Why Marvel's Ultimate Universe Is Ending In 2026

Marvel's new "Ultimate Universe" has largely been a success. "Ultimate Spider-Man" by Jonathan Hickman & Marco Checchetto has been a consistent best-seller, "The Ultimates" by Deniz Camp is the most brazenly political superhero book on the market, and Peach Momoko's manga-inspired "Ultimate X-Men" is a refreshing reinvention ... but you know what they say about all good things.

The "Ultimate Universe" reused the branding of the 2000s' "Ultimate Marvel," which restarted familiar Marvel characters from the ground-up. Threading that connection was the Maker, the Reed Richards from the original "Ultimate" universe (Earth-1610), who long ago turned evil. The Maker created the new Ultimate universe (Earth-6160) and twisted history to make an authoritarian dystopia. 

In the kick-off mini-series "Ultimate Invasion" (by Hickman and Bryan Hitch), Tony Stark managed to imprison the Maker in a pocket dimension, but only for 24 months. After that, he'd escape, leaving Tony only two years to find heroes and fix the world. Each issue of "The Ultimates" has ended with an "X months remaining" countdown reminding readers of the ticking clock.

That clock is down to two months; the Maker will return in "Ultimate Endgame," a crossover event written by Camp beginning this December. I, and many others assumed, this was only the "Endgame" for the current story arc, just like "Avengers: Endgame" was for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And while some are still expecting Marvel to say "psych," all indications suggest this really is the end. That means no character is safe in "Ultimate Endgame."

Marvel announced at New York Comic Con that all the ongoing "Ultimate" titles are concluding by April 2026. Camp also confirmed it is the "real" ending, but he also asked fans to see the bright side: "Most stories in comics don't get to end on their own terms. Ours does."

Bleeding Cool has reported that Hickman took up architecting the new "Ultimate" Universe on the condition of a limited run. In BC's words, Hickman didn't want "a repeat of the Krakoa situation." What does that mean?

In 2019, Hickman took over writing the X-Men. His kick-off mini-series "House of X" (drawn by Pepe Larraz) and "Powers of X" (drawn by R.B. Silva) didn't just start a new story, they also built a whole new setting for other X-Men writers. Professor X and Magneto founded a new mutant homeland on the living island of Krakoa; the mutants created a new language, blackmailed their way into the geo-political order, and the lines between hero and villain dissolved as all mutants are welcomed on Krakoa.

Different writers explored unique niches of an overarching story, with Hickman serving as the "showrunner." Hickman only saw Krakoa as "Act 1, " though ... until he polled his writers and realized they wanted Krakoa to continue (per Entertainment Weekly).

So, Hickman left "X-Men" before Krakoa ended anyway in 2024. But while his departure was amicable, Hickman still regrets not getting to finish the X-Men story he intended to write. It makes total sense that he wouldn't want to experience that again.

The new "Ultimate Universe" will also avoid the fate of the 2000s "Ultimate Marvel," which kept going for 15 years and became as labyrinthine as the original Marvel Universe. The ending is bittersweet ("I'm sad too," Momoko admitted on Twitter/X), but it could actually give the "Ultimate Universe" longevity. Each series had a single creative vision from beginning to end. Thus, in years to come, readers will be able to read the whole thing relatively easily, which isn't true for most Marvel comic books.