(Strand)om Stories: Ultimate Human Review
Though hampered by safe and predictable storytelling, this series provides a well-written grudge match between two Ultimate Universe heroes
—by Nathan on May 16, 2026—
I first wrote this review months ago, with a completely different intention than I have today. This review, originally, belonged to a series of blogs that I am currently, very slowly reading and reviewing material for–it's a plan that has been in motion for up to a year but has not yet come to fruition, for one reason or another. Mainly the "one reason" of "I have other comics I want to read and review first." Today's series was eventually cut from that plan, but have no fear! Redemption rings true. So though this volume was slated for some distant point in the future, I'm coming back around to it today, reviewing it far earlier than intended in a spontaneous deviation from my regularly scheduled posts. Lucky little volume!
In reviewing this limited series, we're marking an important moment for this website: we're breaching the Ultimate Universe for the first time! Most of my Ultimate comics belong to Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley's Ultimate Spider-Man series, with a few other pick-ups here and there. My only other Ultimate Universe review is of the titular team of heroes created by Mark Millar and Brian Hitch, and that review ended up on Geeks Under Grace. Maybe I'll rearrange my schedule a bit more for future posts, see if we can't wind up here a few more times in the near future.
As I said, this is a bit of a spontaneous shift for me, but not without some context. In my last "(Strand)om Stories" review, I dove into Warren Ellis' four-issue run on Thor, a narrative intent on rejuvenating the character and providing him with a bit more glory than other writers had delivered. Ellis would go on to have a landmark contribution to Thor's Avengers teammate Iron Man in "Extremis"...and, wouldn't you know it, provide some material for the Armored Avenger's Ultimates counterpart, as found here. But if you were to look at this volume's spine, you'd know Iron Man wasn't the only Ultimates version of an Avenger given central billing in this limited series.
Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's original Ultimates series put forth a plot point which was later adapted by the MCU: that Bruce Banner, in attempting to replicate the same Super Soldier Serum which birthed Captain America, tested the formula on himself, with disastrous results (though "disastrous" may be putting it too lightly). No gamma bomb here. Just a needle, some chemical compounds, and a skinny scientist turned into the biggest nightmare you can imagine. Like his Earth-616 version, this Bruce just wants to be cured…and in this tale, he approaches one of the smartest guys on the planet to see if Tony Stark's brain can help eradicate the Hulk's brawn.
Ultimate Human
Writer: Warren Ellis
Penciler: Cary Nord
Inker: Cary Nord
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Dave Sharpe
Issues Collected: Ultimate Human #1-4
Volume Publication Date: April 2008
Issue Publication Dates: January 2008-April 2008
When I first read a synopsis for the collected edition of this series waaaay back in late 2008, something stood out about the potential conflict between two types of "human" that the title could be alluding to: you got the Hulk in one corner, the epitome of raw human aggression and strength, an unfortunate twist on what was supposed to be the best superhuman soldier science could produce. And then you had Iron Man in the other corner, the biggest genius who created incredibly advanced technology, the best representation of human achievement. I imagined a duel between these two facets of superherodom in determining just who would emerge as "the ultimate human."
Maybe the solicit I read stirred that image, or maybe I just extrapolated, but that's what I latched onto for years before reading this story, and having finally checked it out, I can confidently say that thirteen-year-old me thought way too deep about a four-issue grudge match. Heck, the character eventually labeled the "ultimate human" isn't even one of our two starring brawlers!
The narrative begins well enough: Bruce Banner comes to Tony Stark for help, seeking a cure for his brutish half. Tony tries, something goes wrong, chaos ensues when the Hulk engages Iron Man mano-a-mano. What you get here isn't all too dissimilar from what you see in the mainstream Marvel Universe: like in primary Marvel continuity, the Hulk here is cursed to be a gargantuan gargoyle of pure muscle who cannot leave his more viscous state behind. Banner will always be drifting, looking for a cure, and his friends will always try to help him yet fail in the endeavor. It's a fairly paint-by-numbers plot, and the color Warren Ellis and Cary Nord mainly paint with is gray.
