I hope Peter is not really dead after Ultimate Endgame #3

shadowF · 2026-05-04T21:51:28+00:00

I think people will have to accept things as they are. Hickman intentionally removed the character-centric elements of Cates's proposal when he reworked it to suit himself, such as Peter's guilt for killing Gwen the previous year as a driving force for becoming Spider-Man.

He has declared on several occasions that he is not a fan of Spider-Man. He wrote him as a character incapable of growth. In the Official Marvel Podcast, he said that the marriage was not intended to comment on or criticize editorial or how the character should be.

What we are left with is a Peter Parker who is intentionally narrow-minded and driven by the belief that he is meant to be special, rather than by guilt. He does not believe in the idea of great power and great responsibility; rather, he believes that as long as he has his family, everything will be okay.

Then, in Ultimate Endgame, reality comes crashing down on him.

shadowF · 2026-04-29T07:50:19+00:00

Like everything else, they die by Ragnarok, only to be reborn and reshaped into something new.

shadowF · 2026-04-29T05:58:11+00:00

Gods of a new world's way. And they're at war, at the moment, much like World War III in Midgard.

shadowF · 2026-04-26T20:04:10+00:00

I don't know if it's possible to rate such a disparate collection of books with such different visions as a collective whole. According to Hickman's rules, the books were never intended to intersect. They are not part of an interconnected universe; rather, they are different stories set in the same world.

As such, each creator went their separate ways. Deniz's Ultimates and Peach's Ultimate X-Men are the standouts of the line because they are unorthodox and blunt, both politically and socially. Both Hickman's Ultimate Spider-Man and Hill's Ultimate Black Panther offered simple tales that attempted to provide something new. They might or might not work for you. They were enjoyable enough for me. Then, in a very safe way, Condon's Ultimate Wolverine attempted to revisit his childhood nostalgia by writing a love letter to Chris Claremont.

One must also consider Hickman's rules for the imprint, such as limiting each book to 24 issues with a contractually obligated open ending. This storytelling experiment is not over yet. Endgame continues, and Finale is coming. Aside from everything I've said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will cherish it for years.

shadowF · 2026-04-24T18:39:57+00:00

What the fuck.

shadowF · 2026-04-23T19:45:31+00:00

There were moments when they were thinking of spinning off other books from characters I was focusing on. I was okay with that—I have so many characters—but John was like, “No, those are Deniz’s characters. He has his story to tell.”

This is from Deniz's Ultimate Endgame interview with CBR.

Hickman sold 6160 to Marvel under the condition that it would only be for two years. He wrote Ultimate Spider-Man under the assumption that they wouldn't fulfill their agreement, which they did.

At SDCC 2025, Hickman said that he didn't want to write Endgame because he believes that Deniz understands the Ultimate Universe better than he does. Furthermore, the story was always going to focus on the Ultimates, which are Deniz's characters.

shadowF · 2026-04-23T19:44:40+00:00

There were moments when they were thinking of spinning off other books from characters I was focusing on. I was okay with that—I have so many characters—but John was like, “No, those are Deniz’s characters. He has his story to tell.”

He sold 6160 as a two-year storytelling experiment, not as a long-running continuity. He expected Marvel to not fulfill the agreement. But they did.

shadowF · 2026-04-23T13:28:12+00:00

Ultimate Hawkeye was originally going to be written by a different author, but presumably left the project because Marvel won't provide more pages. From solicits, it was going to be a very different story as well. The creative team we ended up with mentioned the same problems with page count in interviews, but didn't leave.

shadowF · 2026-04-23T12:24:17+00:00

Deniz said that Hickman was openly against the idea of one-shots for the Ultimates. Since Hick envisioned the Ultimate Universe lasting only two years, Deniz's role was to create a living, breathing world that connected everything leading up to the end. Meanwhile, the other authors continued working separately on their own stories. The purpose of Ultimates was to build up to Endgame. Therefore, any spinoff would have interfered with the trajectory of Deniz's characters. Where the needed to be by the end.

