Despite backlash from some parts of the fanbase before it even launched, the Ultimate Universe proved to be a huge success for Marvel Comics – partly because it was under the strain of decades of continuity like the mainstream Marvel Universe, and partly because the consequences of the stories felt permanent. It wasn’t long before Earth-616 continuity followed suit with a ‘death means death’ approach and all star casts in Marvel’s highest profile books!
With interest in Ultimate X-Men waning following the departure of writer Mark Millar, and Ultimate Fantastic Four not having the impact Marvel had hoped for they figured Earth-1610 needed to prove it was still willing to go even further than the mainstream titles. All of which led to the ULTIMATUM (2009) event which brought death and destruction to the Ultimate Universe the likes of which had only been seen in titles like What If. While this Etch-a-Sketch approach to the Ultimate line had people talking, much of it wasn’t positive. Some of the stories that followed received high-praise – like Warren Ellis’ Ultimate Armor Wars and the ever-popular Ultimate Spider-Man by Brian Michael Bendis – the Ultimate line never really recovered.
Notable ‘ultimatised’ versions of Marvel characters from this period include Alpha Flight, Bishop, the Black Panther, Cable, Deadpool, Ghost Rider, Hela, Red Skull, Silver Surfer, Spider-Woman, Thanos and War Machine, as well as the black ops Avengers and new characters Jimmy Hudson and Tyrone Cash!
Return to our CHARACTER READING ORDER INDEX for more chronological guides!
I’d like to thank the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators and the Marvel Chronology Project, the Marvel Database for their invaluable assistance.
Chronology: All appearances of Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610) characters from this period are included in chronological order, laying out their timeline rather than just the order the issues were released.
Must Reads: Story arcs in bold in the Core List or marked with a ✔ in the Full Reading Order are must-read stories from this time period, along with any key related stories and often-forgotten tales that are worth a look.
Anthology Issues: When an issue contains multiple stories, the relevant story is denoted with square brackets. For example, [2/5] refers to the second story of the five stories in that issue, so you don’t need to read the other four.
Spoilers: The issue/story overviews may include spoilers, so be warned!
Did we miss something? Let us know!
You can also see the beginning of our Ultimate Universe reading order here:
Want to keep it simple? Here’s the core reading order without story descriptions, page-by-page breakdowns – just the stories:
- Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four (2006) #1
- Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men (2006) #1
- Ultimate Spider-Man #86 [1/2]
- Ultimate Spider-Man #87 [1/2]
- Ultimate Spider-Man #88 [1/2]
- Ultimate Spider-Man #89-96
- Ultimates (2005) 2 #7-13
- Ultimates Annual (2006) #2
- Captain America Annual #1 [2/2]
- Ultimate X-Men #66-71
- Ultimates Saga (2007)
- Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1-6
- Ultimate Spider-Man Annual (2005) #2
- Ultimate X-Men #72-74
- Ultimate X-Men Annual (2005) #2 [1/2]
- Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105
- Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual (2005) #2
- Ultimate X-Men #75-80
- Ultimate Spider-Man #97-111
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-38
- Ultimate X-Men #81
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #39-41
- Ultimate X-Men #82-83
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #42-46
- Ultimate X-Men #84-88
- Ultimate Power (2006) #1-9
- Ultimate Spider-Man #112-117
- Ultimate Spider-Man #127-128
- Ultimate Human #1-4
- Squadron Supreme (2008) #1-12
- Ultimates 3 (2008) #1-5
- Ultimate X-Men #94-97
- Ultimate Hulk Annual (2008) #1
- Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual (2008) #1
- Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual (2008) #1
- Ultimate Origins (2008) #1-5
- Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3
- Ultimate Spider-Man #129
- Ultimatum #1
- Ultimate Spider-Man #130
- Ultimate X-Men #98
- Ultimatum #2
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #58
- Ultimate X-Men #99
- Ultimatum #3
- Ultimate X-Men #100
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #59
