The Ultimate Comics Line returns!

[mreddie]

Wow, this sounds very...dumb.

I can't wait for 616 books to get killed to make room for this line only for it to crash and burn like last time.

[Bruce Wayne]

Seems like another vanity project for Hickman. How do they expect to garner any readership. Fans of the old Ultimate lines aren't going to be happy since it's just Ultimate in Name Only. Other than Hickman fans, who are they hoping to buy this? We already know Hickman fans aren't enough given the preorders of GODS were super low.

[Jackraow21]

I think it’s largely going to depend on the titles in the new Ultimate line, who the creators are, and what the casts look like. If they’re too far afield from their classic 616 counterparts, I’ll agree with you that this new Ultimate U is going to tank. If they’re not, and are “familiar yet modernized” like the original UU, it might have legs under some strong creative teams.

[charliehustle415]

Wow, this sounds very...dumb.

I can't wait for 616 books to get killed to make room for this line only for it to crash and burn like last time.

Seems like another vanity project for Hickman. How do they expect to garner any readership. Fans of the old Ultimate lines aren't going to be happy since it's just Ultimate in Name Only. Other than Hickman fans, who are they hoping to buy this? We already know Hickman fans aren't enough given the preorders of GODS were super low.

Y'all are tripping, the same thing was being said for the original Ultimate Universe.

This is not supposed to be the same as 616, it's supposed to be radically different.

I don't see why every 10 years the ultimate line gets rebooted with a completely new universe.

The 616 will always be 616 forever.

So this gives readers a chance to see truly unique stories.

[Frontier]

Y'all are tripping, the same thing was being said for the original Ultimate Universe.

This is not supposed to be the same as 616, it's supposed to be radically different.

I don't see why every 10 years the ultimate line gets rebooted with a completely new universe.

The 616 will always be 616 forever.

So this gives readers a chance to see truly unique stories.

But I just don't feel that emotional pull or motivation to read it. It's just typical Hickman world-building to me.

[Jackraow21]

The original Ultimate line wasn’t “radically different.” Just updated and streamlined. If this Ultimate X-men team has Wolverine, Storm, Jean, Scott, etc., and they resemble themselves, it’ll be fine. If the team is a bunch of random ass new characters, or radically different versions of existing characters, I’m not so sure.

[charliehustle415]

The original Ultimate line wasn’t “radically different.” Just updated and streamlined. If this Ultimate X-men team has Wolverine, Storm, Jean, Scott, etc., and they resemble themselves, it’ll be fine. If the team is a bunch of random ass new characters, or radically different versions of existing characters, I’m not so sure.

The Ultimate Universe was less then a 100 years in regards to heroes. Mutants were all Weapon X products. Gwen Stacy is alive and well. Pete and Normie are immortal. Reed killed his family and is a mass murderer. Asgard is utterly destroyed and never came back. Tony had a tumor that spoke to him. The twins were incestuous. The Hulk was/is a rapist and wanted to rape Betty.

It was quite different

[Frontier]

The Ultimate Universe was less then a 100 years in regards to heroes. Mutants were all Weapon X products. Gwen Stacy is alive and well. Pete and Normie are immortal. Reed killed his family and is a mass murderer. Asgard is utterly destroyed and never came back. Tony had a tumor that spoke to him. The twins were incestuous. The Hulk was/is a rapist and wanted to rape Betty.

It was quite different

That isn't how it started out as, though.

[Jackraow21]

The Ultimate Universe was less then a 100 years in regards to heroes. Mutants were all Weapon X products. Gwen Stacy is alive and well. Pete and Normie are immortal. Reed killed his family and is a mass murderer. Asgard is utterly destroyed and never came back. Tony had a tumor that spoke to him. The twins were incestuous. The Hulk was/is a rapist and wanted to rape Betty.

It was quite different

It was different, but I think we have differing definitions of the qualifier “radically” in this case. Perhaps I should’ve used the words “still recognizable” instead.

