If you are reading Marvel Comics right now, there is an extreme likelihood that at least one book from the Ultimate Universe line is in your pull list. Sadly to the dismay of fans everywhere, Marvel’s blockbuster line is approaching the end of it’s two year plan and has a definite end at the beginning of next year with the Ultimate Endgame event. The new Ultimate Universe brought in a ton of new readership and reinvigorated many old fans who had taken some time away from the hobby. If you fall into that camp, you may be concerned that with the line ending, you’ll be left with nothing to read from Marvel. Worry not true believer, because there are big things cooking. Although they haven’t revealed too much, there are big shifts happening in the world of Marvel that you should be paying attention to. In October, Marvel announced the summer event for 2026: Armageddon, written by current Captain America scribe Chip Zdarsky. Very little has been revealed thus far, but the small bits of information we do have should give you an idea of what to look forward to, as well as some books you may want to consider catching up with.
First, Armageddon seems to be directly succeeding Marvel’s 2025 event One World Under Doom. It goes without saying that you should check the event out if you missed it. While certainly long-winded, lasting quite a bit longer than most event titles, One World Under Doom delivered intriguing philosophical questions regarding fascism, and boasted some consistently stellar artwork. If you’re a fan of Doom, and you should be, there is a lot of fun to be had with this one, and the ending left some big question marks as to how the Marvel Universe will change in the months to come.
Alongside Marvel’s big 2025 event One World Under Doom, the company published many tie in mini-series. These books varied in quality and in importance to the main event, but one that may have seemed skippable initially is actually proving to be a pseudo-prologue for Armageddon. The Red Hulk tie-in ran for 10 issues and was criminally overlooked. Writer Ben Percy offered a fascinating glimpse into the mind of Thunderbolt Ross, and stormbreaker Geoff Shaw delivered some incredible action set pieces. (These two will be reuniting for the new Wade Wilson: Deadpool, so the series will be a good taster for that as well). As of now it is unclear what exactly Red Hulk’s role will be in the upcoming event, but judging by some variant covers for soon to be mentioned titles, it may be a good idea for readers to catch up and see what’s been going on with Ross. The first trade paperback is available now at your local Graham Crackers (volume two will be in stores March 2026)!
Next up, of course, is Chip Zdarsky and Valerio Schitti’s Captain America. For my money, this is the best book that Marvel has on the stands right now. Cap is back in a big way and the creative team has been pulling no punches. Politically poignant, emotionally resonant, and beautifully drawn, Captain America is Marvel Comics at it’s best. The first arc is a flashback, showing us a Steve Rogers who’s fresh out of the ice and contending with the stark difference between the America he fought for in WWII, and the America of today. This first arc sets up Dr. Doom and Thunderbolt Ross as key players in Cap’s story, tying this run into One World Under Doom and stories coming up. The next arc, which will start with issue six in January, will be setting up Zdarsky’s big event directly, bringing the story back to the present, with a new SHIELD rising from the ashes of Doom’s empire.
According to Marvel’s official announcement of the Armageddon event, there is one other miniseries that you should get familiar with, and fans of the Ultimate Universe may already be caught up here. Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion saw Miles Morales travel to the new Ultimate Universe to save his sister. Without revealing too much, when Miles returns to the mainline universe, he brings something with him that will apparently play a major roll in Armageddon.
Now let’s get into the books on the horizon that you’ll want to follow. There are two titles that will bridge the gap between One World Under Doom and Armageddon. The first is Will Of Doom, a one shot written by Chip Zdarsky. And as you can see by the cover, this is where Red Hulk will come into play. Alongside that, we’ll be getting Dungeons of Doom, a series cowritten by Phillip Kennedy Johnson (writer of the excellent Infernal Hulk series!) and none other than Ben Percy.
After that, Zdarsky continues to set up Armageddon with the upcoming Wolverine: Weapons of Armageddon. This series will follow Wolverine as he squares off against Nuke and discovers a newly revived Weapon X program. We still know very little about next years event, so it is as of now unclear exactly how Wolverine and Weapon-X tie into everything that has been set up thus far, but this book will be the first to get the Armageddon branding, so you won’t want to miss it.
Now there is one more thing that we should mention. The official solicit for Armageddon states, “ARMAGEDDON will impact the entire Marvel Universe, changing the face of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in a way not seen since AVENGERS: DISASSEMBLED.” This is a very interesting comparison. While Disassembled is certainly an impactful moment in Marvel Comics, it doesn’t have the same resonance that, say, Civil War or 2015’s Secret Wars each have. This begs the question, why reference this specific title? Well, the answer might lie in Avengers: Disassembled writer Brian Michael Bendis, who is returning to Marvel after years of exclusivity at DC. Bendis is confirmed to be writing a backup story for the upcoming Avengers #800. And is also confirmed to be working with Miles Morales co-creator Sara Pichelli on an as of now unrevealed project for Marvel. Could Bendis, once Marvel’s chief creative architect, have a role in shaking up the line once more? Keep an eye out for Avengers #800 and anything else that Bendis is involved with moving forward.
There you have it folks, this should set you up for Marvel’s 2026. You can find all of these titles and more at your local Graham Crackers Comics. Happy reading Marvelites!