Marvel’s Ultimate Characters, Ranked

Marvel has found much success with the new Ultimate Universe, offering fans different takes on familiar heroes and villains. The Ultimate line launched with four titles — Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimates, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men — slowly revealing new aspects of this strange, yet familiar world. Fans have responded positively to all things Ultimate, from the characters to the creative teams chosen to take on each project. But with a line as massive as the Ultimate Universe, it can get hard to keep track of all the breakout characters. That’s why we’re making it easy for you by singling out the Ultimate heroes and villains you’ll want to keep your eyes on going forward.

Are you a fan of the Ultimates taking the fight to the Maker’s evil council? Curious to see how the Ultimate X-Men are different from the mutants you know and love? Or maybe you still haven’t checked out Ultimate Spider-Man, but you’ve heard good things about a married-with-kids web-slinger learning the ropes as an adult. There’s a lot to like about Marvel’s Ultimate characters, and we’re breaking down the Top 15.

15) Armor

Hisako Ichiki has a smaller profile in the X-Men, but has found herself as the lead in Ultimate X-Men. Hisako has helped readers learn more about mutants in the Ultimate Universe, as her journey to discover her powers has also introduced new friends like Nico Minoru and Maystorm.

Ultimate X-Men may not be what fans expect from an X-Men comic, but Armor has been one of its highlights. Some fans will be able to relate to Hisako’s feelings of depression and how she’s fought to overcome these negative thoughts.

14) Inan, The Sorcerer Supreme

The Ultimate Universe has a Sorcerer Supreme, but it’s not Doctor Strange. When the Maker went about ridding his world of superheroes, one of the casualties was Stephen Strange. He was among the heroes captured by Maker during Ultimate Invasion. But Doctor Strange doesn’t have a copyright on the Sorcerer Supreme mantle, leaving the door open for another character to claim it.

Enter Inan, whom Storm and Killmonger found for King T’Challa of Wakanda in Ultimate Black Panther. Inan helped Black Panther in his fight against Moon Knight, and has also revealed deep, dark secrets about Vibranium.

13) Nico Minoru

The Runaway known as Nico Minoru was a surprising addition to the cast of Ultimate X-Men, but she’s quickly become a fan favorite. Nico’s friendship with Natsu Tsukishima and Mori is a highlight of the book, along with the mysteries of her past. One major difference with Nico in the Ultimate Universe is that she’s a mutant.

Nico can change her magnifying glass into a magical staff and has helped the cast of Ultimate X-Men march forward in their origin stories.

12) Hawkeye

Clint Barton and Kate Bishop have some new competition. When it came time for Ultimates to add a Hawkeye to the team, the easy choices would have been either of our more well-known archers. However, the Ultimates creative team went outside the box with the introduction of Charli Ramsey, a Native American environmentalist.

Charli Ramsey debuted in Ultimates #6 and was recruited to the team by Captain America. Hawkeye fought against Roxxon’s evil exploitation of their people, earning Cap’s respect in the process. Clint Barton received one of the “origin boxes” that Iron Lad sent out to various characters, but Clint tossed it into the trash. Charli came across the discarded Hawkeye weapons and used them for themselves in their fight against Roxxon.

11) Moon Knight

Instead of being one Eternal Warrior of the Night, the Moon Knight mantle was shared by Ra and Khonshu, who were in direct conflict with Black Panther and Wakanda. With Maker gone, Moon Knight began poaching African territories, which directly started affecting Wakanda.

To put an end to the wars, Moon Knight and Black Panther had a fight to the death, with the winner claiming Wakanda and Vibranium. Black Panther came out victorious, though he spared Moon Knight’s life. One thing Moon Knight brought to the surface was that there were secrets buried in Vibranium.

10) Richard Parker

Richard Parker is the teenage son of Peter Parker and Mary Jane. He’s been a supporting character in Ultimate Spider-Man, but his role is starting to grow after he slipped on his father’s black picotech suit. This costume is essentially the black symbiote suit that all Spider-Man fans know and love, and it’s been showing Richard to ropes in web-slinging.

Richard took his father’s place as Spider-Man when Peter and Harry Osborn were captured by Kraven the Hunter. This is where Richard met Felicia Hardy, aka Black Cat, whom he briefly fought before they realized they have a lot in common.

9) Shadow King

Shadow King has been a threat to the X-Men for many decades, but the Shadow King of the Ultimate Universe isn’t the hedonistic monster who wants control like on Earth-616. Instead, Shinobu is a broken young man out to corrupt everything he touches. Shadow King leads the Children of the Atom, a cult-like group that consists of mutants.

The Ultimate Universe’s Shadow King is a lot more complex of a character than previous iterations, helping Ultimate X-Men keep its horror story vibe.

8) Black Panther

T’Challa is still the King of Wakanda, but there are already major differences with his Ultimate Universe version. For example, he’s married to Okoye, who typically leads the Dora Milaje. Ultimate Black Panther has done a wonderful job expanding the mythos behind both Wakanda and Vibranium, giving life to the nearly indestructible metal.

