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When Marvel Comics announced that their successful Ultimate Universe was coming to a close in early 2026, they were met with disbelief. Amidst an outpouring of love for both DC Comics' Absolute Universe and Marvel's Ultimate Universe at the convention, it seemed inconceivable that Marvel would willingly leave behind the initiative that had brought in hordes of new readers to comic shops every month. And yet, it was the truth. 

The success of Marvel's Ultimate Universe lies in the rock-solid creative teams behind the flagship titles. After all, part of why the Ultimate Universe was able to sustain its success was that the titles backed up the bold new visions of the characters that Marvel fans love with timely and thought-provoking stories. In other words, the stories in the Ultimate Universe books weren't being told elsewhere. So how do the creators behind Marvel's Ultimate Universe feel about the initiative's closure? We spoke to several of the major writers for the line, to find out first-hand.

"I think that it's a wise choice at the end of the day"

Ultimate Wolverine writer Chris Condon sees the decision to end the Ultimate Universe as a prudent one. "Well, I want to start with saying that I think that it's fantastic that the whole experiment is coming to a satisfying conclusion, because I think in comics, there's this push, often, to just keep things going when they're selling well," Condon began in an interview with Popverse.

"And I think that it's maybe unexpected, but I think that it's a wise choice at the end of the day, I think that it's gonna be looked at in the future as a smart choice to have a satisfying conclusion that, you know, we're not just stringing people along, just continuing books because we want to just sell them. But we are telling a story, and every story has an end," Condon said. All good things must end, even the Ultimate Universe. 

Jonathan Hickman: "I've never seen Marvel do what we're doing"

That said, the news of the Ultimate Universe's end was shocking to Ultimate Spider-Man writer Jonathan Hickman, even though he knew he was only signed on to write 24 issues of the series.

To Popverse, Hickman said, "I've been at Marvel a long time, and I've never seen us do what we're doing, which is end a book that is selling well and a line that is selling well. But I understand the decision because we, generally speaking, don’t do discrete units of books. We don't do stuff that's pre-built to be a collection, and [Marvel President Dan] Buckley and all those guys looked at it, and they were like, ‘Look, we think we're really proud of this entire Ultimate line.’ [Ultimate X-Men writer-artist] Peach [Momoko] was on for 24 issues, I was on for 24 issues, [Ultimate Black Panther writer] Bryan Hill, I think, was pretty much 24 and out or whatever, like we all started with knowing that the city was going to open back up. That [Ultimate] Endgame was going to happen. And so we all kind of wrote to that."

Echoing Condon's sentiments, Hickman noted that Marvel was certainly well aware of the Ultimate line's success. And the writer has a sense of appreciation for the company choosing to do the unexpected. "I think it's one of those things where everybody just looked at it, and they were like, ‘We feel like we can sell these books forever, if we don't do the thing that we normally do.’ I thought it was a really, really gutsy decision. I kind of love it. I kind of love it because it's not what we normally do. And I think it's the right decision. Just, I was surprised at the time. I was shocked at the time because it's not what Marvel normally does, and I love it when we throw curveballs at the audience and at the market. And we should do more exciting, different things, not less," said Hickman.

Peach Momoko: "...I am happy that it is ending on a high note"

Still, saying goodbye to these characters is bittersweet, which Ultimate X-Men writer-artist Peach Momoko noted in her interview with Popverse. "I have been with the girls for two years straight. So I feel a bit lonely. But I am also very happy I was able to watch them grow and tell their own story. I knew from the start of the project to begin and end the story in two years, so I am happy that it is ending on a high note," Momoko wrote in an email. 

There's the old saying of "quit while you're ahead." And it's hard to argue against that line of thinking when there are plenty of times in comic book history when storylines have overstayed their welcome because of sales (looking at you, Spider-Man Clone Saga). And let's also remember that just because the Ultimate Universe is ending, doesn't mean that fans are going to lose the issues that have already come out. The comics from the Ultimate Universe's creative teams will always exist. So even if you're feeling heartbroken about the end of the Ultimate Universe, you can find comfort in the fact that it even happened in the first place. 

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.