Ultimate Human Issue 1
Written by Warren Ellis
Illustrated by Cary Nord
Published by Marvel Comics

Tony Stark has it all; a multi-bnillion dollar company, a career as Iron Man one of the country’s premier superheroes and a body made enntirely of nanotechnological Comptronium; in essence, he’s a human-sized brain with good lucks, a fortune and a rock star lifestyle.

Bruce Banner has nothing; his attempt to replicate the Super Soldier serum that created Captain America instead turned him into the Hulk, a vast, uncontrolled embodiment of his id that has killed hundreds of people and led to Banner being left, alone, in the midddle of the ocean, tied to a bomb by the US Government. Banner’s escape took the last thing he had from him; his freedom.

When Banner comes to Stark, pleading for help, the billionaire sees a chance, not just to help someone but to help himself. The Hulk, if controlled, is a medical marvel, an endless new revenue stream of technology. But Stark isn’t the only one who wants Banner.

In England, a man named Peter Wisdom draws plans against the pair of them, draws plans that will see Stark’s unique cellular structure and Banner’s genetic curse combine to make him something more than human...

Written to coincide with the imminent release of both Iron Man and The Increidble Hulk at the cinema, this series sees Warren Elllis on familiar and very impressive ground. Ellis excels at writing colossally smart, extremely amoral people and as a result, his Tony Stark is great fun, one part Dean Martin to one part William Gibson.

Likewise, the big concepts thrown around here are handled with immense energy and enthusiasm. From the IronWorks, the Stark Enterprises research facility that most of the action takes place at to the combination of Peter Wisdom (An Ellis creation in the original Marvel universe) and the classic Hulk villain the Leader this is an inventive, incident heavy opening to what promises to be a fun series.

Cary Nord’s art only enhances matters, his chunky, expressive characters and kinetic panel breakdowns not only bringing the characters but the high impact action scenes to life. Vividly but not excessively coloured and very well paced, this is a strong first issue to what looks to be a very strong series. Highly recommended.