Rating: 
Summary: Ultimate, not quite, possible
Review: Having avidly read the entire Ultimate Series up to date, this series in continuity of the Ultimate X-men and Ultimates series is fantastic, and a five star read but only if you have all other Ultimate X-men tpbs and the Ultimates TPB (by the way the Ultimate X-men #2 TPB, is on my top ten list for gripping writing)... Ultimate War does not stand well on its own, it is just average. It lacks pages, great action, superb illustration, but for a fairweather fan, picking this up would not be a good idea... for a fan, you cannot go without it!
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimate War
Review: Here we have two new Marvel creations meeting and fighting: The Ultimate X-Men and the Ultimates. The art is back up to par in this book. The story still as strong as the previous books. Even this far along they've kept it fresh.
Rating: 
Summary: Marvels Ultimates
Review: I don't buy comics anymore I buy manga and graphic novels and stopped collecting comics a couple of years ago as the prices increased while the quality decreased. The Ultimate line from Marvel has been outstanding. This review doesn't apply to this individual trade per se but Marvel Comics as a whole under Joe Quesada. I thought I was done with comics but Quesada brought me back if only for the trades.
Rating: 
Summary: Ultimate filler....
Review: I found the matchups also X-biased and without the huge dramatic impact of the Ultimates series -- Colossus tossing Thor around after Thor and Hulk go toe to toe? Wolverine shredding Stark's armor and taking out Iron Man in seconds? Isn't Iron Man the guy who captured the Rhino in U-Spidey without working up a sweat? C'mon. The revisionist stuff is great, and works in Ultimates, U-X and U-Spidey, but Ultimate War is only filler between the two super teams' Ultimate books. Poor use of continuity and very little action payoff.
Rating:
Summary: Another great book of the Ultimate Universe.
Review: I have been a fan of the Ultimate line since it began(especially Ultimate X-Men) and this is a great crossover story for fans of The Ultimates or Ultimate X-Men (or anyone looking for a great action packed story). The art is great and just the idea of The Ultimates fighting the Ultimate X-Men(and the return of Magneto) is mind-blowing. Any fan of the Ultimate universe cannot miss this book. Recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The X-Men vs The Ultimates - What more to ask for?
Review: I stopped reading the X-Men about 20 years ago and I've been trying to do some catching up since last month (thank God for issue review/synopses websites). I'd already been warned that the "Ultimate" version was much more cynical & nasty than the original version, but this volume reprinting "Ultimate War" 1-4 had some nice panels of Prof. X in it, so I bought it anyway. Nastier? Oh, yes. The implications of what Magneto does to Quicksilver made me cringe. The body count after the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge seemed horrifying enough -- wasn't too thrilled to learn it was little more than half of what the Brotherhood was aiming for. Saw the X-2 movie with one of my sisters and she sneered afterwards that Prof. X should have killed Magneto in the 1st movie, but he's too much of a Goody Two-Shoes. I repeated this to a friend and we had quite a discussion about it. His position was that superheroes don't kill and there's no justification for killing Magneto on the basis that he *might* kill again. I played Devil's Advocate and argued that by letting Magneto live, any subsequent murders Mr. Magnet commits would be partially Prof. X's responsibility. This volume plays out that argument. Prof. X lied and claimed he killed Magneto when he just brainwashed him. Mistake?This Magneto is proposing that the regular humans' fate will be either slavery, fuel, or food. Charming. Also stupid, since normal humans are still the biggest source of mutants. If you find the Magneto-Prof. X relationship fascinating, as I do, there are some pages here that should make the volume worth your while. For all Magneto claims that Xavier is too far gone (in loving humans) to join the Brotherhood, he makes the "charismatic cripple" [his words, not mine], another offer at the end. Magneto wondering aloud how Xavier maintains his "saint-like reputation" is sourly amusing since I've read that in this series, it was Magneto who paralyzed Xavier. My biggest objection to Xavier's portrayal in this volume is his overconfidence. Unless he was planning a real trap within a fake trap, the good professor acts like a twit instead of a genius when he sets up the meeting with Magneto. I'm not a genius and I knew better. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Having Jean pick up on what Wolverine did about Scott was pretty good. Iceman's talk with his father was bleak. Liked the Wasp's little chat with Jean's dad. The panels mentioning what the Hulk did when he escaped -- GAK! The X-Men's complaint that the Ninja Assassin fight simulation kick-boxing sequence cross-references Hebrew ideology gets a cute payoff during the fight issue. Oh, if you don't know what "Zyklon B" is, it was used to gas concentration camp victims to death during World War II. If all you want is action, you'll probably be disappointed. If you like characterization as well as action, pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Character moments made the book for me
