The manner in which Marvel answers a core question regarding the new Ultimate Universe suggests a new future for the beloved setting. For the past few months, the publisher has been building the end of the Ultimate Universe. This puzzled many, as the Ultimate comics line was a success over the past two years. However, the final pages of Ultimate Universe Finale #1 indicate the variant universe may not be as dead as reported.
The new Ultimate Universe was created by The Maker; the insane Reed Richards of the original Ultimate Universe. After escaping from his prison in the main Marvel reality of Earth-616, the Maker traveled to Earth-6160. He manipulated this world, ensuring that no superpowered beings who were not under his control ever existed.
The Maker’s efforts included torturing the Reed Richards of Earth-6160, turning him into a new Doctor Doom. However, Marvel never revealed what happened to the true Victor Von Doom in two years of Ultimate Universe comics. That mystery is solved in the closing pages of The Ultimates chapter of Ultimate Universe Finale #1.
Reduced to an oily residue resembling the Venom symbiote after the events of Ultimate Endgame #5, the Maker is captured by a cloaked figure. The figure speaks of having had to hide his whole life, never knowing why someone sought to kill him. At least, not until he read the files The Maker kept regarding the many heroes whose lives he altered on Earth-6160.
The cloaked figure is ultimately revealed as Victor Von Doom. Notably, his face is unscarred and unmasked, with leather armor instead of metal. The final page of the comic declares, in defiance of recent announcements from Marvel, that “The Ultimate Universe Will Return.”
Why Ultimate Universe Finale #1 explains a long-running mystery
Even without the announcement at the issue’s end, it is clear that Marvel has plans to continue the Ultimate Universe at some point. Each of the “endings” presented in Ultimate Universe Finale #1 suggest adventures continuing rather than a clearly defined finale. This is also reflected in the end of Ultimate Endgame #5, where Tony Stark tells a disintegrating Kang the Conqueror that “the future is not set.”
However, the revelation that Victor Von Doom is alive goes beyond solving a long-running mystery. It also offers the perfect reflection of the Ultimate Universe’s themes and sets the stage for a worthy continuation. Marvel used the new Ultimate Universe to show the dangers posed by a Reed Richards whose genius trumped his morality. Now it offers a new image of Doctor Doom, though it is unclear if he might be the hero the classic Doom failed to become or if he will be an even greater threat to all reality. In either case, the Ultimate Universe is not dead. And the stories to come should prove accordingly interesting.
Ultimate Endgame #5 & Ultimate Universe Finale #1 now available at comic shops everywhere.
