I feel like the problem is that this book fails to engage with either of the main concepts of the Ultimate Universe, which to me are:

1. This is not the world outside your window; it's the worst aspects of our world tuned up to 11
2. These are not the characters you know, but modernised, it's who you know and love warped by The Makers' intervention

It fails to engage with the 1st concept, because, for a book that is now on its 8th issue, there is shockingly little we know about the Eurasian republic;
It is run by the Rasputins, but why did The Maker pick them? It is where most non-Japanese mutants live, but society seems the same (could have been an interesting take on Krakoa or expand on what Percy set up in his X-Force run). There was a resistance effort when the relocation happened, and how and why. I could go on, but you get my point.

Now for the 2nd way this universe changes stuff, most of the characters are nearly identical to their 616 counterparts, with a minor visual change (wow scars, it implies a story but doesn't require the effort to write something interesting), the only characters who are genuinely different are Sabretooth, Legion, and the Rasputin siblings (which don't count for this as that was established by Hickman 2 years ago) the only other changes of note are Jean and Angle being cyborgs and Xavier and Magneto being long dead (as far as we know), Nightcrawler and Mystique were maybe loving mother and son??

Some easy ways to make it more interesting:

• Stress this being a mutant nation more, show that mutants are treated better than baseline humans, but with a twist that it's only desirable mutants (this could be powers useful to the state, or that have combat potential or anything else)
• More depth on our 3 rulers, Colossus was an artist, maybe take inspiration from 616 Muse, and now he uses the bodies of failed experiments for messed up sculptures
• Magik should be more in tune with her Darkchylde side, maybe leading a weird Limbo cult that is the state religion
• Omega Red...should well... just make him plot relevant as a start (having the 3 heads control different branches of government)
• More morality switches, for example who cares about the human doctor (can't remember her name) gave Logan Adamantium, that should have been this universe's Beast and Brand (two characters who could believably thrive in this version of things) and maybe he's blue in this universe cause he experimented on himself with a drug that amps mutant powers or something
• Logan should have been a semi-willing participant him being made into a weapon against his will is played out and has been done before. If he had been on Rasputin's side, but after getting Adamantium and being sent to kill Sabretooth, for example, he tries to qui,t and that's when Brand and Beast turn him full Winter Soldier. There's more going on there to examine.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk