A few weeks ago I wrote about the new Fury comic book, which wound down the original Marvel Comics character, while putting his son at the forefront. Nick Fury Jr. himself was inspired by the Ultimate universe version of Nick Fury, who in turn was based off of the one and only Samuel L. Jackson, who would eventually become the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of the character.
Deep breath, folks.
Now, this is relevant because this past week saw the return of the Ultimate Universe, the world that introduced readers to a new Marvel world without the continuity of the regular 616 world and where we first read the exploits of Miles Morales. You may have heard of him.
When it began in the early 2000s, the Ultimate comics were great jumping on points for new readers and those who found themselves bogged down by decades of Marvel storytelling. By the time it was destroyed by Jonathan Hickman in 2015’s Secret Wars, though, the Ultimate line of comics had become just slightly less convoluted than the Marvel Universe proper. However, it’s impact can’t be diminished, as its version of the Avengers (the Ultimates), Spider-Man, Hulk, and Thor were big inspirations for the MCU heroes that are beloved.
Which brings us to Ultimate Invasion, written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by original Ultimates artist, Bryan Hitch. The story finds the evil Ultimate version of Reed Richards, known as The Maker, conspiring to return to his world thought destroyed. Hickman and Hitch do a stellar job tying in current 616 happenings to make Richards’ plans come true.
As a longtime fan of the original Ultimates run, including the Ultimate X-Men and Spider-Man books, I’m definitely pleased to see this universe return in Ultimate Invasion. I’m hoping if its on a permanent basis, it can be kept lean and welcoming to readers old and new. We’ll see how things play out over the next few months.
THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE BEGINS! Superstar creators Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch team up! The Illuminati must form once again to stop the Maker from his plans to destroy – or perhaps rebuild – the universe, with Miles Morales at the center of it all! Bryan’s work on THE ULTIMATES helped redefine super hero comics for the 2000s – wait until you see what he and Jonathan have in store for this decade! Including new data pages by Jonathan Hickman – plus exclusive behind-the-scenes material on the world-building that has gone into this project!
