Ultraverse Appreciation 2024!

[skyvolt2000]

Interesting (and heartbreaking) information. Thanks for sharing.
Honestly, I don't think Marvel is interested in doing something with the Ultraverse. Not even using the name anymore, and the whole reason to buy them out was to take them out. And oviously they don't pretend to use them in any fashion, which is kind of sad.
Ah, poor Ultraverse and its characters. It shined too bright and fast, and it burned too quickly.

Still, I wonder if the trademark of the names of the characters can be used by others in a similar fashion on what happened with the Captain Marvel. I think that name became free because there was no use of the character for... how long?

Here is what might have really happened-they bought Malibu because of the process that used to color and print their books. It was a better quality than Marvel and DC.
They had some coloring system that nobody else had at the time. Marvel bought them for that and the rest was history. I want to say Wizard Guide to Comics revealed this story.

Interesting enough rumor had it they were looking at another company. Because that company had a better coloring and printing system in their books. However they were at a Distinguishing Company at the time.

However fate had her say and that deal never happened. Why?
Marvel had to sell movie rights to Fox in order to stay around.
The other company kept going until 1997. It came back in 2000 on tv with a "shocking" cartoon series.

So the question that will never be answered is would we have had a similar situation if Marvel had gotten that company? Or would we have Miles Morales attending school with Virgil Hawkins (Static)?

[Thor-Ul]

Here is what might have really happened-they bought Malibu because of the process that used to color and print their books. It was a better quality than Marvel and DC.
They had some coloring system that nobody else had at the time. Marvel bought them for that and the rest was history. I want to say Wizard Guide to Comics revealed this story.

That is what was believed by several years. But later new information was revealed than Marvel at the time was outsourcing his coloring departmaent because it was cheaper than having their own departamanet. Buying Malibu for that would had been a set back. That was the excuse. The reasons to buy Malibu were estrictly economics:

Marvel didn't buy Malibu for its coloring department. After Marvel bought the company, they tried to dismantle the coloring department immediately by bringing in a group of consultants to crunch numbers to prove it was too expensive to maintain. Marvel had a long-term agreement with a coloring house in Ireland and preferred to send books out of house instead of using inhouse technology. Also, the head of Marvel's manufacturing department at that time was from the old school and had no idea how computers worked.

Tom Mason, Malibu,'s ex-editor, writer of Prototype and founder of the Bravura line.
Source: http://filingcabinetofthedamned.blog...story.html?m=1

So, it was not for the coloring Department, but for market participation reasons.

Interesting enough rumor had it they were looking at another company. Because that company had a better coloring and printing system in their books. However they were at a Distinguishing Company at the time.

Only the DC part is correct:

"Marvel bought Malibu out of fear. DC had been negotiating to buy Malibu since April/May of 1994 when Paul Levitz approached Scott Rosenberg at Wondercon that year. Negotiations and due diligence were handled by a task force from the mergers and acquisitions unit of TimeWarner and continued throughout the summer. By the San Diego Con that year it was almost a done deal, but shortly after San Diego, Marvel found out about it (this was under the regime when Marvel was owned by Ron Perelman) and Marvel's Terry Stewart called Malibu publisher Dave Olbrich and asked what was going on. According to inside Marvel sources that we had, corporate Marvel was afraid that if DC bought Malibu and was able to grow the company even slightly, the combined DC-Malibu marketshare would be enough to drop Marvel to the #2 company. That was the fear that drove them."
Tom Mason, Malibu,'s ex-editor, writer of Prototype and founder of the Bravura line.
Source: http://filingcabinetofthedamned.blog...story.html?m=1

Understandable. Image had hit strong to Marvel and they needed desesperatly to still be the number one gorilla in the ring.

However fate had her say and that deal never happened. Why?
Marvel had to sell movie rights to Fox in order to stay around.

And it seems like buying (and killing by mismanagement) Malibu was also a cause for the Marvel 96's bankruptcy.

"The problems were three-fold: one, the market was really collapsing and the industry retreated to the safety and security of the known universes (Marvel and DC); two, Marvel's financial picture was worsening and they would soon declare bankruptcy; and three, Marvel was buying Heroes World, an event that was going to significantly alter the direct market distribution of comics (though eventually not in the way Marvel intended)."
Tom Mason, Malibu,'s ex-editor, writer of Prototype and founder of the Bravura line.
Source: http://filingcabinetofthedamned.blog...story.html?m=1

So, more than fate, it were the circunstances of the moment.

The other company kept going until 1997. It came back in 2000 on tv with a "shocking" cartoon series.

And we are not talking that company here, this is the Ultraverse, and that company is in better situation than the Ultraverse. You can argue how wrong DC manages Wildstorm, Charlton, Quality and Fawcett characters, but at least they managed them and push them from time to time. They don't put them permanently on a vault. New readers have the chance to know about them and that can conduce to curiosity about past times. But witout any new imput, even if distorted, only oblivion remains.

So the question that will never be answered is would we have had a similar situation if Marvel had gotten that company? Or would we have Miles Morales attending school with Virgil Hawkins (Static)?

And again, we are not discussing that other company here. I guess there is an appreciattion thread on the DC forum and you can ask that there. Here we could wonder better if the Ultraverse would had better chance if they would have been bought by DC, as Levitz pretended.

[Thor-Ul]

I just looked it up. Trademark expires after 10 years.

I wonder if the original creators would be willing to take a poke at Marvel.

