Ultimate Fallout #5

Background

Last issue we were introduced to the brand new Ultimate Spider-Man. That interesting development will have to wait because it has no bearing on this issue.

Story Details

In New York City a limo pulls up to a skyscraper and a man named Philip Hanstead, who is referred to as “the Chief Executive of World Wide Solutions” later on, and a woman named Devon, who could be some kind of financial consultant, step out. She is leading him into a meeting where he could stand to make a lot of money but he is hesitant, believing that he is about to meet with some kind of terrorist and if anyone should find out it would ruin him. Upstairs, who should be waiting for them but Pietro Lensherr, aka Quicksliver, who introduces himself to Hanstead and kisses Devon on her check. Obviously the two of them know each other.

Starting the meeting Lensherr mentions how hard it has been on businesses in the present economic climate and then asks Hanstead what he thinks was the most valuable resource ever imported into the states. Hanstead, like almost every other person, believes it to be oil but Lensherr corrects him telling him it was actually slaves and, by giving examples, how lucrative to the economy they were.

Lensherr then changes the topic to mutants and how wonderful their powers could be if used correctly. He gives examples of what a mutant teleporter could do for the shipping industry or someone who can control the weather could mean for the farming industry. All this potential and it is just ignored. Instead of mutants actually helping the world they are stuck in an endless battle started by Lensherr’s father, Magneto and Charles Xavier.

Hamstead agrees about the potential of mutants but mentions the incredible risks that come along with them. Lensherr then goes on to say that he wants to help his fellow mutants reach their potential as he protects them from the outside world and from each other. Hamstead gets up to leave saying he isn’t interested in being a part of any war between mustants and humans or anything like that, but Lensherr says that he has misunderstood him. He isn’t interested in starting any race war. He’s interested, instead, in selling those powerful mutants to Hamstead to use to their full potential.

Nick Fury, traveling in a helicopter, arrives at the New York Triskelion. With his own thoughts and the haggard look on his face we can tell that he is under an extreme amount of stress. Once inside he asks for a current report and learns about how the European Union is afraid of some Asgard situation, which has caused them to start up their Super Soldier program again. Also, that Jamie Braddock has been put in charge of the resulting team. Fury is then informed that a fight between Uruguay and Argentina could soon escalate and that the U.S. ambassador has already promised Ultimates support to the U.N. And lastly Fury is told about a super secret group called S.E.A.R. who is developing a biological/metahuman weapons system. With the death of three spies, that is all the information they currently have. Fury makes a few inquires and commands but then says he’s got an important meeting to get to, one that he is not looking forward to.

Upstairs, outside of his office, his secretary tells Fury that the person who Fury is suppose to have his meeting with is already inside. Going in Fury sees a man playing with a hand gun at his desk and Fury then makes a joke about him being careful or he’ll shoot his eye out. The man is Jasper Sitwell and he’s from the White House and he has news about the next year’s operating budget for S.H.I.E.L.D. Sitwell informs Fury that his budget will be reduced by 30 percent. Fury is astonished. He then goes on a rant about all the work they have been doing and all the new state-of-the-art facilities that are going up around the world, some of which are actually orbiting the world. Sitwell informs him that everything that was expected from S.H.I.E.L.D. is still, and will continue to be, expected from them. They just now have 30 percent less resources to do their job.

Fury laments that people are going to die because of this decision but Sitwell is unmoved but apologetic saying there is nothing he can do as he leaves. Fury lowers his head and says to himself that they are stretched too thin.

Sometime at night in Pietro’s Penthouse, Pietro and Devon are getting pretty intimate and talking about their meeting earlier. Apparently Hanstead is coming along with Lensherr with this whole mutant slavery idea that Lensherr has. As the two lovers actually do start to have sex Pietro looks up and is surprised by the sight of his sister Wanda in Devon’s place. He starts telling his sister how much he misses her but then also says something pretty cryptic: “five are fallen and one is. Soon.” Pulling her brother’s head to her chest she whispers into his ear that she is proud of him and that to save his soul he must go to Egypt.

Just as quickly as she arrived Wanda is gone and Devon is back in her place. Devon asks Pietro if he is alright because he doesn’t look too good. He then yells at her to get out.

General Comments

Pietro Lensherr has a meeting with Philip Hanstead, a very important businessman, to discuss the possibilities of mutant slaves. Very uncomfortable stuff. Pietro is obviously a pretty sleazy villain, much worse than his father, who we can at least relate to and agree with some of the things he believes in. Pietro on the other hand who is willing to sell his fellow mutants into slavery makes him purely a villain to despise.

We then get a different look at Nick Fury’s character. Usually he comes off as being all powerful and at the top of the government pecking order. But here we see he almost brought to tears by a suit from Washington who informs him that his operating budget will be slashed by 30%. This powerless, weakling is not the Fury we know and who we’ve been reading about since the launch of the Ultimates line of comics.

The issue closes out with Pietro and an acquaintance of his in a very intimate moment together. While the two are in the throes of passion, the woman appears to become Pietro’s sister, Wanda. The relationship between these two has always been extremely distasteful and here again we see the two siblings acting a little too touchy-feely.

Overall Rating

Not one mention of the new Ultimate Spider-Man character we were introduced to in the last issue. Instead we get three stories, one about slavery, one showing a powerful character reduced to a weak, nothing of his former self, and then the issue wraps up with a little incest between Pietro and Wanda Lancherr. Gross. I enjoyed nothing about this issue, and to have Spider-Man’s name on the cover is just pointless.

Yes, we see Nick Fury, who one could argue is a solid Spider-Man supporting character, but really he belongs more in the Ultimates comic book. I’m really anxious to get this mini-series finished and done with so we can move onto the new Ultimate Spider-Man monthly book.