Cataclysm #0.1
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Art by Mico Suayan, Mirco Peirfederici, and Leonard Kirk
Colors by Nolan Woodard
Review by Mike Duke
Cataclysm #0.1 had everything going against it. I’m not a fan of the point one concept in general, and I was disappointed with the end of the Hunger mini-series. I can say, however, that I was pleasantly surprised by this issue, and it gives me some hope for the Cataclysm event going forward.
The issue focuses on the Ultimate universe version of The Vision. For those who–like me–do not know the character, this Vision is female and in a relationship with Sam Wilson, The Falcon. She was also created for a very specific purpose: to battle the Gah Lak Tus swarm. As we saw in Hunger, the swarm was defeated on Earth by Mahr Vehl, and Vision goes to visit the site. By interfacing with what is left of the swarm, she is able to see Galactus and find out about the 616 universe. From there, she decides she must confront Galactus and stop him if possible.
I personally feel like the prelude to Cataclysm should have started with this issue and not with Hunger. This was a compact, tightly written story that told us all of the information we need going into the event without all of the noise. And by the way, Ultimate Vision is a really cool character. We get her internal monolog throughout the book, and even though she is an android, there is something about her that is relatable. Her sense of duty coupled with her struggle to understand her emotions is really interesting and a great enhancement to the story. There’s also a point about halfway through the book where she calls out the differences between the Ultimate universe and the 616 that is very cool.
The art in this book is very different from what I’ve come to expect from the Ultimate universe, but it works. The lines are much heavier and the shadows much deeper, which plays against Vision’s chrome skin quite nicely. The colors are well done and Galactus looks sufficiently badass when he shows up. I don’t know what else you could ask for.
Verdict
Buy it. Having read this issue, I can say with some confidence that Hunger is skippable, while this issue should be read. There isn’t a ton of new information given here, but it’s given in a much better package, and there is a bit of a twist at the end that will have Ultimate Comics fans excited to see what happens. And did I mention that Ultimate Vision is really cool?
