Civil War II: Ulysses #2 Review and *SPOILERS* - Marvel Monday

I Got Those Seeing The Awful Future Blues

Written By: Al Ewing
Art By: Karl Kesel, Jefte Palo, Nick Filardi (Notice I spelled it right this time?)
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: September 14, 2016
Publisher: Marvel

*Non Spoilers and Score At The Bottom*

The Ulysses miniseries started out very promising. Granted, the first issue was more heavily focused on Karnak and the Tower of Wisdom but I still found it very entertaining. That said, what I’m looking for in this series is to learn more about Ulysses and get to know this character. I know very little about him and he is the focus of this entire Civil War II crossover. However, the last issue of this series didn’t really give us a whole lot about him but this series is only going to be three issues long. That means that there isn’t a whole lot of time to build this story and give the audience more about this character. Will they be able to do it? Let’s find out.

The issue begins with Ulysses in the middle of a vision that he first got at the end of the previous issues. Karnak narrates over the scene as Ulysses freaks out since he is experiencing the vision. Ulysses finds himself on a train. There are a lot of people getting on the train and he sees that the train is going to the Stark Needle, one of the big tourist attractions in Oregon. Ulysses tries to get a hold of himself but he is having trouble determining what reality is. For a moment, Ulysses considers that his time in the Tower of Wisdom was a vision and this is the real world. However, it isn’t long until things go south.

Suddenly the panel turns and it’s clear that the train that Ulysses is on has crashed. In the real world, Ulysses slams into the ground and screams out in pain. In pain, Ulysses begins freaking out as the images of death flood his eyes and his mind before he is brought out Karnak splashing him with water. Ulysses tries to tell Karnak all about his vision and that they have to do something but Karnak doesn’t really care. Karnak ends up leaving Ulysses in the cell and goes off on his own. Ulysses screams for help before eventually deciding that he needs to break out. Ulysses is able to find a weak spot in the cell door and uses it to escape.

Meanwhile, Karnak has left the tower and has arrived in Oregon. Apparently he is there to investigate Ulysses’ vision. Ulysses has finally escaped his cell and tries to sneak out of the Tower of Wisdom before he is caught by the chef. The chef talks with him for a bit before ordering him to return to his cell. Back in Oregon, we get several scene of the train’s passengers. There is a family from France, a man on a business call, and new parents with their young child. In the tree, Karnak sits watching the train and planning on seeing whether or not Ulysses vision comes true. This is where the issue leaves us.

Last issue, we didn’t get nearly enough Ulysses but I really enjoyed it anyway. This issues we get a bit more of Ulysses but honestly this issue isn’t nearly as entertaining. Honestly not a whole lot happens in this issue. Ulysses has a vision and then Karnak goes to the location of that vision and seems to let it happens and Ulysses breaks out of his cell to only be caught and sent back to the same cell. It just feels like not a whole lot has happened. This series is only 3 issues long. I shouldn’t feel like there are wasted issues in this series. There aren’t enough issues for that to happen. I will say that once again I am very impressed by the art and in particular, the panel layout. The art is probably what’s going to give this issue a good score.

Bits and Pieces

Aside from some interesting panel layout and some gorgeous art, this issue doesn’t have a lot of stuff happen. We get a little glimpse into who Ulysses is as a character but it’s not much and I only have a vaguely better idea as to who he is. Karnak shone in the first issue of this series and made the issue really interesting. Unfortunately, things didn’t turn out as nicely in this issue.

6.0/10