Black Panther is still hardheaded, but he’s open to accepting help from new faces like Storm and Killmonger. But will T’Challa be enough to stop the dark spirits inside Vibranium from conquering the land he loves?

7) Iron Lad

Here we have a Tony Stark who isn’t a “genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist,” and is instead a teenager leading a militant team of heroes fighting back against the government. Of course, this is a corrupted government created by the Maker, but it’s still a major change to the character of Tony Stark. Another change is that Tony Stark isn’t called Iron Man, but instead is Iron Lad.

Iron Lad was nearly killed when the Ultimates fought Hulk and his Immortal Weapons. He was saved by Doom, who used the Immortus Engine to travel back in time to save all of the Ultimates. However, Iron Lad was left with an arc reactor in his chest.

6) Maystorm

Perhaps no character represents the breakout potential of the Ultimate X-Men quite like Mei Igarashi, aka Maystorm. While she originally looked like a replacement for Storm, the truth is Maystorm was inspired by Ororo Munroe, and they both share the same mutant ability of the storm. Her spunky attitude and striking white hair make Maystorm stand out from the crowd.

Together with Armor and Nico Minoru, Maystorm and the Ultimate X-Men cast have continued to explore what it means to be a mutant in a world that hates and fears them.

5) Harry Osborn

Harry Osborn has been a friend and enemy of Spider-Man, but for now, the Harry Osborn we get in the Ultimate Universe is only just a friend. In another surprising twist, Harry is a heroic vigilante as the Green Goblin. Harry and Spider-Man have fought together to bring down Wilson Fisk’s evil criminal empire. It helps to have rich, powerful friends in your corner, and Harry has become that for Peter Parker.

Fans thought we lost Harry when he was seemingly killed by Kraven the Hunter. However, it turned out to be a ruse crafted by Mysterio, who in turn was revealed to be Harry’s wife, Gwen Stacy, whom we will get to later on.

4) Doom

You have to feel bad for Reed Richards. Not only does he have an evil doppelganger who is responsible for this twisted version of the Ultimate Universe, but he’s also lost his entire family and been tortured for being a Reed Richards. When the Maker set out to rid his world of its heroes, the Fantastic Four were at the top of his list. But Maker wanted to take pleasure in tormenting this Reed Richards, sabotaging the Fantastic Four’s flight into space that should have granted them superhuman abilities.

All of the abuse Reed suffered led him to don the armor of Doctor Doom, while also taking on the Doom moniker. There are questions about whether Doom can truly be trusted, but so far, he’s been a valuable ally to the Ultimates.

3) Wolverine

The newest addition to the Ultimate Universe might be the most anticipated. Wolverine has a loyal legion of fans, but the Ultimate Wolverine they got probably isn’t what they expected. Codenamed the Winter Soldier, Wolverine is an agent of the Eurasian Republic, used as an assassin to take out his former allies in the Opposition. We’ve seen Wolverine murder familiar faces like Mystique and Nightcrawler, while also learning the tragic fates of Jean Grey, Charles Xavier, and Magneto.

It will be fun to learn what Wolverine was like before he became a mind-controlled puppet of the Maker. It will bring a whole new dynamic to Ultimate Wolverine, along with the fun of meeting more characters in the X-Men realm who aren’t a part of the Ultimate X-Men title.

2) Gwen Stacy

Gwen Stacy is a polarizing character in the Spider-Man franchise, but has recently seen a rise in popularity and appearances across Marvel’s publication line. This includes Ultimate Spider-Man, where Gwen is married to Harry Osborn. She’s been an ancillary character for the most part, but has taken a larger role after Harry and Peter Parker were taken prisoner by Kraven the Hunter.

Instead of being a token housewife worrying about her husband’s well-being, Gwen Stacy has a life of her own, secretly part of a collective known as Mysterio. Harry may fight against Kingpin as the Green Goblin, but Mysterio is part of Kingpin’s Sinister Six and is also helping take it down from within. She staged Harry’s murder so he could go into hiding, and then murdered Kraven in retaliation. Not bad for someone who used to be known only as Spider-Man’s deceased girlfriend.

1) Spider-Man

Ultimate Spider-Man is the breakout title from the Ultimate Universe, and with good reason. Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man as an older, married adult with two kids is a dynamic we haven’t experienced before, and fans have eaten it up. Also, instead of keeping his identity a secret from his family, Mary Jane, Richard, and May all know Peter is Spider-Man. Being in on the big secret opens up all-new storytelling possibilities.

Plus, several characters in Ultimate Spider-Man have found their way onto this list, proving how strong the comic is. We have Spider-Man, Harry Osborn, and Gwen Stacy, and could have even included the likes of Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson. There’s a reason ComicBook named Ultimate Spider-Man the Best Ongoing Comic Series in its 2024 Golden Issue Awards.