As Marvel reinvents the founding Avengers for 2024, the team are getting jaw-dropping modernized looks. In 2023, Marvel officially relaunched its Ultimate Universe – a separate continuity where the stories of Marvel’s heroes begin in the modern day, free of decades of comic lore. Now, the publisher is gearing up to launch The Ultimates, revealing new designs for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
Since 2023’s Ultimate Invasion (from Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch), fans have been following the introduction of Earth-6160, the new Ultimate Universe. There, the time-traveling villain known as the Maker decided to erase Marvel’s heroes and set himself up as this reality’s unquestioned ruler. Thankfully, the Maker was overthrown, and a young Tony Stark was able to find the heroes who were meant to be and return their stolen powers. Now, official covers for Ultimates #1 show what Earth’s Mightiest Heroes look like in this transformed world.
Coming from Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri, The Ultimates will unite the team of Captain America, Thor, Ant-Man, Tony Stark’s Iron Lad, and Wasp, while also adding Reed Richards’ Doctor Doom and the Asgardian god Sif to the traditional Avengers line-up. InHyuk Lee, Ryan Stegman and Dike Ruan’s covers offer a first look at Ant-Man and Wasp’s new costumes, while Iban Coello showcases the Iron Lad armor. The only founding Avenger who isn’t getting a dramatic new look is Captain America, who sports a near-identical look to his original Ultimate Comics iteration (from Marvel’s prior initiative of the same name in 2002.)
The Ultimates #1 (2024) | |
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Release Date: | March 13, 2024 |
Writer: | Deniz Camp |
Artists: | Juan Frigeri |
Cover Artist: | Dike Ruan |
THE ULTIMATES RETURN TO GREATNESS! Spinning out of Jonathan Hickman and Stefano Caselli’s ULTIMATE UNIVERSE #1, rising stars Deniz Camp (CHILDREN OF THE VAULT, 20th Century Men) and Juan Frigeri (INVINCIBLE IRON MAN) assemble an all-new team of ULTIMATES in a series that kicks off the next chapter of the new Ultimate line. Six months ago, Tony Stark sent Peter Parker a radioactive spider to set him back on the course to become Spider-Man. Since then, Iron Lad (Stark), Captain America, Doom, Thor and Sif have begun to do the same for other lost heroes, building a network of super-powered heroes hungry for change… Now they must band together to destroy the Maker’s Council and restore freedom and free will to a world ruled from the shadows! | |
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The Ultimate Universe Has Transformed the Original Avengers
Marvel’s Timeline Has Been Rewritten in This New Reality
The premier team of the Ultimate Universe go by the name of ‘the Ultimates,’ however the roster has always been that of Marvel’s mainline Avengers, and it seems that will remain the same in this new volume. However, a lot else is different. In this world, the Maker killed many of Earth’s traditional heroes, and in other cases took steps to simply prevent their origin stories or even turn them to evil. His grand plan was to carve up the world into a handful of domains, giving each to a powerful supervillain to run under his larger command. In Ultimate Invasion, the Maker was defeated and locked in his own base for an unknown period of time, creating a new status quo where the reborn heroes can topple the villains of the Maker’s Council, learning the hero business as they go.
The Avengers’ New Status Quo Explained
Tony Is a Teen and Hulk Is a Villain
In this world, Tony Stark is a teenager who only just took on the Iron Lad name and armor, while Captain America was never unfrozen from the ice after WWII. Meanwhile, the Hulk has founded a religious movement and is a key villain on the Maker’s Council, making him a major threat the Ultimates will need to face in future. In order to neutralize Thor, the Maker empowered Loki to take over Asgard, meaning the God of Thunder has been a prisoner for decades, kept in line by his jailer Sif, who has now rebelled to join the heroes.
Finally, Reed Richards was imprisoned by the Maker, creating a version of the Doctor Doom armor and acting as Tony’s chief ally. So far, Ant-Man and Wasp’s place in the world is unknown, though Ultimate Invasion #2 confirmed Janet Van Dyne and Henry Pym were among the heroes whose origin had been prevented by the Maker. Now, these iconic Avengers are finally getting their chance to shine, as their powers and costumed identities are restored, and the Ultimates fight to bring about a new era of heroism.
The Ultimates #1 is coming June 5 from Marvel Comics.
