ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE CONCLUSION
The Ultimates take on the X-Men in the wastes of Tunguska. But beyond the battle is the dreaded final secret hidden in this awful place for decades. Once uncovered, it can never be buried again...
So, Ultimate Nightmare #5 offers some great writing, as military-speak meets sci-fi horror with some cool superheroics thrown in; we see some great art, with Nelsons finishes of Hairsines fantastically detailed pencils adding real depth and a cinematic feel to the proceedings; and we get a few cools twists with a neat set-up of future storylines to come. If I was being picky, Id perhaps complain that as an individual miniseries the finale is a little unfinished essentially climaxing with a To Be Continued but if Elliss future Ultimate miniseries can ratchet up the tension and scale of the action another notch from here, then Ill be more than happy. If all the issues of Ultimate Nightmare had been as densely-packed, well plotted and exciting as this one, we would have been in for a five-star miniseries. As it is, its a very good ending to a middling run of issues that leads nicely into Ultimate Secret, ensuring that Ill be on board to see where that story goes. Read Full Review
And drawn by Trevor Hairsine? It just brings everything down to Earth. Mind-blowing fantasy looking as real as film. Winner. Read Full Review
Even better: Whats great about the Ultimate Universe is what can be done to refresh old concepts. Elliss wild recombination of Galactus with the Red Guardian and other formerly divergent mythologies is genius here, and culminates (also solving the central mystery) in a brilliant usage of a certain character who has been treated shabbily in the main books for far too long. While the ending may or may not make one long for the next chapter in this decompressed tale, it does deliver on what this series promised all along. Not only does Fury chide the mutants, but they chide themselves for their ignorance. Clearly, in this bleak tale, we should all know better. Read Full Review
Since it is highly likely that Trevor Hairsine is the party responsible for this miniseries' erratic shipping schedule, I'll be a little hesitant to see his name on future projects, but I will concede that his work is certainly worth the wait. There are some lovely images in this issue, from the sheer brutality of the battle between Captain America and his Russian counterpart, to the decidedly unsettling reveal shot where we discover the source of the alien transmission. I mean how can one not be impressed by the visceral impact of the scene where Captain America discovers that the shield was grafted to his opponent's arm? The battle between the Ultimates and X-Men was also well presented, as there's a great little sequence, where Colossus battles the Falcon, and it plays out in a rather unexpected manner. The art could've done a little better a job of explaining how the X-Men made their escape though. Read Full Review
All in all, this issue has a couple of problems, but isnt too bad at all. However, after the ponderous tedium of the preceding issues, the upswing in quality is too little too late. Yes, the hook into the next chapter is effective, and I do want to see what Ultimate Galactus is like, but theres no way Im paying money for more of this. No way. Read Full Review
I dunno, I thought the final issue would be better.
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