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Comics The future of the ultimate universe

TimDrake64x

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ign ran an article about how the ultimate universe has served its purpose and should be done with....except for usm, read please:Question Three:

Do you think any changes should be made to the Ultimate line? What would be the main books? Would there be events and mini-series?

Rich: Two things can happen with this world. One is a really bad idea, but I'm just putting it out there to make my point. The best way to keep the Ultimate Universe fresh, which is what it's supposed to be, is to make each book finite. The entire line would absolutely have to be a series of mini-series, without exception. How can something be easier to read than the Core Universe if there are 106 issues before it? If it's a matter of writing style, there's no way you can tell me that same thing can't happen with the other set of books. If it's a matter of collecting trades, eventually everyone will realize they can't read all of a series. Marvel has become very good at designing points for readers to jump on. If you had started reading the Marvel Universe with Civil War, I could list off at least a dozen titles in the post-Civil War world that would be just fine for you. The approaches of the editors, writers and artists have changed over the years. What the Ultimate line used to address is no longer an issue.



Since I doubt anyone really wants to read minis over and over again, the only other suitable change is to eliminate the Ultimate Universe. It's outlived its purpose. It held the Core Universe's hand when times were tough, but the Core is better now. If I were calling the shots though, USM would stay. Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley have developed a stellar world. Fortunately it's effectively self-contained. You don't need to read any other book to enjoy it. Guest stars appear here and there, but we're simply dealing with brilliant Midtown High Peter Parker. Rebrand the series Spider-Man: Midtown High and let it exist in its own world. Bring in those guest stars and shift Peter around a bit if the story calls for it. Just keep the focus on his personal life and the series will continue to do well. The rest of the books I can do without. If I want to see Jeph Loeb and "Joe Mad", I can buy whatever Core Universe book they happen to do. While it was fun to see new takes on old villains, that's grown a little stale to me. Classic characters, when treated correctly, will always be more interesting. The Ultimate Dr. Doom will never compare to the Core Universe one. I will give you that Ultimate Venom is better, but I'll cheat and say he's a part of USM, so it makes sense that he's better.

Bottom Line: Outside of the usually-excellent Ultimate Spider-Man, I really see nothing appealing about the Ultimate Universe. Through delays, the improvement over its sister dimension and the ravages of time, we just don't need this anymore. It's time to retire this world and focus the creative talent involved elsewhere.

do yall agree or disagree. i kinda agree, i think the rest of the ultimate universe is done, its suppose to eliminate continuity weighing it down, but how is it doing that with 60 plus issues begind it. except for usm i dont think the other title are interesting enough to keep around. here is a link to the whole article. http://comics.ign.com/articles/777/777482p1.html
 
USM is my favorite title right now and I agree that it should stay. As for the other Ultimate titles, I can't really say since I haven't read them. I was planning to start on UFF this summer and possibly UXM (which I heard is not that good). But since I haven't started reading them, I don't really care what happens to the rest of the Ultimate Universe just as long as USM stays. And I do agree, Ultimate Venom rocks!
 
Aloha,
I have the complete USM but have never been interested in the rest. I think the Ultimate Universe has run its course just like the MC2 Universe. Spider-Girl survived and everything else went. So should Ultimate Univere, just like 2099 Universe.
Spidey rules primarily in 616
 
its clear that none of you ever read anything else than USM...

Ultimates is brilliant, UFF is getting better most of the time (the last arc was bad but everything else was great) and UXm had a steady decline after the first two arcs but now it continues to grow and grow. to be honest, USM, while my favourite book, is not that good at all.

i think the ultimate universe should stay as what it is. the ultimate universe.

sure, it became pretty big, but its still easier to read than 40 years of history in 616...
 
While true that the Ultimate Universe server its original porpuse, its still serving a purpose, and that is to allow writers to tell their stories without the baggage of 40 years of continuety.

Even tho USM had 106 issues allready and UXM is on 80 issues, there is not that much continuety. How many story arcs we really had? 15? It really not that much, it still allows plenty of freedom for writers without being critized for continuety errors and what not. The Ultimate Universe can live for many years to come as long as you keep it small, 4 core titles + the occasional mini is quite enough.

Ultimate Universe might stopped being a platform to attract new readers (Alltough still easier to get into then the 616) but it is still a great platform to tell good stories. So I really can't see it get cancelled as long as it keep telling good stories and keep selling well.
 
