The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007)
by Alex Irvine

BELOW: This excerpt from a "status report" prepared by Chitauri alien invaders is from the opening chapter to The Ultimates: Against All Enemies. The Chitauri status report names the "National Socialist" movement by name. (This is the official name of the Nazi party.) The Chitauri admire the Nazi understanding that the "imposition of order requires domination and control of cultural production." The report specifically mentions using Hollywood to promote "traditional values." The Chitauri understand that Hollywood-based film and television are among the most powerful tools in the world for influencing human behavior.

We are no longer focused on human political centers in +New York+ and +Washington+; the events leading up to the +Arizona+ setback made clear that our surveillance must be diversified, encompassing human technological research and cultural production a well as the standard intelligence targets of military and political activity. The +National Socialist+ host understood that the imposition of order requires domination and control of cultural production as well as military strength; we are redoubling our efforts on this front. Much of this effort consists of suborning existing structures, such as film production, to increase the dissemination of material that prepares the human mind for the idea of order. Consolidation of cultural production in fewer and fewer hands has made this endeavor much easier. To take one example, +Hollywood+ filmmaking has absorbed the idea of order -- translated, in human terms, as "traditional values"--far more easily than we might have expected given the chaotic and inconsistent history of that industry. The +American+ political discourse, by and large, has followed this trend as well.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 3-4. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: religion identified by name; propaganda; traditional values; Hollywood; order; Nazi; Nazis; Chitauri

BELOW: Tony Stark (Iron Man) contemplates the dark "secrets" of his fellow Ultimates:

Then again it wasn't like Banner was the only one whose character could be considered . . . murky. They all had secrets... Who knew what sins Hawkeye would be atoning for when he finally met his maker? Years in SHIELD's black ops would have piled them up by the dozen.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 7. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: God; sin; atone; Maker (God); afterlife; Hawkeye (Clint Barton); S.H.I.E.L.D.

BELOW: Tony Stark (Iron Man) contemplates the dark "secrets" of his fellow Ultimates:

Then again it wasn't like Banner was the only one whose character could be considered . . . murky. They all had secrets... And Janet, ah, Janet. Darling, Tony thought, nobody likes a mutant. Yet here you are.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 7. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: prejudice; anti-mutant; The Wasp (Janet van Dyne)

BELOW: Tony Stark (Iron Man) contemplates the dark "secrets" of his fellow Ultimates:

Then again it wasn't like Banner was the only one whose character could be considered . . . murky. They all had secrets... Steve, Captain America, you brought your proto-fascist politics with you out of the iceberg, even though they have thus far stayed hidden behind those blue eyes and that charming naivete.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 7. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: fascism; Captain America (Steve Rogers)

BELOW: Tony Stark (Iron Man) contemplates the dark "secrets" of his fellow Ultimates:

Then again it wasn't like Banner was the only one whose character could be considered . . . murky. They all had secrets... Nick, our fixer, which of us will you throw under the bus the next time you need a favor from Capitol Hill? Banner's already gone. How long before you need another sacrificial lamb?

It won't be me, Tony thought.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 7. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: sacrificial lamb; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Nick Fury

BELOW: Nick Fury voices a hope he has about God putting an end to Tony Stark's penchant for verbal nonsense:

He'd lost Nick. "Sometimes I hope that God will one day decide that you can only shovel so much bullsh--," Nick said, "and then he's going to strike you dead."

"He might," Tony said. "He just might. But before he does, let's go into another room where I've set up a little presentation..."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 8. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: God; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Nick Fury

BELOW: Nick Fury knows that many important people in Washington, D.C. think of Tony Stark as an "alcoholic libertine":

Some of the agency types he was going to meet today were gung-ho about Tony's gizmo; some weren't; some were just professing outrage that an alcoholic libertine like Tony Stark had gotten hold of Chitauri tissue.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 16. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: libertine; alcoholism; Hedonist; Iron Man (Tony Stark)

BELOW: Homeland Security official Vince Altobelli refers to Tony Stark as a "dipsomaniac" (someone who drinks alcohol to excess):

Altobelli kept right on talking. "What I want to get on with is the question of how in the hell did Stark Industries, which is run by a for-Chrissake dipsomaniac playboy, get hold of Chitauri tissue?..."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 19-20. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: alcoholism; Iron Man (Tony Stark)

BELOW: Defense Department official Ozzie Bright (actually a Chitauri spy) compares the current situation to when the Allies broke the Nazis' Enigma code, but did not act on everything they learned from this breakthrough:

"I'll ask you to indulge me in a little historical parallel," Bright went on. "During World War II, hard decisions were made about utilizing certain technologies and acting on the information gained thereby. Had the Allies saved every life and thwarted every minor movement they learned about by cracking the Enigma code, the Nazis would quickly have abandoned Enigma; by sacrificing those necessary lives, the Allies maintained their intelligence superiority over the Nazis long enough for the advantage to prove decisive. Do you understand the analogy, General Fury?"

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 24. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: religion identified by name; sacrifice; greater good; Nazis

BELOW: Captain America recalls President Roosevelt's famous quote about fear:

He felt like he was in dangerous territory. You're coming close to going off the reservation, son, he told himself.But if what General Fury was telling him was true, America had fallen a long way since Roosevelt had told the country that the only thing it had to fear was fear itself.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 31. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: fear; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Franklin D. Roosevelt

BELOW: Thor compares himself to Captain America:

Perhaps I understand Steve Rogers a little better than most, because he is lost in time as well. But he is also a creature of duty and obedience, and I understand only the first of those. In obedience I have not the slightest interest.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 38. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: duty; obedience; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake)

BELOW: Nick Fury tells Thor he doesn't believe in any gods:

Fury put down his pen and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "Okay," he said with his eyes closed. "I get it. If I have to raise my right hand and swear that I believe you're the Norse god of thunder just to get you to leave, I'll do it." He raised his right hand, looking down at his desk. Ten seconds or so later, he looked up. "You're not gone."

"You're not very convincing," Thor said.

"Neither are you, Mister Son of Odin, or Wotan, or whatever we're supposed to call him. I don't believe in gods--any of them--and until you bring Jesus Christ himself in to walk across the Upper Bay from Battery Park to here, that isn't going to change. Far as I'm concerned, you're a garden-variety anti-globalization wacko who got hold of some tech that nobody can reverse-engineer. Doesn't make you anything special."

Thor had started smiling at "Wotan," and couldn't stop. "Quite a speech, General Fury."

"You provoke me," Fury said.

"Well. Let me provoke you to pay attention."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 38-39. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; impiety; disbelief; Jesus Christ; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Atheist; Non-Religious; Christian (generic); Thor (Donald Blake); Nick Fury; Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth); Odin

BELOW: Nick Fury is not comfortable citing the "Norse thunder god" as a source of information:

"Okay," Fury said. "Let' say I believe you. How do you suggest I explain to the congressional inquiry that I knew I had to do it because of the word of the Norse thunder god?"

Thor put away his smile. "Is that the worst problem you can think of?"

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 39. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Thor (Donald Blake); Nick Fury

BELOW: Thor feels that Nick Fury is going to great lengths to rationalize rather than accept the facts of Thor's and Loki's existence. Thor gently chides Nick Fury for his inability to believe that Thor is a god and that Loki has just appeared before them in the form of somebody else. Nick Fury's secular mindset simply can't allow for such possibilities. Thor tells Fury: "I know what I know." Fury's disbelief will not dissuade Thor from his convictions.

"And you," Fury went on, now pointing to Thor, "are one crazy son of a bi---."

Thor spread his hands. "General. After all we've seen in this past year, you still think it's crazy to believe in shapeshifters?"

Fury glared daggers at him.

"And the truth is, I don't care about what you think where my mental stability is concerned. I know what I know. However you want to rationalize it to yourself is fine."

"Oh," Fury said. "You're going to lecture me about rationalizing? Let me get out my tape recorder."

"General Fury," Thor said. "That was Loki... If you need to think I'm crazy because that's the way your world makes sense to you, be my guest," Thor said. "But this happened. And what needs to happen now is..."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 41. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: rationalization; knowledge; disbelief; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Atheist; Thor (Donald Blake); Nick Fury; Loki

BELOW: Thor ponders the fate of gods and the goodness of Captain America:

...At times like these, Thor thought, I would just as soon fly, and to hell with this pretense for mortals and their small fears. He felt the absence of Mjolnir in his hands... Being immortal had its privileges . . . and its drawbacks, Thor thought, remembering the dark and shining malice on the face of his half brother.

Steve Rogers is my favorite, Loki had said. That much Thor had told Fury. What he had not mentioned was Loki had said something else. Rogers I love, Loki had said, because he will squeeze so hard with his fists of order that chaos will inevitably squirt out. And laughed, Loki had, long and loud.

Thor picked up the pace, spurred on by a sense he couldn't shake that something was about to happen, some trick about to be played on a man whose goodness would be the lever that evil would use against him. To be a god was to know things; the joke of fate was that too often, what even the gods knew was not quite enough.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 44-45. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; evil; order; knowledge; fate; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake); Loki

BELOW: Thor ponders Captain America's belief system:

What would he have told Rogers? That Loki had taken a special interest in him? Rogers believed in flag and country, nothing else. His was a pure belief, not ignorant of nuance but dismissive of it, deeply invested in a black-and-white view of the world. There was an innocence about it that gave Rogers much of his strength, but that innocence was also part of what made him a useful tool for those who operated by deceit. Strength of belief, Thor thought, was admirable, but it was a lever that when used against you always tipped you long before you knew it was being used.

And so, Thor thought. I have come looking for him to call him a naif and tell him that my half brother, another god he doesn't believe in, has a plan for him. Hardly an errand with good prospects of success.

To know, and not be believed. This was the lot of the gods. All the same, Thor was glad he wasn't a mortal. Fate would do what Fate did, to Steve Rogers and to them all.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 45. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: belief; gods; knowledge; fate; disbelief; patriotism; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake); Loki

BELOW: Captain America faces a moral quandry, asked to to violate his ideals in order to safeguard those same ideals:

Garza looked him in the eye. "Noted. Now can you get Tony's toy to the person I am about to tell you to get it to?"

In other words, Steve thought, are you willing to commit industrial espionage against an American company for the benefit of Americans? Is this what it's come to? Once he'd had an argument with Thor about the point at which it became necessary to contravene your ideals so that other people could believe that those same ideals same existed. In other words, at what point do you grant yourself the privilege of knowing better than other people what's best for them?

Now, I guess, Steve thought. I guess that time is now.

"Yes, sir," he said. "I can"

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 55. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: ideals; Captain America (Steve Rogers)

BELOW: After the Chitauri bomb the Ultimates' headquarters, Captain America thinks about how much he hates the Chitauri alien invaders. He also thinks about God and prophecy.

Resentment was so thick in the back of his throat that he could practically spit it out. God, he hated them. Hated them worse than he'd ever hated the Nazis or the Japs. He would have killed them all himself, shot them in the back as they fled. If God Himself came down and gave Steve Rogers the gift of prophecy, and he knew that the Chitauri would leave tomorrow and never come back, he would still have killed them as they fled onto their ships.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 72. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: God; hate; prophecy; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Nazis

BELOW: Captain America believes in the American people; he accuses Tony Stark of believing only in his "bank balance":

"...Who are 'the people,' anyway?"

"They're the ones I rode a Nazi rocket for," Steve said, moving even closer to Tony [Stark]. "They're the ones I got shot up with experimental chemicals for. They're the ones I pledge my life to, and if you're about to say that they don't know who I am and don't care what I've done, I'm here to tell you that doesn't matter. I believe in them. You don't believe in a damn thing except your bank balance."

"The people, huh?" Tony said. "Shouldn't you say der Volk?"

Faster than Fury could see, Steve leveled Tony with a pile-driver right hand...

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 84. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: belief; greed; patriotism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark); Nazis

BELOW: Captain America doesn't believe Thor is a god; he thinks Thor is a crazy Communist ("pinko"):

What Steve couldn't figure out was why Thor was along .He couldn't imagine that General Fury had decided to trust an obviously crazy pinko with something as serious as the details of a new Chitauri incursion. Regardless of what Thor had done with the Chitauri bomb in Arizona, Steve didn't for a minute believe in a thunder god. Either the bomb hadn't done what the Chitauri said it would, or the tech in Thor's hammer had some secret functions that he hadn't told any of them about. Whichever it was, Thor was a loose cannon and a security risk. If it was up to Steve, Thor wouldn't have been let within a mile of the Triskelion.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 112. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; disbelief; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Communist; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake); Chitauri

BELOW: Captain America considers Iron Man an "amoral boozehound":

A guy like that, Steve thought, everything done for him, everyone else bends over backward for him, and what is he? An amoral boozehound with a brain tumor. That's not the kind of person we need running things around here.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 115. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: alcoholism; amoral; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark)

BELOW: Wasp thinks about Captain America's morally conservative views about women's clothing:

Something had been on his mind, distracting him in the middle of sentences. He hadn't even commented on her dress, which she'd chosen specifically to provoke him because he was still such a fuddy-duddy about women's clothing.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 122. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: modesty in apparel; Captain America (Steve Rogers); The Wasp (Janet van Dyne)

BELOW: Captain America identifies a Chitauri masquerading as a young man as Puerto Rican based on his Virgin Mary T-shirt:

It looked like a kid, maybe nineteen years old, Puerto Rican if the T-shirt of the Virgin Mary was anything to go by.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 154. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: Catholic; Mary; Eddie Guzman

BELOW: Hawkeye consesses to Thor that he pelted Loki (in disguise as a SHIELD technician present at an Ultimates team meeting) with super-accurately thrown straightened paper clips. Note Hawkeye's explicit reference to Loki as a Norse god.

...and Thor wondered what had really happened.

Clint winked at him. "Can't stand a sneak," he whispered. "Especially a sneaky Norse god. I mean, if you're a Norse god, show yourself."

Clint held up a paper clip, bent straight except for a single curl at one end. He made a flicking motion with the fingers of his right hand. "Sent him a little greeting card, is all."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 200. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Thor (Donald Blake); Hawkeye (Clint Barton); Loki

BELOW: Captain America thinks of Thor as a "norse God"... maybe:

Thor actually did a double take. Steve thought that as long as he might live, he would never see anything quite so strange as a Norse god doing a double take . . . if, that is, he was going along with the proposition that Thor was a Norse god.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 241. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Thor (Donald Blake)

BELOW: Nick Fury refers to Tony Stark's new Chitauri-detection technology as "voice of God network thingamajig":

I got a guerrilla ant army out there, Nick thought, but no way to control it until Tony gets his voice of God networking thingamajig set up.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 253. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: God; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Nick Fury

BELOW: Tony Stark expresses frustration at Thor's "hippie canards" when Thor reveals Tony's recent subterfuge to their other teammates:

"All except for the part about the amplifier being fake," Thor said.

Clint looked from Thor to Tony to Nick, and then back to Thor. "What?"

"Sure. Ask him. There is no amplifier. He showed it to us, then put out a distress call to get us to come save it. Only . . . what's the best way to put it, Tony? Would you call it instilling brand loyalty?"

