This issue was a test for me. I’m not up on my current Marvel continuity and even if this was a Double Jeopardy round I don’t think I could tell Ultimate Avengers from Dark Avengers or even The Avengers with Patrick McNee and Diana Rigg. I prefer Marvel’s weirder mini-series and one-shots these days, whether it’s Marvel Apes, Marvel Zombies or the new Strange Tales.

So when this first issue came out, I thought I’d pick it up as a test. Will this issue seem like so much super-hero hieroglyphics that I’d need a Rosetta Stone of Continuity to keep up? Or will I be able to just leap into it and be entertained? In other words, how quickly will I have to go to the Wikipedia to figure out what’s going on?

The answer: I didn’t need Wikipedia at all. Yeah, Fury now looks a lot like Samuel L. Jackson (that’s the power of a multi-picture movie deal in the Marvel Universe), Carol Danvers (the one-time Ms. Marvel back when Mark Millar was in diapers) is now the director if S.H.I.E.L.D. Hawkeye is not only carrying a gun (yup), he’s now looking like some kind of ninja warrior in an outfit from a bad 1980s-era comic, wearing a mask that looks like he stole it from Bug’s Fourth World Kirby closet. Oh, and Tony Stark now looks like the current Robert Downey, Jr. and drinks and parties like the old Robert Downey, Jr.

But oh man, the story. The whole issue is light on plot—it basically takes place over the course of a foiled invasion of the Baxter Building by A.I.M. Captain America and Hawkeye are playing spoiler, ruining A.I.M’s plan and knocking the attack helicopters out of action while keeping up the usual Stan Lee-ish banter between themselves and with Danvers at S.H.I.E.L.D.

The art by Carlos Pacheco and Danny Miki is nothing short of terrific. The action is excellently staged and moves easily from panel-to-panel. Ultimate Avengers #1 feels like the first 10 minutes of a great Avengers movie. The muted colors heighten the “realistic” look of the art.

The script by Mark Millar keeps the action moving—the pace never lets up. The action sequences are very strong, the dialogue is snappy and there aren’t any continuity captions trying to explain what could easily be a longbox full of backstory.

In short, I’m not only able to follow along, I can pick up via dialogue some of the bits and pieces of what I’ve been missing (without feeling alienated). And the “I-didn’t-see-that-coming” plot twist at the end will have me looking out for the second issue which is apparently already out. Well done and recommended.

(Check out another Comix 411 review of this issue here!)

[Artwork: cover illustration for Ultimate Comics Avengers #1, © Marvel Comics]