Ultimate Extinction #4 Discussion (Spoilers)

[TheManWithoutFear]

Silver Surfer is taken down easily by Tony, who rips his head off.

Sam and Misty are talking on a hellicarrier. The Satellite behind them blows up and they see Moondragon running away but is shot by Misty.

Fury gets a call from a distraught Reed Richards who says he knows how to wound and/or kill Gah Lak Tus. When Reed gets off the phone he tries to comfort Sue, who won't let him get close to her because she's upset about what's about to happen.

Xavier and Jean are talking about what he experienced and The Silver Surfer phenomena sweeping the planet. Jean wants to speak with Vision because she has a plan to defend the planet with the amped up Cerebro.

Cap, Fury, Marvel, Sam are interrogating "Heather Douglas". We find out she's a clone and part of a clone army who were raised to defend against Gah Lak Tus. The organization that created her apparently found out about Gah Lak Tus 20 years ago by observing space. She says that SHIELD is going to screw things up.

She then goes on about Silver Surfer and it's revealed that cults he's forming are suicide cults. Surfer tells these people that Gah Lak Tus is an angry God and the only way to placate him is for the followers to commit suicide. This is apparently another pre-attack on planets Gah Lak Tus has. Cap gets pissed and wants to go to Manhattan to take Surfer out.

So Cap and some soldiers break into Surfer's pad (Where Misty observed him the first time), and Cap just kicks his *** completely. He's helped by Marvel to deliver the finishing blow (cutting off his arms and legs).

There's now riots in New York that Fury, Cap, Sam, and Marvel observe at night from the Trisk. Fury says he's gonna go interoggate what's left of Surfer.

Jean and Xavier ask Vision to do something... (Speculate because I'm not sure what) something about recording and speaking. I think talking to Gah Lak Tus.

Reed is out in the desert overseeing the building of another bigger teleportation machine like the one that turned them into the FF4. He's pretty stressed.

The next morning Fury gets word Gah Lak Tus will be in Earth's orbit in less than 24 hours... The alarm sounds as an army of Moondragon clones (boys and girls) sneak onto the Triskleion.


5/5

Packed with goodness. Simply awesome.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

And this is now settled ; there are a lot of silver surfers. Silver men, to use the books terminology.

Very good issue. Just like I expected back in Issue 2, Cap couldn't do much against Silver dude in 3 but came back prepared in 4. He did it mostly single handedly tough. I expected a heavy hitter to play a bigger role.

Interestingly, Cap requested only Mar Vhel and generic grunts for the assault. Mar Vhel is being treated more and more like a full member of the team. Wonder about what he'll do when this is done.

Amusingly, in one exchange, Cap refrers to Mar Vhel as 'Captain'. So, since when is he 'Captain Mar Vhel'? Is that a slip up from Ellis who reverted to the 616 terminology?

That Clone chick and her cult are pure lunatic fanatic goodness. We finally understand why she would be against both the Ultimates and the Silver Surfer. Her group wants to be the one to Welcome Gah Lak Tus. 'Chosen one' villains never get old. Boy will they feel stupid if they ever learn Gah Lak Tus real plan for Earth.

4.5/5

Really like it. Don't want to give a perfect 5 because I've read better in the UU but still very fun. Taken all together, this trilogy is top notch IMO.

 

[Ice]

A great read, but the "getting down with youngters" professor? Nooo thanks. It sounded stupid. I still loved the issue, and art was great.

4/5.

 

[Random]

Amusingly, in one exchange, Cap refrers to Mar Vhel as 'Captain'. So, since when is he 'Captain Mar Vhel'? Is that a slip up from Ellis who reverted to the 616 terminology?

Actually he said that his rank in the Kree military would be simular to that of a captian.

 

[innocentboy]

xxx123

 

[Rorschach]

Good issue, multiple surfers, multiple moondragons. pluskommander was roughy equal to captain, yes? 'captain marvel of the cree indian tribe' i thought danvers had said in Secret. Curious as to what Reed is up to, as well as Jean.

 

[E]

4.9/5. This is just an awesome series with smart Ultimizations. The storyline very intelligently weaves a lot of characters and factions together...it's just beautifully done.

So we have Reed apparently building a transportation device, Jean planning something, an army of Moondragons planning something, and Fury doing...I'm not sure actually. Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

I can't imagine #5 being able to tie everything together in a normal size issue. I hope it's longer.

Minor complaints - why is Vision there? I thought she left at the end of the Vision series. And she says at one point, "I know so little of this world" -- um, didn't she catalog every nuiance of the entire planet?

The art is beautiful, Ellis writes Cap dead on, and I love the inner conflict in Reed and Sue over what they are doing.

Great stuff.

 

[ultimatedjf]

4.5/5



Near perfect-o, with each panel satisfying your 3 bucks.

 

[E]

Jean and Xavier ask Vision to do something... (Speculate because I'm not sure what) something about recording and speaking. I think talking to Gah Lak Tus.

I'm guessing it will be some kind of massive information overload. If you think about it, it fits what Jean was saying about keeping with what Vision is made for, and we know she can store massive amounts of information.

