first appeared in The Ultimates #1 (2002)
created by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch
based on The Avengers by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
The Ultimates were established as an elite meta-human task force by General Nick Fury of SHIELD, in order to combat the rising threat of supervillain attacks against the United States.
The team is Earth-1610’s answer to the Avengers. Whereas the Avengers are a privately funded team, the Ultimates have almost always been tied to a government agency. Due to their political nature, the Ultimates have been the focus of the public eye throughout their history, and this often causes several PR disasters as well as international incidents.
The Ultimates were formed to protect not only the United States but the world, and over their history they have battled alien invasions, terrorists, supervillains, and gods.
Currently the team is recovering from an attack that left the United States government crippled and America on the verge of civil war. Several states have seceded, and Captain America has assumed the duty of President in order to reunite the nation. Monica Chang, the second Black Widow, is currently heading SHIELD and co-leading the Ultimates.
Captain America, Tony Stark (Iron Patriot), Monica Chang (Black Widow II), Sam Wilson (Falcon), Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Miles Morales (Spider-Man), Jessica Drew (Spider-Woman), Thor
DO NOT READ ULTIMATES 3 OR ULTIMATUM
DO NOT READ ULTIMATES 3 OR ULTIMATUM
DO NOT READ ULTIMATES 3 OR ULTIMATUM
Seriously, DO NOT READ ULTIMATUM
The initial series by Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch is enjoyable, but for the best books in the series, read Jonathan Hickman’s Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates. Hickman brought an intellectual level to the universe that in my opinion hadn’t been seen previously. The volume 1 art is by Esad Ribic, which is another huge point in its favor.
Really anything pre-Ultimatum besides Ultimates 1 and 2 is not worth reading. Ultimate Avengers, New Ultimates, and Avengers vs New Ultimates are all good reads and the art is fantastic for the most part. The latest Ultimates issues have been written by Sam Humphries, and they are so much fun. Humphries has brought the somewhat goofy tone of the earlier books back, but overall the series is kind of insane and cheesy and IT’S AMAZING. Y’all should read it, it’s wonderful.
I really recommend avoiding the Ultimate universe until you are at least somewhat aware of 616. A lot of people will recommend you read the Ultimates 1 and 2 if you are a movie fan trying to get into comics, but this is really not good advice anymore, especially with Kelly Sue DeConnick’s Avengers Assemble ongoing. The Ultimates has such a different tone than the movies, even though the structure of the cinematic universe was based on 1610.
Until you have a better grasp on entire Marvel universe I’d recommend staying away from Ultimates.
the master post for the entire ultimate marvel print can be found here
The Ultimates 1-3 (+ 2 annuals) [dl]
Ultimatum [dl] (DON’T DOWNLOAD THIS PRETEND IT’S NOT HERE)
Ultimate Comics: Avengers 1-3 [comixology 1, 2, 3]
Ultimate Comics: New Ultimates [comixology] [dl]
Ultimate Comics: Avengers Vs. New Ultimates [comixology] [dl]
Ultimate Comics: Ultimates [comixology] [dl 1, 2]
