10 Biggest Changes Marvel Made to Its New Ultimate Universe

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The current Ultimate Marvel Universe is over one year old, and it’s made many changes to familiar heroes. The original version of the Ultimate Marvel imprint debuted in the early 2000s, and its success was seen as helping the publisher out of bankruptcy. It also differed from the mainstream Marvel Universe, but the changes made in the new comics aren’t exactly the same.

The two versions of the Ultimate Universe are quite distinct, namely in terms of which heroes are most prominent. Likewise, the characterizations of these characters are also different, with one hero potentially being portrayed in a completely different way, depending on which universe is involved. This means that even those who read the original Ultimate Universe are in for several surprises with the new version.

10

Black Panther Is a Much Bigger Deal

The Original Ultimate Universe Barely Used T’Challa

One of the new Ultimate Universe comic books is Ultimate Black Panther, which slightly reimagines the mainstream universe version of the King of Wakanda. In his series, T’Challa is once again the ruler of the African country, and he goes to battle against an evil incarnation of Moon Knight. This prominence is much different from how he was used in the original Ultimate Universe, where he was a glorified cameo character, in a way.

In Marvel’s first Ultimate Universe, Ultimate Black Panther was a barely focused-upon character with a divergent origin story. Maimed by a panther in a hunt, Wakandan youth T’Challa is experimented on by Weapon X, giving him retractable Wolverine-esque claws and seeing him dubbed “The Black Panther.” The character didn’t have a lot of use, however, reflecting how relatively irrelevant he was among other Marvel properties before the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

9

Luke Cage Actually Has Powers

Power Man Might Live Up to His Name In the New Ultimate Universe

Power Man/Luke Cage is a street-level hero in the mainstream Marvel Universe, and he’s seemingly set to serve a similar role in the new Ultimate Universe. Scheduled to appear in The Ultimates #9, this take on Luke Cage, per the cover image, will still have him as a muscular, bulletproof man with super strength known for wearing yellow. Thus, he maintains his power set and general scope from the mainstream universe, which wasn’t quite the case in the original Ultimate Universe.

In The Ultimates 2, Hank Pym was ousted from the titular team (that world’s version of the Avengers) and joined up with the lowly Defenders. These superhero wannabes mostly had powerless members, namely a Power Man who wasn’t actually bulletproof or super-strong. Thankfully, that’s not the case in the new shared universe, which will feature a comparatively more traditional take.

8

Storm Has No Ties to the X-Men

The Weather-Controlling Mutant Is Instead Aiding Another Hero

Storm is one of the most popular X-Men, and she became one of the team’s founding members in the original Ultimate Universe. Likewise, the mainstream universe version of Storm was once romantically linked and married to T’Challa, the Black Panther. However, things are quite different in the new Ultimate Universe, and Storm is much more closely linked to her “husband’s” brand.

Storm appears in Ultimate Black Panther as an African mutant and friend/lover of Killmonger, with the two of them aiding T’Challa. On the other hand, the Ultimate X-Men book has no mainstream X-Men characters, with Storm likewise being completely unrelated to them. The main exception is Maystorm, a member of the Japanese cast in Ultimate X-Men who has powers similar to Storm and uses a name similar to her after being inspired by news footage of the Wakandan freedom fighter.

7

Daredevil Is Handled In Two Different Ways

Matt Murdock Isn’t a Man Without Fear In the New Ultimate Universe

The original Ultimate Universe Daredevil was notable for barely being different from his mainstream counterpart, with the Ultimate Daredevil & Elektra book being more of an action-based romance comic. Eventually, this take on Matt Murdock was killed off and replaced by a successor, the latter of whom wore a version of Daredevil’s classic yellow costume.

In the New Ultimate Universe, Earth-6160 Matt Murdock never became Daredevil and is instead a normal priest. He’s still blind, however, suggesting that the accident that caused his blindness and subsequently enhanced other senses still happened. Nevertheless, The Maker kept him from becoming a hero, showcasing how even the street-level Daredevil would have been a major threat.

6

The Mutant Problem Isn’t the Exact Same

The Ultimate Universe Handles Mutants Much Differently

The original Ultimate Universe perfected the concept behind mutants by making the hatred of them even more present, with even the Ultimate Fantastic Four believed to be mutants when they debuted. This persecution was worldwide, much like in the mainstream Marvel Universe. It was eventually revealed that mutants and the X-gene were created in a lab, showcasing how they weren’t the next natural step in evolution in that universe.

