Civil War II: Ulysses #3 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

Bend or Break

Written By: Al Ewing
Art By: Karl Kesel, Jefte Palo, Nick Filardi
Cover Price: $4.99
Release Date: October 12, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

It all comes down to this issue. So far, this series has had one great issue and one lackluster one. Considering this is the final issue, it will be the deciding factor about this series. Now, Civil War II has been a mess and I think many people have jumped ship due to it so I doubt this series is on a whole lot of other people’s radar. That said, the series promised a bit of insight into the character Ulysses. Considering the character is the center of such a huge crossover event, I’d say it is about time. Unfortunately, at this point I cannot say that I know more about Ulysses than I did prior to this series but I could always be proven wrong. Will this series end on a high note? Will we finally know more about this Ulysses character? Let’s find out.

We pick up where we left off. Karnak is monitoring the train that Ulysses saw crash in his vision while Ulysses is facing off against the chef in the Tower of Wisdom. Ulysses attempts to get away from the Inhuman but to no avail. He is trapped in the kitchen when he remembers that the chef sees by smell and luckily there is a bowl of peppers near him. He throws them into the chef’s face and is able to escape the kitchen with a knife. On his way out, Ulysses is forced to face another Inhuman that he ran into earlier but is able to avoid detection. He finally reaches the front door of the Tower but it is unable to be moved. This is when he remembers Lock, the Inhuman he met first in the Tower. As long as Lock’s hands a bound together, the door is unable to be opened.

Ulysses talks with Lock and explains the situation. He tells him about the vision he had of the train crashing and that he expects Karnak will allow the tragedy to happen. Lock tells him to trust in Karnak but Ulysses has to stop it and threatens to attack Lock with the knife. Lock simply accepts that things are fated to be this way and Ulysses looks like he is about to cut off Lock’s fingers to open the door but stops at the last second. He breaks down and triggers another vision. A vision that we don’t fully understand yet. Lock decides to trust Ulysses and undoes the lock on the door. Ulysses flees only to find Karnak standing outside the tower.

Karnak attempts to use the situation to teach Ulysses once again but Ulysses isn’t in the mood. He rejects Karnak’s lesson and instead tells him that he must go to Oregon to stop the train from crashing. He raises his fists to Karnak expecting a fight. This is when Karnak informs him that he is already too late. He went to Oregon already. Ulysses lashes out in anger, rushing Karnak and swinging his fist. He strikes Karnak in the face but immediately falls to his knees. Karnak suspects that he has never thrown a punch before and Ulysses thinks he has broken his hand. This is when Karnak explains everything to Ulysses. He went to Oregon and stopped the train, looking for a reason why the train would crash. He breaks the train and finds the issue. He wanted to see if the train would crash no matter what but with his interference he was able to change things. Karnak and Ulysses take a seat outside the tower and discuss what Ulysses has learned. This is when Ulysses has another vision. This time though, he is able to calm himself and find the detail of what we can assume is the attack on New York City. This is where the issue ends.

Well, this ending is just kind of there. It isn’t bad but it certainly isn’t good either. For a series that began with such a large amount of promise, it has really underperformed. Granted, the art in the book continues to be amazing. Unfortunately the actual story of the book is just kind of okay. Granted, the scene with Ulysses and Lock is really something special. However, I don’t feel like I know anything more about Ulysses than I did when I started this series. I had gotten a little bit already from the main Civil War II series as well as the many other tie-ins and this series didn’t really change anything. It rather just reinforced what we already knew. Ultimately the series is just okay.

Bits and Pieces

Civil War II: Ulysses ends with a whimper and does little to change the game. Rather, the series only reinforces what we already knew while adding a little of a story as possible. The art in the book is really nice to look at but for a $4.99 price tag, it’s easy to say that this book is a rip off.

5.5/10