Ultimatum

[Previsionary]

As I pointed out in the x-men thread, ultimatum is coming soon and loeb plans to kill ALOT of characters, but this thread is here for another reason:

This video reveals a bit of inside info on what to expect. Zoom on over to the 5 minute mark and you'll get some minor details. I'd say a certain writer is well on his way to doing what he plans to do.

So, anyone have any thoughts on this?

edit: and to counterbalance, as if anyone really doubted it, but USM will survive.

[Previsionary]

Ok, this is out now...so did anyone go out and buy it?

What basically happened:

Going off of Fan4/X-men annual, Reed was about to ask Sue Storm to marry him. In other parts of NY, the aftermath of other stories were being worked in. Jan and Hank were getting along and Hank decided to be Yellowjacket even though Ultron wore the costume first. Tony and Cap (back in his old costume) are chatting. NC, Dazzler, Angel, and Beast are walking to a movie theatre while Kitty, MJ, GWEN, and Pete were riding a bus. Suddenly, a giant flash flood breaks out and kills millions of people across the world including heroes (and even hitting Latveria where everyone is frozen except Doom) and Xavier knows who and why. The person behind all of this is MAGNETO and the remaining heroes need to band together and save the day.

Dead list:

[spoiler]

• Dazzler
• Beast
• Latveria
• Nightcrawler
• Dr. Storm

[/spoiler]

Uncomfirmed:

[spoiler]

• Namor
• Human Torch
• Wasp

[/spoiler]

[AfghanAnt]

I really hated reading this. It just felt like the death of something I once loved. Sort of like what DC has done to Wildstorm and more importantly Authority recently. I really miss Miller on Ultimates and Ult X-Men, neither has been the same. In fact I even miss Warren Ellis' Ult FF even though it never felt like FF. It would have been better to just stop the titles rather than do what could have been done in 616.

[Previsionary]

I agree, AA. What's odd is that I liked ultimate Beast, but I'm so disconnected from this universe that him coming back only to stand around and die again didn't affect me at all. It was just..."hey, he died again. Well."

I won't think of this event as a credible threat until Jean is effectively handled...but then again, I don't think she has phoenix powers anymore. Something that'll need to be touched on...as well as Doom's reappearance and new look. Eh, whatever. I just want it over with now. :P

[murs47]

I'm worried about Ultimate Spider-Man. It's one of my favorite titles.

[AfghanAnt]

I won't think of this event as a credible threat until Jean is effectively handled...but then again, I don't think she has phoenix powers anymore. Something that'll need to be touched on...as well as Doom's reappearance and new look. Eh, whatever. I just want it over with now. :P

I know! It is weird because I love Bendis on Avengers (even though others do not) and I really like Superman/Batman (but always thought it wasn't in continuity). All of this seems like "Hey guys lets try to do out with a bang" when really they should have just kept trying to make fun stories featuring character that resemble their 616 counterparts. It is like AOA, if they had continue I am likely to have kept reading because it was compelling and different when you have Ult characters acting like 616 characters and not really putting a different spin on them its like "whatever I know Wolverine will hate Guardian, Ultron will be evil and Thor will talk like he's written by Shakespeare".

By the way I hate Mad's design for the Ultimates. I really miss old Thor and I hate empowered Valkyrie.

[Talavar]

I've decided it's just less painful to pretend none of the Ultimate universe exists anymore.  It stopped having a point ages ago (excepting maybe USM), and has lately taken a turn for the decidely-crappy. 

The turning points - for me at least - were Robert Kirkman coming on Ult. X-men, and the ending of Ultimates 2.  As soon as Thor really was definitively a god, and Asgard turned up to save the day, that was it for the Ultimate universe.

[Podmark]

I have a slightly different take on this than you guys. Yes I think the story will be terrible (Is Loeb capable of good writing??) but the idea of changing the now irrelevant Ultimate universe into a post apocalyptic world is very intriguing.

Yeah I think the Ultimate universe is irrelevant now. Loeb ruined Ultimates (which I loved), and I never thought Ultimate X-Men was conceptually good. Ultimate FF started out decent but I haven't followed it all for quite some time. However Ultimate Spider-Man has always fit it's niche very well. Also I blame Ultimate Power - who's bright idea was it to dump Ultimate Fury the single best ultimate creation??

I always thought the Utlimate verse was supposed to be a modern revision of the Marvel universe, but over the years the universe itself has lost that element a bit I think, and the regular universe became too similar. I think the overall appeal as a concept was lost (again exempting USM).

So while I have no faith that Ultimatum will be any good, I think there could be some potential in the aftermath (depending on what they actually do) to really make the universe something fresh and interesting.

Also I eagerly await Miller's Ultimate Avengers.

[Previsionary]

I don't have an opinion on the aftermath because there's not enough details. I won't even talk about it until this event is over or more details are revealed.

