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Warning: Spoilers for The Ultimates #8!Marvel’s new Ultimate version of Iron Man has a dark future ahead of him, but the stakes have just ramped up, as Marvel reveals a dark possible future. In one future for the Ultimate Universe, Tony Stark becomes Kang the Conqueror, and it’s possible that he or Doctor Doom will kill everything. It’s hard to say that this future is guaranteed to happen, however, as the heroes have time to change it.
The Ultimates #8 by Deniz Camp, Juan Frigeri, Federico Blee, and Travis Lanham complicates the future of the new Ultimate Universe by revealing that either Tony Stark – fated to become Kang the Conqueror – or Doctor Doom – a dark Reed Richards – might be responsible for the destruction of the entire universe.
In the issue, the future Guardians of the Galaxy travel back to the present, with Star-Lord revealing a dark truth to the Reed Richards version of Doctor Doom. In one possible future, Reed and Tony kill trillions, and in the other, it’s possible to save everything – but at this point it’s impossible to tell how the heroes (and morally gray villains) can lead themselves to the brighter future.
Either Doctor Doom or Iron Man Will Break the Entire Ultimate Universe
A Dark Reed Richards or the Future Kang the Conqueror
Readers have known about Tony’s potential to become Kang for some time, but this issue raises the stakes considerably. Ultimate Invasion by Jonathan Hickman, Bryan Hitch, Andrew Currie, Alex Sinclair, and Joe Caramagna introduced this version of Kang and all-but-confirmed that he was the future Tony Stark. What The Ultimates #8 does is contextualize that already-introduced future. Either Kang, Doom, or the Maker become a being known as “the Unmaker,“ someone who begins to collapse time in on itself, destroying the universe.
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Star-Lord’s revelation matters most not for Tony Stark, but rather for Doctor Doom, who is this world’s Reed Richards. Doom already has a major chip on his shoulder thanks to the Maker, a truly evil alternate version of Reed, sabotaging the Fantastic Four’s first journey, leading Doom to believe that he made a mistake that led to his friends’ deaths. Doom already thinks he’s a failure, but now he has found out that he might help to end the universe. That’s not good for anyone’s mental health, never mind someone who’s already dealing with a messed up past.
Is the Future of the Ultimate Universe Set in Stone?
What’s in Store for Tony Stark and Reed Richards in This Universe?
The big question left in this story is whether the future can be changed. The future Guardians of the Galaxy believe that the coming battle between the Ultimates and the Maker will end with the heroes losing, but the Ultimates refuse to give into the Guardians’ fatalism, arguing that the future can always be changed. They better hope that they’re right and that Doctor Doom believes so too, because they’ve got a lot of problems in their near future. Between Iron Man’s fate as Kang the Conqueror, Doctor Doom’s doubts, and the end of everything, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Marvel’s newest Ultimates.
The Ultimates #8 is available now from Marvel Comics.
“}]] Kang, Iron Man, and Doctor Doom are intertwined. Read More