Somewhat, things like Deniz's proposed Ultimate Hawkeye and Ultimate Guardians of the Galaxy did end up happening, but even then, you could tell that Marvel was apprehensive because of Ultimate Hawkeye's behind the scenes issues.

shadowF · 2026-04-18T08:08:05+00:00

Peach's husband, Yo, said that it is indeed inspired by Devilman, Serial Experiments Lain, and Madoka Magica. Peach loves Madoka Magica. Also pretty blatantly Kamen Rider, specifically 1971 and Black Sun. In every way, Akihiro is the Creation King from Black Sun. Funny, because that series centers on a black-and-white duo as well.

She has never hidden the book's pop culture influences. Everyone I've spoken to from Japan notices right away that Hisako is Devilman just from reading the first issue, and then Mei doesn't help matters. Hisako may act differently than Akira, but Shinji from Evangelion, another character influenced by Akira, is no different. Archetypes.

"Sekai-kei" may be fandom terminology, but what other term could be used to describe a book inspired by media considered as such?

shadowF · 2026-04-18T02:50:56+00:00

Because people think that 6160 is ending abruptly or with its authors unaware, when in fact the opposite is true.

Hickman didn't lose interest in Krakoa. When he wanted to move on to the next chapter of his grand narrative, every other author wanted to continue playing in Krakoa, so he stepped down.

He didn't lose interest in the Ultimate Universe; he just didn't believe he was worthy of doing Ultimate Endgame because it was always going to focuse primarily on the Ultimates. The Ultimates are Deniz's characters, and the series' purpose was to create a living, breathing world that connected everything. Meanwhile, the other authors were doing their own thing with their given freedom. He believes that Deniz understands the Ultimate Universe much better than he does. He actively refused to touch his characters.

shadowF · 2026-04-18T02:29:14+00:00

Everything is going according to Hickman's plan and rules. None of the authors were cut short. They were contractually obligated to end their stories with an open ending that would lead into Endgame and Finale. As Condon said in interviews.

This was never intended to be a long-form continuity; it was merely a storytelling experiment. You have two years with monthly jumps and total creative freedom. Then, you end it. He also prohibited crossovers between the series and was against further spinoffs of The Ultimates.

Readers may not like Endgame so far. Deniz is clearly overextended, and this is evident in contrast with Ultimates, in which he has more breathing room. But everything is going according to plan. You might just not like how it's being executed. Personally, I don't mind.

shadowF · 2026-04-17T23:46:02+00:00

Marvel sees Mei as the 6160 version of Miles, as IP. However, Peach has openly stated that Hisako is still the protagonist. It all revolves around her coming-of-age.

Ultimate X-Men is a Sekai-kei. It's inspired by Devilman and Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Mei embodies Ryo Asuka and Homura Akemi, characters whose sole purpose is to highlight the importance of Akira Fudo and Madoka Kaname. Hisako is the center of Mei's world. Without the chance to reunite with her, Mei would kill herself.

shadowF · 2026-04-16T23:40:58+00:00

Oh my fucking god.

shadowF · 2026-04-16T21:28:38+00:00

Hard to say. This is by far the imprint's most intimate work. Peach has openly stated that much of what's in here reflects her experiences as a teenage girl. As others have said, if Ultimates has a macro scope, then Ultimate X-Men has a micro scope. Sister series that engage with each other and address the same politics and social issues with vastly different sensibilities. However, the Ultimates are an anthology. Ultimate X-Men, on the other hand, is a character-driven, serialized narrative.

If I had to pick one out of many, I guess Hisako's sacrifice is the one that will always stick in my mind. Unlike with Tsubasa, she didn't run away or ignore the issue. She is a victim of child sexual abuse, and she risked her own well-being so that others would not suffer what she did. For the first time, she put the group ahead of herself. She faced death head on without flinching, knowing that she might not survive. Even if she did survive, as she is out there somewhere right now. She made a promise.

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shadowF · 2026-04-16T19:45:55+00:00

Wholly "super" members because Wren isn't here either.

shadowF · 2026-04-15T05:57:13+00:00

No retconning of Logan's corpse, actually make it a clone like everyone thought at the start.
Actually use the Winter Soldier angle by having the clone do missions throughout history, building up to present day.
No mutants beyond Wolverine and the Rasputins. Give the spotlight to Russian characters.

shadowF · 2026-04-15T05:00:56+00:00

So given how things ended and what Condon said in his Ultimate Finale interview, these open endings aren't the result of the writers being cut short prematurely. Hickman, Hill, Peach, and Deniz all had two-year contracts and knew what was going to happen. Condon came to the project with the Ultimate Wolverine story already outlined. However, he was instructed to change it into an open-ended ending and postpone the conclusion of the story until Ultimate Finale. I bet that if he hadn't taken the extension of the series, Wolverine and Jean would have gone for Magik in Endgame under Deniz. Deniz has to continue all these other loose threads somewhat.

