Last year, when Marvel announced that the new version of the Ultimate Universe would be coming to an end, the decision was presented as always the goal from the very beginning. Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimates, Ultimate Black Panther, and the rest of the line were all heading to what we thought were definitive conclusions, despite how successful these new jumping-on points, in the same vein as DC’s Absolute Universe, had been for Marvel.
But according to Jonathan Hickman, that wasn’t the plan, as we were all led to believe.
In a recent interview with The Battle for the Atom podcast, Hickman, who was the architect behind the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe, revealed that the line was originally expected to continue. Ultimate Spider-Man, which Hickman has written, was supposed to continue with a new creative team even though it was said it was always intended to end at 24 issues.
Hickman said during the interview:
“I’ve never seen Marvel kill a line that is the most profitable line that they have at the time. Like, Marvel doesn’t do that.”
The comic creator would even go on to divulge how there were always plans for an event at the end of the second year of the Ultimate universe. And while some titles would end, new ones would be launched, and others would just switch creative teams.
Instead, the creators were told late in these stories’ lifespans that they were going to end instead of it being the natural conclusion or even the continuation they had intended.
It also confirms what Ultimates writer Deniz Camp had said on social media when the ending was announced, but Hickman’s comments add another layer to what we knew at the time. It fills in the gaps around the decision. Not only was Ultimates going to potentially continue, Ultimate Spider-Man was also expected to survive with Hickman passing off the baton to another creative team. Readers weren’t supposed to see the end of the Ultimate Universe, but were meant to see the next evolution of it.
This week sees House of Ideas launch a new shared horror universe line reinterpreting its iconic characters with the release of the Marvel Midnight titles. With a new Editor-in-Chief in Stephen Wacker not to mention the the recent decision to move their offices to the west coast, it’s no exaggeration to say Marvel is in a transitional stage at the moment as the publisher tries to course correct some of its less than successful decisions in recent years.
maybe the new ultimate spidey creative team would have actually written a book about spider-man
It was better that this happened. The reason Absolute DC works is that, like manga, it’s one creative team for the long haul (hopefully 5-10 years and no longer). Yes, an artist comes in to draw an issue or a couple while the regular artist gets ahead, but that’s the appeal. If DC were ever to change the creative teams on the Absolute titles, those books would get canceled within a year. Marvel needs to do the same with the Midnight titles.