Intensity With A Slight Digression
As predicted, Ultimate Fallout has shifted from pure Spider-Man mode to accommodate the other series that are about to start up in the Reborn lineup. The Spider-Crew still takes center stage, but we get stories from Thor and Rogue, comprising 3/4 of the new books (only Hawkeye is missing). Bendis wrote the Spidey stuff, Hickman wrote Thor, and Spencer Rogue. This is the first time we've got all three from the Reborn relaunch all writing together in unison and I hope this collaboration continues once the new books launch.
Spider-Man
The book's emotional strength is mostly derived from this story. Picking up after last issue's cliffhanger, Aunt May deals with Captain America's admission of guilt. Ultimate May, who has typically been way more fiery than her 616 counterpart, displays just the amount of shocking action and reactionary grief and despair that you might expect. Gwen, sadly, is relegated to a support role, but the most intriguing development that Bendis is setting up comes from what MJ is up to. I'm hoping for a big payoff there, but we'll see.
I miss Bagley's art, but that's not really fair to Gabriel Hardman who does a fantastic job conveying the swirling emotional landscape of Peter's funeral. There were lots of great touches in the art, like Cap crying or the overwhelming backgrounds that made May feel so powerless. Definitely the strongest part of the book
Thor
Just this month Jonathan Hickman did something very similar to his Thor interlude in FF. In that book the action of the War of the Four Cities was interrupted to look at the histories of Black Bolt and the Inhumans. Predictably, that issue was met with a lot of consternation and confusion.
Thor's third of the book deals with his mystical nature and his beliefs, which actually makes sense in the context of a funeral. He describes Valhalla and we're treated to a nice shot of dead Ultimate heroes, like Cyclops, Wolverine, and, yes, Peter Parker, all enjoying libations in paradise.
So, yeah, it doesn't really move the story forward, but I think the point is that Ultimate Fallout is a primer for the Reborn universe. Hickman is reintroducing Thor's godhood and introducing to new readers the status of certain heroes in the Ultimate Universe. I'm kind of annoyed that Rogue steps on this a little later with some redundancies, but it's forgivable.
Despite its thematic appropriateness (he is at a funeral, after all), Hickman's digression is the weakest of the bunch. It's just too much of a shift from what readers are anxious to see. I caution readers not to underestimate Hickman. There's a good chance all of this could become very relevant to Hickman's run on the Ultimates. I was particularly struck by the part where Thor mentions that Odin has plans to remake the two worlds (Asgard and Midgard). Could we be seeing a conflict between the heroes of Earth and the gods of Asgard soon?
Bryan Hitch's art is my least favorite in the book, but it's still quite good.
Rogue
The third part of the book is a brief look at what Rogue is up to. According to the released covers, the new X-Men lineup appears to be Kitty Pryde, Wolverine's son, Jimmy Hudson, Iceman, and The Human Torch. Where Rogue fits into this, I'm not sure, but her role in this issue appears to be outlining how dire the Mutant situation is. With mutantism all but outlawed after the Ultimatum catastrophe, she's been on the run.
Rogue's apocalyptic predictions aside, this part of the book was actually pretty good. Sure, it did little to advance the story, but its story beats hit a little harder since the things Rogue was talking about were closer to earth (versus Asgard).
Spencer's writing is solid and Lee Garbett's art, particularly in the full moon church prayer scene, is spot on.
Conclusion
Ultimate Fallout is clearly headed in a direction, but taking its time to get there. Normally that would be a problem, but spending a while on Peter's funeral seems fitting for the universe since the line was launched with his title. Info about the new Spidey seems to be coming in issue #4, not #3, but clearly we're moving toward something. 1/3 of the way in, I'm loving this mini-series. I hope it maintains its momentum and quality for the next four issues.