On Monday afternoon, during a liveblog press conference about changes coming to the Ultimate Comics line, Marvel have announced that this August Jonathan Hickman will be writing a new ongoing series titled Ultimate Comics: Ultimates.
The series will be part of the “Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn” banner, which follows the events of the “Death of Spider-Man” arc happening now in Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates, and continuing in the weekly July series Ultimate Fallout.
Ultimate Fallout, beginning this July, will be a bridge between “Death of Spider-Man” and this rebirth of the Ultimate Comics line. It will touch on all the prominent characters who will be featured upcoming and showing how the Death of Spider-Man affected them. It will be written by all the writers working on the new books, including Hickman.
Ultimate Comics: Ultimates will feature a cast including Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Woman, Hulk and others to be named. There will however be NO Captain America. The first arc is called “The Republic is Burning”
When describing the premise, Marvel said that following Ultimate Fallout, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been stretched beyond its breaking point and that will be explored in Ultimate Comics: Ultimates.
Jonathan Hickman said of the series that “We’re building a cohesive universe where all of the Ultimate books will be playing off one another very closely.” He went on to say that he is excited to “rebuild and rebrand” the Ultimate Universe with the other writers and artists involved in the ‘Reborn’ project.
Hickmand says that he knew he was going to be working on Ultimates when he took the job doing Ultimate Comics Thor. It has always been one of his dream projects. He was a huge fan of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s original run. He was honored to be asked to work on it.
You can read a transcript of the liveblog below:
Monday May 2, 2021
2:57
Agent M:
Hello Marvelites!
2:58
UltimateKidNova:
Hey Marvel U!
2:58
Comment From Christopher Gaw
hello!
2:59
UltimateKidNova:
I’m Marvel.com Associate Editor Ben Morse, that’s Marvel.com Editorial Director Agent_M and we welcome you to the first of our four very mysterious Ultimate liveblogs for this week!
2:59
UltimateKidNova:
We will be beginning momentarily
2:59
UltimateKidNova:
Agent_M will be taking your questions and comments while I will be providing play-by-play
Please be patient with the questions and comments as there are quite a few of y’all and only one Agent_M, so he will do his best to approve them. Just because you’re not seeing your comments does not mean we’re not getting ‘em, it’s just a process
3:01
Comment From DorgonStudios
Booyah! Love me some Ultimate Marvel
3:01
Comment From Christopher Gaw
so ultimate spider-man dies?
3:01
UltimateKidNova:
I can tell you guys that our very special guests have arrived and they are…
3:01
Agent M:
@christopher Such is how it goes.
3:01
UltimateKidNova:
…Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribic!
3:01
UltimateKidNova:
And what are they working on? We’ll let you know in just a moment.
3:02
Comment From Christopher Gaw
this is after ultimate spiderman:requiem right? When can we see this in digital comics?
3:03
Agent M:
@christopher more details soon! We’ve been pretty good with getting new Ultimate issues to digital.
3:04
UltimateKidNova:
First news: All four liveblogs this week will be under the umbrella of Ultimate Comics Universe Reborn
Following Death of Spider-Man and Ultimate Fallout, Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribic will be launching a new ongoing series: Ultimate Comics Ultimates!
3:05
UltimateKidNova:
Jonathan providing us with the premise now
3:05
UltimateKidNova:
The cast will feature Nick Fury, Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Woman, Hulk and others to be named. There will however be NO Captain America.
3:06
UltimateKidNova:
First arc is called “The Republic is Burning”
3:06
Comment From MarvelMaster616
What about Fury’s black ops team?
3:06
UltimateKidNova:
Following Ultimate Fallout, S.H.I.E.L.D. has been stretched beyond its breaking point and that will be explored here
3:06
Agent M:
@marvelmaster616 We have 4 days of these liveblogs to go! We shall find out! Maybe!
3:06
UltimateKidNova:
We’re also joined by editors Mark Paniccia & Sana Amanat
3:07
UltimateKidNova:
Ultimates will set up a lot of things that will be used in the other Ultimate books we’ll be announcing throughout the week.
3:07
UltimateKidNova:
“We’re building a cohesive universe where all of the Ultimate books will be playing off one another very closely.” -Jonathan Hickman
3:08
UltimateKidNova:
Jonathan is excited to “rebuild and rebrand” the Ultimate Universe with the other writers and artists we’ll be speaking to this week
3:08
UltimateKidNova:
Esad talking about how he did a couple issues of Ultimate X-Men nearly a decade ago
3:08
Comment From Benjamin Brooks
Spider-Woman. Hickman loves him some SHIELD, doesn’t he?
