The Ultimate Universe Was Always Doomed to Fail, Here’s Why

Ultimate Marvel has been the brightest spot at the company since the new Ultimate Universe debuted in 2023. The original Ultimate Marvel Universe was basically just a reboot in modern times, and while it definitely worked for a few years, it eventually fell out of favor with fans. The new Ultimate Universe wasn’t just a reboot, but a suite of stories built around one idea — what would happen if the Maker created his own Marvel Universe. This idea so far has been amazing, as readers have gotten to see just how different this new Marvel Universe is from the mainline. Marvel isn’t in the best place right now — the Spider-Man books are mediocre, the X-Men’s “From the Ashes” couldn’t keep fans happy, and very few of their other books have any kind of energy to them — and the new Ultimate Universe has kept them competitive.

The new Ultimate Universe, though, could be in for some problems in the very near future. See, as great as it to do overarching stories like the one presented in the new Ultimate books, there’s also a problem when that story ends. As great as a book like Ultimate Spider-Man is, a big part of that is Spider-Man and Green Goblin fighting against the Maker’s chosen caretakers. The same can be said for the rest of the books, as well. The new Ultimate Universe has some great new versions of Marvel characters, but I feel like the downfall of the Ultimate Universe is inevitable.

After the Maker, There’s Nowhere Interesting for the Ultimate Universe to Go

Right from the beginning, the new Ultimate Universe was built around the Maker, the evil Mr. Fantastic of the old Ultimate Universe. Ultimate Invasion set up the story for readers, and Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, and Ultimate X-Men dropped us into a whole new world. If we’re being honest, the most interesting part of the new Ultimate Universe was the world-building. As a Peter/MJ partisan, it was great to see them together again with a family, but Ultimate Spider-Man is so good because Spider-Man, Green Goblin, Gwen Stacy, Uncle Ben, and J. Jonah Jameson are trying to get to the bottom of the truth about the Maker and his universe. Ultimate X-Men is an excellent new version of the team, but the reason it works so well is because of the way the characters interact with Ni Ho Kuni. The Ultimates is all about the rebellion against the Maker’s Council, and Ultimate Wolverine is focused on the upcoming war between the Opposition and the Eurasian Republic. Ultimate Black Panther has actually avoided too much of the Maker’s machinations, but it’s also the least praised of the Ultimate books.

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All of the bestselling Ultimate books are wrapped in the main plot of the Maker, and I’m honestly afraid that once that story ends, things are going to fall apart. See, the problem with the original Ultimate Universe was that the only ideas it had was creating a world that was like the original Marvel Universe, just told in an edgier, more “modern” way. When the Maker plot ends, where can these books go? One of the biggest problems with Marvel’s mainline is that all feels so aimless. Once the Maker is defeated, what are we going to get? We’ve already watched Marvel fail at a rebooted universe, and I’m afraid that once the Maker is done, we’ll just get more of the same. Look, I’m not saying there’s nothing good about the Ultimate Universe without the Maker plot — the art and characterization are fantastic — but when you take that way, what do you have left? Will Ultimate Spider-Man still be amazing without the various subplots that make all of the stories work so well? I feel like the end of the Maker plot will at least give readers something a bit new, as the powers that be are replaced and a new world is built, but once that’s over, we’re just back to characters that we have been reading for decades. The Ultimate Universe works right now because it doesn’t fell like the mainline Marvel Universe. When those differences are taken away, there’s really nowhere interesting for the books to go.

The Ultimate Universe Was Always Doomed

Giving the Maker his own universe was a great idea, and it’s led the characters of the Ultimate Universe to some very interesting places. However, here’s the thing — once you take away the Maker, you just have old school Marvel. At that point, you don’t really even need to have an Ultimate Universe. Now, obviously, the Maker storyline might not ever end, but even that’s also a problem, because repeating the same ideas over and over again is one of the reasons why the Marvel Universe is in the place it is.

The Ultimate Universe is doomed, and it always was. We’re still in the shiney new toy phase of the Ultimate books. What’s going to happen once the shine goes away? There are some amazing talent on the Ultimate books, but Marvel has a lot of amazing talent in general and has been lackluster for years now. As much as I want the Ultimate Universe to be great, I just don’t see it happening once the Maker plotline ends.

What do you think of the new Ultimate Universe? Sound off in the comments below.