Previously, in issue #11

Going into this issue, I had no idea it was the final one of the series. I figured the arc(s) would be wrapped up and then we’d move on to something else. Nope. This is it. And I’m sad.

As usual, this series did a great job of catching you up right away. In case you forgot, EVERYONE is facing off: the All-New Ultimates were up against the remaining Serpent Skulls, plus the bounty hunter, Taskmaster, and Ecstasy. Terror Inc., rogue cops, showed up and then - because things weren’t crazy enough - Jip (man turned monster by inhaling experimental drugs) arrived to kill everyone.

As they spring into action to save the city (and still apprehend the Serpent Skulls), Bombshell asks herself something I’ve been wondering since the beginning: Did she really love Poey? It always felt to me she was using him to get in with the Skulls and bust up their drug trade, but when he died she convinced herself that she loved him. Her depression even led her to leave the group for awhile. Now, she realizes that she liked being in love more than she liked him. His death made her stronger and finally able to accept the hero she was meant to be, and she feels guilt over that because it’s almost like celebrating his death.

Terror a.k.a. Terry Shreck, the detective also mutated thanks to those experimental drugs, is able to go inside Jip and use his new psychic powers to communicate with him and calm him long enough to allow his body to die.

Weeks later, Bombshell learns that S.H.I.E.L.D used the Ultimates to stir up trouble and force Crossbones out of hiding. He was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent who’d gone a little too deep undercover and crossed over. They were also trying to get intel on Ecstasy and her connection to HYDRA. It seems they don’t have anything they can pin on Ecstasy, but Bombshell suggests using what Jip told Terror as evidence of her misdoings.

Free to go their separate ways, the team decides that they may work together again after all, and there’s a hint they may head over to help the X-Men.

This was one of the first comics I picked up when I decided to get back into them a few months ago. I was intrigued by the diversity in the main cast of heroes, but the story and beautiful art quickly grabbed me. I wasn’t a fan of a few issues where the artist changed, and I’ve come to understand that is par for the course in series like this. Overall, it was an enjoyable ride. My score here is for the series as a whole.

If, like me, you’re looking to return to comic books or you’re diving in for the first time, the All-New Ultimates is a great series to begin with. And with just 12 issues, it’s a short and affordable commitment you won’t regret.