You knew it was coming… Following Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men, Marvel is launching a fourth title in the Ultimate Universe line: The Ultimates, starting this June.
Written by Deniz Camp with art by Juan Frigeri, the new team-up title will bring together Iron Lad (Tony Stark), Doom (Reed Richards), Thor (Thor, I think), and Sif. The cover of the first issue teases the “new” Ultimate Captain America and Ant-Man will also be on the team.
“The new Ultimates line is the most exciting super hero comics event in years, and it’s humbling to be a part of it!” Camp shared via press release provided to Comic Book Club. “We are reinventing these classic characters and archetypes to be as surprising and vital as when they were first introduced. Our Ultimates is an evolution not just of the Avengers, but of the whole super hero team concept; from the grand and operatic to the small and personal, THE ULTIMATES will feel like no Avengers or Ultimates comic ever before! That’s our ambition, anyway; tune in to find out if we succeed.“
As for the plot? Just your basic team of heroes banding together to fight evil. Or in this case, with The Maker (the evil Reed Richards [different than the Doom Reed Richards mentioned above]) is gone, and in his place, there’s a council of villains and “heroes” taking over the world. The Ultimates, er, ultimate goal? Free the world from their influence.
The Ultimates was originally launched back in 2002 by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, and while Millar’s edge-lord take on the Avengers may or may not have been satirical — your mileage may vary — it was influential. In fact, it’s hard to look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) without seeing the bones of The Ultimates present in the theatrical movies.
“On a personal note, my first big break in comics was winning the Millarworld talent competition, so there is a strange, sweet symmetry to taking on the title Mark and Bryan pioneered 20+ years ago,” Camp continued. “We’re doing everything we can to live up to the ‘Ultimates’ name, and the high bar set by Jonathan, Marco [Checchetto], and all the Ultimate creative teams so far!”
There will be a sneak peek at the new Ultimates in Free Comic Book Day 2024: Spider-Man & The Ultimate Universe #1, available on May 4. You can check out Dike Ruan’s full cover for The Ultimates #1 below. The book will hit stores June 5, from Marvel.