- Ultimate Fantastic Four #60
- Ultimate Spider-Man #131
- Ultimate Spider-Man #132
- Ultimatum #4
- Ultimate Spider-Man #133
- Ultimatum #5
- Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1 [1/2]
- Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1 [1/2]
- Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #2
- Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1
- Ultimatum – X-Men: Requiem #1
- Ultimate Armor Wars #1-4
- Ultimate Avengers #1-6
- Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #1-15
- Ultimate X (2010) #1 (2010)
- Ultimate Thor (2010) #1-4
- Ultimate New Ultimates #1-5
- Ultimate X (2010) #2
- Ultimate Spider-Man #150
- Ultimate X (2010) #3
- Ultimate Avengers 2 #1-6
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event / Crossover |
| ✔ | Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four #1 (2006) Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men #1 (2006) The Mad Thinker upgrades her abilities by stealing Cerebro‘s CPU and pitting the X-Men against the Fantastic Four. | ULTIMATE X4 |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #86 [1/2] (2006) Ultimate Spider-Man #87 [1/2] (2006) Ultimate Spider-Man #88 [1/2] (2006) Ultimate Spider-Man #89-96 (2006) Roxxon hire Silver Sable to kidnap Spider-Man; Spidey goes up against the Vulture; Mojo Adams sends Deadpool and Bonebreaker to attack Spider-Man in the name of entertainment; the X-Men and Spider-Girl help defeat them; Spider-Man meets Morbius and teams up with him to fight vampires; Peter Parker turns to Mary Jane Watson in his hour of need. 1st appearances: Tandy Bowen, Blackie Drago/Vulture, Michael Morbius, Omega Red, Reavers (Bonebreaker, Cruise, Deadpool), Ringer, Donald Roxxon, Silver Sable & the Wildpack (Chen, Powell & Quentino), Elijah Stern/Tinkerer, the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, Wrecker) Damage Control, the Roxxon Corporation New identity: Kitty Pryde as Spider-Girl | |
| ✔ | Ultimates 2 #7-13 (2005-2007) The Ultimates discover a traitor among them when the Liberators rise up to oppose their authority and tear them down; another foe with connections to Thor swoops in for the kill. 1st appearance: Liberators (Abomination/Chang Lam, Colonel/Abdul Al-Rahman, Crimson Dynamo/Alex Su, Hurricane, Perun, Schizoid Man/’James Madrox’, Swarm/Petra Laskov) | GRAND THEFT AMERICA |
| Ultimates Annual #2 (2006) While the heroes pick up the pieces of the war with the Liberators, Captain America and the Falcon discover the Nazi scientist Arnim Zola survived World War II. 1st appearance: Arnim Zola | GRAND THEFT AMERICA | |
| Captain America Annual #1 [2/2] The Black Panther is placed in Captain America’s care by Nick Fury; Cap takes issue when he realises the Panther is in America against his will. | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM | |
| Ultimate X-Men #66-71 (2006) Shadowcat and Spider-Man go on a date; Nick Fury brings Elliot Boggs to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters for training or to have him lobotomised; Lilandra Neramani of the Church of Shi’ar Enlightenment warns Professor X about the power of the Phoenix; Sabretooth who makes a bold claim about his connection to Wolverine; teh X-Men face the reformed Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy. 1st appearance: Church of Shi’ar Enlightenment, Gerald Lavine, Magician/Elliot Boggs, Lilandra Neramani |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| Ultimates Saga (2007) Having taken over as the leader of the Ultimates, Iron Man reviews their history so far. | |
| Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1-6 (2006-2009) Nick Fury assigns Wolverine to hunt down the fugitive Hulk; Betty Ross acquires a serum that transforms her into She-Hulk who races to stop Wolverine from killing Bruce Banner. New identity: Betty Ross as She-Hulk | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2 (2006) The Punisher reveals the dark truth about Jean DeWolff when he, Spider-Man, Daredevil and Moon Knight all end up gunning for the Kangaroo. 1st appearance: Kangaroo/Frank Oliver |
| Ultimate X-Men #72-74 (2006) Magician questions his place among the X-Men. 1st appearance: Friends of Humanity | |
