5. The Ultimate And Marvel Universes Will Never Cross Over
Another Quesada special came in the form of damage control when Marvel announced their Ultimate universe in 2000. Fans were in a panic that the updated take on the Marvel mythos was being groomed to replace the "main" continuity, in order to appeal more to new readers who were put off by decades of backstory and wanted something that hewed closer to the burgeoning movie adaptations. The editor-in-chief made a personal reassurance that the Marvel and Ultimate universes would never, ever intersect, not only to satiate readers' concerns but also because he thought the idea to be creatively bankrupt. So the bailiffs clearly came calling at the door of 135 W. 50th Street in the summer of 2012 as Marvel did cross the two planes of reality over in the form of Spider-Men, a miniseries where the regular continuity's Peter Parker hung out with the Ultimate Miles Morales as the result of some Mysterio-based shenanigans. The series was actually a lot of fun, and oddly touching in that our Peter Parker had to adjust to an alternate world where he was dead. Not that that was the only time Quesada's promise was complete bull, though, as the main continuity's Age of Ultron event (which included a too many reality-twisting moments to mention) saw Galactus pulled through a wormhole into an alternate reality...which turned out to be the Ultimate universe. We guess it's better that Marvel be "creatively bankrupt" liars than actually bankrupt and truthful.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
