Ultimate Universe

Last updated
Ultimate Universe
Ultimate Universe.jpg
Visible characters: Captain America, Iron Lad, and Thor from the Ultimates. In shadows, Spider-Man, Black Panther, and Armor.
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
Title(s)
  • Ultimate Spider-Man
  • Ultimate Black Panther
  • Ultimate X-Men
  • The Ultimates
Genre
Publication dateJune  2023

The Ultimate Universe is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics beginning in 2023. Featuring several reimagines of characters in a new fictional universe, this new Ultimate Universe, designated as Earth-6160, emerged following the events of Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch, after being created by The Maker. It shares its name with the earlier Ultimate Marvel imprint that ran from 2000 to 2015, but is not a direct reboot; while Ultimate Marvel presented a back-to-basics reboot narrative of the original Marvel Universe, the Ultimate Universe features wholly new interpretations of Marvel characters.

Contents

Publication history

The original Ultimate Marvel imprint ceased to be published in 2015, and was destroyed in-story in the Secret Wars crossover, with Maker being transferred to the main fictional universe. Writer Donny Cates used the character during his run in the Venom comic book, with the character trying to restore and return to his original universe. At the end of the story arc, Maker returns to a devastated Ultimate universe, and later hinted he was planning an invasion of the main Marvel Universe. [1] However, Cates had to pull out of writing Ultimate Invasion because of a car accident that left him with six months worth of memory loss, with the project given to Jonathan Hickman instead. [2] Hickman had worked with the Maker character in the original Ultimate imprint and wrote the aforementioned Secret Wars crossover.

Hickman started the project with Ultimate Invasion which he took on another path, which ignores both the original Ultimate universe and the plots in Venom , and shows instead Maker moving to a new alternate universe called Earth-6160 and changing it with extensive time travel to prevent the existence of most superheroes and make himself its unquestionable leader. By the end of the story, Maker is defeated and trapped inside The City with Iron Man / Howard Stark and a variation of Kang the Conqueror with The City scheduled to open up in three months. His group that manages international relations in a "power behind the throne" style remains a threat as the new comics that follow are set within such background. Howard's son Tony Stark continues his work to take the world back while taking on the name of Iron Lad.

The first comic was Ultimate Universe #1, a one-shot from Hickman and Stefano Caselli that further developed the context in which the comics of the line will take place. The flagship comic of the line is Ultimate Spider-Man, by Hickman and Marco Checchetto. In contrast with the original Ultimate Spider-Man comic, it stars an adult Peter Parker who is married to Mary Jane Watson and has two kids before he becomes Spider-Man. Hickman said that he was inspired by the version of the character seen in the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse . [3]

Writer Bryan Hill, who had previously worked on Blade , will write Ultimate Black Panther with Caselli. The comic will be about Black Panther defending the continent of Africa from Lord Khonshu and Lord Ra. Hill said "I was invigorated by this opportunity because in addition to my immense respect for Johnathan Hickman's detailed storytelling, the idea of shepherding this bold new take on Black Panther in this event gives me a platform to do the kind of broad, epic, storytelling I've always wanted to do in comics. My influences range from the history of Black Panther comics, to Ryan Coogler's incredible work with the recent films, to Frank Herbert's world-building capacity of Dune. This is something people won't expect, in the best of ways, and full credit to Marvel and editors Wil Moss and Michelle Marchese for bringing this creative possibility to me." [3]

Peach Momoko, from Demon Days: X-Men, will write and illustrate the new Ultimate X-Men comics. Armor will be the main character, and the X-Men will be tied to folklore and magic. Momoko said "I am very honored to be a part of the new Ultimate Universe. I am very careful in delivering the unique X-Men mutant elements while still being true to my vision and voice. I am also very proud (and surprised) that I was given enough freedom from C.B. Cebulski and Jonathan Hickman to create a brand-new X-Men character. It might not be the normal portrayal of a superhero... but, just like with my Momoko-verse stories, I am excited to introduce everyone to this new world." [3]

In February 2024, it was announced that Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri would write and illustrate The Ultimates, which will follow Iron Lad, Doctor Doom, Thor, Sif, Ant-Man, and the Wasp as they band together to fight back against the Maker's council and take back their world. Camp said "The new Ultimates line is the most exciting super hero comics event in years, and it’s humbling to be a part of it! We are reinventing these classic characters and archetypes to be as surprising and vital as when they were first introduced. Our Ultimates is an evolution not just of the Avengers, but of the whole super hero team concept; from the grand and operatic to the small and personal, THE ULTIMATES will feel like no Avengers or Ultimates comic ever before! That's our ambition, anyway; tune in to find out if we succeed.“ [4]

About Earth-6160

Issue #3 of "Ultimate Invasion" showed a map detailing Earth-6160 and its locations ever since Maker remade it into his own image: [5]

There are also undiscovered territories.

Publications

Ongoing series

Title WriterArtistColouristDebut date
Ultimate Spider-Man Jonathan Hickman Marco Checchetto Matt Wilson January 10, 2024 [6]
Ultimate Black Panther Bryan Hill Stefano Caselli David Curiel February 7, 2024 [7]
Ultimate X-Men Peach Momoko March 6, 2024 [8]
The UltimatesDeniz CampJuan FrigeriTBAJune 5, 2024 [4]

Limited series

TitleIssuesWriterArtistColouristDebut dateConclusion date
Ultimate Invasion #1–4Jonathan Hickman Bryan Hitch Alex Sinclair June 21, 2023 [9] September 27, 2023 [10]

One-shots

TitleWriterArtistColouristDebut date
Ultimate UniverseJonathan HickmanStefano CaselliDavid CurielNovember 1, 2023 [11]
Free Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe / Spider-Man #1Deniz CampJuan FrigeriTBAMay 4, 2024 [12]