| Ultimate X-Men Annual #2 [1/2] (2006) Magician questions his place among the X-Men; Nightcrawler reunites with Dazzler. | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105 (2006-2007) Spider-Man discovers he’s been cloned; an old friend returns from the dead; Carnage returns along with a new goblin; the mastermind behind the clones is revealed; Peter Parker’s relationship status changes. 1st appearance: Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, Henry Gyrich, Kaine, ‘Richard Parker’, Scorpion, Spider-Slayers, Spot, Tarantula New identity: Mary Jane Watson as Demogoblin |
| ✔ | Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2 (2006) The Mole Man sinks the Baxter Building and tries to start an underground civilisation. 1st appearance: Gus Axelrod, Sunita Begum, Josie Hart/Strange Josie, Phineas Mason |
| Ultimate X-Men #75-80 (2006-2007) The X-Men clash with a soldier from the future called Cable who plans to kill Professor X; Cable’s true identity shocks the X-Men; the team disbands. 1st appearance: Pyro, Six Pack (Earth-2107 – Bishop, Cable/James Howlett, Domino, Grizzly/Theodore Winchester, Hammer/Eisenhower Canty, Garrison Kane) | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #97-111 (2006-2007) Spider-Man forms a team with Daredevil, Moon Knight, Doctor Strange, Iron Fist and Shang-Chi, dubbing themselves the Knights and charging themselves with taking down the Kingpin; one member of the Knights betrays the team; May Parker finally talks to Peter about his lifestyle choices. 1st appearance: Jessica Jones, the Knights, Rose, Spot New identity: Moon Knight as Ronin |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-38 (2006-2007) The Fantastic Four are tangled up in a war between the eternal Seed Nineteen and the Endless Resurgence of Acheron; the Resurgence are revealed to be the children of Thanos, the ruler of Acheron who desires the Cosmic Cube. 1st appearance: Cosmic Cube, Darien, Endless Resurgence (Gallowglass, Ravens, Ronan the Accuser, Thanos), Seed Nineteen (Dreamcatcher, Grail Fountain, Magnificent Brute, Tesseract, Threshold, Vykni), Verdura, Acheron Space | |
| Ultimate X-Men #81 (2007) A new influx of students arrive at the Xavier School which is now run by Cyclops; the time-lost Bishop allies with Storm. 1st appearance: Grizzly/Theodore Winchester, Leech, Morlocks, Shadow King/Amahl Farouk, Shinobi Shaw, Stacy X/Miranda Leevald | |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #39-41 (2007) 15th century alchemist Diablo emerges pulls the Fantastic Four from the present day to engage in a contest in a bid for immortality. 1st appearance: Diablo/Mendendez Flores, Rachel Grimm, Donna Lynch, Andrea Vecchiato |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event / Crossover |
| Ultimate X-Men #82-83 (2007) Storm recruits Angel, Bishop, Dazzler and Pyro into her own X-Men team; Nightcrawler is recruited into the underground mutant civilisation of Morlocks. 1st appearance: Caliban, Callisto, Sparks, Sunder | ||
| ✔ | Ultimate Fantastic Four #42-46 (2007) Mister Fantastic accidentally harnesses the Silver Searcher and draws him to Earth; the FF assist the Surfer against the Psycho-Man – another inhabitant of Zenn-La who enslaved the planet. 1st appearance: Psycho-Man/Revka Temerlune Edifex Scyros III, Silver Searcher/Silver Surfer/Norrin Radd, Zenn-La | |
| Ultimate X-Men #84-88 (2007-2008) Beast, Psylocke and Wolverine return to the X-Men and oppose Fenris, and the Mutant Liberation Front, all while being hunted by Sentinels; a possible dark future looms over the X-Men. 1st appearance: Apocalypse (Earth-2107, statue only), Mutant Liberation Front (Stryfe, Zero) | ||
| ✔ | Ultimate Power #1-9 (2006-2008) The Squadron Supreme of Earth-31916 emerge on Earth-1610, demanding to arrest Mister Fantastic for crimes against their Earth; the Fantastic Four, Hulk, Spider-Man, the Ultimates, the X-Men and Doctor Doom join the fight against the Squadron Supreme; the Scarlet Witch summons the Squadron Supreme of Earth-712 to oppose their foes; despite their efforts, the heroes allow the Squadron of Earth-31916 to take one of their number back to their Earth to be held accountable. 1st appearance: Serpent Squad (Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba/Janis, Death Adder, Princess Python), Wendell Vaughn, Project: Pegasus Identity revealed: ‘Doctor Doom’ is a Doombot | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #112-117 (2007-2008) Carol Danvers takes over as Director of SHIELD; Norman Osborn and Electro break out of prison and go after Spider-Man; Spidey has an awkward team up with Kitty Pryde; the Green Goblin and Hobgoblin battle to the death. | |
