The Ultimates vs. Ultimate Avengers

Marvel comics has a history of trying to revamp themselves every so often. They tend to do it at least once every decade. In the 80s Chris Claremont turned Jean Grey into The Phoenix. The 90s led to Heroes Reborn, and ultimately, ignoring that Heroes Reborn every happened(don't worry, I'll catch you up on that mess soon).

In 2002 Mark Millar, a Scottish comic writer, who would later go on to write Wanted, was tapped by Marvel to write the story of Ultimate Marvel's Avengers. In the comics they were called, simply, The Ultimates.






It's popularity led to a cartoon version produced in 2006 released under the name of Ultimate Avengers. Despite the fact that Ultimate Avengers is based on The Ultimates, it bares little in the way of similarities to the original work.

As one reads through(or watches, depends on which you did second) the first major difference they will come across is Captain America. In the books, he is a soldier. There's little more to it than that. He wants to get in, do the job, and get out. In the movie, he is still very determined to do the job, but he's closer to the original character, a paragon of hope.

The second big difference one comes across is the Hulk. The movie makes the Hulk very modern Marvel. "Hulk mad, Hulk smash." We've seen it, kids can handle it, nothing too rough. The Ultimates wrote him a little different. He's a mix between a horny pre-teen, who will do anything to have sex, and Maestro, a future version of the hulk, where Bruce Banners brain and the Hulk's might have finally mixed into the ultimate being. This combination leaves a Hulk who is strong, carries out motives that he believes will help Banner, and is extremely horny. Beyond these changes, they also choose to leave out the overkill execution of the Hulk.

The next big change from book to movie is the wife-beating scene. Anyone who has followed The Avengers for any time knows that Hank "Ant man/Giant Man/Yellow Jacket" Pym and Janet "The Wasp" van Dyne got divorced after he went a little nuts and beat the crap out of her when Marvel decided every hero should have a low moment. Millar adds this to the Ultimates, which adds drama to the story, and honestly, feels very natural in this dark story. Not surprisingly, the cartoon version leaves this out. It's an obvious omission, but it has to be pointed out.

The next stop on our tour takes us to the title page of Chapter 8. The Experts. This entire team is left out of the movie.

In the comic, Hawkeye and Black Widow are cold blooded killers. Plain and simple. They are hardcore, they do not belong in a cartoon. If you've seen the movie(or looked at the pretty picture I left up top for you), you may be asking "Why does he say none of this team is in the movie? Black Widow is a big part. That's true, but the characters are so distinctly different, that they can't be compared. The omission of Black Widow and Hawkeye does lead to a loss of some of the better action sequences, including the time they storm an office building and kill Everybody inside. It was an awesome sequence, and really did fit the story they were telling.


Scarlett Witch and Quicksilver are a different case all together. They are brother and sister but act way more like lovers. And there is absolutely nothing to make you think there is any other possibility.

The last big change, which is a deal breaker for me is the Chitari. They're the alien race attacking us in The Ultimates, but who are they really? If we read the book, they will tell us themselves. They are the Skrulls. SKRULLS!!!!!!!! It would really make the movie make more sense if they would just add that one freakin detail!

In the end, I understand why they cut out the adult themes, shortened it, and took out the best action/creepiest family values. It was being sold as a kids' story. I don't blame them for taking out what they did, but I do blame them for even trying to make a kids' movie out of a book that is so obviously shooting for an older audience.