultimates:
Vol.1: "Superhuman" A+
Vol.2: "Homeland Security" A+
Vol.3: "Gods & Monsters" A+

Ultimate Fantastic Four:
Vol.1: "The Fantastic" C-
Vol.2: "Doom" B
Vol.3: "N-Zone" B
Vol.4: "Inhuman" B
Not sure how the rest will be collected so:
"Crossover" and "Tomb of Namor"

Ultimate Adventures:
Vol.1: "One Tin Soldier" B

Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra:
Vol.1 B+

Ultimate Elektra:
Vol.1: "Devil's Due" C+

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up:
Vol.1: D+
Vol.2: D+
Vol.3: D+

The Ultimate Trilogy:
Vol.1: Ultimate Nightmare A
Vol.2: Ultimate Secret B+

And of course Ultimate Iron Man is a big fat F-.
 

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