Ultimates V2 #10 Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Lynx]

While I thoughly enjoyed the issue, it was mostly build up to the confrontation between the Ultimates and the Liberators.

Issue starts out with with Abdul Al-Rahman being hearded away from his home and he's obviously disgruntled. Another refugeee starts talk about how he's heard rumors of a counter-movement starting their own Super-Solider program.

Cut to France, where the Liberators are unvelied. Bass must have ESP because what he said about "Red Skull" should have been expendable. . .well, that's used, just with the foot soldiers in stead of "Red Skull". The foot soldiers' suits eat them alive within a month, but they see it as a necessary measure.

Then we cut to present day New York, where the Liberators are talking with Pym as Ant Man (You can also make out the Liberator symbol on his outfit). Apparently, the Liberators funded the Ultron project to act as crowd control. Hurricane informs the Liberators that the president can't seem to be found.

Fury is also recieving medical attention so he can be publically executed.

Widow reveals her motives for being a traitor: She wanted revenge on the country that turned "Mother Russia" into a land of "hookers and gangsters". (Millar also jabs at his readers for dismissing Natasha as the Traitor so quickly "Oh please. The Russian spy? I can see why you'd think I'd be the last person to betray the team.") Tony manages to get the upper hand on Natasha by activating the nanites in her body that let her control the Widow armor. She tries to plead with him, saying she needs to be kept alive so she can give info about the Liberators to him. Tony says he's already downloaded the info from her brain into his before knocking her out with a wine bottle. He says she now has brain damage, and him and his cohorts go down an elevator saying "They have work to do"(My guess is the Quinjet has something to do with Tony's plans).

We cut to Hawkeye about to get tourtered by a Russian Captain Hawkeye scared years ago. Hawkeye finally gets some action by using his fingernails to kill people (I have a new respect for Hawkeye). He sounds plenty pissed at Natasha, and when a huge force runs into the room to take him out, Hawkeye grabs one of the guards guns. . .and all hell breaks loose.

Then, finally, we see Schizoid Man goign to deal with Cap. They oft mention Thor by saying he's in his cell praying and probably didn't even notice them enter. They go in to get Cap, and notice the Wasp in the room. Schizoid Man captures her, and she tells him that Cap was released five minutes ago.

Cut to a final splash of Cap looking furious.

Pros
-Hawkeye. I can't wait to see what happens with him.
-Tony. The guy is an absolute genius.
-The Colonel. He's the only one of the Liberators that I actually sympathise with.
-Pym and Ultron. I'm really curious to see where Millar goes with this.
-Cap ready to whup some ***.

Cons
-The Colonel STILL doesn't have a proper identity. I have a feeling Cap is going to be the one to name him "Red Skull".
-How does a 17 year old go through intense military training and go from civilian to Colonel in. . .two months?
-No Thor. I was really looking foward to seeing him, but he was only oft-mentioned.
-STILL building up to the climax. We have Hawkeye escaping and Tony taking out Natasha, but that's it.

Overall, very enjoyable. 4.5/5

 

[ProjectX2]

Awesome. Thanks for that Lynx.

 

[Random]

Cant wait till the action in the next one. Oh and real civilized those Liberators are, public execution, isnt that something the rest of the world hates about us?

 

[Lynx]

Cant wait till the action in the next one. Oh and real civilized those Liberators are, public execution, isnt that something the rest of the world hates about us?

Well, we can't have you sympathizing with the Liberators over the Ultimates now, can we?

The way Millar's setting it up is that by the end of Ultimates 2, you'll hate both the Liberators AND SHIELD, but the Ultimates will be the heroes.

Like I said, I only sympathize with the Colonel on the Liberators side. The rest of the team is as corrupt as SHIELD.

 

[SeAcoW]

Very thx. How does hawkeye get free? Does he scratch people to death ?

 

[Lynx]

Very thx. How does hawkeye get free? Does he scratch people to death ?

He rips his fingernails off and flings them into everyone's throats.

 

[SeAcoW]

He rips his fingernails off and flings them into everyone's throats.

:shock:

 

[Random]

He rips his fingernails off and flings them into everyone's throats.

SWEETNESS UNHEARD OF!!!!!!!! Cant wait for the trade..... so good....

 

[Lynx]

SWEETNESS UNHEARD OF!!!!!!!! Cant wait for the trade..... so good....

