What's the status of the Ultimate Universe?

[Ultimate Captain America]

Another hint: this scene from "Spider-Verse" #1 (the 2019 comic), when Miles had a multiverse seizure. Is that Ultimate Spider-Woman at the left?


And then the cover of issue #6. Is that her again at the right side?

[Factor]

Thanks for the responses. It would make sense to have the UU return in the year of its 20th anniversary.

From what I gather, the version of the UU that's still around as of Spider-Men II is a continuation of the original run.
In this world:
- Peter has returned to the Spider-Man identity after Miles left the UU.
- The Ultimates have reassembled ("confirmed" members being Cap, Thor, Riri, Spider-Woman, Torch, a Giant-Man and Hulk).
- Utopia is possibly still a nation, but the X-men are around the mansion again. They may be using it as headquarters to their superhero activities. Characters like Kitty Pryde, Jean Grey, Storm, Colossus, Iceman, Blackheath, Firestar, Warpath, Nomi etc are still alive.
- Alex Summers was taken by Sinister and Layla Miller. They could possibly be the key to ressurrecting some of the dead mutants like Cyclops IMO.
- Sue Storm and Ben Grimm had a kid.
- Reed Richards has become irredeemable as the Maker and is active in the 616 universe.
- Black Panther is back in Wakanda. He's enough of a blank slate that a lot could be done with him still.
- Captain Marvel sacrificed himself in Cataclysm, leaving space for someone new to adopt the identity.
- Carol Danvers has no active role as she's no longer with SHIELD afaik.
- Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D. again and his ex-wife Monica Chang is dead.
- The last Doctor Strange (Stephen Jr) died in Ultimatum. His dad (Stephen Strange Sr) has been missing since Clea got pregnant with their son, so he could be brought back.
- Matt Murdock and his replacement are both dead, so no Daredevil around.
- The Power Man from the Defenders never had his secret identity revealed, so Luke Cage is another blank slate.
- James Hudson (Wolverine Jr.) is merged with a symbiote somewhere in the 616 universe.
- Meanwhile, the heroes The Maker ressurrected (Tony Stark, Wasp, Pym and Hulk) are somewhere in the Multiverse searching for other Makers. So there are two Ultimate Hulks around. And we don't know what happened to the Tony Stark that was still around when the UU died, so he could be a duplicate.

And the UU still has no versions of heroes like Kamala, Blue Marvel, Thunderbolts, Champions, Guardians of the Galaxy etc.

So even with the Ultimatum atrocities, a lot could still be done with this universe even without resetting to pre-Ultimatum days (my preferred course of action).

[Triniking1234]

I never heard those U.X-Men ones.

[Factor]

I never heard those U.X-Men ones.

Those are just my theories based on their last appearances.
All those characters mentioned were still alive and Bendis showed the most popular ones at the mansion in one All-New X-men as another poster pointed out.
The Havok thing is an unresolved plot point from Nick Spencer's Ultimate Comics X-men.
Jimmy Hudson's thing is from Bunn's All-New X-men.

[Digifiend]

Thanks for the responses. It would make sense to have the UU return in the year of its 20th anniversary.

From what I gather, the version of the UU that's still around as of Spider-Men II is a continuation of the original run.
In this world:
- Peter has returned to the Spider-Man identity after Miles left the UU.
- The Ultimates have reassembled ("confirmed" members being Cap, Thor, Riri, Spider-Woman, Torch, a Giant-Man and Hulk).
- Utopia is possibly still a nation, but the X-men are around the mansion again. They may be using it as headquarters to their superhero activities. Characters like Kitty Pryde, Jean Grey, Storm, Colossus, Iceman, Blackheath, Firestar, Warpath, Nomi etc are still alive.
- Alex Summers was taken by Sinister and Layla Miller. They could possibly be the key to ressurrecting some of the dead mutants like Cyclops IMO.
- Sue Storm and Ben Grimm had a kid.
- Reed Richards has become irredeemable as the Maker and is active in the 616 universe.
- Black Panther is back in Wakanda. He's enough of a blank slate that a lot could be done with him still.
- Captain Marvel sacrificed himself in Cataclysm, leaving space for someone new to adopt the identity.
- Carol Danvers has no active role as she's no longer with SHIELD afaik.
- Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D. again and his ex-wife Monica Chang is dead.
- The last Doctor Strange (Stephen Jr) died in Ultimatum. His dad (Stephen Strange Sr) has been missing since Clea got pregnant with their son, so he could be brought back.
- Matt Murdock and his replacement are both dead, so no Daredevil around.
- The Power Man from the Defenders never had his secret identity revealed, so Luke Cage is another blank slate.
- James Hudson (Wolverine Jr.) is merged with a symbiote somewhere in the 616 universe.
- Meanwhile, the heroes The Maker ressurrected (Tony Stark, Wasp, Pym and Hulk) are somewhere in the Multiverse searching for other Makers. So there are two Ultimate Hulks around. And we don't know what happened to the Tony Stark that was still around when the UU died, so he could be a duplicate.

And the UU still has no versions of heroes like Kamala, Blue Marvel, Thunderbolts, Champions, Guardians of the Galaxy etc.

So even with the Ultimatum atrocities, a lot could still be done with this universe even without resetting to pre-Ultimatum days (my preferred course of action).

Kamala's Ultimate counterpart is, unfortunately, very likely to be dead. Galactus destroyed New Jersey in Cataclysm. Even if she is alive, she'd need a completely different origin, since the whole Terrigen mist thing never happened in 1610. She can't even be a fan of Carol, since Carol isn't a superhero herself yet in 1610.