3:09
UltimateKidNova:
“The Ultimate books need to have a very big scale. These are ultra high budget Hollywood blockbusters.” -Esad Ribic
3:09
UltimateKidNova:
Esad has been doing layouts already for Ultimates and working at adding scale.
3:10
Agent M:
I see some good questions coming in. We’ll pick some to ask Hickman & Ribic in a little bit, so keep ‘em coming!
3:11
Which Ultimate are you most excited to see in the new series?
Nick Fury
( 12% )
Iron Man
( 15% )
Thor
( 18% )
Hulk
( 9% )
Spider-Woman
( 39% )
???
( 6% )
3:12
UltimateKidNova:
Jonathan knew he was going to be working on Ultimates when he took the job doing Ultimate Comics Thor. It has always been one of his dream projects. He was a huge fan of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s original run. He was honored to be asked to work on it.
3:13
Agent M:
Question time! What do you guys want to know about this title?
3:13
UltimateKidNova:
Editor Mark Paniccia talking about how Ultimate comics of the past were awesome, but they’ve always been on something of a staggered schedule. They will now be more cohesive than ever and designed to work together.
3:15
UltimateKidNova:
Ultimate Fallout, beginning this July, will be a bridge between Death of Spider-Man and this rebirth of the Ultimate Comics line. It will touch on all the prominent characters who will be featured upcoming and showing how Death of Spider-Man affected them. It will be written by all the guys working on the new books, including Jonathan.
3:15
Agent M:
Seems like a bunch of you want to know if this Hulk will be Bruce Banner. That’s an option for the first question.
Also good ones about jumping on point and new characters.
3:16
Comment From raptorjesu
Is Ultimate Comics: Ultimates going to be monthly, or is this another mini?
3:16
UltimateKidNova:
@raptorjesu This will be an ongoing monthly series
3:17
UltimateKidNova:
Like with S.H.I.E.L.D., Jonathan looks at Ultimates as a book that can be “built with hydrogen,” meaning he can work from the ground up and not be tied down by decades of continuity
3:18
Comment From DorgonStudios
Please don’t let that be an excuse to get rid of existing continuity.
3:19
Agent M:
@DorgonStudios Don’t worry, it won’t ignore, it just isn’t tied to nearly as much continuity.
3:20
UltimateKidNova:
While Ultimates will in some way be the “core” book of the Ultimate Comics Universe and the books will be cohesive, there will still be an effort to make it so you can pick up any of the titles and enjoy it on its own, as has always been the Ultimate goal
3:21
Comment From MarvelMaster616
But Quesada says it’s goal is to tell stories that can’t be told in 616 (even if they shouldn’t). Did the goal change?
3:21
UltimateKidNova:
Jonathan is not coming on this book as he did Fantastic Four or Secret Warriors where he had a long plan with an end point because he wants it to be “an event book,” but he knows what he’s doing for the next year
3:21
Agent M:
@marvelmaster616 There are numerous goals, endeavors, thoughts behind the Ultimate U.
3:21
UltimateKidNova:
He knows the first four or five arcs
3:22
UltimateKidNova:
“I can’t promise, but I believe this series will come out more than 12 times during its first year.” -Jonathan Hickman
3:22
Comment From DorgonStudios
Are we going to see a big change in style, costumes, etc, or is it going to stay true to how it is currently?
3:22
Agent M:
I asked Dorgon’s question. Need another!
3:23
UltimateKidNova:
Esad is playing with technology a bit, making things look different than before, attempting to push towards the future a little.
3:25
UltimateKidNova:
Jonathan says Ultimates will be a super hero book, but he believes one of the things that made it great early on was the way it looked at current society. The first arc is a direct commentary on the decline and fall of the United States of America, though you should not interpret that to be necessarily the way he feels.
3:25
Agent M:
Okay, I’ll either ask about Hulk or working with established vs. new Ultimate characters.
3:25
UltimateKidNova:
“The tone of society right now is one that can create a dramatic narrative and one that demands heroes.” -Jonathan Hickman
3:26
Comment From wyokid
Will Ultimates be monthly, weekly, bi-weekly, bimonthly?
3:26
UltimateKidNova:
@wyokid Monthly, though Jonathan is optimistic they may get more than 12 issues out in the first year.
3:27
UltimateKidNova:
There will be both versions of classic Marvel characters making their Ultimate debuts as well as all-new Ultimate-only characters.
3:27
Comment From Tina Carroll
Which Hulk are we talking about?
3:27
Agent M:
@Tina Hickman says, “Bruce Banner, man.”
3:28
UltimateKidNova:
That’s a wrap here for Jonathan and Esad, though we’re gonna stick around a bit longer to chat.
3:28
Comment From Zack Tunnell
Happy to hear it. While I love Ultimate re-imaginings, Hickman creates wonderful characters.
