Cataclysm # 0.1 (Marvel)

(via CBDB)

writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov

artist: Mico Suayan, Mirco Pierfederici, Leonard Kirk

Marvel's Ultimate Comics line originally debuted in 2000.  The whole idea was to present readers with a soft reboot, an arena with which to rediscover old favorites from the beginning of their adventures.  In 2014, that idea looks a fair bit different, and a book like Cataclysm is hardly likely to improve matters.

The legacy of the Ultimate concept is considerable, but only in two aspects: it gave birth to the cinematic Avengers and Brian Michael Bendis is still writing Ultimate Spider-Man (as of a few years ago in his very own model, Miles Morales).  Other than that, the original idea gradually lost its point when it became clear it was generally unsustainable, that fans were never going to follow these comics the way they had and still do the original Marvel universe, and that creators given the option to make the Ultimate version of events more gritty sabotaged the entire line to the point where although the story continues it has not only lost all relevance but has also become just as impenetrable to new readers as, well, the original Marvel universe.  Probably moreso at this point.

Cataclysm, again, is a good (?) example of that.  It presents Galactus as a new threat to the Ultimate reality, even though there was already a years-long event with the Ultimate version of Galactus (which I believe was the basis for the much-maligned version in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer).  Really, the only reason the Ultimate reality still exists at all is because of Ultimate Spider-Man.  And as soon as Bendis stops writing him (/them), this whole thing will end up like 2099 (although good news for Morales and Bendis, Spider-Man 2099 continues to be the only lingering element of that experiment).  It's just a bunch of nonsense at this point.

This is no real judgment on the creators.  Had Marvel limited the Ultimate reality to a few mini-series, the way it has recently turned to the "Season One" graphic novels to reintroduce origins to new readers, the way the first few Ultimates adventures that introduced the Samuel L. Jackson version of Nick Fury were released (the only real argument against this remains Bendis and his Ultimate Spider-Man, by the way; that run is directly responsible for his whole Marvel career) readers would have some nifty graphic novels to enjoy and maybe one or two definitive, iconic stories. 

The latest rube to write for the Ultimate experiment is Joshua Hale Fialkov, one of the many DC defectors who became upset with issues of creator rights.  Fialkov was another one who seemed to have such a bright future ahead of him, too, and now he's writing something like this.  Again, it's not so much the work itself but the concept that fails him.

The Ultimate version of the android Avenger known as Vision, which seems to be completely different from the regular version of the character, is in the spotlight, and Fialkov does a fine job writing from her perspective.  That much is perfectly fine.

But you have to question why yet another Ultimate crossover event/reboot is even happening.  Does Marvel really think any of this is still salvageable?  That the whole concept isn't straying further and further from the original point, all because someone realized a pocket universe can get away with things regular continuity can't, like killing off key characters like Peter Parker and Wolverine?  The only readers who will care at this point are those who were there at the start, or can still be convinced that this is a cool concept.

It was cool in 2000.  Now it's just old and tired.  And increasingly pointless.