Like I said. . .I have a new respect for Hawkeye.

I just hope he lives through the ordeal.

 

[SeAcoW]

Like I said. . .I have a new respect for Hawkeye.

I just hope he lives through the ordeal.

He is Ultimate Jack Bauer.

 

[DIrishB]

Definitly a great issue! Not as epic as last issue, but it continued and moved the story along extremely well and set up the climax for the next two issues. So many cool things about this issue:

- The comment about the Americans being hypocritical about other countries having nuclear weapons when we have enough to destroy the world a hundred times over was a nice touch, and echoed the hypocrisy thats been a major underlying theme of the series...remember how Fury didn't want other countries (at least countries who aren't allies of America) building up a super-soldier program? Hmmmm...

- Colonel and Hurricane (or was it Swarm?) talking about holding "free elections" and the Colonel mentioning that it isn't the American citizens fault for the corrupt actions of their government

- Hurricane zooming to Washington DC, right into the White House, and calling Ultimate Dick Cheney a "fat slug" (and it was definitly Cheney...I only say that because someone on CBR mentioned it was Donald Rumsfeld...)

- Hawkeye killing people with his fingernails...'NUFF SAID!

- Hawkeye killing people with his bare hands

- Hawkeye killing people with guns

- Tony knocking Wanda the **** out with a bottle of champagne...and apparently causing some brain damage with the nanites...that'll teach her.

- Pym's Ultron robots being financed by the Liberators (or whoever's bankrolling them). Guess now we know who the "other company" he was working for is.

- Captain America turning on Schizoid Man ready to whup *** on the closing page...even weirder was Cap referring to Wasp still as his girlfriend...man that guy's a push-over. Still, an awesome closing page that did its job of gearing us all up for the next issue.

This one deserves a 5/5 (even though Korinthian will ***** that that doesn't make sense because that would mean it'd have to be the best comic I ever read...but thats ridiculous logic anyway).

-The Colonel STILL doesn't have a proper identity. I have a feeling Cap is going to be the one to name him "Red Skull".

Or make him the Red Skull.

-How does a 17 year old go through intense military training and go from civilian to Colonel in. . .two months?

Steroids and whole cows for every meal.

 

[Lynx]

Or make him the Red Skull.

That would be amazing. It'd be a shame if they threw away the Skull on just one story. The rest I honestly don't care about (Even Abomination and Crimson Dynamo.)

Steroids and whole cows for every meal.

That explains him being a super-soldier. It doesn't explain the rank, though.

I think it's ironic that the Colonel is only 17, too.

 

[leather_w0lf]

I did some research (I work for an Exporting company and have many clients and friends in the Middle East.).

Red Skull's name means "The Faithful" in Arabic.

Abdul the Faithful. Hmmmmmm.

It's actually kinda like John Smith over here.

I do dig his character, too. He'll be a good foe for Cap.

AND HAWKEYE IS THE MAN! Can you imagine what he could do with boogers? I'd like to see him and Ultimate Bullseye in a shoot-out, old west style.

With paper airplanes. lol.

Don't mess with Tony Stark - who has Blue eyes this issue. Like he said, he didn't become rich being stupid. I think he's getting out his old Armor, more 616 style and similar to Ultimate Avengers armor.

Thor is soooooooo going to kick some arse. I bet Hulk shows back up as well. I see Pym turning on his friends. I see the Ultron units turning on everyone.

 

[moonmaster]

Awesome issue.

-I know we already saw it in the preview, but I just noticed that in the France flashblack, they appear to be in the Louvre...Either that, or there's some enormous glass pyramid in France that I've never heard of.
-"The Crimson Dynamo has been fused with his titanium V-R war-suit..." I wonder what they mean by fused.
-Am I the only one who thinks it was very obviously implied that Hank is a double agent? The Colonel says "The Ultron robots we funded--do you think they'll be able to keep the peace?" and Hank replies "Oh yes. Definitely" with an extremely mysterious look on his face. I know that the Ultimate versions of Ultron aren't just going to work crowd control.
-Dick Cheney is officially my favorite new ultimazation. I love that Hitch even managed to capture the signature snarl.
-I knew Tony had something up his sleeve. And a bottle to the face...Ouch.
-HOLY MOTHER****ING ****. Hawkeye may have just taken the trophy for most awesome Ultimates moment ever. Fingernails. He used his ****ing fingernails as projectiles. How much more badass can you get? And that last panel. "Run." Hawkeye rocks so hard.
-Thor is about to make his comeback. Its very "Millar-ish" to have Schizoid and the footsoldiers talking about how pathetic it is that hes just praying. Of course, his prayers are going to be answered and he and cap will kick some ***.
-CAP IS BACK! WHOO! (By the way, did anyone notice that Millar totally plagerized Ellis' UFF run? I'm pretty sure Reed says the exact same thing, "Get the hell away from my girlfriend", to Doom.)

