Ultimate Spider-Man finally makes its return five years after it was canceled and the Ultimate Universe was dissolved.
Ultimate Invasion is wrapping up, and with its end comes a brand new Ultimate Universe. Now, Marvel has announced its plans for the relaunched imprint, bringing it back with the superhero who started it all.
The relaunch kicked off earlier this year with Ultimate Invasion. The Maker (the twisted, Ultimate version of Reed Richards) has remade the universe in his image, striving to create a utopia.
Though Marvel had announced the Ultimate Invasion follow-up, Ultimate Universe, plans following the one-shot were kept quiet. Now Marvel has finally announced the first book to relaunch Ultimate Comics for a new era; fittingly, it’s the one that started it in the first place.
Ultimate Spider-Man returns to kick off the new Ultimate Universe
Debuting during the Marvel Next Big Thing panel at New York Comic-Con 2023, Ultimate Spider-Man will kick off the new Ultimate Universe. Announced on Marvel’s Twitter/X account, the book will be helmed by Ultimate Invasion writer Jonathan Hickman and Daredevil artist Marco Checchetto.
Jonathan Hickman’s Ultimate Invasion limited series spawns an entire new Ultimate Universe, complete with a new 'Ultimate Spider-Man' by Hickman and Marco @MChecC! Get more details next month at #MarvelNYCC. pic.twitter.com/znYq5ogdqa
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) September 20, 2023
The book is a perfect choice to kickstart the new universe. Ultimate Spider-Man #1 launched the original Ultimate imprint in 2000. The goal of Ultimate Comics was to take existing, beloved characters and tell new stories with them that were updated for the modern era.
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The intention was for stories to be freed from the shackles of continuity that proved daunting to new readers. As time went on, though, that shine wore off. The Universe would undergo multiple soft resets to serve as a jumping-on point for new readers, but the Ultimate Universe was suffering from too much continuity itself by the 2010s.
Ultimate Spider-Man would become home to the biggest change the imprint had on Marvel’s continuity: Miles Morales. With the death of Ultimate Peter Parker at the hands of Green Goblin, Miles would become the new Spider-Man. The character’s popularity arguably dwarfed his predecessors, and he was one of the few characters to survive the 616 and Ultimate universes merging in Secret Wars.
In fact, Miles’ popularity brings an interesting question to the forefront: just who will be the Ultimate Spider-Man when the book returns? Fans will likely find out soon, given the book is targeting a January 2024 release date.
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