Oh, thanks, I overlooked your comment. Interesting little info.

I think someone else could go and create something new using the names of the characters but not create anything any close to the OG ideas. If there are not someone already than have did it and still is under the radar.
Maybe if one of the OG creators would be interested, which I think neither of them are.

But who knows, if that could happen maybe that would motivate Marvel to take otut the characters out of the vault. Even if only to renew and keep the trademark active.

[Gaastra]

Trading cards--

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Hulk vs prime Hurry! You only have till june 1995!

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[Thor-Ul]

Hulk vs prime Hurry! You only have till june 1995!

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Well, Marvel had spend more money that they had in the Malibu buying. They needed the money back as soon as possible. But they did everything possible to run the Ultraverse to the ground. It was no surprise than the Marvel era of the Ultraverse is so despised by those who remember warmly the Ultraverse.

[The Cool Thatguy]

Well, Marvel had spend more money that they had in the Malibu buying. They needed the money back as soon as possible. But they did everything possible to run the Ultraverse to the ground. It was no surprise than the Marvel era of the Ultraverse is so despised by those who remember warmly the Ultraverse.

Agreed.

But their treatment of the Ultraverse is still so baffling. They've been locked away long before Marvel ever became a powerhouse in movies, and I struggle to believe that Marvel negotiated a contract that gave the original creators a disproportionately high.

And it remains weird that the creators themselves have remained silent.

[Thor-Ul]

Agreed.

But their treatment of the Ultraverse is still so baffling. They've been locked away long before Marvel ever became a powerhouse in movies, and I struggle to believe that Marvel negotiated a contract that gave the original creators a disproportionately high.

And it remains weird that the creators themselves have remained silent.

It would seems like when Marvel make the transaction, the contract with the creators was not undid, if it is true than the creators still could have certain percentage of the income. But you are right. I guess some of them simply turned the page on the Ultraverse (understandly) and others, well saw what was the Marvel attittude towards the imprint. Now whyeven not say anything? Who knows? Reall only because they don't want to work with an spedific person tied to the contrats all this secrecy and silent treatment?
Honeslty, it seems like something from a conspiracy theory book, but surely must be a more mundane explanation.

On about how Marvel treated the Ultraverse, creatively: For me it seems like Marvel wanted to turn the Ultraverse in their own particular Image ersatz books, (on what mostly was Image in the 90s, certainly) but they never dared to go to the places the Ultraverse had go and the result was really dissapointing.

[Thor-Ul]

A curious situation here:

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The character Nemesis debuted in the Avenger/Ultraforce crossover than preceded the Black September reboot. She was suppously to be a creature created by the combination of seven infinity gems (being the seventh the Ego gem) but according to the last handbook of the 90s, she was really the original being than split into the infinity gems. That handbook (from 2007) also mentioned Rune and the Ultraverse as involved in the full story of the Infinity Gauntlet. Curiously, seems like the Rune intervention with the Infinity Gems caused an impresion.
I don't know how is the continuity of that element. The seventh gem never has been mentioned again, but there is a loose thread from where to pull out, isn't?

[Gaastra]

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[K7P5V]

OMG! George Pérez totally rules!!

[Thor-Ul]

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I can't avoid the subtext of the image where the Ultraverse characters are one stair below the Marvel characters.

[ARkadelphia]

I can't avoid the subtext of the image where the Ultraverse characters are one stair below the Marvel characters.

Yeah but they appear to have Uatu on their side, so…

[Thor-Ul]

Yes but is was more like Uatu is in his posture of "Behold, I show you... them! The sacrifice!"
Also see the hand of Prime, it is in a submissibe position, showing his palm to dominant Thor.
And iron man is bulkier than Prototype.
And so.

[Thor-Ul]

As there are no Crossgen appreciation thread, I post this here and wonder if there ever will be any omnibus of the Ultraverse collection. Yeah, I know is improbable, but still it surprises me to see an omnibus from a series from an editorial absorbed by Marvel. I suppose than Alessi made a better deal than Rosenberg.

MYSTIC OMNIBUS HC BRANDON PETERSON COVER
Written by RON MARZ, TONY BEDARD & BARBARA KESEL
Penciled by BRANDON PETERSON, STEVE MCNIVEN, KEVIN SHARPE, FABRIZIO FIORENTINO, AL RIO,
AARON LOPRESTI, PAUL RYAN, PAUL PELLETIER, GEORGE PÉREZ & CLAUDIO CASTELLINI
Covers by BRANDON PETERSON & AARON LOPRESTI
On a world where society is based upon magic, ultimate power rests in the hands of the last person who wants it: Giselle Villard, professional party girl! The carefree socialite may live on Ciress, a planet rife with sorcery, but she wants nothing whatsoever to do with it. Meanwhile, her sister, Genevieve, has devoted her life to one of the seven mystical guilds that preside over the world. But when a mysterious event grants Giselle the Sigil – a mark empowering her with uncanny abilities – it changes everything! How will Giselle handle this new power and unwanted responsibility that put her at odds with the Guild Masters, her own sister and her world’s greatest evil: Animora, a creature of almost limitless power who nearly destroyed Ciress once before? Collecting MYSTIC (2000) #1-43, CROSSGEN CHRONICLES #5 and material from CROSSGEN CHRONICLES #1.

[Nomads1]

I definitively could fork over the cash for an Ultraverse Omnibus.

Peace