Rebooting Ultimate Marvel: Should It Be Done?

[classyjazzy]

That would work except there are people who were able to not be problematic in the past. You shouldn't excuse things just because they were in the past and the world was different. Either way, I think it'll be a long time before Marvel does anything with the Ultimate Universe again, sadly.

[9th.]

I don't think so, they're just gonna blow it up again once it eventually gets cancelled. Ultimate had it's time.

[MarvelMaster616]

The problem with a full reboot is that you get rid of the bad, yes, but also the good. Make a narrative trick to get rid of some things but retain others? It can be done, it is done all the time, there are many tricks around (if it should be done is another question). Create again from scratch stories of the stature of Ultimate Spider-Man or Ultimates 2? Easier said than done.

Those stories are good, but "dated"? Which would be the problem, as long as they are good? The dated aspects can be easily updated if needed. If the "war on terror" allegory is no longer a thing, then make the Ultimates deal with a chain of left-wing dictatorships in South America under the facade of democracies. I would love to see Ultimate Captain America jumping without parachute in the middle of Venezuela...

I agree completely. It is easier said than done, trying to recapture everything that made Ultimate great in the early 2000s. And anyone writing a new Ultimate Spider-Man would certainly have some big shoes to fill, given how celebrated that series was for so many years.

But even if it would be a big challenge, I think it's one worth attempting. And that's why starting from scratch would probably be the best. It would allow a new generation of writers to craft a new Ultimate universe that isn't bound by the elements of Ultimate that are considerably dated. It's true that the tone of early Ultimate comics was shaped by the War on Terror politics of the time. That just wouldn't work today. But I think a new Ultimate Marvel could draw inspiration from the current state of affairs and build around that. Again, it would be challenging. But I think with the right plan and vision, it could find a sizable audience.

[The Negative Zone]

Instead of doing a confusing reboot of a rebooted universe, maybe just do a spiritual successor and keep it as an adaptation of the original comics so new readers can easily jump in without spending enormous amounts of time and money on 60s and 70s material. The Ultimate universe seemed like majority garbage given all the weird things they did...

[Hypestyle]

no. at this point. no. too much deconstruction and really awful choices and scenarios. I don't need to see Wasp being attacked by ants from Hank or chomped on by Blob.

[Agent Z]

As I said: neopuritanism. And the illusion you are better than those who came before you.

Don't jugde the past so harsh by present standards. Thing you consider good acctions today will be considered rejected in the future.

That's how the world has always worked. Things change as time moves forward.

[MarvelMaster616]

First off, thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. And thanks to everyone who watched my video.

On that front, I have an update. I just posted another video on this topic. It's the second video of a series I'm working on. Whereas the first video argues for why Ultimate should be rebooted, this video offers my own personal vision on how it could be done. So, in that spirit, I pitch an origin story for this universe, as a whole. The idea is that if a guy like me can make a rebooted Ultimate Universe seem appealing, then Marvel can do it many times better.



I don't expect to convince everyone in this thread that Ultimate should be rebooted. But I hope you all enjoy the video, none-the-less. I'm already working on the next.

[dkrook]

I'm all for anything to see better written and represented black heroes get a chance to really shine, cause 616 is still to limited in treatment.

[daredevil1]

Oh dear god, no! If it ended in 2009 with Ultimatum I would say "maybe," since it was such a time capsule for the 2000s that nostalgia might've set in. It represented a time and a place in comics. But they dragged that carcass out for so long, reboot after reboot every year with Alonso's endless new #1 fetish, that the brand lost all meaning and we actually saw what a "modern" Ultimate universe would look like. The emperor had no clothes, and 2015 was close enough to the present that we saw current trends take over before the end. It's kind of like The Simpsons, you can't reboot it because it never went away and overstayed its welcome far too long.

