There are some minor spoilers ahead, mainly from issue #25.
The Good
Reed Richards takes on Sue Storm and Ben Grimm for a fight over the Infinity Gems.
I love this Dark Ultimates team. I love the idea of a bad guy truly believing that what he's doing is for the greater good, to a point where the reader starts to question where their alliances lie. Look, I know Reed Richards is a few [insert thing which references craziness] short of a [multiple amounts of thing smaller item relates to in order to prove amount of crazy], but this seems to be a fight for the future, and while I, as an Ultimates fan, wants to see him get beat down, I'm much more interested in seeing him complete his task.
While we're on the subject, I love the fight between Sue and Ben and Reed. It was exciting, and the dialogue really kept helping these scenes move smoothly while heightening the emotion between these characters. I love how artist Carmine Di Giandomenico draws Reed. He puts shadows and crevasses within his body as he uses his powers. It gives the character a lot more depth, and strangely, adds a sense of reality to Reed and makes him look a lot more fluid.
I have no problem with sex/race switching with a character, in another universe. I'm actually glad Failkov (or the editors... whomever) did it with Kang. It's not a gimmick and this Kang has a connection to some of the characters in this book, but what is it? And while the design is very similar to the 616-version, I like what Giandomenico did with this version of Kang. I love the cape, and I love the fact she's an incredibly threatening villain. Don't mess with Kang.
The Bad
After the reveal of the "Dark Ultimates," in the last issue. I was hoping we'd get to see these guys work as a team. They still feel a bit disjointed, but all working under the same ideology.
I'm still a little weary on the idea of the Infinity Gems being introduced into this book. It seems a little too fantasyish for an Ultimate book, but so far, it's being handled well.
The Verdict
I've been really back and forth on this book. Do I give it 5 stars? Do I give it 4 stars? How about 4.5? Oh wait... we don't do that. It's a tough decision, and while I really enjoyed every moment of this issue, it just didn't hit my imaginary 5 star criteria. I think these past two issues have really revitalized this series. A new life has been breathed into it.
The art and writing are a perfect fit for each other and for this book. The story, which I didn't know if certain aspects would work, so far is a blast. I love this Dark Ultimates team, and I'm really loving Kang. This book is a hit and an exciting ride.
Overall, I highly recommend this issue.
