Marvel's new Ultimate Universe line has proven to be a huge success for the publisher, especially Jonathan Hickman and Marco Cecchetto's Ultimate Spider-Man, which routinely outsells the flagship series The Amazing Spider-Man. But despite this, Marvel is showing every intention of effectively ending the Ultimate line in 2026.
That was one of the big takeaways from Marvel's Next Big Thing panel at the New York Convention Center this weekend. With Ultimate Endgame kicking off in December and marking the culmination of the ongoing storyline involving the Creator, this popular installment is indeed about to come to a close. There are no restarts or reboots here.
Marvel has already revealed that Hickman and Cecchetto will wrap up their Ultimate Spider-Man series with issue #24 in December. But they have now confirmed that all current Ultimate comics will end between December and April 2026. This includes Denise Camp and The Ultimates Juan Frigeri, who won IGN's 2024 Best Comic Book Series or Original Graphic Novel.
“It's hard to talk about this without getting emotional,” Camp said in a Marvel press release. “It's really the culmination of everything Jonathan started. Everything that's in my book and everyone else's book is coming together. It's going to be final, it's going to be huge, it's going to be emotional, it's going to be death… it's just wild.”
“You can take this journey—the beginning, the middle and the end—and digest it for years to come and pass it on to others,” added Marvel head of comics and franchises Dan Buckley.
In less depressing news, Marvel also unveiled a new monthly series, Iron Man, at the panel. The book will be written by Joshua Williamson (Superman) and illustrated by Carmen Carnero (Exceptional X-Men).
Here's Marvel's logline for the new series:
The unapologetic Iron Man is a once-in-a-lifetime hero, but the beating heart behind the armor is a once-in-a-century genius. Years ago, Tony Stark knocked on death's door, so he created the Iron Man armor to survive! What will happen the next time death comes? What kind of weapon does he create then? What if… someone else creates it first? These questions haunted Tony for years, like a time bomb inside him waiting to explode. The femme fatale, Madame Mask, has asked these questions too, and by harnessing the power of advanced idea mechanics… she is ready to create a great new weapon.
Look for Iron Man #1 to hit stores January 28, 2026.
In other NYCC news: Batman: Knightfall will receive an animated film adaptationAnd DC Revives Infamous Canceled Swamp Thing Comic.
Jesse is a humble staff writer for IGN. Let him lend a machete to your intellectual thickets, by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
