It shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, since the title has been counting down since the beginning. But given it’s one of the best-selling titles in comic books, it’s still sort of a shocker: Marvel has announced that Ultimate Spider-Man is ending with issue #24.
The news was officially announced at the Marvel Comics: Ultimate Universe Panel at San Diego Comic-Con, with writer Jonathan Hickman stressing that, to quote Spider-Man’s arch-enemy The Joker [editor’s note: check on that before publishing this, thanks], “it’s all part of the plan.”
“This was everything that I pitched,” Hickman said via press release. “Nothing has deviated. It’s been really nice to execute the plan well and everything culminates into this issue. Fans of the Ultimate Universe are going to love it. It’s been a real pleasure being the writer of ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN.”
Marvel promises that the “generational Spider-Man saga” will hit a “startling finale that will cement the run as one of the most beloved Spider-Man runs in recent history.” Written by Hickman with art by Marco Checchetto, it’s “packed with dramatic—and shocking—developments for the entire Parker family—Peter, Mary Jane, Richard, May and Uncle Ben—along with Harry Osborn, Gwen Stacy and more, the issue will also create promising roadmaps for future storytelling.”
One of those roadmaps? Ultimate Endgame, a five-part series by Deniz Camp, Jonas Scharf, and more, which will launch in December. In the series, the evil Reed Richards The Maker finally escapes from his prison and comes to confront the entirety of the Ultimate Universe.
“This is the craziest and most impactful crossover [I’ve worked on],” Camp said. “I’m really excited about it. It’s all the characters: everyone coming together in this big way, coming up against each other in a big way, and the resolution of some long plot threads we’ve all been seeing. It’s very big, very dramatic, and with the Ultimate Universe, we can change the world. We can actually do it as creators because we have this incredible playground that Marvel has not just allowed, but encouraged us, to use. It’s such an honor to do something like this. It’s been amazing, and this is the culmination of a lot of what we’ve been doing together.
Added Hickman, “Doing this tight continuity stuff, this smaller line… the execution from the company on this has been great, and it’s stuff we should keep trying to do. You guys supporting this book is the only reason we can [tell stories] this way. Hearing you like this gives us the opportunity to do more things like this.”
Ultimate Spider-Man #24 will hit stores on December 24, followed by Ultimate Endgame #1 the next week on December 31.
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #24
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art and Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
On Sale 12/24
ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 (OF 5)
Written by DENIZ CAMP
Art by JONAS SCHARF & MORE
Cover by MARK BROOKS
Foil Variant Cover by DERRICK CHEW
On Sale 12/31
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