[MarvelMaster616]

Oh dear god, no! If it ended in 2009 with Ultimatum I would say "maybe," since it was such a time capsule for the 2000s that nostalgia might've set in. It represented a time and a place in comics. But they dragged that carcass out for so long, reboot after reboot every year with Alonso's endless new #1 fetish, that the brand lost all meaning and we actually saw what a "modern" Ultimate universe would look like. The emperor had no clothes, and 2015 was close enough to the present that we saw current trends take over before the end. It's kind of like The Simpsons, you can't reboot it because it never went away and overstayed its welcome far too long.

I completely understand that sentiment. And I acknowledged in the video that Ultimate went on way longer than it should've. When it finally ended in 2015, there wasn't much mourning or fanfare. At that point, Ultimate had just declined to such an extent that nobody could bring themselves to care about what happened to any character not named Miles Morales.

But I don't think Ultimate is like the Simpsons in that it can never be rebooted. I think Ultimate still had a lot to offer. It just lacked vision and purpose. It never had someone like a Kevin Feige to oversee the whole operation and make sure it still felt coherent. It had that initially with Bendis and Millar. But after Millar left, the series just lost any semblance of a meaningful plan. That was a mistake, definitely. But it's one Marvel can learn from.

There's no saving the Ultimate universe, as we knew it. That universe will never be viable again. But there is a chance that starting fresh could recapture some of that energy it had in the early 2000s. And I believe that's a chance worth taking.

[MarvelMaster616]

This morning, my next video in this series went live. This one involves me exploring what might go into a new version of Ultimate Avengers. Now, I know the original Ultimate comics called them the Ultimates. But I think that since the MCU has made the Avengers the biggest franchise in the world, any new Ultimate Universe should leverage that to the utmost. I also think it should distance itself from certain aspects of the original Ultimates. Because, let's face it, some of the characterizations and plots that Mark Millar did in those books would not work in the current market, nor would they go over well with current cultural trends. I won't give specifics, but if you read those books, you probably know the parts I'm referring to.

With that in mind, I attempted to envision how the Avengers might assemble in this world. And I'm very interested in what former Ultimate Marvel fans think of it. Enjoy!

[Somecrazyaussie]

I'd use the Malibu universe characters and give them a revamp/update.

Except the contracts make it impossible to use them without royalties being paid (even though Marvel owns them). Joey Q was itching to use them. That was one of his big goals as EiC. Now it's one of his biggest regrets he coùldnt use them.

[MarvelMaster616]

Another entry in my Ultimate Marvel reboot playlist is up! And I'm very proud of this one. Like I did with the Avengers in the last video, I re-imainged how a rebooted Ultimate X-Men could take shape in this one. Since I am a lifelong X-Men fan, I put extra effort into this. Also, I shared what I'm sure are some controversial opinions about the first iteration of Ultimate X-Men and why it failed. I don't expect others to agree with my takes. I don't deny I was a bit harsh. But I believe Marvel just really neglected Ultimate X-Men after the run by Brian K. Vaughn. And no title suffered more by the events of Ultimatum than X-Men. It was downright sadistic, some of the things Marvel let happen to Ultimate X-Men. And the bar for improvement is very low. But I still tried to envision something better for this. And I welcome any and all feedback on it.

[the illustrious mr. kenway]

Except the contracts make it impossible to use them without royalties being paid (even though Marvel owns them). Joey Q was itching to use them. That was one of his big goals as EiC. Now it's one of his biggest regrets he coùldnt use them.

I did not know that.

[LASERlips]

As I said: neopuritanism. And the illusion you are better than those who came before you.

Don't jugde the past so harsh by present standards. Thing you consider good acctions today will be considered rejected in the future.

Better how?

We can appreciate the accomplishments and contributions of those that came before us, while also understanding that they weren't perfect (nobody is), and were the product of their times. They made the world a better place in some ways, and then others carried the torch and contributed in other ways.

Anybody, past or present, who is serious about changing the world for the better should also (logically) have the ability to look inward and recognize that they themselves may need to change as well.


The insistence on excusing racism/sexism/etc today simply because "those that came before" did it and got away with it just makes you look racist/sexist/etc. Instead of changing for the better, you're trying to turn back the clock.

(The Royal "you", not you specifically).