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Ultimate End #1-5
Ultimate End
MILES MORALES and the rest of the heroes of the ULTIMATE U face final extinction. As the end of their world becomes inevitable, will the heroes' heartbreaking sacrifi ces make any difference? The dramatic end of an era begins! COLLECTING: ULTIMATE END 1-5
128 pages, Paperback
First published December 22, 2015
6 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
About the author
Brian Michael Bendis
4,419 books2,570 followersA comic book writer and erstwhile artist. He has won critical acclaim (including five Eisner Awards) and is one of the most successful writers working in mainstream comics. For over eight years Bendis’s books have consistently sat in the top five best sellers on the nationwide comic and graphic novel sales charts.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
Though he started as a writer and artist of independent noir fiction series, he shot to stardom as a writer of Marvel Comics' superhero books, particularly Ultimate Spider-Man.
Bendis first entered the comic world with the "Jinx" line of crime comics in 1995. This line has spawned the graphic novels Goldfish, Fire, Jinx, Torso (with Marc Andreyko), and Total Sell Out. Bendis is writing the film version of Jinx for Universal Pictures with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron attached to star and produce.
Bendis’s other projects include the Harvey, Eisner, and Eagle Award-nominated Powers (with Michael Avon Oeming) originally from Image Comics, now published by Marvel's new creator-owned imprint Icon Comics, and the Hollywood tell-all Fortune and Glory from Oni Press, both of which received an "A" from Entertainment Weekly.
Bendis is one of the premiere architects of Marvel's "Ultimate" line: comics specifically created for the new generation of comic readers. He has written every issue of Ultimate Spider-Man since its best-selling launch, and has also written for Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men, as well as every issue of Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, Ultimate Origin and Ultimate Six.
Brian is currently helming a renaissance for Marvel’s AVENGERS franchise by writing both New Avengers and Mighty Avengers along with the successful ‘event’ projects House Of M, Secret War, and this summer’s Secret Invasion.
He has also previously done work on Daredevil, Alias, and The Pulse.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
June 20, 2016
Well, with the final issue of this book, I have finally finished reading all of Secret Wars... core title, tie-ins and all.
It has been gruelling.
Don't get me wrong; there have been some diamonds in the rough. I even gave a couple of the tie-ins five stars, which surprised me. Still, diamonds aside, the rough was pretty damned rough... and there was a lot of it.
With the end of Secret Wars, and this tie-in title as well, I have seen the death of the Marvel Universe and its rebirth into something... similar but different. This will probably sound melodramatic and somewhat ridiculous to those of you who haven't been on a similar journey but losing the old, original Marvel Universe has been like losing a lifelong friend.
Since an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man was delivered to my home by accident in early 1982, the Marvel Universe has been my constant companion. Perhaps those of you who have a lifelong love of reading will understand. There have been ups and downs aplenty but it's always been there. For the last thirty four years of my life not a month has gone by without me reading at least one Marvel comicbook. Not a single month.
These days, thanks to my rapidly deteriorating eyesight, I have to read all my comicbooks digitally and, when it comes to Marvel stuff, I read it all on the Marvel Unlimited app. My annual subscription to Marvel Unlimited comes up for renewal in September and... I'm seriously considering cancelling my subscription.
I've enjoyed some of the new, rebooted Marvel titles but... even in the best of them there's a distinct feeling that this isn't my Marvel Universe anymore. It looks a lot like it, it reads a lot like it but there's something about it that just doesn't feel quite right.
Oh, well... We'll see what happens in September, I suppose.
Do I hear you say 'never mind all this maudlin twaddle! What about this particular book'? Fair enough. All I really have to say about it is that, of all the Secret Wars tie-ins I'd rank this one somewhere in the middle of the pack. It was OK. Not great. I thought Bendis was building up to a great ending but the final issue just kind of... fizzled out like half-flat Coke.
Much like my old Marvel Universe, sadly...
It has been gruelling.
Don't get me wrong; there have been some diamonds in the rough. I even gave a couple of the tie-ins five stars, which surprised me. Still, diamonds aside, the rough was pretty damned rough... and there was a lot of it.
With the end of Secret Wars, and this tie-in title as well, I have seen the death of the Marvel Universe and its rebirth into something... similar but different. This will probably sound melodramatic and somewhat ridiculous to those of you who haven't been on a similar journey but losing the old, original Marvel Universe has been like losing a lifelong friend.
Since an issue of The Amazing Spider-Man was delivered to my home by accident in early 1982, the Marvel Universe has been my constant companion. Perhaps those of you who have a lifelong love of reading will understand. There have been ups and downs aplenty but it's always been there. For the last thirty four years of my life not a month has gone by without me reading at least one Marvel comicbook. Not a single month.
These days, thanks to my rapidly deteriorating eyesight, I have to read all my comicbooks digitally and, when it comes to Marvel stuff, I read it all on the Marvel Unlimited app. My annual subscription to Marvel Unlimited comes up for renewal in September and... I'm seriously considering cancelling my subscription.
I've enjoyed some of the new, rebooted Marvel titles but... even in the best of them there's a distinct feeling that this isn't my Marvel Universe anymore. It looks a lot like it, it reads a lot like it but there's something about it that just doesn't feel quite right.
Oh, well... We'll see what happens in September, I suppose.
Do I hear you say 'never mind all this maudlin twaddle! What about this particular book'? Fair enough. All I really have to say about it is that, of all the Secret Wars tie-ins I'd rank this one somewhere in the middle of the pack. It was OK. Not great. I thought Bendis was building up to a great ending but the final issue just kind of... fizzled out like half-flat Coke.
Much like my old Marvel Universe, sadly...
June 27, 2021
The heroes from the main Marvel Universe (Earth 616) and the Ultimate Universe have been placed into one battleworld and have to coexist with their counterparts.
It isn't going well and it looks like it will get worse.
Ultimate End started well, but at the end it felt as though the author lost interest. Seeing the two major Marvel Universes having to ineffectively share the same space was interesting especially as many of the Ultimate Universes heroes are unstable. One big complaint I had was they showed Miles Morales Mom as a white red head...she's a Latina. I mean do these two women
even resemble one another?
It isn't going well and it looks like it will get worse.
Ultimate End started well, but at the end it felt as though the author lost interest. Seeing the two major Marvel Universes having to ineffectively share the same space was interesting especially as many of the Ultimate Universes heroes are unstable. One big complaint I had was they showed Miles Morales Mom as a white red head...she's a Latina. I mean do these two women
even resemble one another?
September 15, 2017
The Ultimate Universe just peters out with this book. I didn't want to like the Ultimate line when it came out. It sounded like a cop out that the normal Marvel U had too much baggage to bring in new readers so they were starting out again from scratch. But then Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley came along and created the best run on Spider-Man, ever. And Mark Millar gave us the Ultimates, a book that would go on to influence the MCU. Ultimate FF introduced us to the Marvel Zombies. But other than Miles Morales, the Ultimate line had long ago lost its mojo and it was time to go.
