Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Ultimate Human #4 of 4
Marvel Comics
Ellis, Nord & Stewart

This issue wraps up the short mini series with plenty of action. No, it doesn’t pit Iron Man versus Hulk or Iron Man and Hulk versus the Leader. Instead, Iron Man doesn’t even appear. Actually an Iron Man suit appears but not with Tony Stark in it. Anyway, this issue provides a nice kick to end the series. I liked it, but didn’t love it.

First off, this issue gets mad props for supplying a full page summary of the story to date. This page gives you everything you could possibly want to get you up to speed. I wish every comic had this.

From here we get Stark and Banner on their death beds getting their blood drained. If you ever watched the Batman TV show from the 60s you may remember that Batman always escaped because his villains left him to die a slow death while they walked away. James Bond often benefited from this blunder as well. Well, the Leader walks out letting Stark and Banner die and wouldn’t you know it they escape.

The manner in which they escape is very good. Check that, it’s great. Stark has to command the computers inside Banner to turn themselves off. This would allow Banner to Hulk-out. Once Hulked-out, Hulk would evolve, thus, destroying the computers inside him forever. It’s great because it adds more irony to Banner’s life. The best part is that Stark tells Banner this and doesn’t give him a choice. It’s outstanding in every way.

Hulk then runs rampant through the Leader’s men. This whole sequence is enhanced with the dialogue the Hulk is given. It’s laugh out loud funny. Add in the cartoon manner of how the Hulk plows through these guys and were they land in the background and you have a real “comic” comic.

Stark eventually sends one of his suits in to stop the Leader. The Leader has one last ace to play and we have ourselves a bang up ending.

I enjoyed an awful lot of this comic. I was left a little disappointed with the fact that there wasn’t a whole lot of battling among the heavyweights. The Leader doesn’t do much and Iron Man isn’t even in this thing. That was a bit of a letdown.

The art also had a mixed feel to it. The Hulk throwing bodies was great. The shading in this comic had the feel of a sandstorm though. It almost felt like my issue was off by a shade or two. Add in that Banner was barely recognizable and you have some awkward artistic features. However, the Hulk’s face and, particularly, his eyes were among the best renditions I have ever seen.

In all, this issue really helped to save the series from my point of view. I would have thought with the movie coming out that you would see more Iron Man in action, but this was good enough. I can’t say I need another series like this one but this one had some surprises in it and made it worth my time to read it. This issue was the best of the bunch.

4 out of 5 geek goggles.


Ultimate Human #4 (of 4)