| Ultimate X-Men #89-93 (2008) The Shadow King targets the X-Men; Mister Sinister is transformed into Apocalypse; the X-Men’s mysterious ally Onslaught aids them in a climactic battle against Apocalypse in which not everyone comes out alive; the team gain new members. New identity: Cable/James Howlett as Stryfe, Professor X/Charles Xavier as Onslaught | ||
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #47-53 (2007-2008) The Red Ghost kidnaps the Invisible Woman in the hope of using her exposure to the N-Zone to save his wife; the aliens of Halcyon come to Earth in search of Mister Fantastic’s Cosmic Cube when Thanos threatens their world once more; the lives of the FF hang in the balance in the final battle with Thanos. 1st appearance: Crimson Dynamo II/Valentin Shatalov, Crimson Dynamos, Misha, Red Ghost/Ivan Kragoff, Sorba Rutskaya | ||
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #118-122 (2008) When one of Peter Parker’s friends reveals she’s a mutant, Magneto tries to recruit her to his cause; Firestar joins the X-Men; Spider-Man recalls a recent fight with Omega Red and falls foul of the Shocker. New identity: Liz Allan as Firestar | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #127-128 (2008-2009) Carnage returns, leading to a three-way war with Spider-Man and Venom! | |
| Ultimate Human #1-4 (2008) Iron Man’s attempt to cure Bruce Banner of the Hulk backfires when they’re both taken prisoner by the Leader who seeks to obtain Tony Stark‘s nanotech; the Hulk briefly falls under the Leader’s control and is pitted against Iron Man. 1st appearance: Leader/Peter Wisdom | ||
| Squadron Supreme #1-12 (2008-2009) Time moves differently on Earth-31916, where Nick Fury spends five years working his way from mutliversal criminal to Director of SHIELD; Fury forms a new Squadron Supreme who clash with the original team; a terrorist attack greatly impacts the superhuman community. 1st appearance: Arachnophilia/Nell Ruggles, Biogeneral/Tucker Ford, Peter Boyer, Jon Mora, Kathy Mora, Edward Munn, Old Soldier, SHIELD, Wolf/Ruler of the Winds/Vaughn Zeldow, Icarus One | ||
| ✔ | Ultimates 3 #1-5 (2008) The Black Panther and Valkyrie join the Ultimates; one of the team is assassinated; the team are left in further disarray when they’re attacked by ‘Venom’, the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy and Ultron. 1st appearance: Black Panther/T’Challa Udaku, Lorelei/Lani Ubanu, Ka-Zar, Magda Lensherr, Pegasus, Shanna, Zabu New identity: Captain America/Steve Rogers as the Black Panther, Ultron as Yellowjacket | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event / Crossover |
| Ultimate X-Men #94-97 (2008) Ultimate Hulk Annual #1 (2008) Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 (2008) Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 (2008) The X-Men battle Alpha Flight and discover a drug called Banshee that’s amping up the powers of mutants and is being secretly funded by a key mutant figure; Hulk keeps Princess Zarda company while she cavorts through the reality she now calls home; future incarnations of the X-Men and Fantastic Four fight over the fate of Earth-1610’s Mister Fantastic. 1st appearance: Alpha Flight (Aurora/Jeanne-Marie Beaubier, Jubilee/Jubilation Lee, Shaman/John Proudstar, Snowbird, Sunfire/Shiro Yoshida), Fantastic Four of Earth-81122, X-Men of Earth-81122, Banshee/Mutant Growth Hormone, Earth-81122 New identity: Wolfsbane/Rahne Sinclair as Sasquatch, John Wraith as Vindicator | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Origins #1-5 (2008) The truth about the origins of the Hulk, Spider-Man and the entirety of mutantkind comes to light; Uatu the Watcher chooses a herald for humanity. 1st appearance: Malcolm Colcord, Abraham Erskine, Bess Jones, Marion Jones, Rick Jones, Edie Lensherr, Project Rebirth, Watcher/Uatu, Watchers New identity: James Rhodes as War Machine (unnamed) | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 (2008) Police Captain Frank Quaid asks Spider-Man for help in trying to capture the mastermind behind a series of robberies – a man they’ve dubbed ‘Mysterio‘. 