I would have liked to have seen a cleaner end to the Ultimate universe without all the Secret Wars nonsense. That being said, I think Bendis did the best he could with the shitshow he was given. Doom has basically thrown the normal Marvel universe and the Ultimate universe in together just to fuck with everyone. There's no real story here except heroes floundering around about what to do but there are some great character moments like when the 2 Tony Stark's get together or when Spider-Man finds out everyone in the Ultimate universe knows who he is. I loved when he goes to see Aunt May and Gwen. Miles Morales doesn't really show up until the last issue when he gathers everyone up to go fight Doom as part of the main Secret Wars book. Then we get an introduction of Miles into the regular Marvel U.
I would have liked to have seen a cleaner end to the Ultimate universe without all the Secret Wars nonsense. That being said, I think Bendis did the best he could with the shitshow he was given. Doom has basically thrown the normal Marvel universe and the Ultimate universe in together just to fuck with everyone. There's no real story here except heroes floundering around about what to do but there are some great character moments like when the 2 Tony Stark's get together or when Spider-Man finds out everyone in the Ultimate universe knows who he is. I loved when he goes to see Aunt May and Gwen. Miles Morales doesn't really show up until the last issue when he gathers everyone up to go fight Doom as part of the main Secret Wars book. Then we get an introduction of Miles into the regular Marvel U.
February 3, 2017
Finished finally. I read issue 1 months ago. Read issue 2 last month. Read issue 3-5 today. And yep, it's a gigantic pile of shit.
I'm sad though, because I know to a lot of people Ultimate Universe is just the "side" of Marvel and frankly nobody cared about it after Ultimatum. I get that but to me, the Ultimate Universe means A LOT. It actually got me into comics. Ultimate Spider-man MADE me a comic book fan. So to say it ends on a whimper is so freaking sad.
This is just a mess. People just around like nothing, punisher is fucking stupid in this, Thor gods getting killed by guns, and don't get me started on the very ending just being a opening for Miles (who I love) to get introduced to the 616. Ugh, this whole thing was silly, stupid, and didn't work well.
Bendis should have focused on JUST Ultimate Universe characters and how they go. I was so pissed introducing far to many characters at once. Sleep well Ultimate Universe, you did a lot good. It's sad it didn't get the credit it deserves.
I'm sad though, because I know to a lot of people Ultimate Universe is just the "side" of Marvel and frankly nobody cared about it after Ultimatum. I get that but to me, the Ultimate Universe means A LOT. It actually got me into comics. Ultimate Spider-man MADE me a comic book fan. So to say it ends on a whimper is so freaking sad.
This is just a mess. People just around like nothing, punisher is fucking stupid in this, Thor gods getting killed by guns, and don't get me started on the very ending just being a opening for Miles (who I love) to get introduced to the 616. Ugh, this whole thing was silly, stupid, and didn't work well.
Bendis should have focused on JUST Ultimate Universe characters and how they go. I was so pissed introducing far to many characters at once. Sleep well Ultimate Universe, you did a lot good. It's sad it didn't get the credit it deserves.
January 27, 2016
The first four issues of this miniseries are frankly kind of terrible. It's the usual mess that I'm sadly starting to expect from these Secret Wars miniseries but always hope that they won't be. It just barely holds together as a story for four very long issues. And then the fifth issue is simply outstanding. It makes reading the whole thing worthwhile, especially for those of us who have been reading Ultimate Spider-Man from the very beginning. I especially liked how Bendis ended the book with the comic book version of a fade out, because the actual action is obviously going to happen in the main Secret Wars book. It's the overlying narration that makes it an effective way of alluding to major stuff happening off the screen. This just might be the single best issue that I've read out of Secret Wars related stuff so far. It's just too bad that the first four issues drag the whole package down.
April 10, 2017
Ultimate End is a "Battleworld" tie-in series to Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars event, and it's mostly a mess. Five lackluster issues written by Brian Michael Bendis, featuring superheroes talking in circles in between beating the crap out of each other for no real reason. The plot is paper-thin, but the last few pages of the run are a nice send-off/reboot for Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, whose series relaunched as part of the main Marvel Universe post-Secret Wars. Those last few pages do nothing to save the rest of this cheap and boring tie-in, and it suffers hugely in comparison to the main Secret Wars event.
For those expecting an epic capper to fifteen years of storytelling in Marvel's Ultimate Universe, expect instead to be greatly disappointed.
For those expecting an epic capper to fifteen years of storytelling in Marvel's Ultimate Universe, expect instead to be greatly disappointed.
March 25, 2016
What a Mess.
The biggest problem with the Secret Wars spin-offs has been their total irrelevance to ... anything. But Ultimate End is worse, because it tries to be relevant but instead just doesn't make sense.
I mean, you'd expect this comic to start with the mighty clash between the 616 (Main Universe) and 1610 (Ultimate Universe) universes that was foreshadowed in many of the Final Days, but didn't get enough attention in Secret Wars #1. Nope. Instead we have a mash-up of 616 and 1610 characters on the Battleworld, which they attribute to dimensional rifts, which makes absolutely no sense in the context of the Battleworld. Eventually Bendis rather weakly offers another answer, that Doom put them all together to make them fight, which also makes no sense given his characterization in Secret Wars.
I have absolutely no idea if there were major problems here with editorial mandate or poor communication or what, but it created a story that feels barely-canon.
And Ultimate End isn't very good at meeting any other goals that its creators might have set.
Is it a good final showcase for the Ultimate characters? Nope. There's so much emphasis put on the 616 characters that there's little chance for the Ultimates to shine one last time. (The one exception? The All-New Ultimates who at least get a few final pages.)
Is it a good meeting between 616 and 1610? Barely. We get some nice interactions between Starks and Hulks, that are unfortunately muddied by art that made them sometimes indistinguishable. And no one else gets much attention. (Heck, I don't even know if these 616s were really 616s. Where is Scott's phoenix-hood for example? And shouldn't Spider-Man be off in the main Secret Wars book? Chalk it up to more awful continuity, I guess. Or accept these aren't actually the 616 characters, which means they probably aren't really the 1610 characters either, which means this is all entirely pointless.)
Is it a good Secret Wars story? God (Doom) no. It doesn't pick up the obvious threads. It doesn't fit with the setting. And the ending when everyone gets together to go beat up Doom? Nothing comes of it.
What a Mess.
And it's a horribly insufficient ending to a setting that once was great.
The biggest problem with the Secret Wars spin-offs has been their total irrelevance to ... anything. But Ultimate End is worse, because it tries to be relevant but instead just doesn't make sense.
I mean, you'd expect this comic to start with the mighty clash between the 616 (Main Universe) and 1610 (Ultimate Universe) universes that was foreshadowed in many of the Final Days, but didn't get enough attention in Secret Wars #1. Nope. Instead we have a mash-up of 616 and 1610 characters on the Battleworld, which they attribute to dimensional rifts, which makes absolutely no sense in the context of the Battleworld. Eventually Bendis rather weakly offers another answer, that Doom put them all together to make them fight, which also makes no sense given his characterization in Secret Wars.
