Ultimates 2 Vol. 2: Eternity War

by Al Ewing

[Quirky Cat]

3 1/2 stars.

They say hindsight is 20/20, and apparently that applies to comic reading as well. After having read Ultimates 2 Vol. 2 I find myself wishing I had read Secret Empire first, as I feel like that would have cleared up some of the confusion I suffered from. If you haven’t read either yet, I strongly advise you learn from my mistakes and give Secret Empire a go first (though obviously not having read it yet myself, I cannot vouch for its quality).
I’ve always loved that the Ultimates can be counted on to show us the stranger parts of the outer-verse for Marvel. Ultimates 2 seems to prefer focusing on Galactus and other Celestial beings, but unlike many other series (where the weak humans can’t actually do anything to affect these giant beings) the Ultimates actually stand a change of creating change.



So I have some good news/bad news for you. The good news is we have another volume of the Ultimates! The bad news it’s the end of the series. Again. I’m sad to see it end (again) but at least the authors had a heads up and were able to write a satisfying conclusion (I can’t stand indefinite cliffhangers). Still, I’m pretty bummed about having to let go of yet another series I love. I just have to keep reminding myself that in the comic book world, dead series don’t always stay dead. So there’s still hope!
I can only theorize for the reason this series is ending. It could be that it came to a natural conclusion (though I very much would have liked them to stretch it another issue or two, for details sake). Or it could be a numbers thing, or because two of the characters will certainly be involved in Infinity War (which means they’re getting pulled into the Infinity Countdown, presumably). I’m hoping it’s the latter, because that has the best odds of Ultimates coming back (perhaps as Ultimates 3?).
Obviously, being the Ultimates, this volume can get a bit abstract and out there at times. To be honest it’s one of the reasons I enjoy it so much. It helps that Ewing is a rockstar when it comes to more conceptual stories like this. I do wish we had more time exploring the constructs/entities introduced in this particular volume, but c’est la vie.
I think my one disappointment for this volume was the slight shift in focus; while the series is called Ultimates (duh), it didn’t feel like they were the main focus or driving force in this volume. Which, I get it, we’re talking about massive scales in the universe, and human beings rate pretty low on that. But still, I love all the individual characters that build the Ultimates team, and I feel like they didn’t all get a chance to shine in this volume.
All in all this volume was a pretty good send off to the series. We got a fantastic and interesting conclusion, some beautiful artwork (I don’t know how Hitch manages to illustrate all the odd concepts and creatures thrown at him, but he finds a way!) and so much more. So while I’ll be sad to see it go, I’m so very grateful it was done with style.


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