The Ultimates (2002) / YMMV

Catharsis Factor
- After all the destruction that Banner unleashes in New York by turning himself into Hulk, it's a relief to see that Captain America, who seemed to be about to have him be Easily Forgiven, was just getting close to give him a well deserved kick in the face.
- Also, after all he did to poor Jan, it was another relief to see Captain America beat the crap out of Pym (even regardless of his giant size).
Complete Monster: The Chitauri general known as "Herr Kleiser" is an alien who seeks the enslavement or destruction of humankind. Having worked with the Nazis during World War II, fully endorsing their concentration camps and war crimes and even trying to work with them in bombing London to oblivion, Kleiser goes into hiding only to return decades later, wiping out tens of thousands of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to eliminate opposition. After attempting to poison the water supplies of the world and dumb down humanity, Kleiser is given the order by his Chitauri superiors to destroy Earth, and happily prepares to activate a bomb to wipe out the entire solar system Earth resides in, remarking it's only a shame because he wanted time to molest and murder Janet van Dyne. Though only one member of the Chitauri, Kleiser is shown to be the absolute worst his race has to offer.
Designated Hero: This is the main reason why many don't like the Ultimates. Most of their conflicts (with the exception of the Chitauri) in the Ultimate Comics are basically internecine civil wars, glorified bar brawls, Fury's byzantine scheming, where they more or less fight villains they made themselves none of which adds to any sense of them being heroes. For instance, the Ultimates' first adventure is when they fight the Hulk, one of their own initial recruits after he goes Yandere on his girlfriend and massacres hundreds of civilians, an incident hastened by the belittling and insults directed at him by his own team-mates. This incident is covered up by SHIELD with Fury and others playing this off as the Ultimates first major triumph, while they more or less hide the Hulk out of public eye and treat him like a secret WMD.
Everyone Is Satan in Hell
- When Captain America wakes up in the hospital, general Nick Fury told him that he had been out for 57 years. He goes mad and starts attacking everyone, thinking that he's still in WWII and he's inside a nazi trap trying to manipulate him. He told Fury "Sorry, Fritz. The accent's flawless, but you really should have done your homework. The highest-ranking black man in the US army is a Brooklyn-born Captain I grew up with"(which is not true there was a black brigadier general promoted in 1940 named Benjamín O. Davis), so. This is sometimes cited as a proof of Ultimate Captain America being racist. Actually, that's just a superficial reading. He is correct that in the 1940s US there was a higher discrimination against black people, and the idea of a black general leading an organization such as SHIELD, mundane in 2001, would have been unconceivable back in the day (the civil rights movements that led to their current public acceptance wouldn't take place until a pair of decades later). Cap is clearly not actively endorsing that racism, but just mentioning it as proof that he found "A Glitch in the Matrix" in the nazi deception that he thought he was caught. It is worth noting that he worked for years under Fury since things were clarified a pair of scenes later, and never voiced any racist comment towards him.
- When Herr Kleiser suggested Captain America to surrender and ask for a Mercy Kill, he got an Heroic Second Wind and asked "You think this letter on my head stands for France?". Some people found it out of character for Captain America, as there was a French resistance to the Nazi occupation (even the trope namers of La Résistance), and someone like Captain America would have likely fought alongside them. However, not all of France was in the resistance. There was a Vichy France as well, with people that embraced the Nazi occupation (even the trope namers of Les Collaborateurs), and someone like Captain America would have likely fought against them. And the mention to the French "surrender" is not wrong: the French Third Republic surrendered to Nazi Germany in a formal ceremony on June 22, 1940 at Compiegne. Lacking further information about Ultimate Captain America's history with the French (which was never explored in further detail), the idea of him resenting them is as plausible as the one of him praising them. (Except the French are cowards stereotype was created in Vietnam and brought back when they refused to support the Iraq war, so it does not actually make sense for a man from the 1940's to make that joke.)
Genius Bonus: The "Son of Star Wars" that Nick Fury mentioned is a missile defense program, proposed during the presidency of Ronald Reagan, for space-based weapons to shoot down intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). It has no relation to the Star Wars franchise, other than the popular name it got.
Harsher in Hindsight: In the first series, we find out that Hawkeye calls his wife and kids before every mission, just in case it's his last one. He thinks that, with his line of work, he may die any day. But in the second miniseries, it is them who are killed.
Hilarious in Hindsight:
- When the Ultimates and Fury are sitting around discussing who would play them in a potential movie adaptation of their exploits, Nick Fury is quick to say that he would want to have none other than Samuel L. Jackson cast as him and only him with no exceptions. Six years later, who else but the most famous most baddest of mofos would approach Tony Stark (played by RDJ) to discuss the Avenger Initiative? Though of course, Fury was already drawn to resemble Jackson on the condition that he could play Fury in movies.
- The Ultimates fight a highly destructive battle against Hulk in the city. The SHIELD tapes of the battle are sold to the public and became a real hit, more than fifteen million copies of the DVD. Some years later, a film based on the Ultimates, The Avengers (2012) becomes a real-world hit. And, according to disaster experts, the disaster seen in the climax would have cost $160 billion to fix if it took place in real life (topping even 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the Japanese tsunami). And both works destroy Grand Central Station: in the Ultimates Iron Man smashes Hulk into it, in the Avengers a starship crashes on it.
- Captain America thought in WWII that parachutes "are for girls". The Ultimates 2 begins with him jumping from a plane without parachute. This scene was remade in live-action in the film Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And the film scene was in turn remade in the animated series What If…? (2021) by Captain Carter... a girl!
- Captain America has a massive outburst after he is told to surrender and angrily bellows "You think this letter on my head stands for France?" This moment becomes much more amusing after Civil War (2006), in which the final battle famously ends with Captain America dropping his shield and ordering his allies to surrender. Although those are two different incarnations of the same character, it should be noted both stories were written by Mark Millar.
Memetic Mutation: "Surrender? SURRENDER??!! You think this letter on my head stands for France?"^note
Moral Event Horizon: Hank Pym soars over it during his fight with Jan ... or he would, if not for the revelation a few issues later that he's been brutalizing her since they started dating.
Signature Scene: Cap shouting "You think this letter on my head stands for France?" in response to Herr Kleiser suggesting he surrender is probably the thing that comes to mind about this book or even this universe's Steve. Specifically because it shows his darker differences from main universe Steve, who does not believe the French are wussies in war.
What the Hell, Costuming Department?: Hank’s Giant Man costume is not Bryan Hitch's best creation. Even in-universe, the characters rag on it, with Jan telling him it makes him look like a serial killer.

YMMV / The Ultimates (2002)

Edit Locked