You make the TPB

I asked a similar question a few months back - just curious for more input...


Lets say you were making a TPB, collecting any six issues from the Ultimate Universe. You are trying to get readers interested in the titles/universe.

What SIX SINGLE ISSUES would you include?
Choose from USM, UXM, Ultimates, UFF, UDD, UElektra, UMTU, Annuals, ANYTHING!

My six

Ultimates #5 and #12 - The fight in 5 still resonates as the issue that confirmed I would be buying UU titles for a while. After seeing what Hulk can do, Ultimates 12 had an awesome (half) fight, and the anticipation of Banner turning to the Hulk once again (or maybe just dying...that crazy Millar! )

Ultimates 2 #5 - Book-ended with the 'Hulk Incident' as an issue for which I had great anticipation, and it did not disappoint.

UFF #21 - Awesome intro teaser, and kick-off to what promises to be a great run...and what an ending!

UXM 50 - The arc ultimately (haha) didn't fulfill the hype of this issue, but it was a great multi-character action (intro) tale, as this book should be.

USM - #24(?) - I think this was the number. Seeing Goblin toss MJ from the bridge....awesome.


What do you say? What's YOUR 6-ish ULTIMATE UNIVERSE TPB?

Thanks for posting!

This is tricky, because the only way to effectively get new readers interested would be either an origin issue, or one of those 'Ultimate Starts' issues...

I'm thinking Ultimates 2 #1, because the characters are already established but it still serves as an introduction.

Ultimate Spiderman #50 is a good choice.

Ultimate X Men #46, the first issue of the best UXM writer yet.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #7, avoiding the nasty origin arc.

I'm stuck as to the other two though.....

I'd put these 6 in this order:

Ultimate Spider-Man #28 "Sidetracked" - A really funny tale about Spidey just trying to get in costume and save some lives. Totally self-contained, and it features a cameo by Iron Man which helps tie the concept that each of these issues belongs to a larger tapestry.

The Ultimates #5 "Hulk Does Manhattan" - Considering we didn't get the big fight against the rampaging villain in the above issue, here we see Iron Man and the rest kicking the crap out of the Hulk in the best single-issue superhero fight ever. Not only is it brilliant, but it's got the all-stars of Marvel all doing their thing; Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk... it's a no-brainer.

The Ultimates 2 #6 "The Defenders" - Okay, after seeing the Ultimates kick-*** and save Manhattan, we go to a comedy where we see another team of loser try to ape the Ultimates and fail to defeat muggers. A fun, fun, contrast.

Ultimate X-Men #15 - I forget the title to this issue, but it's a wonderful stand-alone issue where Professor X is writing an essay and as he goes through the nature of mutanity and what it means to society, we get a quick overview of a lot of the X-Men and a lot of interesting plots. A good primer for the Ultimate X-Men even if it doesn't have a fight in it.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #16 "The N-Zone, part 4" - Instead of getting a big fight, or a comedy, we see the bizarre wonder of the Fantastic Four adventures as they meet an alien from another dimension for the first time and Johnny gets struck by a bizarre illness. And the cliffhanger is awesome.

Ultimate X-Men #~ "The Most Dangerous Game, part 1" - This issue rocks. The beginning of an arc, tensions rise in the X-Men as they split off to stop a reality tv show that kills mutants, which is somewhat contemporary. Plus, it was this issue that made me appreciate Vaughan.

Honorable mentions;

Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #9 - Okay, so continuity-wise it doesn't make much sense. But it's hysterical.

Ultimate X-Men #4~ - I hate Bendis, but this single issue with Wolverine and a kid is really powerful.

Ulimate Spider-Man #1 & 13 - Nice single stories, but you want a healthy dose of action in the TPB.

The Ultimates 2 #4 & 5 - This two-parter would be a brilliant inclusion if it weren't for space considerations.

Ultimate Fantastic Four #11 "Doom, part 5" - Another exciting adventure, where we see Doom kick the crap out of the Fantastic Four. Not only is it loads of fun, with Doom throwing his weight around, but it ends on a very exciting cliffhanger of Reed challenging Doom, but it's too similar to the other big fights already in the tpb without being different enough to showcase just how strange UF4 can be.

So, there's me picks.

The only one I could definitely say MUST be included would be Ultimates X-Men #41.

I would probably include any/all of the books featured in any of the Ultimate Starts months