It was way back in 1972 that little Weirdcritter first encountered Earth's Mightiest Heroes! Captain America, The Mighty Thor, The Invincible Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Giant Man and The Wasp - The Avengers. It was just a black & white British Marvel reprint of Issue #5 - Invasion of the Lava Men but it changed my life.
Sure, whilst growing up, I got some moral guidance from my parents but most of it came from reading Marvel comics. Captain America was the ultimate hero and role model. Years passed and my comic collection grew and grew. I guess it was only when I reached the grand old age of 27 that I really stopped buying them religiously. With all the titles and crossover issues it became way too expensive and time consuming.
These days I tend to only buy the odd 'Graphic Novel' or trade paperback collection of issues. Sometimes they just sit on my shelf waiting for ages to be read. Avengers Disassembled was the first Avengers story I picked up in a long time - The Scarlet Witch went bonkers, killed Hawkeye and the Avengers crumbled. The title was then reborn as The New Avengers and featured two traditional loners, Spiderman and Wolverine, as part of the team. To me this just didn't seem right.
So a little disappointed I picked up The Ultimates Vol 1 and 2 from my shelf and started to read about the 'Ultimate Universe' version of my favourite team. What can I say other than it's brilliant. Mark Millar's writing and Bryan Hitch's art have taken old 60's superhero ideas and remodeled them for the 21st Century. The story of The Ultimates follows the formation of a team of heroes centered around the discovery and revival of suspended in Ice World War II super soldier Captain America. Cap is a man from the 1940's and is quite willing to throw a fist to resolve an argument rather than sit down for a chat. Giant Man (Henry Pym) is married to The Wasp as expected but in this universe he is a wife beater. Tony Stark (Iron Man) is an alcoholic, Thor is a tree hugging hippie and the Hulk is horny! Whatever I write down here can't do the book justice. It's exciting, funny, visually stunning and knowingly nods towards the old Marvel Universe Avengers.
Now onto the reason for this post. Just released, in all good DVD stores, is Marvel's first feature length animated movie - Ultimate Avengers. Woohoo! The story and visual style are based on the first two volumes of The Ultimates. The action kicks off at the end of WWII as Captain America destroys a Nazi super weapon and falls into the sea off the coast of Iceland. The tale then moves forward to the present day when his frozen body is discovered by Colonel Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. - Fury wants to form a super-powered task force to defend the Earth against an imminent Alien attack. Cap's super soldier serum blood could be the key to saving the world!
The Incredible Hulk is about to give Giant Man a nasty surprise! The domestic violence and Hulk's sexual urges from the comic are missing but there is still a dangerous edge to proceedings and hence the DVD has a PG-13 rating. The animation is as, one would expect, better than the Spiderman and X-Men shows of the 90's, however it can't live up to what's in the book and so is at times a little disappointing. All said and done though Ultimate Avengers is not at all bad. The downing of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier by Alien spacecraft is cool and the battle to subdue the Hulk at the end is very good indeed. Recommended for all old Avengers fans. 'Make Mine Marvel'.
www.UltimateAvengers.com
Wikipedia - The Ultimates
Wikipedia - The Avengers
I'm now watching the first season (of four) on DVD and a real treat it is too. The script is very funny and obviously mostly improvised. The effect is like a set of real life conversations as opposed to voice actors just reading their lines. This approach of capturing loose improv and fitting it into an outlined story is apparently known as 'Retroscripting'. Whatever! All I know is it works and that I love it. Brendan's soccer coach, McGuirk, is one of the best cartoon characters ever!
released on July 25th. Expect it to feature more infectious power pop songs that will stick in your brain for weeks.