For example, Peter Parker was still a white, male high school aged nerd from Queens. Wolverine was still Logan, a.k.a. Weapon X, who was a white dude with pointy hair and sideburns and razor sharp adamantium claws plus a mutant healing factor. And so on and so forth. They were familiar in appearance and just had an updated/streamlined history and world to operate in, but any long time comic fan could pick it up and recognize them as Spider-man and Wolverine. Same with the Hulk (though he was gray to be fair; but still a white scientist named Bruce Banner who transforms into him). Same with Iron Man, Cap, Thor… and so on and so forth. That’s what I mean. These characters were not radically different in my mind and were still quite recognizable.

If they radically change them from their traditional 616 templates, that’s when I fear fans will just tune this out as pure Elseworlds type stuff. As opposed to the original UU, which was a more recognizably modernized Marvel U.

[charliehustle415]

It was different, but I think we have differing definitions of the qualifier “radically” in this case. Perhaps I should’ve used the words “still recognizable” instead.

For example, Peter Parker was still a white, male high school aged nerd from Queens. Wolverine was still Logan, a.k.a. Weapon X, who was a white dude with pointy hair and sideburns and razor sharp adamantium claws plus a mutant healing factor. And so on and so forth. They were familiar in appearance and just had an updated/streamlined history and world to operate in, but any long time comic fan could pick it up and recognize them as Spider-man and Wolverine. Same with the Hulk (though he was gray to be fair; but still a white scientist named Bruce Banner who transforms into him). Same with Iron Man, Cap, Thor… and so on and so forth. That’s what I mean. These characters were not radically different in my mind and were still quite recognizable.

If they radically change them from their traditional 616 templates, that’s when I fear fans will just tune this out as pure Elseworlds type stuff. As opposed to the original UU, which was a more recognizably modernized Marvel U.

I don't think they won't resemble 616 characters physically. I mean even in radical What If stories the characters look like their 616 counter parts. I mean the only medium where they don't is in the films.

[Vordan]

I think the biggest misstep this new Ultimate Universe has is that it’s already got continuity. Someone coming into this new Ultimate Universe is already going to be hit with the need to go read stories elsewhere - if you have no clue who the Maker is or what his deal is for example, you’re going to be utterly confused why he does what he does here. If you’re one of the countless people who are probably going to just try to pick up Hickman Ultimate Spider-Man, that will probably leave you utterly baffled with regards to the status quo. The weirdness will either keep you hooked or drive you away.

[charliehustle415]

I think the biggest misstep this new Ultimate Universe has is that it’s already got continuity. Someone coming into this new Ultimate Universe is already going to be hit with the need to go read stories elsewhere - if you have no clue who the Maker is or what his deal is for example, you’re going to be utterly confused why he does what he does here. If you’re one of the countless people who are probably going to just try to pick up Hickman Ultimate Spider-Man, that will probably leave you utterly baffled with regards to the status quo. The weirdness will either keep you hooked or drive you away.

That's an excellent point that I didn't even think about. I wonder if the new #1's will just jump in and if you want to know more you can pick up Ultimate Invasion.

[Keno]

I had the same issue while trying to read this through. So i had to go back and read Hickman's Ultimates from 1610. I got enough insight but I was still confused about what exactly happened with Richards that made him turn into a villain. And I don't exactly know where to read to that from either.

[charliehustle415]

I had the same issue while trying to read this through. So i had to go back and read Hickman's Ultimates from 1610. I got enough insight but I was still confused about what exactly happened with Richards that made him turn into a villain. And I don't exactly know where to read to that from either.

If I am remembering correctly, Reed went villain under Bendis in Ultimate Doomsday and Hickman picked up on in Ultimate Fallout which directly went into his New Ultimates.

[scarletspidey]

It’s been fine if a little boring and slow (more like a story setter than a story) but why is it called ultimate (other than for marketing purposes which will probably leave people thinking it’s ultimate underwhelmed more than anything)