That's not to say it's a drab book…well, no, I'm gonna take that back. I appreciate the look of the book, but it does not adhere to the most diverse palette. Iron Man's there to provide some pop, but the Hulk is so massive and gray and takes up so much space any time he's in a panel, watching him becomes like watching a parade of elephants. Gray upon gray. This isn't necessarily a complaint–Nord supplies a style of pencils and inks which gives the book a slight painterly quality, and the color choices only enhance this–but if you're looking for a book you can call "pretty" or enjoy looking at for the sake of whimsy, you're gonna find yourself disappointed. Nord can draw a heckuva Hulk, making him this absolutely imposing behemoth who is not afraid to tear through whoever he needs to when he's angry. This ain't a museum; it's a cage match, and Nord succeeds in giving Iron Man a powerful contender.
From a narrative perspective, there isn't much "gray" in the moral sense, and the story is a pretty quick, fairly standard read and feels a little "blah" as a result. If you've read Hulk comics of any stripe, you know the cure isn't going to work, you know the big guy's going to fight Iron Man, you know they're gonna team up against the primary villain (which, in this case, is the Ultimate version of the Leader, though not the Samuel Sterns version from main continuity)...and you know all this even before you get very far into the comic. Tony Stark is appropriately smart and snarky, Bruce Banner is appropriately desperate. Ellis writes his lines on the pages in a neat, orderly fashion. No muss, no fuss. This isn't Ellis taking a stab at a character, like he did with Thor or in "Extremis," and redefining them for a modern audience. He paints, but he stays within the lines.
With this being the Ultimate Universe, you would hope for something that pushes the envelope a little bit or at least makes more apparent the illusion of change. It's not like you're building upon decades of accepted continuity. You can throw crazy ideas into the Ultimate Universe, even if they're bad ideas, like making the Hulk a cannibal, or debatably interesting ideas, like turning Tony Stark into walking brain tissue (even if that was eventually retconned as being an Ultimate Universe TV adaptation, but I digress). Maybe because other twists on old ideas had been met negatively, Ellis wanted to play it safe. If you like safe, great. But as someone who wanted to see a little stretching, I was left wishing for more.
Where Ellis does shine is in his actual dialogue. I noted this before, but I lump Ellis into a category of writers along with Grant Morrison and Mark Millar, who enjoy fueling their stories with imaginative ideas, particularly high concept ones, regardless of whether or not they work. Ellis, through Stark and his technicians, throws in some scientific mumbo jumbo which feels natural and plausible, achieving a voice with Stark that would be right at home with the Robert Downey Jr. version. A scene where Stark subjects Banner to the pressure found on Venus feels wild, but it works within the context of the story, an application of Stark's genius and scientific prowess to tackle this problem. Ellis establishes that the Hulk isn't just massive and superhumanly strong but that, though a physical abomination, does represent a next level of human evolution by adapting to his surroundings. In here, a slight theme does emerge: the tragedy of the Hulk, that were it not for his inability to maintain control, he could be a huge asset to those around him. This, Ellis makes clear. A lesser writer may be too blunt in his assessment of these characters, but Ellis is smart enough to thread the needle between obvious and subtle.
The most interesting issue–and this, from what I've read online, will be somewhat contrarian to other opinions–is Ellis' third chapter, where he diverges from the main narrative to provide an origin for our "ultimate human," the Leader. This Leader is meant to represent both worlds the Hulk and Iron Man inhabit, his genius the result of an application of the Hulk's DNA which left him physically disabled. The backstory does come suddenly, breaking away from the Banner/Stark debacle, and some may consider it long in the tooth. I never felt it overstayed its welcome, and anything that seems somewhat confusing–this Leader is an alternate universe version of Pete Wisdom, a British character Ellis created in the 90s for Excalibur??–felt smoothed over by the time we reached the final panels. A lengthy backstory may not have been necessary for the Leader, but it does make him more (dare I say it) human and somewhat more relatable. You at least understand why he goes to all the trouble to become this series' antagonist.
Ultimate Human exists on the same plateau of "fine" where I would lump several other comics. It's a rather flat space, inhabited by stories which are somewhat interesting, fairly inoffensive, but lack a "wow" factor or some scene or theme which sets them apart from the rest of the pack. Ultimate Human's worst sin is that Ellis could do more with the characters or stretch our heroes in unique ways as he does his villain (and more than just with his enlarged cranium!). Honestly, Ellis seems more interested in the Leader as a character, with Bruce and Tony serving as necessary components to shuffle the story along...though I guess it's up to you to determine whether the world's smartest human or the world's strongest human steal that "ultimate" epithet from Mr. Wisdom.