- Written by: Deniz Camp
- Art by: Phil Noto
- Colors by: Phil Noto
- Letters by: VC’s Travis Lanham
- Cover art by: Dike Ruan (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: October 22, 2025
The Ultimates #17, by Marvel on 10/22/25, opens with Doom teaching about the fourth dimension, turning science into existential poetry while the world crumbles around him.
First Impressions
This issue feels lost in its own maze of pseudo-brilliance. It’s dense with ideas but hollow in soul, trudging through dialogue-heavy pages that mistake confusion for complexity. The heart is there, buried under lifeless art and a cold, mechanical rhythm that kills its pulse.
Recap
In the previous issue, Wren Montgomery fled a totalitarian system hunting her for ties to the Ultimates. Her encounter with Iron Lad’s growing resistance hinted at larger rebellion, as heroes began forming a movement to stand against the Maker’s reign. The Ultimates #16 ended on Wren’s uncertain fate and the Maker’s imprisonment, suggesting a storm quietly building beneath the surface.
Plot Analysis
The Ultimates #17 centers on Doom, the man who was once Reed Richards, reflecting on creation, suffering, and the legacy of the Maker. He takes on a mentor-like role, lecturing on the fourth dimension and the endless loop of existence. Tony Stark, operating as Iron Lad, reaches out to Doom as he leads the Ultimates’ increasingly fractured alliance while still seeking ways to prepare for the Maker’s inevitable return. Their exchanges drip with suppressed emotion but circle the same concepts without advancing the overarching mission.
Midway through the issue, Doom embarks on a new cosmic experiment he calls “Project 4.” He draws together multiple civilian recruits and exposes them to controlled bursts of cosmic radiation, hoping to recreate his lost family, the Fantastic Four. The experiment spirals into chaos, resulting in pain, failure, and self-doubt. Haunted visions of Susan Storm and the Maker’s cruel laughter shred Doom’s resolve, as flashbacks blur with hallucinations.
As Doom struggles, Iron Lad fights battles abroad, juggling teenage mutant assassins and fractured timelines, while Stark’s Immortus Engine keeps him alive. Meanwhile, Doom and Tony’s partnership fractures under revelation. Every innovation Doom makes was already conceived by the Maker. The theme of futility returns as Doom realizes he is endlessly shadowed by his alternate selves: the Maker and Mister Fantastic.
The story culminates with Doom recommitting to his cosmic mission as others celebrate a minor victory elsewhere. He isolates himself, driven to “honor his lost family” and build a new Fantastic Four. The comic closes on a haunting yet static note: Doom vowing vengeance, promising cosmic resurrection, and whispering the haunting mantra: “Just because you’re broken doesn’t mean you need to be fixed.”
Writing
Deniz Camp’s script taps deeply into Doom’s fractured psyche, blending high-concept science with personal tragedy. But the dialogue drowns in its own density. Conversations loop endlessly, with abrupt transitions that jump from cosmic philosophy to awkward banter. Emotional beats read flat because each scene clings to intellectual weight over human warmth. The narrative feels both too ambitious and too clipped, skipping connective tissue between ideas in favor of lofty monologues that rarely land.
Art
Phil Noto’s art feels uninspired here. His muted color palette and stiff compositions bring none of the energy this story demands. Faces blur into sameness, the few and brief action scenes lack movement, and the sterile tone undermines the tension. The pages meant to evoke grandeur instead feel static, sapping cosmic wonder and flattening the story’s emotional stakes. A book about Doom’s torment should burn with madness; instead, it smolders dully.
Characters
Despite the comic’s structural flaws, Doom stands as its magnetic center. His psyche unfolds with tragic conviction – a man suffocating under his own brilliance, haunted by his failures, and paradoxically noble in seeking redemption. Every line he utters carries longing and intelligence, crafting a portrait far richer than anyone around him. Iron Lad and the rest of the Ultimates, by contrast, fade into narrative background noise. Stark’s role as Doom’s echo lacks emotional charge, while supporting heroes drift in and out without weight or purpose.
Positives
Doom’s internal conflict resonates powerfully. His introspection and fragmented memories breathe complexity into what could have been pure melodrama. The themes of identity, failure, and self-creation pulse beneath the wreckage of the plot. In its best moments, the writing evokes real sadness about a man confronting his other selves and realizing genius cannot save him from loneliness.
Negatives
The storytelling collapses under its ambition. Scene transitions are abrupt and confusing. Dialogue sprawls incoherently and repeats itself. The pacing stumbles, with cosmic exposition supplanting actual stakes. Noto’s lifeless art drains any remaining energy, failing to complement the script’s intended grandeur. Worst of all, the larger goal – assembling the Ultimate Avengers – barely inches forward, leaving the series stalled. For a book meant to build momentum toward confronting the Maker, this feels like treading water in tonal gray.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Final Thoughts
The Ultimates #17 proves that intellect without rhythm makes for dull storytelling. Doom’s riveting characterization keeps it from collapsing entirely, but everything else feels disjointed. Too many ideas, too little cohesion. Marvel’s Ultimate line deserves better than these cosmic ruminations disguised as progression. If this series wants to lead into the showdown with the Maker, it needs a pulse first.
4/10
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