Ultimate Comics: Avengers
Encyclopedia
Ultimate Comics: Avengers is a comic book
published by Marvel Comics
that began in August 2009 as part of the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe
under the "Ultimate Comics" imprint
. The series is written by Mark Millar
, creator of the Ultimates, Ultimate X-Men
and co-creator of Ultimate Fantastic Four
.
following the events of Ultimatum and features a wide range of characters. It is planned to be drawn by a new artist roughly every six issues. The first story arc was pencilled by Carlos Pacheco
and Leinil Francis Yu
illustrated the second. Steve Dillon
pencilled the full third, and the series is currently crossing over with Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man
as part of the Death of Spider-Man storyline. The current storyline is being drawn by Leinil Francis Yu and Stephen Segovia.
Writer Mark Millar, prior to the beginning of the series, explained that he planned to use character ideas that went unused in the first two Ultimates
series, saying, "I always liked the idea of doing like five years worth of Ultimates stories, and to me that's 60 issues, but it became 26 issues...but I had those overhanging ideas. I love the idea of Tony having a teetotaling older brother who despised him and always wore white suits instead of Tony's dark suits...I like the idea of going a bit deeper into the characters. You meet Bruce Banner's teachers and Nick Fury's ex-wife. Just seeing what was going on in the background really."
, Hawkeye, Gregory Stark
, Red Wasp, Nerd Hulk, the Spider, and Black Widow II. At the end of the arc Red Wasp left the team.
In the second arc, The Punisher and Tyrone Cash
join the team. At the end of the arc The Punisher left the team.
In the third arc, Blade
and Perun join the team. During the arc, Perun and Nerd Hulk die.
In the fourth arc, The Punisher rejoins the team. Black Widow II leaves the team to join the New Ultimates. Gregory Stark, the Spider, and Tyrone Cash betray the team to take control of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tyrone Cash, Gregory Stark, and the Spider die at the end of the arc. At the end of the arc Black Widow II is appointed the new leader of the Avengers.
is said by Hawkeye to have "gone rogue." A flashback to one day earlier shows that Captain America and Hawkeye had been fighting a group of A.I.M. terrorists, who had just raided the Baxter Building
of powerful technology. They had defeated a majority of the terrorists until Captain America encounters the Red Skull. After fighting and severely beating him, the Red Skull reveals to Captain America that he is his son. Hawkeye jumps to his rescue as the A.I.M terrorists escape with a stolen Cosmic Cube
. Later, Hawkeye tries to convince Captain America that the Red Skull was lying, but he violently abandons the team, attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process. Nick Fury later confirms that the Red Skull is, in fact, the illegitimate son of Steve Rogers and Gail Richards. It is further revealed that shortly after his birth, the boy who would eventually become the Red Skull was taken by government officials and raised at a secret facility where he, having inherited the abilities of his father, was trained to become a Super Soldier. He eventually rebelled and escaped the facility after killing 247 workers and mutilating his own head
. Fury suggests that Carol Danvers initiate "Project Avengers" and recruits a team of superhumans to find Captain America.
Fury meets with Gregory Stark
to discuss and observe the new team of superhumans tasked with apprehending Captain America. These "Avengers" includes Fury's ex wife, Monica Chang the Black Widow, a new Wasp (Red Wasp aka Petra Larskov), War Machine, and an intelligent clone of the Hulk. The new team soon tracks down Steve Rogers and a fight ensues. After a fierce battle the team plan an attack on A.I.M.However, the Red Skull has already used the Cube to kill the A.I.M agents guarding the facility by ordering them to eat each other
. Meanwhile, Captain America manages to steal a teleporting aircraft before confronting the Red Skull. He manages to arrive at the exact location where the Skull is standing, impaling him through the chest. The Red Skull is taken to a hospital and kept alive long enough for Gail, his mother, to say goodbye. The Red Skull explains to Fury that all he wanted to do with the Cosmic Cube was simply turn back time lead a normal life, rather than the one he was given. Petra, dressed as a doctor, then enters the room and shoots Red Skull in the head, killing him.
A short time later, Fury reveals to Gregory Stark that he plans on "Getting [his] old job back".
. It is revealed that the Ghost Rider, as Johnny Blaze, made a pact with the demon Satan
in seeking revenge on a biker gang, who killed Blaze and his girlfriend Roxanne Simpson
as part of a satanic ritual in bartering their souls with Satan in exchange for wealth and power. The leader of the bikers Michael Blackthorne
is the Vice-President, who made an executive order to the Avengers to stop the Ghost Rider from killing him.