Seriously, that's the worst argument ever. "Blah blah blah, 106 issues, blah blah blah..." Still beats reading 539! The Ultimate Universe is never going away people, be real! USM is one of the most popular titles in all comics, UXM is building a lot of momentum, the Ultimates have a pretty strong core of fans, and UFF is just getting started! The concept of this universe is too unique to simply throw away.
 
Aloha,
Well lets see. You do remember the 2099 Universe.It had MORE titles than the Ultimate Universe.Spider-Man 2009 lasted a little over three years.It really comes down to SALES NUMBERS.Ultimate Spider-MAn ceratinly served it's purpose, but to think that with all of the trades,HC,Omnibus etc, that people can't get on board to the 616 Universe continuity, insults the intelligence of the people who buy comics.I loved Bagely on Amazing-he could come back today for me.No alternate to the 616 Marvel Universe lasts forever.But Spider-Girl in MC2 and Spider-Man in Ultimate are the clear winners for longevity.
Spidey rules
 
So let me get this straight, the argument is that now people who want to start comics will be discouraged by the 107 issues they have to read in order to catch up? If that's correct, then how did ASM survive 539 issues? I'm sure that people started ASM around 100, and they never had any problem.
 
I started reading USM when it was in the middle of the Clone Saga and I've pretty much caught up. Sure it took me a couple months to catch up, but it was worth it. I just got Amazing Spiderman Complete Comic Collection so I'm planning to read through 500+ issues. If a person really wants to read Spiderman then s/he could read from the beginning. It's not impossible. I'm planning to do it.
 
^dude thats pretty rediculous. i think thats what wikipeidia is for
 
^dude thats pretty rediculous. i think thats what wikipeidia is for

Aloha,
No Wiki is for a condensed version of the Spider-Man history. If you are a fan or collector of The Amazing Spider-Man then you will take the time to read ALL that makes up that mythos. If you are not, then it dosen't matter to you.
Spidey rules
 
I started reading USM when it was in the middle of the Clone Saga and I've pretty much caught up. Sure it took me a couple months to catch up, but it was worth it. I just got Amazing Spiderman Complete Comic Collection so I'm planning to read through 500+ issues. If a person really wants to read Spiderman then s/he could read from the beginning. It's not impossible. I'm planning to do it.

Aloha,
Good for you. You will get to certain KEY Spidey stories that are crossovers in other 616 titles. When that happens, please come visit the library.
Spidey rules
 
Aloha,
No Wiki is for a condensed version of the Spider-Man history. If you are a fan or collector of The Amazing Spider-Man then you will take the time to read ALL that makes up that mythos. If you are not, then it dosen't matter to you.
Spidey rules
So you have to read ALL 539 issues to be JUST a fan? No, my friend, that would be a fanatic...you can be a fan and not have read all of the issues.
 
i dont think u can say that only a true fan will read all the issues. cause i consider myself a fan of spider-man and i havent read all the issues. i dont see how the amount of issues one has read can define one as a fan
 
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said that you have to read all 500+ issues of ASM to be a fan. I'm just saying that it's not impossible to start from the beginning. Of course you will need time and patience to get caught up, though. And I consider myself a fan and I certainly haven't read all the issues. There's no criteria to be fan; you just have to like Spiderman! lol
 
Whoa, whoa, whoa. I never said that you have to read all 500+ issues of ASM to be a fan. I'm just saying that it's not impossible to start from the beginning. Of course you will need time and patience to get caught up, though. And I consider myself a fan and I certainly haven't read all the issues. There's no criteria to be fan; you just have to like Spiderman! lol
We're referring to Donald Thomas' comment, not yours.

Speaking of that, how can he compare the Ultimate Universe and the 2099 Universe? Spider-Man 2099 was canceled after #46, whereas USM is still going strong post-100....just because they are both alternate universes, doesn't mean that they are comparable. USM is much more of a hit.
 
We're referring to Donald Thomas' comment, not yours.

Speaking of that, how can he compare the Ultimate Universe and the 2099 Universe? Spider-Man 2099 was canceled after #46, whereas USM is still going strong post-100....just because they are both alternate universes, doesn't mean that they are comparable. USM is much more of a hit.