There’s still a lot of mystery behind mutants in the new Ultimate Universe, but they seem to have different origins. The Japanese mutants in Ultimate X-Men are mostly born through a blood pact, and the species seems to have more mystical origins, at least in some nations. This makes the “Children of the Atom” into a literal cult, further explaining the growing societal hostility toward them. At the same time, other countries like Russia treat mutants differently, and Storm’s mutant status seems to cause no consternation.

5

The Hulk Is Even More of a Monster

Both Ultimate Universes Portray Hulk In a Gruesome Manner

In the original Ultimate Universe, Hulk was a true threat in a way that he hadn’t been to the mainstream Marvel Universe in years. A truly hedonistic and violent monster, Ultimate Hulk was even more uncontrollable and showcased just why the creature would be feared in such a manner. This took the character back to his horror roots, with the beast even portrayed as cannibalistic.

Hulk in the new Ultimate Universe is an outright antagonist, and he’s part of The Maker’s personal army. To this end, he can tap into the power of the Iron Fist, making him even more dangerous. He’s definitely not a member of the Ultimates, and if anything, he’s a darker take on the smarter “Professor Hulk” or even the grey-skinned Joe Fixit incarnation.

4

Many Ultimate Universe Heroes Don’t Know Each Other

The Newest Ultimate Universe Has Little Interaction

So far, there are four books in the new Ultimate Universe: Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, Ultimate X-Men and The Ultimates. For the most part, however, there hasn’t been much acknowledgment of each book in the pages of the others. This could be due to the shared universe still being young, but it’s also fairly different from the mainstream Marvel Universe and the original Ultimate Universe.

Those books had a bit more connectiondue to The Ultimates’ events. Books spun off from each other, and heroes soon crossed over in one way or another. This made them feel more connected, but it also arguably made the narratives of each book more dependent on each other, if only a little bit.

3

Wolverine Is Only Now Joining the New Ultimate Universe

The Iconic Mutant Was a “Founding Member” of the First Ultimate X-Men

Wolverine is right there with Spider-Man in terms of being Marvel’s mascot, and he’s easily the most recognizable of the X-Men. Having a take on his usual backstory, he joined the Ultimate X-Men in the original Ultimate Universe in the opening arc. However, he was a spy sent by Magneto. Despite this, he and other iconic mutants are nowhere to be seen in the current Ultimate X-Men comic book.

Now, a new version of the character is joining the shared universe, though he’s quite a bit different. The new Ultimate Wolverine book introduces an incarnation who’s also a version of the Winter Soldier, making Wolverine the best there is in a whole new way. Given that a version of Daken (who’s usually Wolverine’s son) appeared in Ultimate X-Men, it’s possible that the books and characters will cross over in the future, but Ultimate Wolverine’s story is only now getting started.

2

Aliens are Even Less Important In the New Ultimate Universe

Both Ultimate Universes Somewhat Eschew Cosmic Concepts

Marvel’s many cosmic books and characters are arguably the antithesis of their usually more grounded and relatable scope. Fittingly, the original Ultimate Universe barely used these ideas and, in some cases, outright rewrote them. Captain Marvel was the focus of a single storyline, while the Shi’ar Empire was made into a church instead of an intergalactic group of bizarre-looking bird people.

So far, the new Ultimate Universe is much the same, though there’s already an exception. The Ultimates will introduce the Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy, though the team and its members are quite different from usual. Given that this book deals with the more “out there” concepts in the new Ultimate Universe, it makes sense to have cosmic aspects. Still, it’s unlikely that Ultimate Universe books for Nova, Quasar or others will come about.

1

Hank Pym Is Much More Sympathetic In the New Ultimate Universe

The First Ultimate Universe Made Giant Man Unlikable

Hank Pym (the first Ant-Man) has never been a big deal in the mainstream Marvel Universe. Part of this is somewhat due to infamously attacking his wife in a rage. The original Ultimate Universe took this a step further by making him truly abusive and attacking his wife on several occasions. After Captain America mercilessly beat him, his life suffered a series of tumultuous events that only got worse.

In the new Ultimate Universe, The Maker kept Hank Pym from attaining his usual genius by causing him brain damage. As a result, he’s not nearly on the same level as Tony Stark in this world. He’s also a pacifist and is shown in a much more sympathetic light than usual. This has made for one of the better interpretations of Giant-Man in modern comics.

“}]] In several ways, the new Ultimate Universe is different from both the first version of the idea and the classic Marvel Universe of the comic books.  Read More