 

[Rorschach]

5/5

good book. building tension nicely. best book this week IMO. look forward to conclusion

 

[DIrishB]

And this is now settled ; there are a lot of silver surfers. Silver men, to use the books terminology.

Indeed, Silver Surfi, maybe?...No?

Amusingly, in one exchange, Cap refrers to Mar Vhel as 'Captain'. So, since when is he 'Captain Mar Vhel'? Is that a slip up from Ellis who reverted to the 616 terminology?

No, I'm pretty sure in Ultimate Secret while Mahr Vehl was being interpreted by Fury and Danvers, he told them he was the Earth Armed Forces equivalent of a Captain in the Kree Army, so they referred to him as that several times since then. And his name being Mahr Vehl gave a nice little play on the 616 version, naturally.

Actually he said that his rank in the Kree military would be simular to that of a captian.

Nevermind...Random got it.

I can't imagine #5 being able to tie everything together in a normal size issue. I hope it's longer.

Thats why I had no problem believing this series would last 6 issues up until recently when you asked Ellis himself, and his answer was a firm 5.

Minor complaints - why is Vision there? I thought she left at the end of the Vision series. And she says at one point, "I know so little of this world" -- um, didn't she catalog every nuiance of the entire planet?

I forget most of the Vision mini, I'll have to check. I suppose its possible it came back for whatever reason, or they contacted it and called Vision back (assuming she wasn't too far and that the Vision back-up stories occurred very soon before UE, etc)...besides, the Vision mini-series is still planned, though we'll see how (or if) that goes.



Definitly better than my only other purchase this week, USM #93. Such a satisfying read. Definitly a 5/5...very much looking forward to #5. Also surprising to see this issue didn't end with Gah Lak Tus looming in our atmosphere, etc...nice to see Ellis isn't using a cliched approach to the, er, approach.

 

[Ice]

I can't imagine #5 being able to tie everything together in a normal size issue. I hope it's longer.

Well, considering that the Vision mini takes up right after this series, I don't see everything tying together. We'll have things still to see what happens or whatever throughout the next mini.

 

[E]

Well, considering that the Vision mini takes up right after this series, I don't see everything tying together. We'll have things still to see what happens or whatever throughout the next mini.

I just meant everything from Ultimate Extinction. I wouldn't want anything tied up in any other series because I wouldn't trust any other writer.

 

[Bass]

I really enjoyed the issue.

It also seems #5 will clash between the Cerebro initiative (obviously, the plan is to have Vision, who isn't organic, communicate with Gah Lak Tus and either successfully show Gah Lak Tus the worthiness of humanity, or pretend that the Earth is ruled by technological beings like itself and thus, it will pass us by) and Reed's ultimate nullifier (transporting the big bang of a mini-universe right into Gah Lak Tus).

Should be good.

 

[MoS]

A great read, but the "getting down with youngters" professor? Nooo thanks. It sounded stupid. I still loved the issue, and art was great.

Wow, that WAS some seriously clunky dialog. The dig about kicking someone who is down was amusing - doesn't it seem like Ellis is having just a little too much meta fun, poking at the other Ultimate line titles? I only catch the reference to Ultimates, but I'd bet there are others in there.

Interesting issue, but I'm thinking this would all have been much better in trade. Of course, most everything reads better in trade.

 

[Titoman]

In the fantastic four cartoon from the 90's...ghost rider took down galactus by making feeling the pain of every life he ever took....I think jean is planning to do the same...thats why she needs the vision...The vision has visited every planet ahead of galactus so she knows all the thing galactus has killed.....so yea...thats my theory...

 

[plungingforward]

Wow, that WAS some seriously clunky dialog.

Yeah, you ain't kiddin'. I'm not a big fan of how he writes "teens" to begin with (sue and reed racing for the phone and yapping about iPods just smacks of the Aliens from the Simpsons declaring "We have learned to Immatoot you exerctly!") — it all sounds a lot more like how an old European suspects a young American might talk than how a young American might actually talk.
He does a much better job with Grown-ups, IMHO.
I sort of "justify" it by thinking a socially ingrown x-man or member of the blue-suited fantastic four probably wouldn't sound like a "normal" kid anyway.

My own personal nitpick (and Misty Knight's ongoing reservoir of unsatisfactorily-explained personal malice toward Captain America, and the fact that I can't STAND what they did to the vision after it was so awesome in Nightmare) aside, I have to agree that this is a good issue in a good series. I love how easy the SS went down after all the hubub last issue. And how about those frogmen (and frogwomen)? Gotta love the sudden appearance of frogmen!

 

[Fuzzy Birds]

Very good issue. This is the best work I've ever seen Peterson do, and Ellis certainly isn't faxing it in either.

An army of Moondragons? What a way to refresh an awful character. Mahr Vehl s wonderful, and Cap is just great here.

Anyone else notice that the the male Moondragons look quite a lot like 616-Vision?

 

[Bass]

I really liked Prof's "getting down with the youngster's". Thought t'was amusing, didst I.

 

[ProjectX2]

I really liked Prof's "getting down with the youngster's". Thought t'was amusing, didst I.

He's all up wit' t'at Wu Tang Clan.