Return to RBerman's Loincloths-R-Us

Marvel Ultimate Universe (2003-2009)

One mark of the end of the Bronze Age of Comic Books was the sale of Marvel Entertainment Group, first to the film company New World Entertainment in 1986 and then to Ronald Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings company in 1989. Perelman spent the 1990s saddling Marvel with debt, leaving the company both bankrupt and impoverished in its holdings.

MEG's action figure partner Toy Biz bought it in 1998 and reviewed the best ways to leverage its new intellectual property into films and other media. To stop the bleeding, film deals were inked with various studios for the most desirable characters: Spider-Man. X-Men. Fantastic Four. All that were left were the losers no film company wanted: the Avengers, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther, and other C-listers. The grim and gritty nineties had not been kind to traditional, heroic characters.

Brian Michael Bendis was tasked with re-imagining the Marvel Universe for the 21st century. As with Marvel's previous "New Universe" and "2099" projects, a new series of "Ultimate" books would take place in its own continuity, not the mainstream "Marvel 616." There would be Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Iron Man, and so on. The current Avengers writer protested that a series called "Ultimate Avengers" would implicitly denigrate his own work as less than "ultimate," so in compromise the new Avengers series was simply titled, "The Ultimates," which told a single story twelve issues long.

Toy Biz set about making high-budget action movies based on the Ultimates characters, starting with Iron Man. They daringly put up all their new intellectual property as collateral for the loans, meaning that if the Iron Man film flopped, Marvel would once again have a new owner. But the movie succeeded beyond all expectations, setting the stage for another thirty films, a dozen television programs, and the $4 billion sale of MEG to Disney in 2009.

There are 11 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

+

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) page 22: Fury prepares for the worst

Art Details

Artist:	Tom Raney (Penciller) Scott Hanna (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	155
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	12/12/2024

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) page 22: Fury prepares for the worst
Artist: Tom Raney (Penciller)
Scott Hanna (Inker)
155 Views, 2 Comments

+

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) pages 4-5: Cruising to the Kree

Art Details

Artist:	Tom Raney (Penciller) Scott Hanna (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	117
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	9/16/2024

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) pages 4-5: Cruising to the Kree
Artist: Tom Raney (Penciller)
Scott Hanna (Inker)
117 Views, 1 Comment

+

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) Pages 18-19: You're not going anywhere

Art Details

Artist:	Tom Raney (Penciller) Scott Hanna (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	159
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	10/4/2024

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) Pages 18-19: You're not going anywhere
Artist: Tom Raney (Penciller)
Scott Hanna (Inker)
159 Views, 2 Comments

+

The Ultimates #7 (2003) page 4

Art Details

Artist:	Brian Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	176
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	7/28/2023

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates #7 (2003) page 4
Artist: Brian Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
176 Views, 3 Comments

+

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 2

Art Details

Artist:	Bryan Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	393
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	11/15/2020

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 2
Artist: Bryan Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
393 Views, 2 Comments

+

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 4

Art Details

Artist:	Bryan Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	314
Comments:	3
Added to Site:	11/15/2020

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 4
Artist: Bryan Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
314 Views, 3 Comments

+

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 5

Art Details

Artist:	Bryan Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	209
Comments:	2
Added to Site:	11/15/2020

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates (2003) #10 page 5
Artist: Bryan Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
209 Views, 2 Comments

+

The Ultimates #10 (2003) page 22: BOOM!

Art Details

Artist:	Bryan Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	176
Comments:	1
Added to Site:	4/25/2024

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates #10 (2003) page 22: BOOM!
Artist: Bryan Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
176 Views, 1 Comment

+

The Ultimates (2003) #11 page 4

Art Details

Artist:	Bryan Hitch (Penciller) Paul Neary (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	260
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	11/15/2020

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

The Ultimates (2003) #11 page 4
Artist: Bryan Hitch (Penciller)
Paul Neary (Inker)
260 Views

+

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) p 12,14: Against the Kree

Art Details

Artist:	Tom Raney (Penciller) Scott Hanna (Inker)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	136
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	4/13/2023

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

Ultimate Secret #4 (2005) p 12,14: Against the Kree
Artist: Tom Raney (Penciller)
Scott Hanna (Inker)
136 Views

+

Ultimate Fantastic Four #60 (2009) page 10: Under the Sea

Art Details

Artist:	Tyler Kirkham (All)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views	240
Comments:	0
Added to Site:	7/5/2022

About the Owner

R Berman
Member Since:	January 2018

Ultimate Fantastic Four #60 (2009) page 10: Under the Sea
Artist: Tyler Kirkham (All)
240 Views

There are 11 Pieces of Art In This Gallery.    

About the Owner R Berman ( 2 ) Premium Gallery Owner Joined: January 2018 Last Login: September 2025 Country: UNITED STATES On CAF: Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

Contact the Owner Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner, but, you must be logged in to use this feature. Click Here to Login Click Here to Register