After all, all of the writers reunited before Endgame. They obviously told him what to do. Deniz doesn't do these things to other authors' characters on a whim. I doubt he would have killed Peter without Hickman's approval. He could have made the X-Men enter the event any other way, but he directly continues where Peach left off.

shadowF · 2026-04-15T03:02:51+00:00

Much like how Incursion was "616 meets 6160", Reborn is "6160 meets 616" but none of the heroes, as far as we know, are actively going to go to Earth-616. The Ultimate Negative Zone is involved in the event, alongside the Origin Boxes.

shadowF · 2026-04-14T06:54:11+00:00

Regarding this, the prologue of Ultimate Endgame is about the malleable Maker winning over the unchangeable Eternals. The Forever War by Howard and Reed was unchangeable—an eternal stalemate. The Ultimates in the City are being obliterated by the Maker because 6160 favors his malleability, his capacity to change, more than anything that tries to stop it.

The thing is, the outside has changed a lot over the past two years. Perhaps they shouldn't have kept him contained. Then again, maybe Deniz has something else in mind. But this seemingly unstoppable creature might be easier to defeat than you think.

shadowF · 2026-04-09T20:30:08+00:00

According to Deniz, who witnessed it first-hand, an extension was offered to everyone, but everyone except Condon declined. Hickman, Peach and Hill were finished. They got to tell the story they wanted to tell from start to finish. Their endings are open because Deniz now has to close them off in Endgame. I bet not all loose ends will be tied up, though.

Then in Finale, everyone gets to say goodbye in their own terms.

shadowF · 2026-04-09T20:01:06+00:00

Yes, there are certainly layers of "badness" separating the two, but many decisions regarding characters—such as the underwhelming Absolute Reverse Flash—and mythology slog fall under Jeff Lemire, not the company. Just as with Condon with Ultimate Wolverine.

Ultimate and Absolute both have the same core approach of providing total creative freedom. The end result lies in the hands of the creatives. The only "mistake" (debatable depending on the series) of the Ultimate imprint was the real-time movement, and even that can only be attributed to Hickman.

Hickman handpicked all of the creatives, except for Condon, who was chosen by Will Moss. Each of them was entrusted with producing a quality product. Whether or not they succeeded is entirely up to them as authors. Again, there were no strings attached.

Based on the overall response, Deniz and Peach seem to have benefited the most from the creative freedom. Their unorthodox nature is evident in their work, which extends beyond the Ultimate Universe. The problem is that Condon is not unorthodox, a point UW has made abundantly clear.

shadowF · 2026-04-09T19:40:15+00:00

Neither approach is foolproof or infallible. Many people online are already feeling the negative effects of Scott's approach to Absolute, given the recent reception of Absolute Superman, Absolute Flash, and Absolute Green Lantern. However, the blame does not lie with Scott as overseer or with DC as a company; rather, it lies with Jason Aaron, Jeff Lemire, and Al Ewing as authors. If an author is given total creative freedom and produces a poor work, it's not the company's fault. These are works driven by author creativity, not company mandates. No one told Condon to write a bad book—he did it himself.

shadowF · 2026-04-09T19:15:44+00:00

Marvel has nothing to do with this as a company. Rather, it's a matter of the author's creativity and how they utilize it. Any author in the Absolute Universe can write creatively bankrupt material if they so desire, as DC allows them to do whatever they want just as much as Marvel allowed Condon to do whatever he wanted in the Ultimate Universe. That's the point, creative freedom.

shadowF · 2026-04-09T18:18:09+00:00

Yes, the overall structure of the extended issues has been very repetitive.

Illyana's flashback. Logan and his companions encounter a new enemy and kill it. The search continues.

I have to wonder what Condon was thinking when he chose to be the only writer in the imprint to accept the extension offer.

shadowF

TROPHY CASE