Whats Marvels goal with the Ultimates?

[Norm3]

Are they trying to replace the old true Universe? I don't even know what to call it. They seem to be promoting the heck out of the Ultimates with the animation movies & now the game Ultimate Alliance. Don't they realize there was no need to create this whole new universe the original universe would sell just as well if given the opportunity. Marvels seems to have followed the DC mistake of creating competing Universes. That's the one thing Marvel never fell for until this Ultimates thing.

 

[SouLeSS]

Ultimate Alliance is set in both worlds, though mostly in the 616. The 616 universe had all the 90's cartoons. Most of the Ultimate lineup is better than the current counterpart line-up.

 

[Norm3]

Why is it better?

 

[ShadowBoxing]

Eventually I think Ultimates will become the new dominant Universe. But that is far down the line.

 

[Electro UK]

Eventually I think Ultimates will become the new dominant Universe. But that is far down the line.

You really think that? Why would they make it the new dominant line with over 60 years of history in 616?

 

[Phoney Bone]

Eventually I think Ultimates will become the new dominant Universe. But that is far down the line.

Not gonna happen. The Ultimate Universe is a fad. People will get over it eventually.

 

[ShadowBoxing]

You really think that? Why would they make it the new dominant line with over 60 years of history in 616?

Same reason Silver Age eventually took over DC...Ultimate Universe has more options, more storylines to explore. I'm a 616 fan, but from a creative standpoint the Ultimate Universe is a far more lucritive property. It's not full of messy retcons yet either.

Not gonna happen. The Ultimate Universe is a fad. People will get over it eventually.

You know I said the exact same thing around Ultimate Spider-Man 12. Now I realize I was wrong. Fads don't last 100 issues strong and produce 3 more very profitable and series holding comics.

It would be one thing if this were a relatively new Universe that only held one or two miniseries, with one main series. But this is a Universe that now has 4 ongoings (technically just 3...but considering Ultimates just gets rebooted) and several minis. It's not going anywhere for a long long time. Neither is 616, but 616 ultimately (no pun intended) going to be pushed aside. Ultimate Universe has all the characters, all the origins. It has the same recognizable Spider-Man and X-Men and Captain America and Fantastic Four. And it could get a lot bigger. But right now, trying NOT to burn it out, the writers and editors are keeping it contained. But with a largely teenaged cast (and not as many fan displeasing events like "The Other" and "House of M") it has the potential to go places.

Furthermore it characterizes this whole Trade Paper Back mentality.

 

[The Question]

One theory is that eventually, the Ultimate Universe will be the main way of seeing the current heroes, and 616 will be moved about ten to twenty years up the timeline to a world somewhat akin to MC2, except better.

 

[hippie_hunter]

The biggest problem with the Ultimate Marvel line now these days is that they are just trying to create a character and make them as different as they possibly can be instead of just interpretations of the characters instead

1. Ultimate Cable - Ultimate Wolverine from the future without the healing powers

2. Ultimate Gwen Stacy - a loud and rebellious girl

3. Ultimate Deadpool - a not-funny mutant hating cyborg compared to his 616 counterpart who goes off claiming that he's a mutant (even though he's not)

4. Ultimate Scorpion - a clone of Peter Parker

5. Ultimate Hobgoblin - a monsterous being like Ultimate Green Goblin, but it's Harry Osborn

6. Ultimate Carnage - no Cletus Cassidy and is a suit made out of Peter Parker's blood

7. Ultimate Venom - a genetically engineered whatchamacallit, not a symbiote

8. Ultimate Vision - a girl

9. Guh Lak Tus - a collection of numerous things

10. Ultimate Richard Parker - alive

 

[The Question]

7. Ultimate Venom - a genetically engineered whatchamacallit, not a symbiote

Well, the suit is a symbiot. Just not an extra terrestrial one.

 

[CaptainCanada]

I don't see the Ultimate Universe becoming dominant, since its primary distinction was the lack of continuity. However, as it goes on, it acquires more and more backstory and baggage, and eventually it will be hard to see a quantifiable difference between Ultimate and 616 (really, the percentage of 616 continuity that is actually necessary to understand a particular storyline isn't huge). The Ultimate U is going to be around for a while, to be sure; it's proven itself as a distinct universe, but I can't see it replacing the original.

 

[Eros]

replace characters buy Stan Lee and Jack Kirby etc with over the top ultra bloody near physcopaths adapted buy Bendis,millar and company.......... thats not gonna happen.

 

[SouLeSS]

Honestly, the Ultimate Universe is doomed to fail, because all they've done is reimagine villians.

If they started by having a few of the villians here and there (I'll use SM as an example) like Kingpin and GG and Vulture and make new villians instead of trying to fit the 60 years of 616 into 100 issues (which is pretty much what Spider-Man did.) it would be much better.