1st appearance: Mysterio avatar | MARCH ON ULTIMATUM |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #129 (2009) Ultimatum #1 (pp.1-5) (2009) The Human Torch becomes infatuated with Spider-Woman; a massive storm hits Manhattan island… 1st appearance: Principal Suitress New identity: Giant-Man/Hank Pym as Yellowjacket | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate X-Men #98 (pp.1-3) (2009) Rev William Stryker‘s family are killed by the flood… 1st appearance: Reverend William Stryker Jr | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #1 (pp.6-17) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #130 (pp.1-5) (2009) A colossal flood kills millions; members of the X-Men are among the fallen; Aunt May denies any connection to Spider-Man… | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate X-Men #98 (pp.4-9) (2009) The X-Men react to the news of the floods… | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #1 (pp.18-20) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #130 (pp.5-12) (2009) Ultimatum #1 (pp.21-24) / Ultimate Spider-Man #130 (pp.12-14) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #130 (pp.15-20) (2009) Ultimatum #2 (pp.1-11) (2009) The population of Latveria is frozen to death; Professor X telepathically warns the surviving heroes that Magneto is behind the attack; Iron Man is too late to save Captain America; Thor is transported to Valhalla to fight Hela… 1st appearance: Hela | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #58 (pp.1-8) (2009) Mary Storm turns to the one person who can save the exhausted Invisible Woman’s life… | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #2 (pp.12-13) (2009) Doctor Doom, Mister Fantastic and Power Princess head to Earth-31916 | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate X-Men #98 (pp.10-22) (2009) Ultimate X-Men #99 (2009) Styker and a squad of Sentinel tech-wearing militants lay siege to the Xavier School; Rogue forms her own squad to oppose Magneto, but instead leads them against Stryker. | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #2 (pp.14-24) (2009) Captain America and Thor battle Hela’s forces in Valhalla; Magneto has his final confrontation with Professor X. | ULTIMATUM |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances | Event / Crossover |
| Ultimate X-Men #100 (pp.1-6) (2009) Ultimate Fantastic Four #58 (pp.9-19) (2009) Multiple Man goes on a murderous rampage for Magneto; the Thing convinces Mole Man to help him… | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #3 (pp.1-19) (2009) Magneto reveals his end goal; Yellowjacket suffers a devastating loss; Thor finds a way to save Valkyrie… | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate X-Men #100 (pp.7-25) (2009) Wolverine, Ka-Zar and Shanna join forces to stop the Multiple Man. | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #3 (pp.20-22) (2009) Captain America returns to life! | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #58 (pp.20-22) (2009) Ultimate Fantastic Four #59 (2009) Mole Man shrinks himself and the Thing as the duo pilot a craft into the Invisible Woman’s body to save her life; the Invisible Woman finds out who put the nano-bots in her body. | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #130 (pp.21-22) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #131 (pp.1-15) (2009) Spider-Man and the Hulk rescue flood survivors… | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four #60 (2009) The Invisible Woman and the Thing hunt Mister Fantastic and learn the Human Torch is trapped in the Dark Dimension. 1st appearance: Doctor Dorcas, Namora, Tigershark | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (pp.1-12) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #131 (pp.16-22) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #132 (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.1-2) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #133 (pp.1-6) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.3-4) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.4-5) / Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (p.13) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (p.5) (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (p.14) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.6-7) / Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (p.15) (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (pp.16-18) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #133 (pp.7-11) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.8-13) (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (p.19) (2009) Ultimate Spider-Man #133 (pp.12-22) (2009) Ultimatum #4 (pp.14-25) (2009) Ultimatum #5 (pp.1-19) (2009) Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1 [1/2] (2009) The Human Torch was swallowed by the Statue of Liberty; Hulk’s rampage unleashes demons from Doctor Strange’s house; Hulk and Spider-Man battle Nightmare; Dormammu kills Doctor Strange, but is defeated by the Invisible Woman and the Thing who free the Torch from his grasp; Spider-Man is believed dead; the remaining X-Men and Ultimates attack Magneto’s citadel; Wolverine sacrifices his life to kill Magneto, but fails; Phoenix uses the last of her powers to show him the truth about mutantkind; Cyclops blows Magneto’s head off; J Jonah Jameson‘s opinion of Spider-Man changes now that the hero is dead. | ULTIMATUM |
| Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1 [2/2] (2009) J Jonah Jameson recalls unpublished tales of Spider-Man. 1st appearance: Hydra, Viper/Ophelia Sarkissian | ULTIMATUM | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #2 (2009) Jameson tries to set the record straight about Spider-Man’s true motives; Captain America finds Spider-Man, barely alive! | ULTIMATUM |
| ✔ | Ultimate Armor Wars #1-4 (2009) Iron Man pulls himself out of the ruins of Manhattan; Tony Stark finds out about a secret project his grandfather was working on, linked to another universe; Howard Stark Sr hires Justine Hammer and the Ghost to steal Tony’s tech. 1st appearance: Arsenal, Ruth Bat-Seraph, Doctor Faustus, Ghost, Justine Hammer, Operation: Firepower, Project Tomorrow, Nayland Smith, Howard Stark Sr, Bram Velsing, Earth-242 | |
| ✔ | Ultimatum #5 (pp.20-23) (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (pp.20-23) (2009) Ultimatum #5 (pp.25-26) (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (pp.24-27) (2009) Ultimatum #5 (pp.27-28) (2009) Ultimatum – X-Men: Requiem #1 (2009) Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 (pp.28-32) (2009) Cyclops is assassinated; the Thing confronts Doctor Doom in Latveria; the Fantastic Four confront Mister Fantastic and the team disbands; Quicksilver takes over the Brotherhood of Mutant Supremacy who try to recruit the remaining X-Men and kill those who refuse; the X-Men disband. | ULTIMATUM |
| Must Reads | Title, Synopsis & First Appearances |
| ✔ | Ultimate Avengers #1-6 (2009-2010) The Red Skull and rogue AIM agents steal a Cosmic Cube in an effort to reshape the world into their own image; SHIELD form the black ops Avengers team – Nick Fury leading Black Widow, Hawkeye, the Nerd Hulk, Red Wasp, the Spider, Gregory Stark and War Machine – with assistance from Captain America to retrieve the Cube. 1st appearance: Black Widow/Monica Chang, ‘Nerd Hulk’/Bruce Banner clone, Red Skull, Spider, Dr Gregory Stark, Stark Global Solutions, Tele-Plane New identity: James Rhodes as War Machine (full), Swarm/Dr Petra Laskov as Red Wasp |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #1-15 (2009-2010) Peter Parker has a new love interest; Gwen Stacy, Iceman and the Human Torch have all moved in to Aunt May’s house; Mysterio makes his move to become the new crime lord of New York; Spider-Man battles the Serpent Squad, is reunited with Spider-Woman and almost has his life ruined by the Chameleon. 1st appearance: Lana & Lori Baumgartner/Bombshells, Chameleon New identities: Kitty Pryde as the Shroud, Rick Jones as Nova |
| ✔ | Ultimate X #1 (2010) Kitty Pryde keeps her promise to Wolverine and approaches rogue teenager Jimmy Hudson, revealing to him that he’s Wolverine’s son. 1st appearance: Heather Hudson, James Hudson, Jimmy Hudson |
| ✔ | Ultimate New Ultimates #1-5 (2010-2011) The emergence of a villainous version of the Defenders as well as Loki‘s return to Earth leads to the formation of the New Ultimates, with the Black Panther, Captain America, Hawkeye, Iron Man, Ka-Zar, Power Princess, Shanna and Valkyrie in the line-up. 1st appearance: Enchantress/Amora, New Ultimates |
| ✔ | Ultimate X #2 (2010) Sabretooth and Mystique‘s arrival in Baltimore almost blows Karen Grant‘s cover story – she’s really Jean Grey, formerly of the X-Men; Jimmy Hudson tracks Jean down. New identity: Jean Grey as Karen Grant |
| ✔ | Ultimate Spider-Man #150 [1/2] (2011) Spider-Man recalls a series of clashes with various villains. |
| ✔ | Ultimate X #3 (2010) Karen Grant and Jimmy Hudson track down winged mutant Derek Morgan in Chicago. 1st appearance: Derek Morgan |