I have absolutely no idea if there were major problems here with editorial mandate or poor communication or what, but it created a story that feels barely-canon.
And Ultimate End isn't very good at meeting any other goals that its creators might have set.
Is it a good final showcase for the Ultimate characters? Nope. There's so much emphasis put on the 616 characters that there's little chance for the Ultimates to shine one last time. (The one exception? The All-New Ultimates who at least get a few final pages.)
Is it a good meeting between 616 and 1610? Barely. We get some nice interactions between Starks and Hulks, that are unfortunately muddied by art that made them sometimes indistinguishable. And no one else gets much attention. (Heck, I don't even know if these 616s were really 616s. Where is Scott's phoenix-hood for example? And shouldn't Spider-Man be off in the main Secret Wars book? Chalk it up to more awful continuity, I guess. Or accept these aren't actually the 616 characters, which means they probably aren't really the 1610 characters either, which means this is all entirely pointless.)
Is it a good Secret Wars story? God (Doom) no. It doesn't pick up the obvious threads. It doesn't fit with the setting. And the ending when everyone gets together to go beat up Doom? Nothing comes of it.
What a Mess.
And it's a horribly insufficient ending to a setting that once was great.
January 22, 2019
12th book read in 2019.
Number 643 out of 760 on my all time book list.
Cluttered and unfocused - just a mess.
Number 643 out of 760 on my all time book list.
Cluttered and unfocused - just a mess.
February 21, 2018
One of the better Secret Wars tie-ins.
December 23, 2015
I have mixed feelings about this book. It's a tie-in to the big Secret Wars event where both the standard 616 Marvel Universe and the Ultimate Universe (and others) have been mashed up into Battleworld. New York exists on Battleworld, the Ultimate New York, but some of the normal Marvel universe characters are there. Trouble arises.
The story for the most part is a bit of a mess. Two Hulks fight, two Iron Mans get into an argument etc etc. Four fifths of this book is an utter waste of time which does little to celebrate the Ultimate universe.
Fortunately the fifth part is wonderful. Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, shows up and shows the heroes the truth of Battleworld. There's some stunning art as the huge cast get to grips with this idea. As Miles wonders whether the world will ever be the same again, we see a glimpse at his life post-Secret Wars and there's an unexpected revelation.
The last issue is essentially Miles Morales big contribution to Secret Wars and it's a shame we had to have four issues of largely nonsense to get to it. Still, at least it stayed in continuity with the Ultimate Universe and series like Spider-Men. It's a shame the Ultimate Universe didn't really get the hurrah it deserved but Miles Morales did and I look forward to reading his new series.
The story for the most part is a bit of a mess. Two Hulks fight, two Iron Mans get into an argument etc etc. Four fifths of this book is an utter waste of time which does little to celebrate the Ultimate universe.
Fortunately the fifth part is wonderful. Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, shows up and shows the heroes the truth of Battleworld. There's some stunning art as the huge cast get to grips with this idea. As Miles wonders whether the world will ever be the same again, we see a glimpse at his life post-Secret Wars and there's an unexpected revelation.
The last issue is essentially Miles Morales big contribution to Secret Wars and it's a shame we had to have four issues of largely nonsense to get to it. Still, at least it stayed in continuity with the Ultimate Universe and series like Spider-Men. It's a shame the Ultimate Universe didn't really get the hurrah it deserved but Miles Morales did and I look forward to reading his new series.
November 14, 2016
Utterly essential reading for the Secret Wars event. Easily one of best spin-off mini's. Wish I'd known about this one long ago. I only picked it up when I found it on a remainder rack at Books-A-Million.
Totally a great read in its own right. Bendis does a great job. Beautiful art by Bagley working at the top of his game. If you've enjoyed the Secret Wars and skipped over this one. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a great Marvel read.
Totally a great read in its own right. Bendis does a great job. Beautiful art by Bagley working at the top of his game. If you've enjoyed the Secret Wars and skipped over this one. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It's a great Marvel read.
June 16, 2020
Not the worst, not great.
I like how it focuses a bit more on superheroes than the main event, but if’s also confusing. At the final incursion, the Punisher was bleeding to death in the middle east in the Edmonson run. Now both Punishers are in NY?? Ok... also, why is Parker Spidey here acting oblivious when in Secret Wars, he meets Miles when he leaves the life raft ship? He should already be just as spun up as miles during Ultimate End.
I dunno. This shit is super confusing and it’s dangerously close to doing all the shit that turned me off to Crisis on Infinite Earths. I wish Secret Wars didn’t have so many messy spinoffs and the important parts of this were rolled into the main event title... but whatev. Marvel gonna Marvel.
I like how it focuses a bit more on superheroes than the main event, but if’s also confusing. At the final incursion, the Punisher was bleeding to death in the middle east in the Edmonson run. Now both Punishers are in NY?? Ok... also, why is Parker Spidey here acting oblivious when in Secret Wars, he meets Miles when he leaves the life raft ship? He should already be just as spun up as miles during Ultimate End.
I dunno. This shit is super confusing and it’s dangerously close to doing all the shit that turned me off to Crisis on Infinite Earths. I wish Secret Wars didn’t have so many messy spinoffs and the important parts of this were rolled into the main event title... but whatev. Marvel gonna Marvel.
December 20, 2015
A whimper is too much of an overstatement, let alone a bang. The end of the Ultimate Universe arrives with the sound Charlie Brown makes when he misses the football.
Events in writer Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars have resulted in the end of the multiverse. In its place is Battleworld, a singular planet made up of Marvel’s most popular series. So there’s an Old Man Logan land, an Age of Apocalypse-ville, and so on.
(Secret Wars is actually quite good as far as crossovers are concerned).
Ultimate End takes place in a section of Battleworld where characters from the TALKS IN ALL CAPS 616 Marvel Universe (i.e. the main Marvel continuity) have been transported to a version of the Talks in mixed case Ultimate Universe. So in a way, the “real” Ultimate Universe met its demise in Secret Wars #1, making this series somewhat superfluous.
Still, there is a lot of potential in an “epilogue-of-sorts” to the long-running imprint that helped revitalize Marvel post-bankruptcy and inspired many of their current films.
And given the job of closing things out is, appropriately enough, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley, the duo who launched the Ultimate Line in 2000 with Ultimate Spider-Man. So I was stoked going into this book.
We start in medias res, The Punisher getting ready to do what he does best. My question – why? This technique is often used to add excitement to a dull story. But this is the end of the Ultimate Universe! We don’t need this.
"We don't need this" could be the tag line for this book, it seems.
For instance, there’s a whole issue dedicated to the two Hulks fighting and before long, we're in Civil War mode. Why? Ultimate fans want to know what Jessica Drew is up to. Where MJ is at and yes, even if Kong is ok. I wanted an emotional payoff, like we got in the Ultimatum tie in.