 

[SouLeSS]

Honestly, the Ultimate Universe is doomed to fail, because all they've done is reimagine villians.

If they started by having a few of the villians here and there (I'll use SM as an example) like Kingpin and GG and Vulture and make new villians instead of trying to fit the 60 years of 616 into 100 issues (which is pretty much what Spider-Man did.) it would be much better.

 

[Warhammer]

I don't want the Ultimate Universe replacing 616, but then again, look at DC.
Golden Age, Silver Age, and then Post-Crisis turned into different universes and such, etc.

It'd be cool if 616 and Ultimate (at it's prime) could co-exist, but that ain't happening as one will take over the other, possibly.

 

[Artistsean]

Ultimate Marvel is a way to re launch the titles without effecting the regular one, calling it Ultimate (blank) gives them a chance to further seperate it from the regular universe. It gave them a chance to restart Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and others, and get younger and newer readers. Plus they got a chance to tell them with more modern and different ideas like using genetic experiments and DNA alterting instead of radiation.

I don't think it will ever replace the regular Marvel universe, but thats my opinion.

 

[3dman27]

replace characters buy Stan Lee and Jack Kirby etc with over the top ultra bloody near physcopaths adapted buy Bendis,millar and company.......... thats not gonna happen.

AMEN TO THAT

 

[Darthphere]

The Ultimate Universe will never replace 616.

 

[Joker]

I love the ultimate universe, but I agree it'll never replace the 616...there are too many ravenous 616 fans who cant even stand the idea of another universe existing (although they seem to have no problems with stuff like spider-girl, or what ifs? for some reason)

 

[yenaled]

They are trying to sell comics and make money.

 

[GNR]

The Ultimate Universe will never replace 616.

Exactly,and I don't know why people keep thinking this is going to happen.

If anything,the 616 is really dominating the UMU right now in terms of quality and storytelling.Mark Millar was the one guy making the UMU special with his crazy ideas in his Ultimate F4 run plus his and Hitch's soon to be legendary run on The Ultimates 1 and 2 which is coming to a close.

The day Marvel decides to combine the UMU with the MU or replace it,I promise I will make a hate filled anti-Marvel post a la Doc Destruction.

 

[Darthphere]

Im pretty sure at this point (and you can check) the 616 titles outsell their Ultimate counterparts.

 

[SouLeSS]

Well, maybe not Ultimates, don't know. Is there really a counterpart fo Ultimates. I mean like, a direct counterpart like FF or USM/ASM is.

 

[Arach Knight]

The biggest problem with the Ultimate Marvel line now these days is that they are just trying to create a character and make them as different as they possibly can be instead of just interpretations of the characters instead

8. Ultimate Vision - a girl

" Most males are fans of or in comics because they're social misanthropes who can't get laid or can't keep girlfriends and they're pissed about it on some level. There's the famous--and true--anecdote of the Hellcat story that consists mostly of her being beaten to a pulp by a man, a story that BY THE *WILDEST* COINCIDENCE was written by a man in the middle of harsh divorce proceedings..."

Mark Waid

http://www.unheardtaunts.com/wir/c-mwaid.html

1)I just couldn't help but feel that you some how embodied that very statement, by finding it disagreeable, to make The Vision in the image of a female. What does it matter? It's an inanimate android. It's form is utterly useless, compared to it's function. So male of female imagery, should be secondary for the charcter. Also, the point of the Ultimate Universe, was to be different from the 616 Universe. If you want reimagining tales of the same characters, go read any number of What If books that were published, and are now being published again (most recently with "What If? Featuring Avengers Disassembled").

2)The Ultimate universe could easily supplant the 616. Don't let nostalgia fool you. When people older than myself grew up...Alan Scott was Green Lantern. Jay Garrick was The Flash. However, when they rebooted the DCU, those identies were lost. They were later explained by having two seperate universes, and have since then, been merged, time and time again, so that some characters never existed, and others merely got incorporated into the standard DCU. Marvel probably isn't far behind. Just look at all of the activision games. The X-Men Legends games feature the primary costumes, as the ones from Ultimate X-Men. Look at all of the childrends clothing that use Mark Bagley Spider-Man images, from Ultimate Spider-Man. It could easily happen. Some huge event that makes Spider-Man a teenager again, but Gwen Stacy is still dead. Some event that makes the Avengers meaningful and consolidated. I wouldn't be surprised in the least, if they merged the universes, as Joe Q's ultimate resolve (no pun intended) to solve the problems with the Marvel universe.

 

[SouLeSS]

But seriously, doesn't anyone else think that they need to kinda stop with the whole 'redoing' villians in a quick manner to get some of the 'fan favorites' in there?

Shouldn't they be inventing new villians and such, as there isn't too much of the past cannon history preventing such. Ya know?