The Avengers defended the Vice-President at the White House
, but only for a desperate Blackthorne to make another deal with Satan to becoming Vengeance
. Both Ghost rider and Vengeance fight in downtown Washington, D.C. which the Avengers were unable to stop. Ghost Rider dragged Blackthorne into a church which turned them both back into human form, allowing the Punisher to finish off the Vice President, while Blaze was allowed to leave. Castle confront Hawkeye and begged him to allow him to leave as well, arguing that he never hurt anyone who did not have it coming. Hawkeye punched him in the face, knocking out a molar in which a tracking implant was located, allowing him to escape twenty minutes later.
where it's daytime which successfully kills the vampires. The event was captured in live television and created a huge media fuss.
The team manages to derail the train and witness one of the prototype Super-Soldiers, called the Mimic
, emerge from his containment unit and, shortly afterward, die a painful death. Captain America questions the conductor of the train, who reveals to them that he was hired to steal and transport the prototypes by Nick Fury.
Fury manages to recruit the Punisher (promising him the keys to every cell in the prison in which he is currently incarcerated) and Blade (promising to deliver to him the man who killed his mother, Deacon Frost
). Hawkeye also gets recruited for Fury's mission.
Posing as civilians, the group observes the sale of Maximus, a still-gestating Prototype Super-Soldier presumably similar to the Mimic. The team strikes and attempts to intercept the case containing Maximus, however they are attacked by the man responsible for the sale, Tyrone Cash. War Machine attempts to neutralize Cash, with little success, when Blade intervenes and manages to hypnotize him, reducing him to his withered form. Cash then confesses to Fury that he is working for Carol Danvers, and that she has been selling secrets for years.
Tony wakes up after his surgery and has a bad feeling that something terrible is about to happen. He asks a hired model, dressed as a sexy nurse for Tony's enjoyment, to contact his secretary to ready his Iron Man armor. Carol Danvers converses with Captain Britain, who is currently leading the task of transporting the Triskelion back to New York, when Nick Fury appears.
Danvers orders her men to attack, revealing that War Machine, hiding himself with technology that allows him to become invisible, is also there. Iron Man arrives in time to save Danvers but is forced into battle with War Machine. Blade appears among the chaos and knocks Carol unconscious and proceeds to kidnap her with the help of Hawkeye. They are intercepted by Giant-Man and Black Widow while Captain America hunts down Nick Fury on the Queensborough Bridge and beats him almost to submission. Frank Castle, watching from higher ground, decides to try and take out Rogers' knee caps with a sniper rifle. He takes a shot and instead hits Spider-Man, who pushed Rogers out of the way.
A squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents arrived at the bridge and, during the momentary confusion caused by Spider-Man's appearance, shot and attempted to apprehend Fury. Filled with remorse, Frank begged the agents to "punish him" for shooting an innocent kid, in which he is then knock out by one of the agents. Captain America promises Peter that his wound is not fatal and commends him for taking a bullet for him without a second thought, stating that when he grows up Peter will be the best out of all of them. War Machine then arrives and blows up the bridge, causing everyone but Spider-Man, who uses his ability to stick to surfaces, to fall into the water below. Thor then arrives and attempts to rescue them, damaging War Machine in the process. Blade manages to take down Black Widow, only to then be severely wounded himself by Iron Man, who was unaware that Blade was not actually super-powered. Carol Danvers calls for backup when she is hit by a police cruiser.
While Nick Fury is in custody and Carol Danvers is taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, the leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D. is given to Gregory Stark by the President of the United States. Gregory then takes Fury onto the Helicarrier U.S.S. Jimmy Carter where he reveals to him that he was the one who pitted the Ultimates against the Avengers. He in fact was using the smuggled Super-Soldiers to supply the rebels of rogue states to help the Pro-Democracy Forces and fueling his ambitious agenda. He then has his men shoot Fury and leave him for dead.
Fury begins to transform, using the special pills he acquired from Tyrone Cash a few days prior, into a Hulk-type physique, thus protecting him from his wounds. The other Avengers, also having taken the pills, join Fury in confronting Gregory, however he reveals that he is prepared for any and all opposition to his plans and activates a nanite fleet, similar to his brother's, in his body, imbuing him with Super-Powers. He easily defeats the Avengers and, causing the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter to tilt, hurdles all of them but Fury over the edge.
Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, North Korea, the revolution begins with many Super-Soldiers, led by The Spider, causing mayhem. The New Ultimates are alerted to this attack but are ordered to stand down by Gregory on the grounds that intervening would breach the U.N. Treaty. The Spider, revealing himself to be a Korean himself, though grown in Gregory Stark's Lab for just this occasion, confronts the Korean Military. However he is interrupted when the New Ultimates, going against Gregory's orders, show up with the Avengers.
A huge battle erupts between the Korean forces and the Ultimates & Avengers. When the Punisher confronts the Spider, Hawkeye intervenes and crushes the Spider with a giant block of concrete, killing him. Before he can deal a fatal blow to Nick Fury, Gregory Stark, being informed that the Ultimates are in Korea, teleports to Korea to confront them. He steals Thor's Hammer and easily takes down Thor and Captain America. When he is about to kill Giant-Man, however, Tony smashes him into the ground. The two brothers battle, but Gregory damages Tony's armor leaving Tony unable to fight. Instead, Tony uses an Electro-Magnetic Pulse to deactivate Gregory's Nanites, thus removing his powers. Thor, thinking quickly, summons lightning and horribly burns Gregory.
Even though the uprising in Korea had been stopped, it came to light that Gregory's true target was Iran, where the Triskelion currently resided. Iran, now under a democratic rule, allowed the Triskelion to remain there while work began building a new one in New York. Gregory was then taken off of life-support and he seemingly perished.
Nick Fury met with Carol Danvers and informed her that by order of the President of the United States she was being forced to resign as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. due to the fact that under her watch not only did Gregory Stark commit crimes against the United Nations, but Spider-Man was killed. Nick Fury then took up his old position as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. Monica, with the referral of Nick Fury, became the new leader of the Avengers.
:
It has also been collected into omnibus form:
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
published by Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
that began in August 2009 as part of the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe
Ultimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...
under the "Ultimate Comics" imprint
Imprint
In the publishing industry, an imprint can mean several different things:* As a piece of bibliographic information about a book, it refers to the name and address of the book's publisher and its date of publication as given at the foot or on the verso of its title page.* It can mean a trade name...
. The series is written by Mark Millar
Mark Millar
Mark Millar is a Scottish comic book writer, known for his work on books such as The Authority, The Ultimates, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, Ultimate Fantastic Four, Civil War, Wanted, and Kick-Ass, the latter two of which have been adapted into feature films...
, creator of the Ultimates, Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men
Ultimate X-Men is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
and co-creator of Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four
Ultimate Fantastic Four is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Fantastic Four comic book franchise as part of its Ultimate Marvel imprint...
.
Format
The series takes place in the Ultimate UniverseUltimate Marvel
Ultimate Marvel is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and updated versions of the company's superhero characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series...
following the events of Ultimatum and features a wide range of characters. It is planned to be drawn by a new artist roughly every six issues. The first story arc was pencilled by Carlos Pacheco
Carlos Pacheco
Carlos Pacheco is a Spanish comic book artist and penciller. Pacheco was born in San Roque, Cádiz. He is best known in the United States for his work on titles such as Avengers Forever, X-Men and Green Lantern...
and Leinil Francis Yu
Leinil Francis Yu
Leinil Francis Yu is a Filipino comic book artist, who began working for the American market through Wildstorm Productions. In an interview published in Marvel's Daily Bugle newsletter, he described his style as "Dynamic Pseudo-Realism."-Career:Leinil Francis Yu was first recognized after winning...
illustrated the second. Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon
Steve Dillon is a British comic book artist, from Luton, Bedfordshire, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on Hellblazer, Preacher and The Punisher.-Biography:...
pencilled the full third, and the series is currently crossing over with Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man
Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics that debuted in August 2009 as part of the relaunch of Ultimate Marvel under the new "Ultimate Comics" imprint. It serves as a continuation of Ultimate Spider-Man, as well as an all-new series...
as part of the Death of Spider-Man storyline. The current storyline is being drawn by Leinil Francis Yu and Stephen Segovia.
