Ultimatum | |
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Cover of Ultimatum 1 (Nov, 2008). Art by David Finch.
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Publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Limited series |
Genre | |
Publication date | January 2009 – September 2009 |
No. of issues | 5 |
Main character(s) |
Brotherhood of Mutants Ultimate Fantastic Four Ultimate Spider-Man Ultimate X-Men Ultimates |
Creative team | |
Written by | Jeph Loeb |
Penciller(s) | David Finch |
Inker(s) | Danny Miki |
Colorist(s) | Steve Firchow Peter Steigerwald Guru eFX |
"Ultimatum" is a 2009 comic book storyline published by Marvel Comics under its Ultimate Marvel. It consists of a core five-issue eponymous miniseries written by Jeph Loeb and illustrated by David Finch that was published from January 2009 to September 2009, and a number of tie-in books. The storyline deals with Magneto's attempts to destroy the world following the apparent deaths of his children, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver in The Ultimates 3.
The first issue of the core miniseries was the best-selling comic of January 2009, selling over 100,000 copies, though sales dropped with subsequent issues. Despite relatively strong sales, the miniseries received almost universally negative reviews upon its conclusion, as it holds a score of 4 out of 10 at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup. By contrast, the overall crossover storyline holds a score of 5.8 out of 10, whereas higher scores are held by the tie-in series, Ultimatum: Fantastic Four Requiem, Ultimatum: Spider-Man Requiem and Ultimatum: X-Men Requiem hold scores of 7, 7.7 and 6.3, respectively.
The foreshadowing of the "Ultimatum" storyline began in late 2007 when Ultimate Power #8 featured a banner on its cover reading, "March on Ultimatum". The following year, a teaser advertisement for "Ultimatum" ran in all Marvel titles. It depicted a broken tombstone reading 2000-2008, with the 2008 piece broken from its place, indicating that the Ultimate Universe would be ending that year. In an interview on YouTube, artist David Finch said that Loeb would be bringing much to all of the Ultimate Universe to a close.
Loeb said in an interview with Comic Book Resources that the storyline would "hopscotch back and forth between the two books [Ultimate Fantastic Four and Ultimate X-Men] and conclude what I would like to say is the first chapter of the Ultimate Universe."