| ✔ | Ultimate Avengers 2 #1-6 (2010) The Punisher and Tyrone Cash join the Avengers when SHIELD need their help to bring in the supernatural Ghost Rider; 1st appearance: Tyrone Cash/Leonard Williams, Ghost Rider/Johnny Blaze, Mephisto, Red Hammer/Joseph Petrenko, Vengeance/Bobby Blackthorne |
The final chapter in our Ultimate Universe reading order is coming soon:
- ULTIMATE UNIVERSE, 2011-2015: The Ultimate End
Our reading order focusing solely on Spider-Man can be found here:
- ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN, 2000-2018 – Peter Parker, Earth-1610
Alternate versions of the Ultimate Universe (Earth-1610) from around the multiverse:
| Title, Issue Number & Synopsis |
| Ultimate X-Men #75 (2006) Ultimate X-Men #80 (2007) Ultimate X-Men #87-88 (2007-2008) Earth-2107 – A divergent future of the Ultimate Universe where the mutant Apocalypse rules supreme and a small band of surviving mutants led by Cable (James Howlett) oppose him. |
| Ultimate Iron Man #1-5 (2005-2006) Ultimate Iron Man II #1-5 (2008) Earth-55921 – An animated series within the Ultimate Universe that gives a fictional account of the origin of Tony Stark and his battles with Obadiah Stane and his extended family. |
| Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 (2008) Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 (2008) Earth-81122 – Diverging from the Ultimate Universe at some point during the ‘Ultimatum Wave’, which played out very differently in this timeline; the X-Men of this timeline travel to the past to kill Mister Fantastic of Earth-1610. |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Squadron Supreme vol.1: Power to the People | Squadron Supreme (2008) #1-6 |
| Squadron Supreme vol.2: Bright Shining Lies | Squadron Supreme (2008) #7-12 |
| Ultimate Annuals vol.2 | Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 Ultimates Annual #2 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #2 Ultimate X-Men Annual #2 |
| Ultimate Avengers by Mark Millar Omnibus | Ultimate Avengers #1-6 Ultimate Avengers 2 #1-6 Ultimate Avengers 3 #1-6 Ultimate Avengers vs New Ultimates #1-6 |
| Ultimate Avengers: Next Generation | Ultimate Avengers #1-6 |
| Ultimate Avengers: Crime and Punishment | Ultimate Avengers 2 #1-6 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four Omnibus vol.2 | Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-60 Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2 Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men (2006) #1 Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual (2008) #1 Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four (2006) #1 Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual (2008) #1 Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four vol.7: God War | Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-38 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four vol.8: Devils | Ultimate Fantastic Four #39-41 Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four vol.9: Silver Surfer | Ultimate Fantastic Four #42-46 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four vol.10: Ghosts | Ultimate Fantastic Four #47-53 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four vol.11: Salem’s Seven | Ultimate Fantastic Four #54-57 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four OHC vol.4 | Ultimate Fantastic Four #33-41 Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #2 Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men (2006) #1 Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four (2006) #1 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four OHC vol.5 | Ultimate Fantastic Four #42-53 |
| Ultimate Fantastic Four OHC vol.6 | Official Handbook of the Ultimate Marvel Universe #1-2 Ultimate Fantastic Four #54-57 Ultimate Secrets (2008) |
| Ultimate Human (Ultimate Hulk vs Iron Man) | Ultimate Human #1-4 |
| Ultimate Iron Man: Armor Wars | Ultimate Armor Wars #1-4 |
| Ultimate Marvel by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus | Ultimate Comics: Hawkeye #1-4 Ultimate Comics: Ultimates #1-12 Ultimate Fallout #2-6 Ultimate Thor #1-4 |
| Ultimate New Ultimates | Ultimate New Ultimates #1-5 |
| Ultimate Origins | Ultimate Origins #1-5 |
| Ultimate Power | Ultimate Power #1-9 |
| Ultimates Omnibus | Ultimates #1-13 Ultimates 2 #1-13 Ultimates 2 Annual #1 |
| Ultimates 2 vol.2: Grand Theft America | Ultimates 2 #7-13 |
| Ultimates 2 OHC Ultimates 2 Ultimate Collection | Ultimates 2 #1-13 |
| Ultimates 3: Who Killed the Scarlet Witch? | Ultimates 3 #1-5 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man Omnibus vol.3 | Ultimate Spider-Man #72-111 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1-2 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man Omnibus vol.4 | Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) #112-133 Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #1-15 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1-2 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man Omnibus vol.5 | Ultimate Fallout #1-2, 4, 6 Ultimate Marvel Team-Up #1-16 Ultimate Spider-Man #150-160 Ultimate Spider-Man Super-Special #1 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.15: Silver Sable | Ultimate Spider-Man #86-90 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.16: Deadpool | Ultimate Spider-Man #91-96 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.17: Clone Saga | Ultimate Spider-Man #97-105 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.18: Ultimate Knights | Ultimate Spider-Man #106-111 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.19: Death of a Goblin | Ultimate Spider-Man #112-117 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.20: Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends | Ultimate Spider-Man #118-122 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.21: War of the Symbiotes | Ultimate Spider-Man #123-128 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.22: Ultimatum Ultimatum: Spider-Man | Ultimate Spider-Man #129-133 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.1: The World According to Peter Parker | Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #1-6 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.2: Chameleons | Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #7-14 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.3: Death of Spider-Man Prelude | Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #15 Ultimate Spider-Man #150-155 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.8 HC | Ultimate Spider-Man #86-96 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #1-2 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.9 HC | Ultimate Spider-Man #97-111 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.10 HC | Ultimate Spider-Man #112-122 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.11 HC | Ultimate Spider-Man #123-133 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1-2 |
| Ultimate Spider-Man vol.12 HC | Ultimate Spider-Man (2009) #1-14 |
| Collected Edition Title | Collects… |
| Ultimate Thor | Ultimate Thor #1-4 |
| Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk | Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1-6 |
| Ultimate X: Origins | Ultimate X #1-5 |
| Ultimate X-Men Omnibus vol.2 | Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men (2006) #1 Ultimate X-Men #34-74 Ultimate X-Men Annual #1-2 Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four (2006) #1 |
| Ultimate X-Men Omnibus vol.3 | Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual (2008) #1 Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk #1-6 Ultimate X-Men #75-100 Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual (2008) #1 Ultimatum #1-5 Ultimatum – X-Men: Requiem #1 |
| Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four | Ultimate Fantastic Four/X-Men (2006) #1 Ultimate X-Men/Fantastic Four (2006) #1 |
| Ultimatum | Ultimatum #1-5 |
| Ultimatum The Complete Collection Ultimatum Premiere Edition | Ultimates 3 #1-5 Ultimatum #1-5 |
| Ultimatum Companion | Marvel Spotlight: Ultimatum #1 March on Ultimatum Saga #1 Ultimate Fantastic Four #58-60 Ultimate Spider-Man #129-133 Ultimate X-Men #98-100 Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1-2 Ultimatum – X-Men: Requiem #1 |
| Ultimatum: March on Ultimatum | Ultimate Captain America Annual #1 Ultimate Fantastic Four/Ultimate X-Men Annual #1 Ultimate Hulk Annual #1 Ultimate Spider-Man Annual #3 Ultimate X-Men/Ultimate Fantastic Four Annual #1 |
| Ultimatum: Requiem | Ultimatum – Fantastic Four: Requiem #1 Ultimatum – Spider-Man: Requiem #1-2 Ultimatum – X-Men: Requiem #1 |
| Ultimatum: X-Men/Fantastic Four | Ultimate Fantastic Four #58-60 Ultimate X-Men #98-100 |
Reading Order © Omniverse Comics Guide 2025
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