Warning: Contain SPOILERS for Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe! Marvel Comics has expanded its continuity beyond just Earth-616, as a new Ultimate Universe takes center-stage as its own separate, ongoing canon. While a future crossover between Earth-616 and the newly established Earth-6160 seems inevitable (especially given the circumstances of Earth-6160’s origin), the new Ultimate Universe is currently totally separate, with a storyline that’s in the beginning stages of shaping its entire continuity. And as that storyline unfolds, it will have to do so without two of Marvel’s most powerful heroes.

In Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe (Ultimate Universe storyline titled “Forgotten Marvels” by Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri), the Ultimates – consisting of Earth-6160’s Captain America, Tony Stark (Iron Lad), and Doctor Doom (Reed Richards) – break into a Damage Control facility in order to rescue a WWII-era hero that has seemingly been forgotten to time: the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond. While they were successful in rescuing the old-school hero, the Ultimates came across some other familiar faces that they were too late to save.

The Damage Control facility was littered with the corpses of heroes that were some of Marvel’s heaviest hitters in Earth-616, along with others that proved to be powerful allies during any given storyline. Ka-Zar and the original Vision are two such heroes who aren’t exactly god-tier powerhouses, but still would have made strong allies for the Ultimates just as they did to the X-Men or Avengers in Earth-616. However, the two greatest losses the Ultimates come across are Black Bolt and Sentry.

Why Black Bolt & Sentry Being Dead Is Terrible News for the Ultimates

Blackagar Boltagon aka Black Bolt is famously the leader of the Inhumans, who possesses the superhuman ability to manipulate energy, manifesting in his Quasi-Sonic Voice (among other applications of his power). A mere whisper from Black Bolt is enough to utterly obliterate anyone it’s directed toward, and his scream has the potential to impact an entire planet. In other words, Black Bolt would have been a god-tier ally to the Ultimates, which is exactly why he was deliberately targeted – smothered as an infant in his crib.

Similarly, Robert Reynolds aka Sentry is an immensely powerful hero in Marvel Comics canon, and is often referred to as ‘Marvel’s Superman’ by fans. After taking the Golden Sentry Serum, Reynolds became this nearly unstoppable hero, gaining the powers of super strength, super speed, and flight, along with a healing factor and self-sustaining power that makes Sentry nigh-invulnerable. Like Black Bolt, Sentry would have been a powerful ally to the Ultimates, which is exactly why his fate was the same as Boltagon’s.

Why These Marvel Powerhouses are Dead in the New Ultimate Universe

Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch

As described in Ultimate Invasion (the prelude to the new Ultimate Universe continuity), the Maker invades Earth-6160 with the intention of using his interdimensional/time-travel technology to shape the universe in his image. The Maker (an evil version of Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Universe, Earth-1610) systematically murdered or otherwise erased every superhero that would have risen to prominence if he allowed events to transpire as they should have. The Maker became the ruler of this new world, and practically every threat to his power was accounted for – including Black Bolt and Sentry.

While this universe seems overwhelmingly bleak, the Ultimate Invasion storyline ends with the Maker effectively neutralized (if just for a relatively short time), which gives the newly-formed Ultimates the advantage they need to finish assembling all the remaining heroes of Earth in order to undo what the Maker has done to their world. Unfortunately, however, they’ll have to do so without Black Bolt or Sentry, which is a bold statement on Marvel Comics’ part about this new Ultimate Universe continuity.

Free Comic Book Day: Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe by Marvel Comics is available now.