Writer Mark Millar, prior to the beginning of the series, explained that he planned to use character ideas that went unused in the first two Ultimates
Ultimates
The Ultimates is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, and first appeared in The Ultimates #1 , as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint...
series, saying, "I always liked the idea of doing like five years worth of Ultimates stories, and to me that's 60 issues, but it became 26 issues...but I had those overhanging ideas. I love the idea of Tony having a teetotaling older brother who despised him and always wore white suits instead of Tony's dark suits...I like the idea of going a bit deeper into the characters. You meet Bruce Banner's teachers and Nick Fury's ex-wife. Just seeing what was going on in the background really."
Cast
During the first arc the team consisted of War Machine, Nick FuryUltimate Nick Fury
General Nicholas Joseph "Nick" Fury is a fictional character published by Marvel Comics. A reinterpretation of the character Nick Fury, one of the most notable differences between the two is that the mainstream Nick Fury is an Italian American colonel with graying brown hair, while this Nick Fury...
, Hawkeye, Gregory Stark
Gregory Stark
Dr. Gregory Stark is an original fictional character in the Ultimate Marvel Comics universe.-History:Known for being the mysterious twin brother of Tony Stark , his profession includes being an extremely confident and amoral weapons industrialist, while also being the brains behind Nick Fury's...
, Red Wasp, Nerd Hulk, the Spider, and Black Widow II. At the end of the arc Red Wasp left the team.
In the second arc, The Punisher and Tyrone Cash
Tyrone Cash
Tyrone Cash is a fictional character in the Ultimate Marvel universe. He is a member of The Ultimates, and is described as being the first Hulk ..-Fictional character biography:In the Ultimate Marvel universe, Dr...
join the team. At the end of the arc The Punisher left the team.
In the third arc, Blade
Blade (comics)
Blade is a fictional character, a superhero/vampire hunter in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan, his first appearance was in the comic book The Tomb of Dracula #10 as a supporting character.The character went on to alternatively star and co-star...
and Perun join the team. During the arc, Perun and Nerd Hulk die.
In the fourth arc, The Punisher rejoins the team. Black Widow II leaves the team to join the New Ultimates. Gregory Stark, the Spider, and Tyrone Cash betray the team to take control of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tyrone Cash, Gregory Stark, and the Spider die at the end of the arc. At the end of the arc Black Widow II is appointed the new leader of the Avengers.
The Next Generation
Three weeks after the events of Ultimatum, Captain AmericaUltimate Captain America
Ultimate Captain America is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is an alternative version of the mainstream Marvel continuity Captain America that appears in Marvel's Ultimate line of books...
is said by Hawkeye to have "gone rogue." A flashback to one day earlier shows that Captain America and Hawkeye had been fighting a group of A.I.M. terrorists, who had just raided the Baxter Building
Baxter Building
The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building in Manhattan whose five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters in the Marvel Universe.-Publication history:...
of powerful technology. They had defeated a majority of the terrorists until Captain America encounters the Red Skull. After fighting and severely beating him, the Red Skull reveals to Captain America that he is his son. Hawkeye jumps to his rescue as the A.I.M terrorists escape with a stolen Cosmic Cube
Cosmic Cube
The Cosmic Cube, called the Tesseract in the film Captain America: The First Avenger, is the name of a fictional object that appears in the Marvel Universe. The concept was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and first appeared in Tales of Suspense #79 .-Publication history:The first Cosmic Cube...
. Later, Hawkeye tries to convince Captain America that the Red Skull was lying, but he violently abandons the team, attacking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents in the process. Nick Fury later confirms that the Red Skull is, in fact, the illegitimate son of Steve Rogers and Gail Richards. It is further revealed that shortly after his birth, the boy who would eventually become the Red Skull was taken by government officials and raised at a secret facility where he, having inherited the abilities of his father, was trained to become a Super Soldier. He eventually rebelled and escaped the facility after killing 247 workers and mutilating his own head
Flaying
Flaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....
. Fury suggests that Carol Danvers initiate "Project Avengers" and recruits a team of superhumans to find Captain America.