Release order

Collected editions

TitleMaterial collectedPublication dateISBN
Ultimate InvasionUltimate Invasion #1–4March 26, 2024 978-0785194736
Ultimate Spider-Man, Volume 1: Married with ChildrenUltimate Spider-Man #1–6September 10, 2024 978-1302957292
Ultimate Black Panther, Volume 1: Peace and WarUltimate Black Panther #1–4October 1, 2024 978-1302957308
Ultimate X-Men, Volume 1: Hates and FearsUltimate X-Men #1–4November 5, 2024 978-1302957315

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marvel Knights</span> Imprint of Marvel Comics

Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles to Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti's company Event Comics; Event hired the creative teams for the Knights line while Marvel published them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultimates</span> Marvel Comics series

The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from The Ultimates #1, as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Avengers comic-book franchise, centering around a task-force of super-humans and special agents organized by the U.S. government to combat growing threats to the world. The tale chronicles their progress as they bond and slowly learn to work together, despite their differing natures and personalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultimate Marvel</span> Marvel Comic imprint

Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring reimagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the Ultimate Universe. Those characters include Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Ultimates, the Fantastic Four, and others. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men in 2001, followed by The Ultimates and Ultimate Fantastic Four in 2002 and 2004 respectively providing new origin stories for the characters. The reality of Ultimate Marvel is designated as Earth-1610 as part of the Marvel Comics Multiverse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon Knight</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Moon Knight is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in Werewolf by Night #32.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Panther (character)</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Black Panther is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist-coplotter Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in Fantastic Four #52 in the Silver Age of Comic Books. Black Panther's real name is T'Challa, and he is depicted as the king and protector of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. Along with possessing enhanced abilities achieved through ancient Wakandan rituals of drinking the essence of the heart-shaped herb, T'Challa also relies on his proficiency in science, expertise in his nation's traditions, rigorous physical training, hand-to-hand combat skills, and access to wealth and advanced Wakandan technology to combat his enemies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heliopolitans</span> Fictional group of gods from Marvel Comics

Heliopolitans are a fictional group of gods, based on Ancient Egyptian deities, appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khonshu (Marvel Comics)</span> Comics character

Khonshu is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Moon Knight #1, created by Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz, and is based on the Egyptian lunar god Khonsu. He is a member of the Heliopolitan pantheon and the patron of the superhero Moon Knight.

T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of his father, T'Chanda aka Azzuri the Wise.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venom (character)</span> Marvel Comics character

Venom is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a sentient alien symbiote with an amorphous, liquid-like form, who survives by bonding with a host, usually human. This dual-life form receives enhanced powers and usually refers to itself as "Venom". The symbiote was originally introduced as a living alien costume in The Amazing Spider-Man #252, with a full first appearance as Venom in The Amazing Spider-Man #300.

<i>Dark Reign</i> (comics) 2008 - 2009 Marvel Comics Event

Dark Reign is a 2008 to 2009 comic book branding used by Marvel Comics. It deals with the aftermath of the "Secret Invasion" storyline, which leads to a shift of power in the Marvel Universe toward Norman Osborn. The title refers to Osborn's rise to national power and the ramifications thereof. Joe Quesada, then-editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, stated that "Dark Reign is not really an event, it's what's happening in the Marvel Universe." He believes that "Dark Reign leads to an interesting place in the Marvel Universe. I think you'll see a pulling back at the end of Dark Reign, but you'll understand at the end of it what we were trying to get to."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Stegman</span> Comic book artist

Ryan Stegman is a comic book artist, writer, and podcaster best known for his work on Marvel Comics characters including She-Hulk, X-23, Spider-Man and Venom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miles Morales</span> Marvel Comics superhero

Spider-Man, is a superhero and the second predominant Spider-Man to appear in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, created in 2011 by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli, along with input by Marvel's then-editor-in-chief Axel Alonso. Born as a modern reimagining of the popular character, Miles Morales debuted in Ultimate Comics: Fallout #4. Originally from the alternate Ultimate Marvel Universe Earth-1610 before being retconned to the main Marvel Universe Earth-616, he was bitten by a model spider that was specially and genetically engineered by Oscorp Industries biochemist, Dr. Conrad Marcus, who used the Oz Formula at the behest of Norman Osborn to create "enhanced spiders" in an attempt to duplicate the abilities of the original Spider-Man of the Earth-1610 Ultimate Universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuri (character)</span> Fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics

Black Panther (Shuri) is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Reginald Hudlin and artist John Romita Jr., the character first appeared in Black Panther vol. 4 #2. Shuri is the princess of the fictional African nation of Wakanda. She is the daughter of T'Chaka and younger sister of T'Challa, who is the king of Wakanda and the Black Panther, an earned title and rank given to the paramount chief of the nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Secret Wars (2015 comic book)</span> Storyline by Marvel Comics

"Secret Wars" is a 2015–16 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics. It recalls the 1984–1985 miniseries of the same name. Released on May 6, 2015, the storyline includes a core Secret Wars miniseries, written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Esad Ribić, which picks up from where the "Time Runs Out" storyline running in The Avengers and New Avengers ended. The event also served as a conclusion to the Fantastic Four after Marvel decided to cancel the title due to a film rights dispute with 20th Century Fox and declining sales.

Okoye is a fictional character and the General of the Dora Milaje in Marvel Comics. The character, created by Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira, first appeared in Black Panther #1 within the comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maker (Reed Richards)</span> Fictional supervillain

Maker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<i>Ultimate Invasion</i> Marvel Comics limited series

Ultimate Invasion is a four-issue American comic book limited series written by Jonathan Hickman, drawn by Bryan Hitch and colored by Alex Sinclair. The first issue was published by Marvel Comics on June 21, 2023.

References