The only Champions confirmed to exist, to my knowledge, are Miles (but he's in 616 now), Riri, and Amadeus Cho (who doesn't have his powers, as he only got them in 616 after Secret Wars). It's impossible for Viv Vision and Nadia Van Dyne to exist, as Vision was female and was destroyed, while Janet and Hank are too young to have a teenage daughter (in 616, only Janet was, which is why they had her be Hank's first wife's kid and had Janet adopt her) - and I don't think Nadia's actual mother even exists in 1610 either.

[Digifiend]

Another hint: this scene from "Spider-Verse" #1 (the 2019 comic), when Miles had a multiverse seizure. Is that Ultimate Spider-Woman at the left?


And then the cover of issue #6. Is that her again at the right side?

Yes to both. Either she's been miscoloured and should be wearing red instead of black, or she's missing the jacket she had as Black Widow. But that is her.

[Factor]

Kamala's Ultimate counterpart is, unfortunately, very likely to be dead. Galactus destroyed New Jersey in Cataclysm. Even if she is alive, she'd need a completely different origin, since the whole Terrigen mist thing never happened in 1610. She can't even be a fan of Carol, since Carol isn't a superhero herself yet in 1610.

The only Champions confirmed to exist, to my knowledge, are Miles (but he's in 616 now), Riri, and Amadeus Cho (who doesn't have his powers, as he only got them in 616 after Secret Wars). It's impossible for Viv Vision and Nadia Van Dyne to exist, as Vision was female and was destroyed, while Janet and Hank are too young to have a teenage daughter (in 616, only Janet was, which is why they had her be Hank's first wife's kid and had Janet adopt her) - and I don't think Nadia's actual mother even exists in 1610 either.

I'd want Ultimate Kamala to be Pakistani, not American. Kamala's 616 origin is already incredible as it is, so a UU version would need to bring something new to the table.
Having her grow up in Pakistan in a world where American heroes are so militarized would be a new angle to explore as she became a prominent super-hero.
And yes, the Carol and Inhumans connections wouldn't be in play, but I don't see them as essential to her character.
I also wouldn't be so obvious with the Champions adaptations. I'd want the team to be comprised of international young heroes who disagree with how teams like the Ultimates handle threats and unite to offer a better option.
Amadeus Cho's superhero alter ego would be closer to Hercules (as a nod to the original champions) and I could see Ultimate versions of original Champions like Iceman joining too.
I'd also add Riri as Ironheart, a South American Nova, Shuri and maybe even Shang Chi. The possibilities are endless and I wouldn't want a team full of legacies like in 616 anyway.

[Ultimate Captain America]

Another problem for Ultimate Kamala is that the Inhumans left earth when the FF found them
So the terrigen cloud not only did not happen, there's likely no terrigen anywhere to begin with.

A possible solution: the Inhumans left, but a small group stayed behind. The Afterlife, as seen in Agents of SHIELD.

[Factor]

I don't think Ultimate Kamala would need to be inhuman at all. Ultimate Bruce Banner didn't became Hulk through a gamma ray explosion, Ultimate Wasp wasn't a human powered by Pym particles and so on.
These changes are part of the fun of an alternate universe like Ultimate.
And it's not like her being an inhuman is such an important part of her character. They used Inhumanity as a way to launch the character, but she has way bigger themes to explore.

[Mike_Murdock]

The Maker currently is trying to restore the Ultimate Universe over in Donny Cates’ Venom

Any chance that Cates's Venom is set before the Spider-Man story so they could all line up?

[Triniking1234]

Any chance that Cates's Venom is set before the Spider-Man story so they could all line up?

Bro, you're putting way more thought into this than Marvel did.

[Factor]

Bro, you're putting way more thought into this than Marvel did.

Sadly, you're probably right.
The way the Ewing resurrections don't line up with the Ultimates shown by Bendis in Spider-Men also bugs me.
We may end up with two Ultimate Bruce Banners and Tony Starks on the same universe if the Ewing team finds its way back home.

[Ultimate Captain America]

Sadly, you're probably right.
The way the Ewing resurrections don't line up with the Ultimates shown by Bendis in Spider-Men also bugs me.
We may end up with two Ultimate Bruce Banners and Tony Starks on the same universe if the Ewing team finds its way back home.

So what with that? The originals are in their home universe, and the Maker created copies of them with his machine. If they somehow manage to find their way to the Ultimate universe, well...

[Mike_Murdock]

Bro, you're putting way more thought into this than Marvel did.

I'm just asking whether it can be reconciled. I'm not asking whether the overworked Marvel editors thought about it.

[Ultimate Captain America]

Any chance that Cates's Venom is set before the Spider-Man story so they could all line up?

Not really. Both Miles and Venom have been through War of the Realms and Absolute Carnage, so yes, they are running concurrently.

A way to make them both work is to say that the world we have seen in Spider-Men II and that Ultimatum has visited is not really the Ultimate universe, but a close enough alternate one (the clues are already there: Captain America and Giant-Man are alive, Thor has his hammer back regardless of Unworthy Thor, Riri is in the Ultimates although we never met her, etc). The multiverse is filled of universes that are almost exact copies of the 616 except for some details; it wouldn't be so strange for the Ultimate one to have such ones as well. But that would not be enough for the Maker: if he wants his universe back, it must be the actual one, accept no substitutes.

After all, let's see it from the point of view of the readers: the Ultimate universe was destroyed in Secret Wars, and no more Ultimate comics were published since then. And then in 2020 they simply start writing comics set in that universe, as if nothing had happened? An off-screen return may had been enough a pair of years ago, when Bendis wanted people to rest assured that yes, the Ultimate universe is still out there somewhere even if no new comics are written; but if Marvel really wants to do something about the anniversary... a grand return is the mandatory first step of any possible plan.