Fury meets with Gregory Stark
Gregory Stark
Dr. Gregory Stark is an original fictional character in the Ultimate Marvel Comics universe.-History:Known for being the mysterious twin brother of Tony Stark , his profession includes being an extremely confident and amoral weapons industrialist, while also being the brains behind Nick Fury's...
to discuss and observe the new team of superhumans tasked with apprehending Captain America. These "Avengers" includes Fury's ex wife, Monica Chang the Black Widow, a new Wasp (Red Wasp aka Petra Larskov), War Machine, and an intelligent clone of the Hulk. The new team soon tracks down Steve Rogers and a fight ensues. After a fierce battle the team plan an attack on A.I.M.However, the Red Skull has already used the Cube to kill the A.I.M agents guarding the facility by ordering them to eat each other
Cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act or practice of humans eating the flesh of other human beings. It is also called anthropophagy...
. Meanwhile, Captain America manages to steal a teleporting aircraft before confronting the Red Skull. He manages to arrive at the exact location where the Skull is standing, impaling him through the chest. The Red Skull is taken to a hospital and kept alive long enough for Gail, his mother, to say goodbye. The Red Skull explains to Fury that all he wanted to do with the Cosmic Cube was simply turn back time lead a normal life, rather than the one he was given. Petra, dressed as a doctor, then enters the room and shoots Red Skull in the head, killing him.
A short time later, Fury reveals to Gregory Stark that he plans on "Getting [his] old job back".
Crime and Punishment
Captain America goes undercover as a Russian crime lord in order to capture the Punisher. Instead of executing Castle, however, Nick Fury and the Black Widow secretly offer him a place on their new Avengers team. Meanwhile, War Machine is sent to South America to find a gangster who goes by the name Tyrone Cash. A former partner of Bruce Banner, Cash also possesses Hulk-like strength and invulnerability while retaining his intelligence. He is eventually blackmailed by War Machine to join the new Avengers team. After this team is fully assembled Nick Fury informs them of their current target, Ghost RiderGhost Rider (comics)
Ghost Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.The first supernatural Ghost Rider is...
. It is revealed that the Ghost Rider, as Johnny Blaze, made a pact with the demon Satan
Mephisto (comics)
Mephisto is a fictional character that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appears in Silver Surfer #3 and was created by Stan Lee and John Buscema, loosely modeled on Mephistopheles - a character from the Faust legend.Debuting in the Silver Age of comic books,...
in seeking revenge on a biker gang, who killed Blaze and his girlfriend Roxanne Simpson
Roxanne Simpson
Roxanne Simpson is a fictional supporting character of the Marvel Comics superhero Johnny Blaze also known as Ghost Rider.-History:With his mother having abandoned him and his father dead, Johnny Blaze was taken in by Crash Simpson and his family. As a child, he was friends with Roxanne Simpson,...
as part of a satanic ritual in bartering their souls with Satan in exchange for wealth and power. The leader of the bikers Michael Blackthorne
Vengeance (comics)
Vengeance is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics. He was initially introduced as an antagonist for the Ghost Rider. Lt. Michael Badilino was the first known person to be host, now the entity is attached to Deputy Kowalski. Since his debut he has taken on the role of...
is the Vice-President, who made an executive order to the Avengers to stop the Ghost Rider from killing him.
The Avengers defended the Vice-President at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, but only for a desperate Blackthorne to make another deal with Satan to becoming Vengeance
Vengeance (comics)
Vengeance is a fictional American comic book character owned by Marvel Comics. He was initially introduced as an antagonist for the Ghost Rider. Lt. Michael Badilino was the first known person to be host, now the entity is attached to Deputy Kowalski. Since his debut he has taken on the role of...
. Both Ghost rider and Vengeance fight in downtown Washington, D.C. which the Avengers were unable to stop. Ghost Rider dragged Blackthorne into a church which turned them both back into human form, allowing the Punisher to finish off the Vice President, while Blaze was allowed to leave. Castle confront Hawkeye and begged him to allow him to leave as well, arguing that he never hurt anyone who did not have it coming. Hawkeye punched him in the face, knocking out a molar in which a tracking implant was located, allowing him to escape twenty minutes later.
Blade Versus the Avengers
When super-humans start disappearing Fury's black ops team and the vampire hunter Blade discovers it to be the work of a blood-sucking human species; vampires. Their goal is to turn the superhuman population into vampires to take over the world and their main objective is the Triskelion due to a large number of super-humans and detained illegal superhuman experiments. The vampires invade the Triskelion and S.H.I.E.L.D. attempts to fight back to no-avail, in which Perun is killed during the conflict. But Captain America uses Perun's hammer to teleport the Triskelion and its battlefield to IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
where it's daytime which successfully kills the vampires. The event was captured in live television and created a huge media fuss.
Avengers Vs. New Ultimates (Death of Spider-Man)
With the Triskelion having recently been transported to Iran, Thor is slowly teleporting S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel, including Tony Stark, who recently had a relapse of his brain tumor, home to Manhattan. The New Ultimates, also having recently acquired Scott Lang and Monica Chang to the team, learn from Gregory Stark that New Prototype Super-Soldiers were stolen from one of his facilities. The team is then sent to Bulgaria to intercept the train believed to be transporting the stolen property.The team manages to derail the train and witness one of the prototype Super-Soldiers, called the Mimic
Mimic (comics)
Mimic is a Marvel Comics fictional character who was briefly a member of the X-Men in the 1960s. He was then the first character to be added to the team after the original line-up and the first X-Man who was not a mutant....
, emerge from his containment unit and, shortly afterward, die a painful death. Captain America questions the conductor of the train, who reveals to them that he was hired to steal and transport the prototypes by Nick Fury.
Fury manages to recruit the Punisher (promising him the keys to every cell in the prison in which he is currently incarcerated) and Blade (promising to deliver to him the man who killed his mother, Deacon Frost
Deacon Frost
Deacon Frost is a fictional character appearing in the Marvel Universe. He appears in The Tomb of Dracula and in the Blade limited series.- Publication history :...
). Hawkeye also gets recruited for Fury's mission.
Posing as civilians, the group observes the sale of Maximus, a still-gestating Prototype Super-Soldier presumably similar to the Mimic. The team strikes and attempts to intercept the case containing Maximus, however they are attacked by the man responsible for the sale, Tyrone Cash. War Machine attempts to neutralize Cash, with little success, when Blade intervenes and manages to hypnotize him, reducing him to his withered form. Cash then confesses to Fury that he is working for Carol Danvers, and that she has been selling secrets for years.
Tony wakes up after his surgery and has a bad feeling that something terrible is about to happen. He asks a hired model, dressed as a sexy nurse for Tony's enjoyment, to contact his secretary to ready his Iron Man armor. Carol Danvers converses with Captain Britain, who is currently leading the task of transporting the Triskelion back to New York, when Nick Fury appears.
Danvers orders her men to attack, revealing that War Machine, hiding himself with technology that allows him to become invisible, is also there. Iron Man arrives in time to save Danvers but is forced into battle with War Machine. Blade appears among the chaos and knocks Carol unconscious and proceeds to kidnap her with the help of Hawkeye. They are intercepted by Giant-Man and Black Widow while Captain America hunts down Nick Fury on the Queensborough Bridge and beats him almost to submission. Frank Castle, watching from higher ground, decides to try and take out Rogers' knee caps with a sniper rifle. He takes a shot and instead hits Spider-Man, who pushed Rogers out of the way.
A squad of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents arrived at the bridge and, during the momentary confusion caused by Spider-Man's appearance, shot and attempted to apprehend Fury. Filled with remorse, Frank begged the agents to "punish him" for shooting an innocent kid, in which he is then knock out by one of the agents. Captain America promises Peter that his wound is not fatal and commends him for taking a bullet for him without a second thought, stating that when he grows up Peter will be the best out of all of them. War Machine then arrives and blows up the bridge, causing everyone but Spider-Man, who uses his ability to stick to surfaces, to fall into the water below. Thor then arrives and attempts to rescue them, damaging War Machine in the process. Blade manages to take down Black Widow, only to then be severely wounded himself by Iron Man, who was unaware that Blade was not actually super-powered. Carol Danvers calls for backup when she is hit by a police cruiser.
While Nick Fury is in custody and Carol Danvers is taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. hospital, the leadership of S.H.I.E.L.D. is given to Gregory Stark by the President of the United States. Gregory then takes Fury onto the Helicarrier U.S.S. Jimmy Carter where he reveals to him that he was the one who pitted the Ultimates against the Avengers. He in fact was using the smuggled Super-Soldiers to supply the rebels of rogue states to help the Pro-Democracy Forces and fueling his ambitious agenda. He then has his men shoot Fury and leave him for dead.
Fury begins to transform, using the special pills he acquired from Tyrone Cash a few days prior, into a Hulk-type physique, thus protecting him from his wounds. The other Avengers, also having taken the pills, join Fury in confronting Gregory, however he reveals that he is prepared for any and all opposition to his plans and activates a nanite fleet, similar to his brother's, in his body, imbuing him with Super-Powers. He easily defeats the Avengers and, causing the U.S.S. Jimmy Carter to tilt, hurdles all of them but Fury over the edge.
Meanwhile, in Pyongyang, North Korea, the revolution begins with many Super-Soldiers, led by The Spider, causing mayhem. The New Ultimates are alerted to this attack but are ordered to stand down by Gregory on the grounds that intervening would breach the U.N. Treaty. The Spider, revealing himself to be a Korean himself, though grown in Gregory Stark's Lab for just this occasion, confronts the Korean Military. However he is interrupted when the New Ultimates, going against Gregory's orders, show up with the Avengers.
A huge battle erupts between the Korean forces and the Ultimates & Avengers. When the Punisher confronts the Spider, Hawkeye intervenes and crushes the Spider with a giant block of concrete, killing him. Before he can deal a fatal blow to Nick Fury, Gregory Stark, being informed that the Ultimates are in Korea, teleports to Korea to confront them. He steals Thor's Hammer and easily takes down Thor and Captain America. When he is about to kill Giant-Man, however, Tony smashes him into the ground. The two brothers battle, but Gregory damages Tony's armor leaving Tony unable to fight. Instead, Tony uses an Electro-Magnetic Pulse to deactivate Gregory's Nanites, thus removing his powers. Thor, thinking quickly, summons lightning and horribly burns Gregory.
Even though the uprising in Korea had been stopped, it came to light that Gregory's true target was Iran, where the Triskelion currently resided. Iran, now under a democratic rule, allowed the Triskelion to remain there while work began building a new one in New York. Gregory was then taken off of life-support and he seemingly perished.
Nick Fury met with Carol Danvers and informed her that by order of the President of the United States she was being forced to resign as Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. due to the fact that under her watch not only did Gregory Stark commit crimes against the United Nations, but Spider-Man was killed. Nick Fury then took up his old position as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. Monica, with the referral of Nick Fury, became the new leader of the Avengers.
Collected editions
Ultimate Comics: Avengers has been collected in the following trade paperbacksTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
:
| Title | Material collected | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Volume 1: Next Generation | Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1-6 | ISBN 0-7851-4097-2 |
| Volume 2: Crime and Punishment | Ultimate Comics: Avengers 2 #1-6 | ISBN 1-8465-3465-8 |
| Volume 3: Blade Vs. the Avengers | Ultimate Comics: Avengers 3 #1-6 | ISBN 0-7851-4009-3 |
| Avengers vs. New Ultimates: Death of Spider-Man | Ultimate Comics: Avengers vs. New Ultimates #1-6 | ISBN 0-7851-5272-9 |
It has also been collected into omnibus form:
| Title | Material collected | ISBN |
|---|---|---|
| Ultimate Comics Avengers by Mark Millar Omnibus | Ultimate Comics: Avengers #1-6; Ultimate Comics: Avengers 2 #1-6; Ultimate Comics: Avengers 3 #1-6; Ultimate Comics: Avengers vs. New Ultimates #1-6 | ISBN 0-7851-6132-5 |
See also
- UltimatesUltimatesThe Ultimates is a fictional group of superheroes that appear in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team was created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, and first appeared in The Ultimates #1 , as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint...
- The UltimatesThe Ultimates (comic book)The Ultimates is a thirteen-issue comic book limited series written by Mark Millar with art by Bryan Hitch. The series introduces the superhero team the Ultimates and was published by the Ultimate Marvel imprint of Marvel Comics.-Publication history:...
- The Ultimates 2The Ultimates 2The Ultimates 2 is a thirteen-issue comic book limited series written by Mark Millar with art by Bryan Hitch, the sequel to The Ultimates...
- The Ultimates 3The Ultimates 3The Ultimates 3 was a five-issue, monthly comic book miniseries published in 2008 by Marvel Comics. Written by Jeph Loeb, and illustrated by Joe Madureira, it is a sequel to The Ultimates and The Ultimates 2. A sequel entitled Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates was released in 2010 also written by...
- Ultimate Comics: New UltimatesUltimate Comics: New UltimatesUltimate Comics: New Ultimates is a comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics that began in March 2010 as part of Marvel's "Ultimate Comics" imprint. The series was written by Jeph Loeb, writer of Ultimates 3 and Ultimatum...