Marvel Unveils More Details, Graphics for Upcoming ULTIMATE INVASION #1

By Dustin Gebel

on May 5, 2023

As Free Comic Book Day approaches, the road to the Ultimate Universe’s return comes into focus. This year’s FCBD: Spider-Man/Venom #1 features a scene from Ultimate Invasion #1, teasing Miles Morales’s role in the event and the return of the Illuminati to combat the Maker and his machinations. Ultimate Invasion will then launch in 2023 from creators Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch.

Both creators are no stranger to the Ultimate line, with Hitch having contributed to the first two Ultimates series, the Avengers analog in the universe. A team going by the Avengers would launch later on in the shared universe, following the Ultimatum event. Hickman would become one of the key architects of the Ultimate line in the wake of Ultimatum and Peter Parker’s death, penning a new Ultimates book before jumping to the main universe and the flagship Avengers title. He would return to, and then destroy, the Ultimate Universe in 2015’s Secret Wars with collaborator Esad Ribic.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hickman explained his reasons for returning to the Ultimate Universe:

“[Revisiting the idea of Ultimate Comics] couldn’t be replicating or revisiting what Bryan did in the original Ultimates — creating a streamlined, modernized version that would eventually become the spine of the MCU. And it certainly couldn’t be what I did, which was a final chapter of a pre-existing universe. We also thought the very idea of Ultimate Comics needed to be inverted from what the original universe was — we wanted this to be something that could really only exist in the comic space: a new way of thinking about, and enjoying, a new version of the Marvel Universe. I’m pretty happy to say that it feels like we’ve accomplished those things and we’re very excited for everyone to get to read it.”

The first issue is set to kick off with a host of variant covers that homage and remix the original look of the Ultimate Universe. With covers from artists like Peach Momoko, Russell Dauterman, and Sara Pichelli, the art updates the aesthetics of the Universe for a modern reader. It gives artists like Pichelli, who made their name working on Ultimate titles the opportunity to come full circle.

The covers for Ultimate Invasion #1 and the first few unlettered pages can be seen below. Stay tuned to Comic Watch for more information about the return of the Ultimate Universe.