Product Description: A new propulsion system devised by the U.S. government puts Mars just days away. It creates interplanetary opportunities unprecedented for the human race. But someone - or something - wants Earth's progression into space to stop. What does that mean to the Ultimates and the Ultimate Fantastic Four! And yes, that mysterious white-and-green figure is Ultimate Captain Marvel! Collects Ultimate Secret #1-4.
The best of the Three Volumes This was by far the best volume of the three the interaction between the heroes was great. I loved Thor and the Torch/Thing combo it was probably my favorite part in the whole story the pacing in this volume was perfect. The art is just as good with this volume as it was in the previous volume and as it is in the final volume. Best of the three volumes.
A more than solid middle chapter As far as I was concerned, Ultimate Nightmare, the first chapter in Warren Ellis' re-imagining Ultimate Galactus trilogy, was spectacular. While Ultimate Secret doesn't live up to the first chapter of the trilogy, it is a more than solid middle chapter that sets up the pivotal things to come. Taking place briefly after Ultimate Nightmare, Ultimate Secret picks up with Nick Fury recruiting the Fantastic Four to help with a big problem: something called Gah Lak Tus is coming to destroy the planet and obliterate all mankind. What helps make this TPB good is Ellis' reinvention of Captain Marvel (or Mahr-Vell); an alien soldier posing as a human and fighting on our side. Iron Man, Thor, and Hawkeye are also here for the ride, as the stage is set for the apocalyptic events of Ultimate Extinction. Steve McNiven and Mark Bagley provide great artwork, and Ellis manages to churn out a compelling story while further fleshing out the relationship between Reed Richards and Sue Storm like he has during his run on Ultimate Fantastic Four. All in all, if you picked up Ultimate Nightmare, consider this a must read as the end is clearly in sight.
vols 1 and 2 were very good, 3 was awful and ruined it all... in vol 2, the kree try to prevent mankind from gaining efficient space travel because they want us to remain earthbound for when the big g hits. vol 2 is very good, however i would not recommend this trilogy because vol 3 is so incredibly awful it made reading the first two volumes a waste of time. in addition, i hate the robot hive galactus idea. yes galactus is supposed to be a world eating force even when he's a big purple dude, but the big guy galactus is way cooler than this stupid idea. i just hope they don't stink up the fantastic four movies with the robot galactus idea (as rumored), but since the first ff movie was pretty bad i really have no hope.
Warren Ellis at his best. This series was great, the best of the ultimate titles.
Gah Lak Tus is Coming! Coming on the heels of Ultimate Nightmare, Ultimate Secret continues the Ultimate Galactus saga. Ultimate Secret features the Ultimates again, this time teamed with the Fantastic Four and Mar Vehl (the Ultimate version of Captain Marvel), a Kree warrior who decided to help Earth survive Gah Lak Tus's arrival, instead of watching the planet die, as the rest of the Kree are content to do. In fact, the Kree are so determined to see Earth die that they send a horde of robot/alien/bad guys to sabotage the space program (that Mar Vehl helped with) to ensure no Earthlings escape the coming doom.
I'm not typically a fan of the cosmic storylines, but this is the Ultimate Universe so I had to at least check it out. Writer Warren Ellis does a fine job with this series, particularly with the dialogue. The scenes with Thor, the Human Torch, and the Thing literally had me laughing out loud, and Ellis's take on Tony Stark and Carol Danvers is spot-on. The background information Ellis provides on Gah Lak Tus and the death of civilizations is pretty grim stuff, so the snappy dialogue helps keep the story fun. Also, since this is a middle chapter, the ending didn't offer much in the way of a satisfying conclusion, but that is to be expected.
The artwork, as always, is top notch. Steve McNiven (one of the best artists to come along in quite some time) did a fantastic job on the first two chapters, and Tom Raney's work on the last two chapters was excellent as well. It made me nostalgic for the classic Ellis/Raney Stormwatch run (which deserves the Absolute hardcover treatment, in case anyone from DC is reading this).
All told, Ultimate Secret is a worthy addition to the Ultimate Galactus saga and the Ultimate Universe as a whole.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
