Ultimate Universe
Visible characters: Captain America, Iron Lad (Tony Stark), Thor, Lady Sif and Dr. Doom (Reed Richards).
Publication information
Publisher	Marvel Comics
Title(s) Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate Black Panther Ultimate X-Men
Genre	Superhero
Publication date	2023-present

The Ultimate Universe (Earth-6160) is an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring several reimagines of characters in a new fictional universe. Although the titles of the related comics are prefaced as "Ultimate..." and share some artists, it has no direct relation with the former Ultimate Marvel imprint. This new Ultimate Universe emerged following the events of Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch.

Publication history

The original Ultimate Marvel imprint ceased to be published in 2015, and was destroyed in-story in the Secret Wars crossover, with The 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, the 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 ignores both the original Ultimate universe and the plots in Venom, and shows instead the Maker moving to a new alternate universe 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, the Maker is defeated and banished inside an impenetrable dome-city, but his group that manages international relations in a "Power behind the throne" style remains a threat; the new comics are set within such background.

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 the deities Khonshu and 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]

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:^[4]

• The Northeastern United States make up the North American Union with the rest of the United States, Canada, Greenland, Mexico, and parts of Central America making up its subsidiaries. Howard Stark ruled this area.
• Parts of South America make up the Society of South America complete with regional clubs in some parts of South America and fractional cultures in the other parts of South America and parts of Central America. Emmanuel de Costa rules the Society of South America.
• The European Coalition is set in France where its surrounding areas are regional governors and the other parts of Europe are Fiefdoms. Henri Duggary rules this area.
• The Upper and Lower Kingdoms are set in Egypt with regional dynasties in the surrounding countries and parts of Saudi Arabia and local temples in the rest of Africa, Madagascar, and the other parts of Saudi Arabia. Ra and Khonshu rule this area.
• The Eurasian Republic is set in a part of Russia with the rest of Eurasia having regional directors and local schools. The Rasputin family rules this area.
• The Children of Eternal Light are set in India with parts of Southeastern Asia and Australia being run by the Shadows of the Immortal Hand. Hulk rules this area.
• Hi No Kuni (which is Japanese for "Land of Fire") is set in Japan with daimyos running parts of the Chinese coast. The Harada-Yoshida Alliance rule this area.

There are also undiscovered territories.

Publications

References

External links

• Official trailer