Summary
- In Marvel's new Ultimate Universe continuity, the Fantastic Four were murdered before they got started, with Reed Richards becoming the prisoner of the villainous Maker.
- Now, Marvel is diving into the team's dark backstory, revealing how Reed's suffering turned him into the hero known as Doom.
- Ultimates #4 is coming from Marvel Comics September 4.
Marvel is totally rewriting the history of the Fantastic Four launched Marvel's modern shared universe and redefined what superheroes could look like in popular media. However, in Marvel's new Ultimate Universe continuity, they're getting a dark reflection of that story.
Marvel has announced that the Ultimates #4 will reveal the origin of the Fantastic Four in its new Ultimate Universe continuity. Launched in 2023, this new canon was created by the Maker - a villain who used time travel to alter the timeline of an alternate reality very similar to Marvel's mainstream universe, turning it into his personal playground. Wanting to operate without Marvel's heroes getting in his way, the Maker made sure they didn't get their powers, however he went to special lengths for the Fantastic Four, killing most of the team and enslaving this world's Reed Richards.
Ultimates #4 |
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Release Date: |
September 4, 2024 |
Writer: |
Deniz Camp |
Artists: |
Phil Noto |
Cover Artist: |
Dike Ruan |
The fate of the Ultimate Fantastic Four! Doom’s years of torture at the hands of the Maker finally catch up to him in this secret history of the real Reed Richards! And tensions rise among the Ultimates when Doom might be more fixated on recreating the life he should have had than the life he’s got… Featuring art by guest artist Phil Noto! |
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Ultimates #4 will finally reveal exactly what happened to the Ultimate Universe's Fantastic Four, and the horrific experiences that this world's Reed Richards endured, eventually turning him into the being now known as 'Doom' (not to be confused with the Doctor Doom of Marvel's main timeline.)
Marvel Elevates Its Most Underrated Villain into America's Most Powerful Man Alive (Making a Bold Statement About New Continuity)
The Ultimate Universe's latest reveal elevates a criminally underrated villain to the White House, with Captain America & Tony Stark on the attack.
In Marvel's mainstream timeline, the Fantastic Four's origin kickstarted an age of heroism - but in the Ultimate Universe, their deaths sealed the rise of a villainous regime.
The Fantastic Four Were Murdered in New Ultimate Universe Continuity
The Maker Eradicated Marvel's First Family and Enslaved Reed Richards
Marvel's new Ultimate Universe is an ambitious new line of comics set in their own reality, where the Maker has deliberately rewritten Marvel history so the villains won. The Maker controls the planet through a group of villains known as the Maker's Council, but was recently trapped in his lab thanks to the efforts of 'Doom' and Tony Stark's father Howard, the Iron Man of this reality. The Maker's lab will open again in 18 months, giving the Ultimates - a team of heroes led by Tony and Doom - that long to destroy the Maker's power base in his absence.
In This World, Doom Is a Hero... But Will He Stay That Way?
Doom Is Tony Stark's Most Important Ally, But His Backstory May Be Hiding a Major Twist
Marvel's Ultimates comics are taking a radical approach, putting a hard deadline on the Maker's return and treating each issue as a self-contained story that depicts a single mission in the Ultimates' war to destroy the Maker's Council. In 2023's Ultimate Invasion (Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch), fans learned that this world's Reed Richards had been imprisoned by the Maker and forced to work on advanced technology, wearing an iron mask and going by 'Doom.' Effectively, Maker's meddling turned Reed Richards into the Doctor Doom of this universe - a genius who has so far been heroic, but who remains a mystery to fans.
The Maker is also a variant of Reed Richards from yet another alternate reality, but one who betrayed his superhero family and turned evil. He was introduced in Marvel's original Ultimate Universe line from the 2000s, and gradually lost his heroic instincts, eventually becoming a reality-hopping villain. This likely explains why he eradicated the Fantastic Four in this new timeline, while he allowed heroes like Spider-Man and Captain Marvel to live their lives as normal people.
The name 'Doom' is a byword for villainy in Marvel continuity, but so far the Ultimate Universe's Doom has been a true hero. However, Marvel's summary for the issue reveals that the cracks will start to show in his loyalties, as well as promising the dark truth about what exactly the Maker did to him during his many decades imprisoned inside his lab. In Marvel's mainstream timeline, the Fantastic Four's origin kickstarted an age of heroism - but in the Ultimate Universe, their deaths sealed the rise of a villainous regime, with the aftershocks of that change still influencing the fate of an entire reality.
Ultimates #4 is coming from Marvel Comics September 4.
