| Ultimate End | |
|---|---|
 Ultimate End #5. Art byMark Bagley | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | May 20 – December 16, 2015 |
| No. of issues | 5 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Brian Michael Bendis |
| Penciller | Mark Bagley |
Ultimate End was a 2015limited series byMarvel Comics, a tie-in for theSecret Wars crossover. It was written byBrian Michael Bendis and illustrated byMark Bagley, and was the final comic book set in theUltimate Marvel imprint.
Several heroes of the Ultimate Marvel and the mainstream Marvel universes are in the same city. In many cases, this means multiple versions of a same character. It is not clear what event caused it, but the Thor corps forbid any investigation or attempt to fix things. The conflict escalates into an open fight between the characters from both universes, which is stopped byMiles Morales. Morales explains that the universes have been merged and kept merged on purpose by the nigh-omnipotentDr. Doom, as a punishment for the previous times the heroes had stopped him. The fight is halted, and the heroes of both universes prepare for a fight against Doom.
TheUltimate Marvel imprint was created in 2000, and lasted for 15 years. It had afictional universe of its own, unconnected to theMarvel Universe of the rest of Marvel's comic books. TheSecret Wars crossover was created to merge both universes into a single one, and end the imprint. Marvel PR'sChris D'Lando tasked it to writerBrian Michael Bendis and pencillerMark Bagley, who started the imprint withUltimate Spider-Man.[1] Bendis joked that he would hand the script soaked in tears.[1] He said that the miniseries was not just a tie-in forSecret Wars, but an actual comic book event inside of another, and that it may have taken place anyway. He also pointed that he was glad that, with the miniseries, he could give a proper closure to the stories of most characters.[1]
The series was first announced with a teaser image by Bendis, titled "the end", and starring the main characters of the Ultimate Marvel imprint, such as Ultimate Spider-Man, X-Men and Nick Fury. However, the teaser was misleading at the time, as several miniseries titled "the end" had been published in recent years. The layout of the image was similar to the cover of the first issue ofMarvel Super Hero Contest of Champions, from 1982.[2]
The ending of the story features Miles Moralesliving in the mainstream Marvel Universe, setting up the newSpider-Man comic book. The cast of theUltimate Spider-Man comics is kept as well, including Morales' mother, who had been murdered in an older story arc.[3]
Matt Little ofCBR praised the fact that the miniseries could be understood easily as a stand-alone read, without requiring much familiarity with theSecret Wars main plot. He also welcomed the inclusion of the Ultimate versions ofCloak and Dagger, and pointed out the slow pace of the narrative, a common technique for Bendis.[4]
| Title | Material collected | Published date | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ultimate End | Ultimate End #1–5 | January 2016 | 978-0785198901 |