The series has also cemented my opinion that the current Ultimate Universe doesn't matter any more. With the exception of Ultimate Spider-Man, my reading of other Ultimate titles has been sporadic for quite some time. Still, all the plot elements and references all appear to be coming entirely from the first couple years of the Ultimate Universe's existence. Since then, all the titles have done their own thing with little connection between them. Origins is almost an afterthought. It's great that we finally have these answers, but the effect on the current state of the Universe is minimal at best. Maybe Ultimatum will change that status, but Jeph Loeb seems to have the anti-golden touch of late, so I'm not exactly what you'd call optimistic. Read Full Review

The biggest problem with this series is that it's tough to stand on it's own. Wolverine's book was part one-shot, part setup. Cap was a retelling of his origin, as was Magneto. Hulk is mostly about Fury with parts of the larger story. Each issue is good, but it's different month to month. From the writing to the art, it has a lot of good parts but so far Ultimate Origins has yet to feel whole. Read Full Review

Unfortunately, I don't really care about the Ultimate Universe any more, which is really why my rating is 3.5 instead of 4. Ever since The Ultimates ended (and it ended with the second volume - I don't know what the hell that third volume is supposed to be), I really haven't cared for anything else under this imprint (unless Warren Ellis was writing, of course), so while the emotional connection really isn't there for me any more, this is still a pretty good story, building up to the end. Read Full Review

The art, by Butch Guice, is dark and expressive, perfect for this series. He has a great sequence of panels of the Hulk turning back into Bruce Banner which I found to be quite compelling just in his use of panels. While everyone seems to have a default emotion of angry, Guice does work in other expressions when appropriate (just dont ask him to do happy, it happens once and it looks like the goofy, fake smile of a kid ashamed of his braces). Read Full Review

Ultimate Origins #4 was a bit of a dry read. I enjoyed the bit of character work that we got on Nick Fury's character in the beginning of this issue. And I enjoyed the dramatic first appearance of the Hulk. But, beyond that, this issue was a dull read. Read Full Review

If you're looking for something staid and lifeless, "Ultimate Origins" #4 has everything you need. And it sure looks nice. Read Full Review

Retcon time