Successes and Failures of the Ultimate Marvel Universe

[ActualLibrarian]

Read Ultimate F4 and Ultimate POWER!!!

I read Ultimate F4 back in the day but towards the end it went off the rails. I did like how they turned Reed into a villain. There should always be an an alternate universe line that allows creators to experiment and explore different variations of fan favorite characters. I would not go so far as to say that they should bring back the Ultimate Universe but it would be fun to have a New 52 style alternate line for readers who are curious. Not really the "What-If" line but something more coherent in one alternate universe.

[nx01a]

There's taking a more adult approach... then there's taking the needlessly violent and suspiciously subversive approach. I enjoyed what Warren Ellis did with Ultimate FF and his Gah Lak Tus story.

[Odd Rödney]

The evolution of Reed going from... well, Reed to The Maker was truly inspired stuff. I think Fantastic 4, Ultimates (before Loeb touched it) and Spider-Man were the best Ultimate Universe books.

[Ultimate Captain America]

The best part of it all? Captain America. The most badass superhero EVER, both within the Ultimate comics, and in general.

[ActualLibrarian]

What did you all think of post Ultimatum 1610? Success or Failure? I wish we would have been able to see more of Hickman's vision.

[Triniking1234]

1610 was making a comeback after Ultimatum. The F4 was dead and the X-Men was taking its sweet time so it was just Spider-Man and Ultimates. They're lucky Miles caught on in popularity but then they called it with Cataclysm.

[nose norton]

In regards to a success I will say the biggest success and shock for me was Millar somehow managing to make Ultimate Hawkeye the most badass MF'er on two legs.

You mean Bullseye.

[Alan2099]

The Ultimates felt like the point where the Ultimate Universe really went wrong. Instead of it being a modern take on the Marvel Universe, it felt more like "What if all the superheroes were just really huge unlikable jerks?"

[Ultimate Captain America]

What are you talking about? Ultimate Tony Stark was charisma personified, everybody loves that guy, both in and out of universe. It was way better than the usual "I'm a workaholic and control freak, but I'm so troubled because I can't keep up with everything as I would like" Tony Stark we had until then.

Ultimate Thor is more relatable and down-to-Earth, unlike regular Thor that always seems so distant.

And Ultimate Captain America is the most badass superhero EVER, and that cancels any other potential problem someone could have with him.

[CaptainUniverse]

What are you talking about? Ultimate Tony Stark was charisma personified, everybody loves that guy, both in and out of universe. It was way better than the usual "I'm a workaholic and control freak, but I'm so troubled because I can't keep up with everything as I would like" Tony Stark we had until then. .

I thought it was hilarious that he hit on Earth-616 Carol Danvers during the Final Incursion, didn't even give a damn that his universe was about to be destroyed.

[your_name_here]

Miles Morales
The Maker
Nick Fury (as Samuel Jackson)

Are the three main takeaways, to be honest. But Spider-Man, as everyone will agree, is the biggest highlight.

[The Overlord]

What are you talking about? Ultimate Tony Stark was charisma personified, everybody loves that guy, both in and out of universe. It was way better than the usual "I'm a workaholic and control freak, but I'm so troubled because I can't keep up with everything as I would like" Tony Stark we had until then.

Ultimate Thor is more relatable and down-to-Earth, unlike regular Thor that always seems so distant.

And Ultimate Captain America is the most badass superhero EVER, and that cancels any other potential problem someone could have with him.

Ultimate Cap is a scumbag who used a class of school kids as human shields.

[dzub]

Ultimate Cap is a scumbag who used a class of school kids as human shields.

Steve without the Moral Compass that has'nt been indoctrinated by Hydra.

[Sutekh]

I liked Sam Jackson as Nick Fury, and Wasp as both Asian and mutant. It was some nice nods to diversity (and Marvel diversity, with a founding Avenger being a mutant).

But then there was jack-booted thug Cap, wife-beater Pym and cannibal rapist Hulk, any one of which would have lost me, but all three together, yikes. Plus the dumb notions about 'badassery,' like Hawkeye being able to kill people by flicking his fingernails at them (so, so ridiculous), or Wolverine somehow being immune to radar because they spent a bunch of money? Wow, my super-power is just throw money at me and I can do whatever, and that's the entire rationale? Lazy writing.

I never really got around to reading Ultimate Spider-Man or Ultimate X-Men, so I really have no idea how they went, only that Ultimate (Avengers) was increasingly trash, just sort of 'cool because we say cool a lot' and not actually organically cool. (It read a lot like Marvel's answer to the Authority, which was also stone-cold terrible, IMO.)

[GAP]

I only read the Ultimate Avengers myself but I really wish that it was more like the MCU in terms of quality. Do not get me wrong, I do not like every aspect of MCU but I really like it as an alternate continuity. I know that they were trying to go for a more down to earth approach to Marvel but the characters feel like obnoxious parodies of themselves. If Mark Millar can tone down the edginess and try to stay true to the core of the characters while being different, I would like it even more.