Aloha,
I was commenting on your comment that somehow it was ridiculous for someone to read the complete Amazing Spider-Man. A fan is a fan because they condsider themselves to be one-no more no less. I have the complete Ultimate Spider-Man and only need the first 3 Amazings and AF#15 for the complete Amazing. My point is that, Ultimate Spider-Man was developed as a way of bringing new readers into Spider-Man without them having to know Amazing continuity-at first.Ultimate Spider-Man is a RE-interpretation of Amazing Spider-Man! Yhe Ultimate Universe is not the primary Universe of Spider-Man any more than 2009 or MC2 was. Alternate Universes are just that-alternates. If you are interested in THE REAL THING, then you will take the time to read the REAL THING-Amazing Spider-Man and all related volumes.Sure that will take a while, but if you are interested in Spider-Man continuity then you cannot quote ANYTHING from ANY alternate Univerese.Just like you can't refer to ANYTHING from a Spider-Man cartoon or movie- as being within Amazing Spider-Man continuity. Again, to some, continuity may not mean anything and as long as you are enjoying your particualr volume of Spidey it's all good.Wiki will tell you that also. You cannot go to any respected Spider-Man fan web site and find Ultimate,2009 or MC2 referred to as anything other than an Alternate Universe not a Main title(616).Ultimate being as you have said -the most successful of the Alternate Universes.
Spidey rules
 
imo the ultimates is the best series in the ultimate universe.

with spidey in second.



served its purpose!? WTF? oookk
 
For everyone who thinks the ultimate universe needs to come to an end I got the perfect solution for ya, don't read it. Nobody is putting a gun to ya head and making you read it.
 
I am a fan of USM. At least I was until I canceled my Marvel subs. But there are two things that make the whole "too much baggage for new readers" untrue.

First off, while Spidey has been around for many years and had a lot of stuff happen to him, the majority of it is kind of irrelevant fluff. How many Amazing issues have been complete throw-aways? How many have had just random fights that changed nothing? So when you talk about all the baggage that Spidey carries with him, bear in mind that to get into him all you really need to know is the big stuff.

Second, in the age of the internets, there are literally hundreds of different sources for information on Spider-Man. How many times have I browsed through some of the old issues on Donald Thomas' site? How many times have I wiki'd something to get caught up? I am relatively young as far as the Spider-Man universe goes, but I feel like I know most of what's happened just by doing some reading instead of working. ;)

So, in my mind, that argument is bunk. What I do agree with is that the Ultimate universe should be treated like a sandbox for new ideas and stories without the limitations of what's gone before. Unfortunately, a lot of the Ultimate universe has been a photocopy of what's come before it. That, in my mind, is what will make the Ultimate universe irrelevant: copying what's already been done. If they're going to do that, why don't I just go buy the Essential collections and get it all now?
 
Ya know, I can't understand why USM is still so popular. It's trash. It's unmitigated padded out crap writin'.
 
ultimate fantastic four and the Ultimates have put out better stories than ultimate spiderman

with the ultimate universe only really having ultimate x-men as another main book, i say you might as well keep them all but now STOP trying to Ultimize old marvel characters.

there is now enough basis for unique stories without the trick of the week being seeing how to constantly re-invent people.

the only reason people like ultimate spidey more is because he is the only character in the whole ultimate universe which is pretty much EXACTly the same as 616 spidey in his youth, except an updated one to fit in with the times today.

keep em all, they make a nice trade collection but let's not try and expand it past these four titles, i think all the stories should be contained within these titles and no more should start springing up.
 
USM is very hit and miss for me. I'll enjoy one arc, then I'll hate the next. Still, it's hard for me to part with it.

As for the Ultimate Univese as a whole, I've dropped all but two of them in the past few years. The only ones I read noe are USM and "The Ultimates", which, despite the lateness, remains THE BEST Superhero team book on the market, IMHO. Ultimate Cap is the MAN. Period. However, Loeb and Madueria taking over for the next "season" willd rive me away, as I'm not a fan of Joe Mad's artwork, and I just can't see the book kicking as much ass with Loeb at the helm. I love Loeb's writing, but I keep thinking back to Superman/Batman, which became a total mess before it was all said and done.

Still, as goos as Ultimates is, UFF and UXM haven't been any good since Mark Millar left either of them. UXM bored me away while UFF did the same a few months later. Neither of them really grab me anymore.

I don't want the Ultimate Universe canned outright, but it definitely needs a little restructuring. The Ultimate Universe started off with Bendis and Millar, who were then fairly new in the mainstream sense, and then they took off, and the new "it" talent was put elsewhere. I'd personally love to see the Ultimate line as kind of a kick-starter for hot new talent. Let the new blood run with it for 24 issues, and then bail out...leaving another new team to take over. Just my thoughts.
 

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