Hickman Ultimate Universe (Earth 6160) General Discussion and Spoilers

[Huntsman Spider]

I definitely don't expect this is going to be Millar's Ultimates at any rate.

For better or worse. Which it turns out to be, we'll have to wait and see.

[Ultimate Captain America]

On the plus side none of the characters are repulsively awful so thats good.

Really its already better than the original Ultimates on that front at the moment. Bond villain Hulk is objectively an improvement over "HULK IS HORNY! HULK NOT GAY!"

And that leads us back to my earlier comment: if you want a family-friendly universe where everybody is upbeat, positive and likeable, you already have the main universe for that. And note that being "repulsively awful" does not equal being a bad or uninteresting character to read about, especially when a character is not supposed to be a hero to begin with. I mean, you do read or watch stories about characters other than superheroes, right?

An example being published right now: Conan the Barbarian, by Titan Comics. That man is definitely "repulsively awful"... and that's exactly what makes him so worth reading.

And in any case, being a good or bad character, or being better or worse than another is and always will be something subjective, even if we can mention reasons. So no, "objectively an improvement" is wrong.

I definitely don't expect this is going to be Millar's Ultimates at any rate.

But if they didn't do the false publicity stunt, nobody would be even discussing that, and those characters would be judged on their own merits. But they did, so now the specter of the ultimate Ultimates will always fly over those pale and inferior imitations.

[Mantis-Ray]

And that leads us back to my earlier comment: if you want a family-friendly universe where everybody is upbeat, positive and likeable, you already have the main universe for that. And note that being "repulsively awful" does not equal being a bad or uninteresting character to read about, especially when a character is not supposed to be a hero to begin with. I mean, you do read or watch stories about characters other than superheroes, right?

An example being published right now: Conan the Barbarian, by Titan Comics. That man is definitely "repulsively awful"... and that's exactly what makes him so worth reading.

And in any case, being a good or bad character, or being better or worse than another is and always will be something subjective, even if we can mention reasons. So no, "objectively an improvement" is wrong.



But if they didn't do the false publicity stunt, nobody would be even discussing that, and those characters would be judged on their own merits. But they did, so now the specter of the ultimate Ultimates will always fly over those pale and inferior imitations.

Don't be pulling a strawman fallacy on me. No where did I ask for "family-friendly universe where everybody is upbeat, positive and likeable", I just found the whole characterization of white knight dudebro Captain America, wife-beater Hank Pym, and "assorted gay jokes" Hulk juvenile as all Hell. Its the opposite of interesting, having a character yell "Rape, Murder, Rape" doesn't make them mature its just stupid.

Of course I also subjected myself to reading Millar's Authority and its attempts at meta and political commentary was similarly cringe-inducingly painful.

If you ask me the only redeemable aspect of the Ultimates was Bryan Hitch's art. Without his immaculate pencils, Mark Millar's writing would be worth nothing.

[Vordan]

Hickman certainly has set up an interesting status quo for Spider-Man:

-May is dead but Ben is alive in 6160
-Peter is working at the Planet, and Ben was his boss! Ben and Jonah being pals was a hoot.
-Peter and Harry don’t have a history just yet but MJ did know/date(?) Harry for a bit
-Peter willingly chooses to be Spider-Man because he’s always felt like his life has been missing something
-6160 Matt Murdock is blind and a priest (Hickman must’ve been irritated that 616 Matt is also that right now), no sign of whether or not 6160 Matt has powers or is planning on becoming Daredevil

[lefthanded]

Hickman certainly has set up an interesting status quo for Spider-Man:

-May is dead but Ben is alive in 6160
-Peter is working at the Planet, and Ben was his boss! Ben and Jonah being pals was a hoot.
-Peter and Harry don’t have a history just yet but MJ did know/date(?) Harry for a bit
-Peter willingly chooses to be Spider-Man because he’s always felt like his life has been missing something
-6160 Matt Murdock is blind and a priest (Hickman must’ve been irritated that 616 Matt is also that right now), no sign of whether or not 6160 Matt has powers or is planning on becoming Daredevil

Peter is 35, married to MJ, and has two kids (Richard and May).

Also, Kingpin is still Kingpin, which makes sense.

Did the Maker alter Matt Murdock's path, or could he still be Daredevil?

[charliehustle415]

Pretty amazing start to this universe.

I just love how different it is, and I cannot wait to see more.

I feel like there's more to Kingpin than him being similar to his 616 counterpart, I feel like there's a twist coming and we'll find out he's just a corporate tycoon or something but who knows.

[vitaminbee]

Hickman certainly has set up an interesting status quo for Spider-Man:

-May is dead but Ben is alive in 6160
-Peter is working at the Planet, and Ben was his boss! Ben and Jonah being pals was a hoot.
-Peter and Harry don’t have a history just yet but MJ did know/date(?) Harry for a bit
-Peter willingly chooses to be Spider-Man because he’s always felt like his life has been missing something
-6160 Matt Murdock is blind and a priest (Hickman must’ve been irritated that 616 Matt is also that right now), no sign of whether or not 6160 Matt has powers or is planning on becoming Daredevil

I want to know what Elektra is like in this universe… guh! Sounds good though.

[Plawsky]

Fantastic start! It's a little slow, but Hickman does a great job laying out what makes this world different than others we've seen before. Ben being alive is awesome, and I'm glad this UU seems to have a great Jonah just like the last one. And of course, the Pete/MJ relationship is quite refreshing. Can't wait to see where this goes.

My one worry is that the Tony/Maker side of things is going to take over the book (and the other UU books), rather than letting the new universe develop on its own.

And Checcetto's art is unbelievable. I really need to see him do some action, though... that's where he really shines.

[Steroid]

I definitely enjoyed USM and I'm actually more excited by this new UU. Great start by Hickman and company.

[Wolverine12]

Fantastic start! It's a little slow, but Hickman does a great job laying out what makes this world different than others we've seen before. Ben being alive is awesome, and I'm glad this UU seems to have a great Jonah just like the last one. And of course, the Pete/MJ relationship is quite refreshing. Can't wait to see where this goes.

My one worry is that the Tony/Maker side of things is going to take over the book (and the other UU books), rather than letting the new universe develop on its own.

And Checcetto's art is unbelievable. I really need to see him do some action, though... that's where he really shines.

Holy cow what year is it? Plawsky weighing in on an Ultimate book?? Love it!

Solid first issue, art was fantastic and the set up wasn’t too bland as we got to see some major changes from 1610. Looking forward to more Ultimate Universe goodness!

[Mantis-Ray]

Hickman gets critiqued for being too high-concept and ignoring the human element, so its great that this issue focused purely on the character stuff and did a great job of it. Loving the takes here, especially the surprising friendship spoilers:

between JJ and Uncle Ben

end of spoilers.

Very curious to see where this is going to go. Its the start of a Brand New Day and hopefully its a Spectacular one.

[vitaminbee]

I read the first issue and really enjoyed it. I really like different takes on established characters - especially when there's some big switches. I just really hope Hickman sticks around for a while and we let Spider-Man, X-Men, and each new book develop before any huge, catastrophic team ups happen.

[Frontier]

Teen Tony is just hilarious to me .

[Trapgodthanos]

I know Spider-Man is Marvel's biggest character and they put 2 of the best and most hype creators on the book but I hope the excitement and energy that Ultimate Spider-Man seems to have generated carries over to the other ult books (especially black panther, I think peach momoko x-men will be a sizable draw).

[Tony Stark]

Teen Tony is just hilarious to me .

Is he in this issue a bit?