I don't think anyone would disagree with you that the original purpose of the ultimate verse and it's relevancy in today's time is lacking. Zulu, myself, and others brought that up when Ultimatum was first announced a year or so back. Back in its hey day, the whole universe was strong and had a purpose, but everyone also seemed to be on a similar page and didn't deal with trying to explain things they had no jurisdiction over (loeb should learn that). It's a problem when even Bendis is creating some continuity issues thanks to his lackluster Origin run.

This ultimate unraveling could be good in the long run, but they'll need to get back on the same page and bring some very capable writers on board. I wouldn't mind if they'd let Wolverine rest for awhile because thanks to Kirkman, Bendis, and Loeb...the man fills out every possible timeline in the ultimate verse and that's a trait of Wolverine I realllllly don't like. But...I really don't want to lose too many characters either as I did grow attached to some of them.

[the_ultimate_evil]

Ultimates 4 will be by Jeph Loeb and Frank Cho. It will focus on the Ultimates in the post-Ultimatum Ultimate Marvel Universe. In other words this title is going to suck hard core.

Ultimate Avengers will be by Mark Millar and various artists. It will be written in six issue arcs as an ongoing event book for the Ultimate Marvel universe. Despite having Avengers in the title, it really has nothing at all to do with the Avengers but instead will deal overall with the characters of the Ultimate Marvel Universe: Ultimate Punisher, Ultimate Blade, Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four, the Ultimates, Ultimate Nick Fury, an African-American Ultimate Hulk, etc. It will be the tentpole title for the Ultimate Universe.

a quote from a poster on another comic forum, honestly if thats true then it's gonna blow. here i had hopes of millar coming back and redeeming the character he help make

[Previsionary]

things revealed by Ultimatum Spotlight:

- Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are truly dead. There was talk that maybe they had survived (Quicksilver specifically).

- Hank Pym/Yellow Jacket will have his life drastically changed in Ultimatum

- BMB and Loeb constantly emailed each other scripts just to keep things in check. I'm disappointed in someone here.

- it's not certain who will survive ultimatum as of this publication

- Joe Pokaski, writer of UFF; SI: Inhumans (okish); and Heroes, and Aron Coleite (UXM/Heroes) also had some minor parts in planning this...at least tying everything together.

- Loeb loves Princess Power which is why she's in the Hulk annual...and the story deals with trying to put clothes on Hulk and it ends with a city being totaled...yep.

- Ultimatum came about because Joe, Brian, Loeb, and Dan Buckley began to realize that eight years of continuity was beginning to effect the universe negatively and they needed a change.

- Hela appears in issue 2 of Ultimatum and Thor meets her.

- Ultimate Origin's reveal about Weapon X/mutants will play a huge part in ultimatum

- Fisk in ultimate Origins was Kingpin's grandpa

- Nick Fury RETURNS in Ultimatum

- Ultimate Spider-man will deal with pre-ultimatum and post ultimatum. Spider-woman is also returning.

[Podmark]

Thanks for the info Prev. Good to hear Fury is coming back. Huge mistake to ditch him.

[thanoson]

[spoiler]So, I wonder how Mags has 616 Mjinor?[/spoiler]

[MJB]

[spoiler]So, I wonder how Mags has 616 Mjinor?[/spoiler]

I haven't bought a Ultimates book in what seems like forever. But what I have done is keep up with the online articles in reference to the Ultimates.

[spoiler]I don't know for sure but wasn't it explained that Thor/Magneto have the "616" hammer because Joe Mad preferred to draw that version?[/spoiler]

Gotta say that is/was a crappy excuse if it is/was true.

-MJB

[Previsionary]

Ultimates 3...peeps. He grabbed it from Thor in Ultimates 3. Apparently Thor has a cache of weapons and hammers and he just randomly switched to a hammer that resembled the 616 version in-between the books...Ultimates 3 made a lot of things similar to 616 Avengers (which itself borrows elements from the ultimate verse) because the story Loeb wanted to tell was said/confirmed to be for the 616 team(s).

[Previsionary]

I'll try to keep up to date with this for you people who still care about the ultimate verse. I'd at least like to have some good discussions as this event plays out. I'm just going to do quick summaries as the X-thread takes most of my attention:

UFF #58:
[spoiler]
- opens 22 years in the past with a baby Ben fighting for his life as a newborn. He has a collasped lung.

- Susan isn't dead, but in an invisible coma. Her father IS dead and Johnny is missing.

- the only person that can help Sue is the Moleman

- After Ben saves Moleman from the lavamen, he agrees to help Sue

- The book ends with Moleman asking about pym particles which means someone's about to be shrunken and ingested inside of an invisible girl.[/spoiler]
-------------------------

It's surprisingly light compared to what came before. A single death was confirmed and it basically focused on Thing and his quest to help Susan with some of his childhood and friendship with Reed interwoven into the story at some minor key points. The story was so light after the "heaviness" of Ultimatum that it was kinda of distracting.

In other news...Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine is going to finally finish up soon according to: this.