Who are The Ultimates? Marvel’s twisted Ultimate Avengers explained

Before Marvel’s Ultimates reboot, here’s a look at the Ultimate Comics’ twist on The Avengers throughout the years. 

With the release of a new Ultimates #1 trailer, Marvel Comics has officially started the slow build to the next phase of its Ultimate Comics reboot. Fans will get their first look at the new status quo on Free Comic Book Day, with Ultimate #1 being released the month after.

Six months after the team ventured into the future, they’re finally returning in June’s Ultimates #1. Before the new series drops, here’s everything you need to know about who the Ultimates are. 

The Ultimates were the Ultimate Universe’s twisted Avengers

The Ultimates #1 debuted in January 2002, introducing fans of the pre-existing Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men titles to the new twist on The Avengers. The original series deals with the team’s formation and ensuing fights with a rampaging Hulk and the invading Chitauri aliens. 

Elements of The Ultimates have, frankly, not aged well. Many of the characters are given edgier personalities that become downright offensive, from Cap’s blatant racism to the Hulk’s more impulsive actions. Later series only get darker, with Iron Man descending into uncontrolled alcoholism and the incestuous Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver relationship. 

The proper Ultimates eventually come to an end, being replaced with an updated New Ultimates line-up. Despite multiple reboots and tie-ins with other Ultimate Comics titles the series never hit the same sales and critical heights as its original offering, much of which formed the basis for the MCU’s Avengers debut. 

Blue Marvel’s Ultimates were a team of multiversal problem solvers

Shortly after the events of Secret Wars, a new Ultimates were introduced on Earth-616. This version was led by Blue Marvel, a superhero from the ‘60s who had been forced into retirement. Along with Black Panther, Spectrum, America Chavez and Captain Marvel, the team was more focused on solving problems on a galactic scale than being superheroes. 

The book won over fans with the Ultimates’ first mission: fixing Galactus. The team is able to completely flip his personality, turning him into Galactus the Lifebringer, a change that would persist for years. 

The story of these Ultimates ends with a bombastic showdown against The Maker, which sees them team up with the original Ultimates. The team disbanded afterward. 

The new Ultimates are the last hope for a broken world

The all-new Ultimates of Earth-6160 are the result of the fallout with The Maker and Earth-6160’s Howard Stark. After his world was destroyed, The Maker survived and placed a piece of himself in every new universe. One version destroyed and rebuilt a stray timeline, rebuilding his world. 

The new world, Earth-6160, is devoid of heroes due to The Maker’s manipulation. When Howard and The Maker seemingly die, Tony Stark adopts the alias Iron Lad and steals the catalysts that would have made the various heroes. 

Ultimates #1 picks up six months after Ultimate Universe #1, which saw Tony, Thor, Captain America, Doctor Doom, and Sif leap through time to avoid an attack by The Maker’s Council. With the team finally returning, it’s up to a small band of heroes to undo The Maker’s manipulations and fix the new Ultimate Universe.