Next issue is Cap and Tony and Thor all making their triumphant returns and kicking some major ***. Its pretty obvious from #11's cover...

 

[jtg3885]

Mehh. Doesn't sound so great. I'm not even going to bother going down to pick up a copy. I'll get one next week if there's anything I want to buy, and there's still a copy on the shelf.

 

[freedome]

Originally Posted by DIrishB
Hurricane zooming to Washington DC, right into the White House, and calling Ultimate Dick Cheney a "fat slug" (and it was definitly Cheney...I only say that because someone on CBR mentioned it was Donald Rumsfeld...)

i thought it was karl rove...he's more slugie.

 

[McCheese]

Wow, after the grand scale of the last issue, this felt just right.

-I loved the bad guys talking about how useless the Wasp is. All I could think was, yeah that won't comeback to bite you in the ***.:roll:

-Same page you could see them carrying Fury, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, and Betty who apparently are to be placed in 'restraining units' and then brought to Washington for the public execution. Which makes me wonder if the big fight is going to happen in the rubble of New York or in the more scenic and patriotic setting of Washington D.C.

-Where the hell is the President? How the hell did he get away if they were able to sneak up on Fury?

-Speaking of the big fight, does anyone else think that maybe the Abomination and Crimson Dynamo might get taken down by the x-men and ff that they were sent to collect.

-Pym seemed kinda off during his conversation with The Liberators. I really want to see where they go with this.

-Tony is a genius, but it didn't a genius to take some precautions while dating someone called the Black Widow. Did he give her brain damage with the nanites or the champaign bottle? A nice touch was if you look at the spilled champaign, it's red around her head. Maybe he just bashed her and assumed from the blood he did some damage.

-Am I the only one who seriously, SERIOUSLY underestimated Ultimate Hawkeye? ****ing fingernails! I can't wait to watch him go ape**** on these guys in 11 and 12. Best line of the issue - "Run." One word, plain and simple to put the fear of God in these guys. Also I get the sneaking suspicion he's gonna find Romanov on life support and snuff her out.

-I really wouldn't want to be Schitzoid man right now. You do not want to be the guy who just beat up Captain America's girlfriend in front of him. This is gonna make what he did to Pym seem so tame in comparison.

-Thor's prayers are answered. He and Cap are gonna kick so much *** next issue it'll be ridiculous.

Awesome issue. It did everything it should have and got me ridiculously pumped up for 11.

 

[DIrishB]

That would be amazing. It'd be a shame if they threw away the Skull on just one story. The rest I honestly don't care about (Even Abomination and Crimson Dynamo.)

We'll see...sometime in the next 4-6 months depending on how long the last two issues are delayed.

That explains him being a super-soldier. It doesn't explain the rank, though.

Nepitism and favoritism might explain that. He is, after all, only the second person since Steve Rogers to survive the serum. And as a potential national figure, "Private" might have a bit less effect.

I think it's ironic that the Colonel is only 17, too.

It is. Its especially ironic given Captain America is a 75+ year old who looks like a 25-30 year old, and the Colonel is barely more than a child at 17 (especially looking at him before the super soldier treatment) who looks the same. Kind of an interesting dichotomy, and certainly ironic as you said.

AND HAWKEYE IS THE MAN! Can you imagine what he could do with boogers? I'd like to see him and Ultimate Bullseye in a shoot-out, old west style.

:lol:

With paper airplanes. lol.

Don't mess with Tony Stark - who has Blue eyes this issue. Like he said, he didn't become rich being stupid. I think he's getting out his old Armor, more 616 style and similar to Ultimate Avengers armor.

Its a possibility.

