About the Ultimates #1 (2002)

cover by bryan hitch
mark millar (w)/bryan hitch (p)/andrew currie (i)
• THE SCOOP: The dream team of Mark Millar (ULTIMATE X-MEN) and Bryan Hitch (The Authority) unleash the fourth title in the red-hot Ultimate line!
• THE STORY: A mutant madman attacked the President of the United States on the White House lawn. A gaudily-costumed teen climbs walls in New York City. The strange beings who've appeared overnight are here to stay. The old order has fallen and people are scared. Nick Fury, head of the elite espionage agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., has a unique solution: put some of these bizarre characters on his payroll! His grand idea: a small but lethal army known as The Ultimates, created to protect us all from the newly rising threats to mankind! Among those considered for membership: Iron Man, a jet-flying, limousine-riding, publicity-seeking capitalist with both a self-made confidence and a personal assault suit; Giant-Man, a Prozac-popping scientist with an inferiority complex as large as his stature; The Wasp, a petite powerhouse with a sordid secret; The Hulk, a brilliant, gentle man who's addicted to letting his inhibitions go and tearing everything - and everyone - he loves apart; Captain America, a soldier with John Glenn's buzz-cut cool, John McCain's style of politics, and Mike Tyson's right cross; and Thor, a New Age guru who may either be the living son of a Norse god... or a lunatic with a big hammer.
• THE WRITER SPEAKS: "In a broad sense, this book is about the greatest heroes of our time getting together to defend the world," explained Millar. "However, that's also the high-concept for the JLA and pretty much every super-team book on the stands. What we have to do here is re-think everything we've ever taken for granted about super hero comics and throw away all of the clichés and formulas. This series (as well as the Ultimate line in general) has to feel as different from traditional comic books as Stan Lee's vision was to Golden Age DC."
• THE FORMAT: This debut issue is 32 pages, with ads. Each issue of this ongoing monthly series will be printed on glossy paper, with a cardstock cover.