What Ultimate End feels like is the anti-Ultimate Spider-Man. Ultimate Spidey found Bendis and Bagley taking a story that was originally told over 11 pages – the origin of Spider-Man – and stretching it out over 7 issues. And it was glorious! There was so much pathos - Uncle Ben finally felt like a real character! The supporting cast was so well fleshed out!
Ultimate End feels like two issues of plot padded out with random fights.
Granted, there are some bright spots. 616 Spider-Man getting lunch with the Ultimate versions of Aunt May and Gwen Stacy was handled nicely. It was a fine follow up to Bendis’ “Spider-Men” series and plays to the writer’s strength – strong character moments and funny dialogue.
And I’ll never complain about seeing Bagley drawing Spidey and his cast.
There are some nice moments between the two versions of Tony that give me hope that Bendis’ Iron Man book will be solid.
But the rest of the story is just a mess.
The Ultimate Universe was at its best when it was focused on small character moments and at its worse whenever an event book reared its head. Its finale was unfortunately the latter and while I normally like Bendis, the Ultimate Universe deserved a better end.
kit: Twitter | Tumblr
Events in writer Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars have resulted in the end of the multiverse. In its place is Battleworld, a singular planet made up of Marvel’s most popular series. So there’s an Old Man Logan land, an Age of Apocalypse-ville, and so on.
(Secret Wars is actually quite good as far as crossovers are concerned).
Ultimate End takes place in a section of Battleworld where characters from the TALKS IN ALL CAPS 616 Marvel Universe (i.e. the main Marvel continuity) have been transported to a version of the Talks in mixed case Ultimate Universe. So in a way, the “real” Ultimate Universe met its demise in Secret Wars #1, making this series somewhat superfluous.
Still, there is a lot of potential in an “epilogue-of-sorts” to the long-running imprint that helped revitalize Marvel post-bankruptcy and inspired many of their current films.
And given the job of closing things out is, appropriately enough, writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Mark Bagley, the duo who launched the Ultimate Line in 2000 with Ultimate Spider-Man. So I was stoked going into this book.
We start in medias res, The Punisher getting ready to do what he does best. My question – why? This technique is often used to add excitement to a dull story. But this is the end of the Ultimate Universe! We don’t need this.
"We don't need this" could be the tag line for this book, it seems.
For instance, there’s a whole issue dedicated to the two Hulks fighting and before long, we're in Civil War mode. Why? Ultimate fans want to know what Jessica Drew is up to. Where MJ is at and yes, even if Kong is ok. I wanted an emotional payoff, like we got in the Ultimatum tie in.
What Ultimate End feels like is the anti-Ultimate Spider-Man. Ultimate Spidey found Bendis and Bagley taking a story that was originally told over 11 pages – the origin of Spider-Man – and stretching it out over 7 issues. And it was glorious! There was so much pathos - Uncle Ben finally felt like a real character! The supporting cast was so well fleshed out!
Ultimate End feels like two issues of plot padded out with random fights.
Granted, there are some bright spots. 616 Spider-Man getting lunch with the Ultimate versions of Aunt May and Gwen Stacy was handled nicely. It was a fine follow up to Bendis’ “Spider-Men” series and plays to the writer’s strength – strong character moments and funny dialogue.
And I’ll never complain about seeing Bagley drawing Spidey and his cast.
There are some nice moments between the two versions of Tony that give me hope that Bendis’ Iron Man book will be solid.
But the rest of the story is just a mess.
The Ultimate Universe was at its best when it was focused on small character moments and at its worse whenever an event book reared its head. Its finale was unfortunately the latter and while I normally like Bendis, the Ultimate Universe deserved a better end.
kit: Twitter | Tumblr
March 2, 2022
The original Avengers as the Illuminati realize their first cosmic war. The Builders send Ex-Nihil to jump start the next phase of evolution on Earth, like the Obelisk from 2001. But Capt. Universe intervenes, for there are other plans to be had.
The Beyonders are the harbingers of the singularity. Alien God bastards. Humans to us, as we are ants to them. They’ve been killing every celestial, every cosmic being in every universe ‘on a whim’ and Earth 616 has started to feel its impact. The Beyonders also give brith to the Molecule Man, a genetically enhanced human-bomb that would destroy any universe he’s ignited in. For what reason? Well, just to see what would happen. They are God bastards, afterall.
Doom halts their experiment though, traveling through time and killing Molecule Man in each universe before the triggered event can occur. A time paradox inevitably persists from day one, however, when Rabum Alal (Doom) comes into existence. An alternative earth, the earth of his birth, is hence destroyed by Molecule Man; against the Beyonders, causing a universal ripple effect that kickstarts the incursion, destroying all the earths in all the universes and, in take, each universe. If one earth is destroyed before the collision only the realties pass through and the surviving earth can be left untarnished. In this case, 616 is the incursion point and are dealt with the moral dilemma of dealing with an infinite amount of earths colliding with them an infinite amount of times until the multiverse collapses.
Those who stand in the way of the wheel of death will ‘end up losing themselves’, Black Swan portends. By protecting their world, another world will perish. The Illuminati (Strange, Iron Man, Black Panther, Cap, Black Bolt, Namor and Reed Richards) together hold 5 infinity stones. Prof X, in his will, sends the last infinity stone to Beast. The incursion begins.
Earth 616 has 8 hours to decide every universes’ fate. Black Swan warns them no matter how they play it, the Infinity gauntlet only works in its own universe and is not compatible to any other. Therefore, avoiding any consequence is utterly futile. Cap wears the Infinity Gauntlet attempting to send the alternate earth back; halting the collision but destroying the impeding earth, shattering 5 infinity gems—with the time gem vanishing—and destroying the infinity gauntlet in the process. So the illuminati build a Dyson’s Sphere to protect 616 from colliding earths. But understandably, countless of lives annihilated because you want to protect your own world will take quite the mental toll on anyone. Regretting any destruction of any earth, especially decided by only their will, the Illuminati agree to let their world perish.
However, Sub-Mariner creates his own cabal of earth destroyers, Maximus, Thanos and The Black Order, and Black Swan. whom take great joy in annihilating competing Earths. To save their own world, the cadre begin torturing and destroying inhabitants of the other earths before any collision can occur (see what they did to Earth 71202 X-Men). Namor has his regrets, but Black Panther and Black Bolt put a stop to any redemption arc. The dead world is demolished, allowing the incursion to continue. Namor and his cadre escape into the Ultimate Universe.
Doom takes advantage of Beyonders waging war on every cosmic entity; bringing out the Beyonders from outside the multiverse to his own dimension to detonate the rest of the Molecule Men he gathered onto them. The Beyonders can’t time-travel. Only two universes remain: 616 v. 1610, with both losing out in the end.
Doom brings forth fragments of the multiverse into a world called Battle World. Divided into kingdoms, with one ruler that rules over all of them: God Emperor Doom.
And this where the Ultimate Universe begins its Ultimate End.