3:28
Comment From wyokid
Awesome!
3:29
UltimateKidNova:
If you guys have any more questions, comments, etc., Agent_M and myself will do our best to address them.
3:29
UltimateKidNova:
To recap though: Ultimate Comics Ultimates will be a new series spinning out of Death of spider-Man and Ultimate Fallout by Jonathan Hickman & Esad Ribic, starring Nick fury, Iron Man, Thor, The Hulk, Spider-Woman and more.
3:30
UltimateKidNova:
Also: NO Captain America in this series. Why? The first arc is titled “The Republic is Burning.” We’ll see from there.
3:30
Comment From Tina Carroll
Hmmmm…are there any other new series after Ultimate Fallout?
3:30
UltimateKidNova:
@Tina Caroll Yep! We’ll be announcing one every day for the next three days
3:30
Comment From Nicholas Schoonbeck
Hickman is awesome! I may have to add these titles to my list.
3:31
UltimateKidNova:
For those asking, Jonathan addressed the shift from Mark Millar’s Thor to Jeph Loeb’s Thor somewhat in Ultimate Comics Thor, but he’ll be elaborating further in this series.
3:32
Comment From KvAdam
I simply LOVE the Ultimate Universe, thanks for these exciting news!
3:32
UltimateKidNova:
Interesting how many of you are supporting Spider-Woman in our poll. Those are some heavy hitters she’s up against!
3:33
Comment From wyokid
Will Ultimate X be continuing after issue 5?
3:33
UltimateKidNova:
@wyokid Ultimate Comics X will be completing its run under Jpeh Loeb & Art Adams. Beyond that? Stay tuned this week…
3:34
Comment From madeinbrechin
I’m glad the Ultimate Universe is being looked at properly, it seems to have fallen by the wayside recently. New characters is a great idea also! Any plans to bring the X-Men back into the fold other than Ultimate X?
3:34
Agent M:
@madeinbrechin Can’t say yet, but we do have 3 more days of liveblogs!
3:34
Comment From Nick Coffman
Glad to hear that the shift of Thor will be looked at.
3:34
Comment From Joshua Eshun
After the Death of Spider-Man story arc, will the series continue?
3:34
UltimateKidNova:
@Joshua Eshun Three more days of liveblogs…
3:35
Comment From wyokid
the suspense is killing me!
3:35
UltimateKidNova:
@wyokid Stay with us! You don’t want to miss the news!
3:35
Comment From Jamie Roberts
Geeky question, but will there be a new trade dress? If so, will Jonathan be involved?
3:36
UltimateKidNova:
@Jamie Roberts Excellent question. No answer for you now, but come back tomorrow and we’ll see if we can find out.
3:36
Comment From SannomJDG
@UltimateKidNova : you realize you put an ensemble darkhorse from the most popular Ultimate series against a bunch of old-timers right? No way she was gonna lose!
3:36
UltimateKidNova:
@SannomJDG Ya never know!
3:37
Comment From Nick Coffman
How much of a “rebirth” is this? New numbering?
3:38
Agent M:
I gotta run. Thanks for reading, guys and I’ll be back tomorrow-hope you will too!
3:38
UltimateKidNova:
@Nick Coffman Ultimate Comics Ultimates is a brand new series, so that will be starting from #1. As to the rest, again, stick around for the next three days and find out.
3:38
Comment From wyokid
cya Agent M
3:38
UltimateKidNova:
Ok guys, we’ll go a few more minutes and then call it a day
3:38
Comment From madeinbrechin
bye and thaks guys!
3:39
Comment From raptorjesu
I can’t wait for the other announcements. Super cool stuff already!
3:41
Comment From Eddie White
Very cool and great info. It is a great time to be a comic book fan right now!
3:41
UltimateKidNova:
Alright everybody, that’s a wrap for day one, but we will be back tomorrow at Noon Eastern Standard Time for our second Ultimate Liveblog with more special mystery guests!
3:42
UltimateKidNova:
Thanks to Agent_M for helping me out, to Jonathan Hickman, Esad Ribic, Mark Paniccia & Sana Amanat for joining us, to “Rugged” Jim Viscardi for setting this up and to all of YOU for coming out today!
[...] On Wednesday afternoon, during a liveblog press conference about changes coming to the Ultimate Comics line, Marvel announced Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye by Jonathan Hickman and artist Rafa Sandoval. The series will be a four issue miniseries, starting in August, and will run consecutively with Ultimate Comics Ultimates, also by Hickman (see here). [...]
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On Monday afternoon, during a liveblog press conference about changes coming to the Ultimate Comics line, Marvel have announced that this August Jonathan Hickman will be writing a new ongoing series titled Ultimate Comics: Ultimates.
