"Ultimates Assemble!" Marvel's Ultimates Officially Unite for the Very First Time - Full Rosters & Powers Explained, Plus Their Official First Villains

Now, the Ultimates unite for the first time to go up against the Maker's deadliest lieutenant, the Legendary Hulk. Until now, the team have worked in units, recruiting other heroes to build up an international alliance. In a preview of The Ultimates #6, the full team assemble for the first time (minus Doom, who is carrying out experiments to recreate the murdered Fantastic Four), revealing which heroes are considered members of the first true roster of this history-making group.

Uniting for a rescue mission, the team are instead tricked into battle with the Hulk and his gamma-enhanced servants the Immortal Weapons. Thankfully, Tony brought the team's whole roster, as every member will be needed to win out.

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The Ultimates Unite to Battle the Legendary Hulk

Tony Stark Leads a New Reimagining of the Avengers

Earth-6160 was once just another world in the Marvel multiverse, until the Maker chose it as his base of operations. With exact knowledge of Marvel's timeline, the Maker rewrote history to create a secret cabal of villains who each rule a different territory, plunging the world into a cycle of constant war and oppression. In Secret Invasion, which introduced this new canon, the Maker was trapped in his laboratory for two years, giving the heroes a chance to destroy his power base before he returns.

In his absence, the Maker has been replaced as the de facto leader of the villainous council by Bruce Banner's Legendary Hulk - a version of the Green Goliath corrupted by the Maker. This Hulk is the leader of a cult known as the Children of Eternal Light, and has carried out horrific experiments in the Pacific, creating the new She-Hulk. After the Ultimates injured Hulk's fellow lieutenant Captain Britain and killed the council's thrall 'President' Midas, the Legendary Hulk finally resolved to start taking them seriously.

However, this Hulk isn't a mindless monster - he's a ruthless tactician who is ready to confront the Ultimates with the Immortal Weapons. In Marvel's mainstream continuity, the Immortal Weapons are some of the greatest martial artists in the world. They seem to retain this distinction in Ultimate continuity, but are now enhanced by the Hulk's gamma energy.

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New Ultimates Roster Explained - Every Member & Their Powers

Your Guide to Marvel's God-Tier New Team

Facing the Immortal Weapons are Tony Stark's team of heroes, with each Avengers icon having a very different backstory thanks to the Maker's tampering. The initial alliance that began the Ultimates was between the teenage Tony Stark and Doom - a version of Fantastic Four's Reed Richards who was tortured mercilessly by the Maker, who also sabotaged the experimental space flight that should have turned the FF into superheroes. Meanwhile, the Maker ensured that Captain America was never unfrozen after his seeming death in WWII, and Thor was imprisoned on Asgard after Loki rose to power.

Full Ultimates Roster Explained (Earth-6160)

Codename	Real Name	Powers & Notable Resources	First Appearance (Ultimate Canon)
Iron Lad	Tony Stark	Advanced technology including battle armor	Ultimate Invasion #2
Doom	Reed Richards	Advanced technology and genius intellect	Ultimate Invasion #2
Thor	Thor	God of Thunder, Asgardian physiology (including advanced strength and durability), enchanted hammer	Ultimate Invasion #2
Sif	Sif	Asgardian physiology (including advanced strength and durability)	Ultimate Invasion #2
Captain America	Steve Rogers	Peak human physiology, unbreakable shield	Ultimate Invasion #4
Human Torch	Jim Hammond	Android physiology, able to create and manipulate flames, flight	Free Comic Book Day 2024: Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man #1
Janet Van Dyne-Pym	Wasp	Shrinking & growing powers	The Ultimates #1
Hank Pym	Ant-Man	Shrinking & growing powers	The Ultimates #1
America Chavez	America Chavez	Teleportation	The Ultimates #2
She-Hulk	Lejori Joena Zakaria	Immense strength and durability	The Ultimates #3
Hawkeye	Charli Ramsey	'Quiver' can print hi-tech arrows on demand	The Ultimates #5

Other heroes are far newer to the crime-fighting life. Tony attempted to reach out to heroes whose lives were rewritten by the Maker, preventing them from gaining powers. While some heroes like Carol Danvers' Captain Marvel and Clint Barton's Hawkeye were unwilling or unable to join the fight, others like Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne accepted the return of their powers, while Captain America led a rescue mission to recruit America Chavez, notably sacrificing innocent lives in the process. The new Hawkeye is unique on the team because they took up Hawkeye's gear and codename after Tony tried and failed to recruit the original, with Tony worrying that their psychological profile isn't the right fit for a life of heroism.

Finally, there's Jim Hammond's Human Torch - a WWII android who was kept as a trophy by the Maker and reactivated by Steve Rogers. Fans haven't seen much of Jim in action, but he's a surprising recruit given his relative lack of fame in Marvel's mainstream canon. Notably missing heroes include Spider-Man and Black Panther. These heroes each have their own Ultimate imprint titles, but presumably weren't called on by Tony to join the Ultimates yet - likely because Peter isn't ready and Black Panther is already engaged in a war against Hulk's ally Moon Knight.

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Ultimates Recreates a Crucial Moment in Avengers History

But This Time, Not Everyone Will Survive

Marvel has held back on uniting the full Ultimates roster until now, making this their first official fight as a team. This is likely part of an effort to echo the iconic Avengers #1, and the crucial lore that the team first united to fight the Hulk who (in the classic issue from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby) is under Loki's control, and quickly joins the team. This was also the case in the original Ultimate Universe imprint from the 2000s, where the team's first official villain was a cannibalistic version of the Hulk.

However, there's a huge difference between either of those stories - Marvel's solicit information has made it clear that at least one of the Ultimates will die in the upcoming fight. It's a mystery who will fall, but they'll be the team's first loss in a war for the fate of the planet. The Ultimates' first battle as a team has begun, rewriting Avengers lore with a surprise death as they face the Hulk and hopefully strike a decisive blow against the Maker.

The Ultimates #6 is available November 6 from Marvel Comics.

Ultimate Marvel

Created in 2000, the Ultimate Marvel imprint redesigned the entire Marvel Comics universe with a new set of origin stories and relationships. The reboot reinterpreted Marvel continuity from scratch in an attempt to simplify and update the company's 60-year history for modern audiences. With famous comic book writers such as Brian Michael Bendis, Warren Ellis, and Mark Millar at the helm, the Ultimate universe (named Earth-1610 within the Marvel multiverse) lasted 15 years and provided plenty of inspiration for the MCU.