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I usually don’t enjoy revamps. No matter how cheesy a comic or movie might have been in the 60s or 70s, it possessed a spirit that today’s creators can’t often match. The original X-Men series by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Roy Thomas, and Werner Roth had funky villains like The Mimic and soap opera machinations between Scott Summers and Jean Grey. When Marvel decided to re-imagine this as Ultimate X-Men, the results were mixed. They erased all the lovable qualities of the characters that made them so unforgettable in favor of Jerry Bruckheimer style action. I had written off the Ultimate line of comics for good, and when the updated version of The Avengers appeared, I didn’t buy it until the trade paperback appeared. And I was glad I did, because unlike the other series, this one has heart. Mark Millar spent the time to explore each of the characters before sending them off into action. He updated the series in a way that made sense, by having everyone look at Thor as if he were a nut job and Bruce Banner as a misanthropic nerd. The first trade paperback introduced the Ultimates, while the second put them into action against an updated version of the Skulls.
Now the third arc is complete and you can probably get them all in comic stores today. Pick up Marvel Must Haves with Ultimates V2 1-3, and then get single issues 4-6. Rather than having one story spread among six issues, Millar breaks it up into smaller stories that form a mystery. In the first three issues, someone leaks to the media that the Hulk is really Bruce Banner and the whole massacre of innocent New Yorkers was really the Ultimates’ fault. The Hulk goes on trial and is defended by Matt Murdock. Those old timers in the audience will remember the issue of the 70s Hulk where he got the same defense attorney. Unlike that story, this one concludes as it probably would in the real world, but I don’t understand why the government chooses this particular method of execution. Ultimates V2 4-5 deal with the origins of Thor: is he really a Norse God or is he another super soldier variant? A scientist in Europe, Thor’s brother, claims to have invented the hammer and harness that gives Thor his powers. Thor says that this fellow is really Loki who is bending reality and causing the Ultimates to turn against him. The Ultimates go after Thor and it isn’t your regular superhero slugfest.
: Now there I go, contradicting myself once again, like I’m Jimmy Carter or something. (Dad would have a fit.) Mark Waid's Fantastic Four doesn't re-invent Marvel's first family as much as re-invigorate it. The story involves the aftermath of the team’s recent collision with Dr. Doom. Instead of just waiting for Doom to reappear and wreck havoc in their lives, Reed Richards decides to invade Doom’s country Latveria and dismantle the good Doctor’s infrastructure. This move naturally upsets the United Nations and S.H.I.E.L.D., so Nick Fury gets involved with orders to take down the FF. You’ve never seen Reed Richards like this: angry, driven, and proactive in taking steps to remove the world’s greatest super-villain. Yet it seems like Marvel super-heroes can’t act this way without paying a terrible price. It all concludes in a journey that has the FF paying tribute to their Creator. Mike Wieringo is right up there with the classic FF pantheon of artists. The Thing has never looked so good since Kirby and Byrne drew him, and The Torch's red-glow flame-on is a take on Alan Davis' approach. Ringo is able assisted by Paul Mounts on the colors, who makes the Thing's rocky hide seem three dimensional. Sue Storm ain't bad lookin' either, in a MILF kind of way. I sure wish that 
