"Ultimate" may be an overstatement.
Customer Rating: 
The Mighty Avengers changed their membership more than I change my boxers. Or at least it always seemed that way. Making a comprehensive guide to chronicle the group's history and detail all of the different characters that would come to play a part as one of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes would be quite a difficult feat. So it's not surprising that AVENGERS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE doesn't quite measure up. Sure, it appears to be all-encompassing as far as getting everyone into the book. But, while it manages a little background on everyone, it goes into depth with no one. Most characters get 3-5 paragraphs on a single picture-laden page. However, many get half-pages, and some are relegated to just a sidebar. There are a few pages dedicated to each decade (60s, 70s, etc.) in the group's history, as well as sections explaining the 'Disassembled' storyline and other Avengers comic titles. Lots of pictures and a foreword by Stan Lee top off the book's contents. A nice try, but to really be an ultimate guide, this would realistically need to be about triple the size (at least) of this 144-page effort. How about adding thumbnail cover pics of every issue? Or a ranking list of how many issues each character appeared in? And how do you leave Hawkeye off of the cover, yet you put Jack of Hearts on?
Among the characters/groups mentioned are: Thor, Iron Man, The Wasp, Teen Brigade, Rick Jones, Hulk, Sub-Mariner, Captain America, Space Phantom, The Lava Men, Minotaur, Mole Man, Baron Zemo, Masters of Evil, Enchantress, Kang, Wonder-Man, The Grim Reaper, Hawkeye, Mockingbird, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Black Widow, Swordsman, Hercules, Power Man, The Collector, Count Nefaria, Black Knight, Black Panther, The Vision, The Mandarin, Doctor Doom, Attuma, Magneto, Sons of the Serpent, Red Guardian, Jocasta, Nick Fury, Living Laser, Ultron, Egghead, Grandmaster, Squadron Supreme, Man-Ape, Mantis, Moondragon, Beast, Hellcat, The Flacon, Warbird, Two-Gun Kid, Red Wolf, Whizzer, Capt. Mar-Vell, Supreme Intelligence, Legion of the Unliving, Guardians of the Galaxy, Peter Gyrich, S.H.I.E.L.D., US Agent, Moon Knight, Human Torch, Firebird, Great Lakes Avengers, Tigra, She-Hulk, Photon, Quasar, Doctor Druid, Starfox, High Evolutionary, Gilgamesh, The Fantastic Four, Demolition Man, Avengers Crew, Sersi, Stingray, Crystal, Spider-Man, Sandman, Masque, Living Lightning, Machine Man, Darkhawk, Spider-Woman 2, Rage, The Gatherers, Morgan Le Fey, Justice, Firestar, Silverclaw, Triathlon, A-Next, Deathcry, Ant-Man 2, Jack of Hearts, Captain Britain, Sentry, Spider-Woman, New Avengers, The Ultimates, Young Avengers, Thunderbolts, & New Avengers.
Other sections include: The Avengers' Origin, The Mansion, Avengers of the 1960s, Avengers of the 1970s, Avengers of the 1980s, Avengers of the 1990s, Avengers of the 2000s, and Avengers Disassembled.
