At the end of the month, with the release of Ultimate Endgame #5, Marvel will be wrapping up their two-year run of the Ultimate Universe. Their decision not to extend it has been met with controversy, as fans are not quite ready for it to end. Additionally, the Ultimate line was an incredible boon for the publisher, yielding critical and financial success, and the Absolute line over at the Distinguished Competition is still going strong with no end in sight. But Marvel has already announced a brand-new line, Midnight, which brings top talent together to put a horror twist on characters like the X-Men, Spider-Man, and the Fantastic Four. Some have been quick to call this upcoming line a rip-off of Absolute, but that wouldn’t be apt, would it? Can you really copy a copy? After all, Marvel did beat DC to the punch in the alternate universe game. And I’m not talking about the late Ultimate Universe; I’m not even talking about the original ultimate universe. Sure, you could contend that DC has a longer history with the multiverse concept. Flash of Two Worlds predates the debut of the Fantastic Four, but as for an ongoing continuity that released alongside main universe titles, merry Marvel has been playing that game for decades. Let’s take a look at some of the alternate universes Marvel has introduced over the years.
New Universe
At the height of Jim Shooters reign as editor-in-chief, he launched a brand new imprint cleverly titled “New Universe”. Unlike the imprints to come, this line didn’t feature any beloved Marvel heroes, opting to introduce an entirely new cast of characters. However, it did have some key similarities with future AUs (that’s alternate universes). New Universe touted itself as a more grounded and realistic world and was intended to take place in real time much like the newest Ultimate universe. It was largely a failure with no staying power. Creators would try and bring the New Universe back into the zeitgeist over the years, including Warren Ellis and Salvador Larocca with New Universal, but even top talent couldn’t salvage this failed experiment.
2099
Now this here, I contend, is the real predecessor to the Ultimate and Absolute lines. In 1992 Marvel Launched four titles under the 2099 imprint. Taking place over 100 years in the future, fans got to see the legacies of their favorite characters a century after their creation. Initially consisting of Doom 2099, Punisher 2099, Ravage 2099, and Spider-Man 2099, the line would eventually introduce several other future incarnations of marvel heroes and villains, including Ghost Rider, Hulk, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Each of these futuristic interpretations were decidedly grittier, not unlike the Absolute line today and fitting tonally with the hyper-darkness the 90s would come to be known for. Also in line with Absolute, the series placed corporations as the central antagonists. Whereas Absolute Superman and Batman now contend with the Lazarus Corp and a Billionaire Joker, Alchemax was the evil tech company behind this cyberpunk reality. The initial run of 2099 lasted a respectable 6 years before ending due to diminished sales. Despite no longer having a dedicated imprint, 2099 has never been forgotten. Miguel O’Hara Spider-Man is far and away the breakout star, appearing in a few of his own mini-series over the years and acting as the central antagonist in 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Doom 2099 has also returned to the limelight, as he was featured in the popular Marvel Rivals video game and a one shot comic released just last year. Additionally, as we inch ever closer to the eponymous year, the Alchemax corporation has grown in prominence the mainline continuity and is featured heavily in Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk and Immortal Thor.
Ultimate (6160)
After the speculator boom and subsequent crash of the 90s, Marvel needed something big to revitalize their brand and save them from the maw of bankruptcy. The Ultimate line, spearheaded by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar was just that. Ultimate Spider-Man kicked off the line with massive success, updating the web head’s origin story for the year 2000. Shortly after, Marvel gave readers Ultimate X-Men, the Ultimates (a modern take on the Avengers), and Ultimate Fantastic Four. These titles were steeped in contemporary culture. Peter Parker dressed in flannel and sported a middle part a la Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys and the Hulk rampaged through New York screaming about Freddie Prince Jr. By today’s standard, these cultural references make the original ultimate universe feel quite dated, but at the time they were just part of a more than welcome facelift. New readers were given an excellent opportunity to get into these books at the ground floor, without having to acclimate to the dated elements of the Stan Lee era, or spend time piecing together decades of continuity. Alongside the modern setting, readers enjoyed modern storytelling. The Ultimate Universe featured what would come to be known as “decompressed storytelling” (Spidey’s classic origin was spread over six issues!) as well as more cinematic art styles and panel layouts. Earth 6160 lasted a whopping 15 years before ending with Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars. The cataclysmic event couldn’t erase the universe entirely, as the uber popular Miles Morales and the villainous Maker, 6160’s Reed Richards, were brought over to the mainline continuity and continue to be major players to this day.
Noir
As stated earlier, many readers are looking at the upcoming Midnight universe as a reaction to the success of the decidedly darker Absolute line, but if you ask me, Midnight feels far more in-line with Marvel’s Noir titles circa 2009/10. Ultimate was a massive success, and in the years following its introduction, Marvel would experiment with several alternate continuities. Noir placed characters like Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Daredevil in the 1930s, incorporating pulp and film noir elements. Curiously, none of the titles in the Noir Universe were ongoing, each only consisting of four issues. As is the trend, the only character to last was Spider-Man Noir. This Spider-Man was far rougher around the edges. He acted as a hard boiled private investigator with black webbing, a trench coat, and revolver. This iteration of Spider-Man appeared in 2010’s Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions Video Game, before going dormant until he was voiced by Nicholas Cage is Sony’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. He was so popular that he was given the live action treatment in Amazon Prime’s Spider-Noir series.
Whether Marvel’s Midnight line will have legs like the original Ultimate Universe or be short and sweet like Noir remains to be seen, but if you take any lessons looking at Marvel’s history, don’t be shocked if it’s but the first in a new wave of alternate universes. Marvel knows a winning formula when it sees one, and they will surely milk the AU cow for all it’s worth. Regardless, I look forward to fresh takes on classic characters lead by some of the industry’s biggest stars. Marvel Midnight launches with Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte’s Midnight X-Men in August. Be sure keep an eye out for FOCs and add these books to your pull list!