Two Manhattans, two parallel domains split-open. A mix between 616 and 1610 super heroes meet at the Triskelion, unaware of what’s going on. Two Starks, a pseudo-stable Bruce Banner, 616 Peter Parker, 1610 Nick Fury, a ravished 616 X-Men, Avengers, and New Ultimates. Meeting of minds, except each side thinking their Manhattan is the real Manhattan. A facsimile of normal life, the only exception is now Doom is God and that there’s a rift in the middle of Manhattan. With no memory of the war event. No memory of the incursion. All they can go by is the curious fracture attached to such mysterious circumstances
Thors, who are essentially now God Emperor’s personal army, threaten any ongoing investigation. Incinerating Hawkeye after his dissent. But as things slowly erupt, The Raft blown open (Planet Hulk meet original Hulk), the two Tony Starks finally decide to end their feud and work together for once.
The Punisher is freed.
What comes next is a domino of the worst possible outcomes. 616 Hulk is incarcerated, interrogated and punished. Iron Man refusing to accept the complete abuse of power from SHIELD against his friend, breaks him out. And during this time, while The Triskelion is lost among their own shuffling deck, the Punisher erupts, as not only his world is broken, but his mind breaks as well. He kills his 616 self, then goes on a shooting spree taking out as many superheroes he can. And the conflict between 616 and 1610 boils over, again and again, into another all out war that never ends until one universe just completely disappears.
And poof, just like that 1610 disappears.
Bendis created the Ultimate Universe and has all the right to be the one who destroys it. Singing its deserved reckoning that spins perfectly the themes of what Ultimate was about: death and conflict, despair in relationships, and actual stakes and consequences. In an all too unromantic end, the swan song to the greatest connected universe in comic history disappears. 15 years farewell that promised readers a world where heroes weren’t immortal. Where heroes could actually suffer, and not be confined to the all too familiar Deus-Ex Machina trick, and cycle of retcons and resurrections. A storybook actually reaching a storybook end; for a journey ill-inhibited by fanatic voyeurism. Instead to tell a tale that needed to be told. To see it out, for the reader to be there when the first superheroes were laid to rest, from the beginning, middle, and end.
Oh, yeah. The Secret Wars. Well, obviously in the main universe the villain can’t win. As expected, Doom's reign falls, feeling defeat, giving Reed Richards the key to the kingdom as Richard intends to rebuild the multi-verse. Two things doomed Doom, however. No it wasn’t the fact he was a tyrannical king. Tyrannical kings rule lifetimes. He did the one thing you should never do as emperor, kill your right hand man. The decision to execute Steven Strange, no matter the rationale, is what lead to his downfall. Valerie’s investigation. Thanos’ and Maximus’ escape. Namor and Black Panther teaming up and retrieving Strange's infinity gauntlet. Without Strange he was alone in the Battleworld experiment. And lastly, the Maker and Reed Richards teamed up, and no one can overcome a combine IQ of a thousand. Not even a God.
The Beyonders are the harbingers of the singularity. Alien God bastards. Humans to us, as we are ants to them. They’ve been killing every celestial, every cosmic being in every universe ‘on a whim’ and Earth 616 has started to feel its impact. The Beyonders also give brith to the Molecule Man, a genetically enhanced human-bomb that would destroy any universe he’s ignited in. For what reason? Well, just to see what would happen. They are God bastards, afterall.
Doom halts their experiment though, traveling through time and killing Molecule Man in each universe before the triggered event can occur. A time paradox inevitably persists from day one, however, when Rabum Alal (Doom) comes into existence. An alternative earth, the earth of his birth, is hence destroyed by Molecule Man; against the Beyonders, causing a universal ripple effect that kickstarts the incursion, destroying all the earths in all the universes and, in take, each universe. If one earth is destroyed before the collision only the realties pass through and the surviving earth can be left untarnished. In this case, 616 is the incursion point and are dealt with the moral dilemma of dealing with an infinite amount of earths colliding with them an infinite amount of times until the multiverse collapses.
Those who stand in the way of the wheel of death will ‘end up losing themselves’, Black Swan portends. By protecting their world, another world will perish. The Illuminati (Strange, Iron Man, Black Panther, Cap, Black Bolt, Namor and Reed Richards) together hold 5 infinity stones. Prof X, in his will, sends the last infinity stone to Beast. The incursion begins.
Earth 616 has 8 hours to decide every universes’ fate. Black Swan warns them no matter how they play it, the Infinity gauntlet only works in its own universe and is not compatible to any other. Therefore, avoiding any consequence is utterly futile. Cap wears the Infinity Gauntlet attempting to send the alternate earth back; halting the collision but destroying the impeding earth, shattering 5 infinity gems—with the time gem vanishing—and destroying the infinity gauntlet in the process. So the illuminati build a Dyson’s Sphere to protect 616 from colliding earths. But understandably, countless of lives annihilated because you want to protect your own world will take quite the mental toll on anyone. Regretting any destruction of any earth, especially decided by only their will, the Illuminati agree to let their world perish.
However, Sub-Mariner creates his own cabal of earth destroyers, Maximus, Thanos and The Black Order, and Black Swan. whom take great joy in annihilating competing Earths. To save their own world, the cadre begin torturing and destroying inhabitants of the other earths before any collision can occur (see what they did to Earth 71202 X-Men). Namor has his regrets, but Black Panther and Black Bolt put a stop to any redemption arc. The dead world is demolished, allowing the incursion to continue. Namor and his cadre escape into the Ultimate Universe.
Doom takes advantage of Beyonders waging war on every cosmic entity; bringing out the Beyonders from outside the multiverse to his own dimension to detonate the rest of the Molecule Men he gathered onto them. The Beyonders can’t time-travel. Only two universes remain: 616 v. 1610, with both losing out in the end.
Doom brings forth fragments of the multiverse into a world called Battle World. Divided into kingdoms, with one ruler that rules over all of them: God Emperor Doom.
And this where the Ultimate Universe begins its Ultimate End.
Two Manhattans, two parallel domains split-open. A mix between 616 and 1610 super heroes meet at the Triskelion, unaware of what’s going on. Two Starks, a pseudo-stable Bruce Banner, 616 Peter Parker, 1610 Nick Fury, a ravished 616 X-Men, Avengers, and New Ultimates. Meeting of minds, except each side thinking their Manhattan is the real Manhattan. A facsimile of normal life, the only exception is now Doom is God and that there’s a rift in the middle of Manhattan. With no memory of the war event. No memory of the incursion. All they can go by is the curious fracture attached to such mysterious circumstances
Thors, who are essentially now God Emperor’s personal army, threaten any ongoing investigation. Incinerating Hawkeye after his dissent. But as things slowly erupt, The Raft blown open (Planet Hulk meet original Hulk), the two Tony Starks finally decide to end their feud and work together for once.
The Punisher is freed.