"Oh, for Christ's sake," Tony said. "You and your hippie canards. It worked, didn't it? And aren't you the one who called down lightning in the middle of my headquarters, with my employees all over the place? You can shove your sanctimony, too."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 269. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: Hippie; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Thor (Donald Blake); Mary Jane Watson

BELOW: Captain America and Iron Man exchange banter, with Cap calling Stark a "libertine"; Captain America is unimpressed by Tony's penchant for alcohol:

"And where can a guy get a drink around here?" Tony added.

"Can't help you there," the tech said.

"Barbarians," Tony said. "Steve, I'm surrounded by barbarians. Including you."

"Sometimes it's tough being a libertine," Steve said.

"Tony's eyebrows shot up. "A joke from Captain Flag, so close to our final confrontation with the alien menace? A joke including the word libertine? Good Lord. I'm starting to think I'm having an influence on you."

Steve ignored this, not even wanting to contemplate the question of how he might influence Tony, and how any possible channel of influence might run both ways. "Instead of a drink, you ought to have something to eat..."

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 291. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: libertine; alcoholism; Hedonist; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark)

BELOW: Tony mistakenly thinks Thor is quoting eddas (the primary source of Norse mythology, sometimes thought of as Norse/Teutonic scripture):

Thor took a deep breath, letting the smells of the land and the battle flood through him. As he exhaled, he said, "Here amid icebergs rule I the nations."

"Oh, God," Tony groaned. "Are we quoting eddas today?"

Thor shot him a grin. "No, that's Longfellow. He was a big fan of mine. Gotcha."

And then he raised Mjolnir and leapt down again, blood singing with the battle to come.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 302-303. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: scripture; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Thor (Donald Blake); Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

BELOW: Nick Fury feels he can't admit the possibity of Norse gods (e.g. Thor), because it would force him to adopt a whole new framework or worldview: Nick Fury is frustrated by his own inability to make up his mind about what he believes about Thor and Thor's claims of divine nature.

From the bridge of the Altair, Nick watched Thor join the battle. If there's one thing I hate, he thought, it's not being able to make a decision. And I just cannot decide whether Thor is the real thing or not. All of the jabbering about Loki makes me think he's a nutcase, but then he brings the lightning and teleports bombs to other dimensions.He just doesn't fit in any framework I can put together.

One possibility, Nick had to admit, was that he needed a new framework, but he was not about to admit the existence of Norse gods. If you let the Norse gods in, next thing you knew you had Kali and Ogun and Quetzalcoatl and Jesus H. Christ Himself wearing costumes and fighting bad guys. No man could stay sane for long if he took that scenario seriously.

Whatever Thor was, he sure could kick a--. that was what Nick needed right then, and that was all he was going to think about until this operation was over and they could all take a breath.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 303. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; disbelief; Jesus Christ; Hindu; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Vodoun; Aztec; Christian (generic); Mayan; Jesus Christ (Jesus of Nazareth); Ogun; Quetzalcoatl; Kali

BELOW: In a bit of self-effacing reflection, Tony Stark thinks about his own lack of "moral fiber or ethical beliefs":

He pivoted in midair, reaching down. Thor would save himself, and Clint was a soldier . . . but he had to save Steve [Captain America]. Too many people needed Steve, and Tony Stark might have been a vain, alcoholic, dying playboy with no evident moral fiber or ethical beliefs, but he would have given his life in that moment to save Steve Rogers.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 331. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: belief; alcoholism; sacrifice; amoral; ethical; Non-Religious; Captain America (Steve Rogers); Iron Man (Tony Stark)

BELOW: Impressed by the way Thor saved his fellow Ultimates, Iron Man jokes that he will become a Norse god himself:

"Wha . . . ?" Tony's eyes rolled in Nick's direction... "Everyone?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "Thor got them out."

..."That crazy son of a b----. He did, huh?"

Nick nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"Good for him... I'm going to quit this robot suit business and become a Norse god," Tony said through the chattering of his teeth.

Source: The Ultimates: Against All Enemies (2007), pg. 334. Written by Alex Irvine. See also: gods; Norse/Teutonic paganism; Iron Man (Tony Stark); Thor (Donald Blake)