Thor is soooooooo going to kick some arse. I bet Hulk shows back up as well. I see Pym turning on his friends. I see the Ultron units turning on everyone.

Sounds about right. No doubt Thor will be laying the ***-kicking down Norse god style. And given that the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk mini takes place sometime between Ultimates 2 #3 and #9 (and most definitly after the Ultimates Annual #1), its very possible Hulk will show up and pull some *** stomping of his own...possibly with Banner more in control, to at least rival the Abomination, who retains his genius intellect during transformation. We have been seeing steps of this occurring in Ultimates 2 and the Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk mini, so it makes sense. Pym definitly turned on the team, but I can't really say any of them (with the exception of Jan) are "friends" of his, and with good reason. The Ultron units will definitly be playing a larger role, as Millar himself stated that Ultron(s) would be a major threat in this arc. I think we saw the first step in that with this issue's revelation that there are now many Ultron robots...seems like it could present a problem to me if they start trying something besides crowd control.

Awesome issue.

-I know we already saw it in the preview, but I just noticed that in the France flashblack, they appear to be in the Louvre...Either that, or there's some enormous glass pyramid in France that I've never heard of.

I just assumed it was the Louvre. Why this coalition of nations with America in their sights would meet in some room at a world famous museum is an interesting question, but whatever. Hitch drew the Louvre pyramid just lovely.

-"The Crimson Dynamo has been fused with his titanium V-R war-suit..." I wonder what they mean by fused.
-Am I the only one who thinks it was very obviously implied that Hank is a double agent? The Colonel says "The Ultron robots we funded--do you think they'll be able to keep the peace?" and Hank replies "Oh yes. Definitely" with an extremely mysterious look on his face. I know that the Ultimate versions of Ultron aren't just going to work crowd control.

I honestly didn't even pick up on that, but its possible.

-Dick Cheney is officially my favorite new ultimazation. I love that Hitch even managed to capture the signature snarl.

I was loving that too. Can't believe someone mistook that for Rumsfeld.

-I knew Tony had something up his sleeve. And a bottle to the face...Ouch.

True. Revenge is sweet. I wonder what Hawkeye's gonna do to Natasha with that bottle when he sees her...ewww, disturbing...yet gratifying.

-HOLY MOTHER****ING ****. Hawkeye may have just taken the trophy for most awesome Ultimates moment ever. Fingernails. He used his ****ing fingernails as projectiles. How much more badass can you get? And that last panel. "Run." Hawkeye rocks so hard.
-Thor is about to make his comeback. Its very "Millar-ish" to have Schizoid and the footsoldiers talking about how pathetic it is that hes just praying. Of course, his prayers are going to be answered and he and cap will kick some ***.
-CAP IS BACK! WHOO! (By the way, did anyone notice that Millar totally plagerized Ellis' UFF run? I'm pretty sure Reed says the exact same thing, "Get the hell away from my girlfriend", to Doom.)

Yup, I picked up on that also. I still enjoyed it though.

Next issue is Cap and Tony and Thor all making their triumphant returns and kicking some major ***. Its pretty obvious from #11's cover...

I would say thats a fair guess.

i thought it was karl rove...he's more slugie.

That is true, but it is obviously Cheney. He's got sort of a sluggish presence to him also, in my opinion.

 

[McCheese]

i thought it was karl rove...he's more slugie.

Welcome.

 

[E.Vi.L.]

Cant wait till the action in the next one. Oh and real civilized those Liberators are, public execution, isnt that something the rest of the world hates about us?

All of the countries involved have death penalty (Russia, China, Syria, North Korea, etc.)

Except France though so far the secret reunion was in France but none of the ressources involved in the attack that we can see so perhaps it was just a neutral ground used undercover of some international summit.

Now if the coalition was made of Canada, Western European countries and Japan, you'd have a point.

---

Good, though some of it is dispointingly sudden and lacked exposure.

Hawkeye and his fingernail : I hope it is revealed that he had his real nails replaced for just this purpose. If so, that was cool. But if he did that with his real fingernails, it's not comic book badass, it's loony tune ridiculous.

Tony : has there been previous mentions of the nanites? It was a bit sudden. But I loved the confiormation that Tony was defrauding SHIELD. I mean, damn! But what did he need the money for? He's already a billionaire. It must be something huge if even Stark didn't have sufficient liquidity.