What comes next is a domino of the worst possible outcomes. 616 Hulk is incarcerated, interrogated and punished. Iron Man refusing to accept the complete abuse of power from SHIELD against his friend, breaks him out. And during this time, while The Triskelion is lost among their own shuffling deck, the Punisher erupts, as not only his world is broken, but his mind breaks as well. He kills his 616 self, then goes on a shooting spree taking out as many superheroes he can. And the conflict between 616 and 1610 boils over, again and again, into another all out war that never ends until one universe just completely disappears.
And poof, just like that 1610 disappears.
Bendis created the Ultimate Universe and has all the right to be the one who destroys it. Singing its deserved reckoning that spins perfectly the themes of what Ultimate was about: death and conflict, despair in relationships, and actual stakes and consequences. In an all too unromantic end, the swan song to the greatest connected universe in comic history disappears. 15 years farewell that promised readers a world where heroes weren’t immortal. Where heroes could actually suffer, and not be confined to the all too familiar Deus-Ex Machina trick, and cycle of retcons and resurrections. A storybook actually reaching a storybook end; for a journey ill-inhibited by fanatic voyeurism. Instead to tell a tale that needed to be told. To see it out, for the reader to be there when the first superheroes were laid to rest, from the beginning, middle, and end.
Oh, yeah. The Secret Wars. Well, obviously in the main universe the villain can’t win. As expected, Doom's reign falls, feeling defeat, giving Reed Richards the key to the kingdom as Richard intends to rebuild the multi-verse. Two things doomed Doom, however. No it wasn’t the fact he was a tyrannical king. Tyrannical kings rule lifetimes. He did the one thing you should never do as emperor, kill your right hand man. The decision to execute Steven Strange, no matter the rationale, is what lead to his downfall. Valerie’s investigation. Thanos’ and Maximus’ escape. Namor and Black Panther teaming up and retrieving Strange's infinity gauntlet. Without Strange he was alone in the Battleworld experiment. And lastly, the Maker and Reed Richards teamed up, and no one can overcome a combine IQ of a thousand. Not even a God.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 27, 2025
The end really undid me...
I was not expecting this to hit me like a train. If you have been into marvel comics around for a while you probably know about the existence of secret wars, the event which rebooted the universe. So like me, you may know the premise of the story... Well, let me tell you, the last issue -- more like the last few pages of said issue HIT HARD, specially if you are a Miles Morales fan like i am.
Let's talk plot, some people from 616 some from 1610, all put into one domain, for one goal only... to fight themselves. The interactions between the two Tony's was executed to perfection (maybe that's overkill), it was well crafted and their dynamic didn't seem forced or rushed. They both have what makes Tony Stark... well, Tony Stark. His loyalty was proven in this series, which i'm always happy to see. After so many evil versions of him roam around secret wars... The heroes from both earths has great dynamic and interactions. They all think they have challenged doom by being together in one domain until Miles shows up.
One of my biggest complains was the character design of Rio. Who is a Latina woman and was portrayed as a white ginger woman... No. Definitely no.
April 22, 2020
I mean what can I say, I fucking hated Marvel’s guts by the time this Event “Battleworld” came out and I could not care less except for the fact it’s where they decided to end the Ultimate universe. Fold Miles and company into the regular universe and that was all she wrote. Obviously, I only read this offshoot, I didn’t read the main story and I’m not going to because I honestly do not care. But I gotta say, what a monumental let down to the end of the ultimate universe. It deserved so much better, especially from Bendis. He just threw a whole bunch of Shit at us that meant nothing and bam here’s Miles in the regular universe. Sigh. Whatever. And honestly, someone needs to fact check their damn continuity, how many fucking times is 616 Peter going to meet Ultimate May and Gwen and pretend like they haven’t met two times prior to this. Fucking marvel. Way to ruin what you initially made good. Rest In Peace Ultimate Universe. Rest In Peace.
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January 11, 2016Way back in 2000, Marvel realised their main universe was perhaps a little inaccessible to new readers (what with all the key characters who'd married clones of their wives and had their sons come back from the future older than them, or thought they were clones of themselves), and decided to create an accessible, new timeline, with newly empowered versions of their icons, and streamlined origins, and a fresh sensibility. It was the first time we saw a black Nick Fury, or a Peter Parker who didn't need a slap; the films may be called Avengers, but the cinematic universe was born in the pages of The Ultimates. The books weren't all brilliant, but even the faltering ones felt like they were doing something new.
But of course, you can't keep the top talent on these books forever. You have to get in lesser lights eventually. And you may start a new world that's not mired in continuity, but unless you tell weightless stories where nothing ever changes, continuity soon starts building up, because it's just another word for 'past'. And part of the point of the Ultimate Universe - part of what the films inherited - is that things have more impact here. Especially given the timing of the books' birth, this was not like the main universe, where skyscrapers get knocked down every week and if a helicarrier crashes it must be Tuesday. This is a world where every disaster was felt. A world without the easy resets that allow established superhero universes to soldier on without the entire populace succumbing to PTSD. And so gradually the Ultimate U went from bright and shiny and new to a dark and shattered place - heroes lost to their own flaws, continents torn asunder, fragile shreds of hope. And now, finally, it's been put out of its misery. A few survivors have migrated to the rebuilt main Marvel Earth (most importantly Miles Morales, the newer, younger Ultimate Spider-Man). The rest die as, of late, they had too often lived - way behind schedule, in a book that feels like crucial elements of the story were being told elsewhere.
But of course, you can't keep the top talent on these books forever. You have to get in lesser lights eventually. And you may start a new world that's not mired in continuity, but unless you tell weightless stories where nothing ever changes, continuity soon starts building up, because it's just another word for 'past'. And part of the point of the Ultimate Universe - part of what the films inherited - is that things have more impact here. Especially given the timing of the books' birth, this was not like the main universe, where skyscrapers get knocked down every week and if a helicarrier crashes it must be Tuesday. This is a world where every disaster was felt. A world without the easy resets that allow established superhero universes to soldier on without the entire populace succumbing to PTSD. And so gradually the Ultimate U went from bright and shiny and new to a dark and shattered place - heroes lost to their own flaws, continents torn asunder, fragile shreds of hope. And now, finally, it's been put out of its misery. A few survivors have migrated to the rebuilt main Marvel Earth (most importantly Miles Morales, the newer, younger Ultimate Spider-Man). The rest die as, of late, they had too often lived - way behind schedule, in a book that feels like crucial elements of the story were being told elsewhere.
June 15, 2017
Remember the final episode of STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE where the cast of the show was shoved to the side to make room for a couple of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION stars?
Meet the comic book equivalent of that episode.
ULTIMATE END is pretty much a staggering failure, no matter how you cut it. As a stand alone story, it doesn't work; as a part of Marvel's larger "Secret Wars" event, it has nothing to offer that you couldn't have picked up from the main crossover series. Structurally, each issue jumps from event to event, with little connective tissue provided to make sense of anything.
