Secret wars 2015

[CTTT]

Can you read this event without having read the Ultimate Universe? Or is it useful to read that alongside 616? And how does Jonathan Hickman's Avengers/New Avengers fit in?

[Snoop Dogg]

The Ultimate Universe stuff only matters because of one character from Hickman's short Ultimates run. His Avengers books directly lead into the event.

[CTTT]

I'm guessing that one character is Miles?

[Ultimate Captain America]

No, the Maker. In fact, if you read only the Ultimate titles, ignore the Avengers and jump to Secret Wars 1, it would make no sense at all. SHIELD is back? The Maker is evil again? The City is working again? There are 616 villains in there? What has happened here?

[Rosebunse]

I had never read any of the Ultimate line begote Secret Wars. I knew about it, I knew about the Maker and Miles, so I wasn't going in completely blind, but it didn't seem absolutely essential.

[Revolutionary_Jack]

Secret Wars 2015 actually reads well standalone from what I've been told by some. It's main premise is Doctor Doom is god and most of the heroes are his little b--ches and Reed and a few others are the only spots he missed. So it's actually pretty straightforward from the get-go.

To get the most out of it, in terms of characters and so on, you really do need to read Hickman's NEW AVENGERS (his AVENGERS title is somewhat skippable) which deals with the Illuminati.

If you want the full experience.
-- Hickman's The Ultimates relaunch (Which introduces The Maker)
-- Fantastic Four: Dark Reign
-- Hickman's Fantastic Four and Future Foundation Omnibus
-- Hickman's New Avengers and Avengers
--- Sub-Events like INFINITY
--- Especially TIME RUNS OUT which directly leads into SW'2015.