The Good
Miles Morales and Ultimate Reed Richards (you know, the super-evil one) head to the 616 universe to gain some knowledge on the giant purple planet eater we know as Galactus.
It's great seeing Ultimate Reed Richards back with the good guys, although he makes one amazing villain. It's great to see him drop his ego for a bit to help out because without everyone working together, Ultimate Earth becomes an entree for Galactus. However, while Reed is trying to regain the trust of everyone around him, but there's a few folks who simply don't trust him, for good reason. In fact, Iron Man pulls Miles aside to give him a little something, just in case Reed gets out of line.
Bendis does a fine job with the dialogue between the characters as well. The conversations flow smoothly, and there's a great seriousness to everything the characters are saying. Bendis has a tendency to be a tiny bit comical, at times, which is fine, but he keeps everything on the straight and narrow here.
The star of this issue is really Mark Bagley's art, with Andrew Hennessy on inks, and Jason Keith on colors. Bagley's page set-ups look great here. He really has a special way of bringing the reader into a scene and establishing the world the characters are in. That final page is fantastic as the world bends under the power of Galactus.
The Bad
This issue feels so short. There's even a few repeat pages within it. This story could have easily been slimmed down and moved into another issue rather than having it on its own. Frankly, this really feels like filler. Not much really happens here that warrants a full 20 pages. Miles and Reed go to the 616, find out who Galactus is, and Miles and Reed head back to the Ultimate Universe. That's the whole issue, and it really moves that fast when you read it.
It really just is a problem with pacing as well as a problem with not having enough happening in a book to fill it out. There's even a couple "why is this in here" moments, like when 616 Spider-Man is just randomly swinging by and Miles shouts "Dude, I am so sorry" because the HERBIEs start attacking him.
The Verdict
CATACLYSM: LAST STAND #3 is a really good 8 page story, dragged on for 20 pages. This issue really missed its mark. The overall story has been very good, and this issue moves the story forward, but not at the pace of everything else. The issue feels like filler. This has been the weakest issue of the story thus far, so if you're already reading it, pick it up, otherwise this is a mild recommendation which you could easily skip.
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