Where ULTIMATE END really fails though is as a final send off to Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe. Instead of giving the characters of the Ultimate universe one last go before the bulk of them were written out, writer Brian Michael Bendis focuses on the Ultimate characters meeting - and fighting - their mainstream comics counterparts. No effort is made to try and give this not insignificant part of Marvel history a proper send off, with only Ultimate Iron Man getting anything like the spotlight. Even then, his presence only serves to offer insight into his supposed mainstream counterpoint.
What makes it all the more frustrating is that there is the spark of some interesting ideas in the book which could have been developed. The Ultimate line of comics has always been defined by its seemingly more cynical - if not outright bleak - tone, and at points this idea is raised (a meeting between mainstream Hulk with his defeatist Ultimate counterpart being the most notable moment). But nothing ever comes of it: Bendis has nothing to say about the Ultimate universe, be it thematically or in a meta-textual way.
Meet the comic book equivalent of that episode.
ULTIMATE END is pretty much a staggering failure, no matter how you cut it. As a stand alone story, it doesn't work; as a part of Marvel's larger "Secret Wars" event, it has nothing to offer that you couldn't have picked up from the main crossover series. Structurally, each issue jumps from event to event, with little connective tissue provided to make sense of anything.
Where ULTIMATE END really fails though is as a final send off to Marvel's Ultimate Comics universe. Instead of giving the characters of the Ultimate universe one last go before the bulk of them were written out, writer Brian Michael Bendis focuses on the Ultimate characters meeting - and fighting - their mainstream comics counterparts. No effort is made to try and give this not insignificant part of Marvel history a proper send off, with only Ultimate Iron Man getting anything like the spotlight. Even then, his presence only serves to offer insight into his supposed mainstream counterpoint.
What makes it all the more frustrating is that there is the spark of some interesting ideas in the book which could have been developed. The Ultimate line of comics has always been defined by its seemingly more cynical - if not outright bleak - tone, and at points this idea is raised (a meeting between mainstream Hulk with his defeatist Ultimate counterpart being the most notable moment). But nothing ever comes of it: Bendis has nothing to say about the Ultimate universe, be it thematically or in a meta-textual way.
June 17, 2024
This volume put it into perspective that this whole arc is supposed to be very multiversal and the plot of the arc really didn't really serve the multiversal elements well.
July 6, 2016
Every time I review a book illustrated by Bagely, I make the same comment that while I loved his overwrought teen-aged melodramatic work in Ultimate Spider-Man (also with Bendis,) I just feel his work is too cartoonish to make it suitable for, say, an epic super hero book called "Ultimate End"! Even though this time his work was less manga-ish, it still felt like the wrong dude for the job. And in my opinion it held back Bendis's writing, which to me seemed, "just o.k."
December 11, 2016
Se volete leggere la mia recensione, cliccate qui! http://ascwblog.blogspot.it/2016/12/u...
December 5, 2016
For a comic with such a low "star rating", I quite liked this one. I was entertained from start to finish.
May 20, 2021
Reprints Ultimate End #1-5 (July 2015-February 2016). Something is wrong in the world…two worlds have collided under Doom and the heroes of both worlds want the worlds restored. As Fury tries to navigate the situation, Tony Stark and the Tony Stark of the other world are working on a plan with Bruce Banner…but keeping out of sight of Lord Doom and his Thors could be impossible. The world is headed for collapse and only one world may survive.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Battleworld: Ultimate End is a Marvel Comics Secret Wars event series spin-off title. The collection features art by Mark Bagley.
The Ultimate Universe started out with a bang. Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man breathed new life into Spider-Man and created a new world for him to explore that was concise and tied together much like the early years of Marvel’s Earth-616. As more and more titles were added to the Ultimate line, the Ultimate series became rather unnecessary. Characters fell out of synch with characters in other books and it essentially was two of the same world competing with each other. Ultimate End provides an end to the competition, but instead of being a grand sendoff, it feels like a ghostly whimper of what the Ultimate Universe once was.
First and foremost the book is rather confusing. Heavily tied to the Secret Wars series, the book starts out with little explanation and with duplicate characters inhabiting the same space, infrequent readers of the Ultimate Comics (or readers like myself who fell off around Ultimate Spider-Man #100) will struggle to have any idea of what is going on. This is merged with the Secret Wars series which in itself was rather difficult to follow…and in classic Bendis form since he started doing event series, neither title really stands on its own nor does this title really do enough to enhance the other title.
For a finally, the finally is anticlimactic. The series has Hulk fighting Hulk for a bit, the Punisher acting crazy, a fight-non-fight with the Thors, and then a reset which just involves a bunch of talking heads and no explanation of what really occurred. It is kind of what has come to be expected from these big event series and to collapse a whole world that people invested a lot of time and money in such a lackluster way isn’t really serving the fans or the characters.
Ultimate End does help the conflict of interest between Earth-616 and the Ultimate Earth. Bendis tries to give the best of both worlds in the “perfect world” with Miles Morales joining the new world and other duplicate characters being eliminated willy-nilly. A Skottie Young variant of cover for the series has Bendis doing a big mic drop…if this is his mic drop, it is a pretty sad accomplishment.
Written by Brian Michael Bendis, Battleworld: Ultimate End is a Marvel Comics Secret Wars event series spin-off title. The collection features art by Mark Bagley.
The Ultimate Universe started out with a bang. Bendis’s Ultimate Spider-Man breathed new life into Spider-Man and created a new world for him to explore that was concise and tied together much like the early years of Marvel’s Earth-616. As more and more titles were added to the Ultimate line, the Ultimate series became rather unnecessary. Characters fell out of synch with characters in other books and it essentially was two of the same world competing with each other. Ultimate End provides an end to the competition, but instead of being a grand sendoff, it feels like a ghostly whimper of what the Ultimate Universe once was.
First and foremost the book is rather confusing. Heavily tied to the Secret Wars series, the book starts out with little explanation and with duplicate characters inhabiting the same space, infrequent readers of the Ultimate Comics (or readers like myself who fell off around Ultimate Spider-Man #100) will struggle to have any idea of what is going on. This is merged with the Secret Wars series which in itself was rather difficult to follow…and in classic Bendis form since he started doing event series, neither title really stands on its own nor does this title really do enough to enhance the other title.
For a finally, the finally is anticlimactic. The series has Hulk fighting Hulk for a bit, the Punisher acting crazy, a fight-non-fight with the Thors, and then a reset which just involves a bunch of talking heads and no explanation of what really occurred. It is kind of what has come to be expected from these big event series and to collapse a whole world that people invested a lot of time and money in such a lackluster way isn’t really serving the fans or the characters.
Ultimate End does help the conflict of interest between Earth-616 and the Ultimate Earth. Bendis tries to give the best of both worlds in the “perfect world” with Miles Morales joining the new world and other duplicate characters being eliminated willy-nilly. A Skottie Young variant of cover for the series has Bendis doing a big mic drop…if this is his mic drop, it is a pretty sad accomplishment.
