The State of Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, One Year In

Marvel‘s Ultimate Universe has gotten off to an incredibly strong start, with readers thoroughly invested in each of the books released month to month. With each title expanding and exploring the brand-new universe and brand-new versions of classic Marvel characters, this alternate universe is worthy of standing alongside the best of the mainline Marvel Universe titles.

Titles like Ultimate Spider-Man and The Ultimates have provided readers with greater context for the new Ultimate Universe at large. At the same time, Ultimate Black Panther and Ultimate X-Men have given bold new imaginings to smaller corners of the Marvel Universe. The first year of the Ultimate Marvel books has been a staggering success, with near-universal acclaim for all the titles released. With new books and characters on the horizon, it is clear the Ultimate Universe is here to stay, and with the quality of its first year of stories, the future is looking bright for Earth-6160 and its heroes.

Ultimate Spider-man Is Weaving an Emotional Web

Peter Parker’s First Year as a Hero Showcases His Humanity

Spearheading the bold new direction of the Ultimate Universe, writer Jonathan Hickman has taken a fresh new approach to the iconic wall-crawler in Ultimate Spider-Man. Placing an older Peter Parker, a husband and father, in the midst of a world unrecognizable to readers has made for some incredibly potent storytelling.This Peter grapples with feelings of inadequacy in such a raw, emotionally complex way, and his behavior as a hero and as a husband and father creates an extremely compelling portrait of a character trying to do the right thing in all aspects of his life.

Readers were surprised by the unexpected focus on certain characters in Peter’s life—namely, Uncle Ben, who is alive and a major player in the first year of Ultimate Spider-Man. With Aunt May having died before the series begins, this shift in Peter’s parental figure shakes up the Spider-Man formula, and readers sincerely don’t know what might happen next with these characters. Peter’s relationship with Harry Osborn is a complex and engaging exploration of developing friendships later in life and how that can be at odds with personal ideologies. Harry Osborne isn’t a villain in this universe (at least not yet), and his relationship with Peter has been a tightrope walk between unease and pleasant surprise for readers familiar with the duo’s mainline universe counterparts.

Perhaps the most emotional, character-focused book of the new Ultimate Universe series, Ultimate Spider-Man has stood out as a wonderful example of what the character of Peter Parker can be when he’s allowed to grow and change. Seeing an older, unfulfilled Peter finally get to feel like he’s found the missing piece of the puzzle, which is his life, is a wonderful thing for readers. The future of Spider-Man’s journey in the Ultimate Universe is primed to be exciting, funny, emotional, and more than a little terrifying, especially with the teases of his upcoming confrontations with the Ultimate Universe’s Sinister Six. Spider-Man in the Ultimate Universe is tough, but this Peter has yet to suffer as major a tragedy as his Earth-616 counterpart, and fans know it’s only a matter of time before the infamous Parker luck rears its ugly head.

Ultimate X-Men Is the Boldest Reimagining Yet

The Wonderfully Unique Teen Hero Story Is Evolving

Superstar writer and artist Peach Momoko has brought a bold new vision to the X-Men for the Ultimate Universe. Instead of focusing on the familiar mutants of the mainline X-Men, Ultimate X-Men introduces brand-new characters facing entirely new threats, all wonderfully rendered in Momoko’s fluid and lush art style. The story follows a group of young girls at a Japanese high school who slowly uncover a chilling plot involving a mutant cult and a terrifying new version of the Shadow King.

While it’s arguably the title least connected to the overarching narrative of the new Ultimate Universe, Ultimate X-Men is no less impressive or impactful because of this. Characters like Hisako Ichiki, aka Armor, and Mei Igarashi, aka Maystorm, have quickly become fan favorites, and their stories have real emotional weight—something that the Ultimate Universe as a whole has accomplished brilliantly across all its titles. Exciting action, interpersonal drama, terrific art, and unexpected storytelling all serve as major reasons for fans to pick up Ultimate X-Men.

Highlighting the Maker’s extensive influence over Earth-6160, the Japanese setting of Ultimate X-Men is a breath of fresh air for Marvel Comics readers. Heroes in the Marvel Universe are often relegated to New York, particularly Manhattan, which can make the world feel smaller. By setting each Ultimate title in a different region, the scope of the Maker’s far-reaching changes is brought into sharper focus, highlighting the need for heroes to rise up across the globe. Ultimate X-Men is sure to continue expanding and exploring its characters and their powers, as well as the world they inhabit, and readers are anxious to see how Peach Momoko’s excellent self-contained book will connect to the other stories being told in the Ultimate Universe.

Ultimate Black Panther Is a Sci-fi Political Thriller

The War Between Wakanda and the Forces of Moon Knight Is Heating Up

With Ultimate Spider-Man taking place in New York City, Ultimate X-Men taking place in Japan, and The Ultimates spanning the globe, Ultimate Black Panther tackles the continent of Africa—and all the strife that is taking place between warring factions therein. The hyper-advanced nation of Wakanda has remained a quiet and disengaged player in the grand game of global geopolitics, but when they are forced to take up arms against a new threat to their mother continent, what follows is a tale of espionage, political machinations, sci-fi action, and epic confrontations between new versions of classic Marvel characters.

Featuring the likes of a morally gray Killmonger, a mutant freedom fighter Storm, and, of course, the regal T’Challa and his supporting cast of Wakandan royalty, writer Bryan Hill’s Ultimate Black Panther has established itself as a compelling addition to the Ultimate Universe canon. Its usage of pre-existing fan expectations helps to serve its mysterious and exciting storytelling and keep things fresh for readers familiar with the mainline versions of these characters.

The addition of Ra and Khonshu, two underlings of the Maker who together make up the Ultimate version of Moon Knight, has gotten fans excited. The book’s focus on the lore associated with the nation of Wakanda in this new universe, as well as Vibranium and its enigmatic opposite material, has made for wonderfully surprising storytelling, and it is sure to continue in the issues to come. The war between Moon Knight and Black Panther is only heating up. With the fate of Wakanda and Africa as a whole at stake, the royal superhero’s fight has never been more personal or more compelling for new readers to experience.

The Ultimates Is the Best Look at This New World

Iron Lad and His Heroic Companions Focus Their Energies on Fixing the World

The book most concerned with the overarching story of the Ultimate Universe, writer Deniz Camp’s The Ultimates serves as an alternate version of the familiar Avengers team from Earth-616. This superhero team is considered a terrorist organization across the globe, having been branded as enemies of the world by the Maker and his villainous council of underlings. With the Maker, one of Marvel’s most underrated villains, trapped in his bizarre “City,” The Ultimates’ goal has been one of global revolution. Recruiting new heroes from across the world, the team focuses its energies on dismantling the Maker’s cabal and giving the world a fighting chance when Maker returns.

Focusing on a younger Tony Stark operating under the name Iron Lad, a version of Captain America who has awoken into a world where America no longer exists, a Reed Richards who has been forced into the role of Doctor Doom, and a number of reimagined versions of characters like Thor, She-Hulk, Hawkeye, and more, The Ultimates has been the book for readers to experience the largest-scale look at the brand-new universe.

One of Marvel Comics’ most politically charged current releases, The Ultimates hasn’t shied away from complex issues that reflect the real world, all while delivering an exciting superhero underdog story. The series deftly balances its social commentary with comic book action and heroics, and the result is nothing short of staggering. The future of The Ultimates looks especially promising, with plans to introduce Ultimate versions of fan-favorite characters—with the Guardians of the Galaxy and Luke Cage being the next to receive the Ultimate treatment.