Review: I stopped reading the X-Men about 20 years ago and I've been trying to do some catching up since last month (thank God for issue review/synopses websites). I'd already been warned that the "Ultimate" version was much more cynical & nasty than the original version, but this volume reprinting "Ultimate War" 1-4 had some nice panels of Prof. X in it, so I bought it anyway. Nastier? Oh, yes. The implications of what Magneto does to Quicksilver made me cringe. The body count after the destruction of the Brooklyn Bridge seemed horrifying enough -- wasn't too thrilled to learn it was little more than half of what the Brotherhood was aiming for. Saw the X-2 movie with one of my sisters and she sneered afterwards that Prof. X should have killed Magneto in the 1st movie, but he's too much of a Goody Two-Shoes. I repeated this to a friend and we had quite a discussion about it. His position was that superheroes don't kill and there's no justification for killing Magneto on the basis that he *might* kill again. I played Devil's Advocate and argued that by letting Magneto live, any subsequent murders Mr. Magnet commits would be partially Prof. X's responsibility. This volume plays out that argument. Prof. X lied and claimed he killed Magneto when he just brainwashed him. Mistake? This Magneto is proposing that the regular humans' fate will be either slavery, fuel, or food. Charming. Also stupid, since normal humans are still the biggest source of mutants. If you find the Magneto-Prof. X relationship fascinating, as I do, there are some pages here that should make the volume worth your while. For all Magneto claims that Xavier is too far gone (in loving humans) to join the Brotherhood, he makes the "charismatic cripple" [his words, not mine], another offer at the end. Magneto wondering aloud how Xavier maintains his "saint-like reputation" is sourly amusing since I've read that in this series, it was Magneto who paralyzed Xavier. My biggest objection to Xavier's portrayal in this volume is his overconfidence. Unless he was planning a real trap within a fake trap, the good professor acts like a twit instead of a genius when he sets up the meeting with Magneto. I'm not a genius and I knew better. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Having Jean pick up on what Wolverine did about Scott was pretty good. Iceman's talk with his father was bleak. Liked the Wasp's little chat with Jean's dad. The panels mentioning what the Hulk did when he escaped -- GAK! The X-Men's complaint that the Ninja Assassin fight simulation kick-boxing sequence cross-references Hebrew ideology gets a cute payoff during the fight issue. Oh, if you don't know what "Zyklon B" is, it was used to gas concentration camp victims to death during World War II. If all you want is action, you'll probably be disappointed. If you like characterization as well as action, pick it up.
Rating:
Summary: Serious disappointment
Review: I was on the fence as to whether to get this book, because I only get one of the two series it combines ("The Ultimates." I've tried "Ultimate X-Men" and found it to be a disapointment.) Still, the writer promised there would be ramifications for both series, so I gave it a shot... and was seriously let down. There are definite ramifications if you've been reading "Ultimate X-Men," but not much has changed for the reader of "The Ultimates." Even if you're into "X-Men," there isn't much meat here. You've got four issues of ill-defined fights with little plot or intrigue other than "Magneto is bad and the Ultimates think the X-Men are working with him so there must be lots of fighting." This does not make for good comic book storytelling. In truth, I would have given this book one star, but I bumped it up a notch for the climactic battle between Captain America and Wolverine -- the way it turned out was something I've always longed to see.
Rating:
Summary: Too Much Hype, Less Action!!!
Review: I'm an Avenger fanatic and like a little bit of X-Men too which maybe the reason why I bought the Ultimate War #1 and later the TPB. I was disappointed by this series - too much word balloons killed the excitement of the probable confrontation of the Ultimate X-Men and Ultimates (Avenger). Unlike the Authority-series and Ultimates, Mark Millar failed in this one!!!
Rating: 
Summary: War of Words
Review: Lots of build-up, no action and dissapointing ending. This book was billed as a critical inroduction into the upcoming Magneto story line as well as a "classic" battle between the ultimates and the X-men. In the end, it was neither. A long story without a true beginning or end and very little meat in the middle. If I had the choice, I would have skipped this one altogether.
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