March 21, 2021
Mainly just read this so that I could continue reading the next Miles book and have it make sense. It’s the first “event” comic I’ve read and it didn’t disappoint with well done splash pages throughout. The predicament that’s set up in this with Doctor Doom completely wrecking havoc and messing with dimensions is intriguing and leads to conflict amongst all the superheroes and their doppelgängers. For it being overloaded with characters, which I can’t tell if I like or not, Bendis does allow a few to shine and we get to see their perspective in this new reality - namely Banner, Iron Man, and Spider-Man. It was cool to see Miles swing in and save the day, bringing sense and reason to all the chaos and inner conflict amongst the group. He’s got an innocence and pureness to him that’s fun to read - like Peter Parker, he really does just want to do the right thing. Even if there’s some pain to be had along the way. The ending was done in a cool way with Bendis focusing on phone calls that Spider-Man, Miles, and Iron Man have as they call their loved ones before the showdown with Doctor Doom begins. In the end, this was a decent read with fantastic art and I got a sense of the events that set up the next Miles book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 20, 2025
A glum climax to the pseudo-Ultimate Universe that exists in Secret Wars By Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Alex Ross Reed Richards Cover, much of this book is multiple versions of heroes not getting along with their counterparts, fighting with Nick Fury, and then we get two or four page spreads of waaaaaaaaay-too-many panels where each version of each character gives their one phrase reaction to a catastrophic event.
This is a huge whiff by Bendis. It feels completely disconnected to every Ultimate book that came before it, and therefore there's no real emotional impact to the destruction of this universe, as it feels like we spend two minutes with each character before moving on to another plotline.
It's not worth reading.
I read it as part of my X-Men readthrough but aside from one-panel reactions only Emma Frost and Old Man Logan are pivotal to the story. Jean Greys are in it but I think their appearances are literally just "OMG! My psychic powers just made me sad." when Emma Frost reads Miles Morales's mind.
This is a huge whiff by Bendis. It feels completely disconnected to every Ultimate book that came before it, and therefore there's no real emotional impact to the destruction of this universe, as it feels like we spend two minutes with each character before moving on to another plotline.
It's not worth reading.
I read it as part of my X-Men readthrough but aside from one-panel reactions only Emma Frost and Old Man Logan are pivotal to the story. Jean Greys are in it but I think their appearances are literally just "OMG! My psychic powers just made me sad." when Emma Frost reads Miles Morales's mind.
April 30, 2023
This is the end of the ultimate universe as we know it and so it should be epic.. but it is anything but that.
So the series is set in battle-world and Dr doom created this dimension to mess with the heroes because plot reasons okay putting it aside we have the heroes going at each other because they wanna find a solution and also because they dont like each other, they start fighting, Hulk goes berserk, Tony's or rather both of them are at each others throats but also team up and the ultimate end happens.. umm yeah its convoluted.
But there was a good moment with some characters like both Peter and Miles get their moments and I really enjoyed both those stories, the hulk part was good and the Punisher moment felt like it came out of nowhere and was just wild and out of context.
And the other problem was horrendous dialogue and so many panels with different characters all talking the same way feels like. It was a nightmare to read and the end fight doesn't even happen.
Basically a book which should be epic isnt but the art by bagley is amazing here, maybe him at his best! So maybe read it once for that and see how the Ultimate universe ends and miles new status quo!
So the series is set in battle-world and Dr doom created this dimension to mess with the heroes because plot reasons okay putting it aside we have the heroes going at each other because they wanna find a solution and also because they dont like each other, they start fighting, Hulk goes berserk, Tony's or rather both of them are at each others throats but also team up and the ultimate end happens.. umm yeah its convoluted.
But there was a good moment with some characters like both Peter and Miles get their moments and I really enjoyed both those stories, the hulk part was good and the Punisher moment felt like it came out of nowhere and was just wild and out of context.
And the other problem was horrendous dialogue and so many panels with different characters all talking the same way feels like. It was a nightmare to read and the end fight doesn't even happen.
Basically a book which should be epic isnt but the art by bagley is amazing here, maybe him at his best! So maybe read it once for that and see how the Ultimate universe ends and miles new status quo!
August 31, 2020
It's by Brian Bendis. So, is there a bright white flash of light? Yes! Two. One in first issue and another in the last.
One the one hand this addresses some of the issues with Battleworld. On the other hand, this makes no sense whatsoever. The heroes of Earth 616 and the Ultimate Universe occupy the same space in Manhattan. Infighting turns the place into a powder keg. Valeria Richards asks Doom why he allows this chaos. He doesn't answer but the other characters speculate that it's because he hates the heroes and he wants them to be miserable.
But, isn't this supposed to be the end of the Ultimate Universe? Isn't that the title? Yeah, no. That title is unrelated to the contents of the story.
One the one hand this addresses some of the issues with Battleworld. On the other hand, this makes no sense whatsoever. The heroes of Earth 616 and the Ultimate Universe occupy the same space in Manhattan. Infighting turns the place into a powder keg. Valeria Richards asks Doom why he allows this chaos. He doesn't answer but the other characters speculate that it's because he hates the heroes and he wants them to be miserable.
But, isn't this supposed to be the end of the Ultimate Universe? Isn't that the title? Yeah, no. That title is unrelated to the contents of the story.
November 3, 2025
I found this comic very affecting. It's the best kind of interdimensional team-up: the odds are totally against the heroes, they have no idea what's going on, but they're going to fight it. And after the events of the final incursion in Secret Wars - where these very same heroes were trying to kill each others' worlds - their camaraderie feels like a redemption. I don't think the comic totally works because it's never entirely clear how separate the two universes were before Ultimate Tony Stark opens the portal, but aside from a couple framing issues I think it's a really great display of how well Bendis understands the characters in both the mainline and Ultimate universes.
October 17, 2018
It feels like they rushed this book through to give people who like the Ultimate universe a nice love letter as Marvel eliminates the universe all together.
This book felt rushed and kind of a mess. There are some interesting moments, like Tony talking with Tony, Banner fighting Hulk, etc... but for the most part, it felt very inconsequential.
I liked the Bagley art! its always a plus when he draws spiderman.
I wasn't too into the ultimate universe so maybe I wasn't the target audience for this book, but I wasnt blown away to put it mildly.
This book felt rushed and kind of a mess. There are some interesting moments, like Tony talking with Tony, Banner fighting Hulk, etc... but for the most part, it felt very inconsequential.
I liked the Bagley art! its always a plus when he draws spiderman.
I wasn't too into the ultimate universe so maybe I wasn't the target audience for this book, but I wasnt blown away to put it mildly.
May 17, 2020
And we are done. 200+ issue of Ultimate Spider-Man lead us to here. Satisfying conclusion? Nope. Utter disaster? Nah. Just a tad disappointing that the machinations of Marvel as a whole couldn't leave well enough alone and allow Bendis to end what he started on his own terms. What was created to avoid all the convoluted bullshit of The Big Two was ultimately consumed by it. But that's what happens when you sign up for something like this, isn't it?
Oh well, the good out weighed the bad and this will still be definitive Spider-Man comic for me.
Oh well, the good out weighed the bad and this will still be definitive Spider-Man comic for me.
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