Ultimate End #1-5

Here's where you report issue analyses of any issue in any universe or timeline.

Moderators: Col_Fury, michel, Arthur, Somebody, StrayLamb

Post Reply
Clive_Reston
Chronology Guru
Chronology Guru
Posts: 474
Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2015 11:42 pm

Ultimate End #1-5

Post by Clive_Reston »

ULTIMATE END #1 (July, 2015)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna

Note that the setting for this miniseries is Manhattan on Battleworld--or, rather, two of the Manhattan domains (the one based on 616, except with Doom in charge, and the one based on 1610, except with Doom in charge also), which--thanks to their respective Tony Starks, or possibly a Doom experiment--are now "overlaid on one another," sharing the same space. Note also that, as the second issue points out, this or something like it has apparently happened before, and Doom has simply wiped the errant domains out and started over with them.

The tricky bit is that these are *not actually* the 616 and 1610 versions of these characters, but Doom-created simulacra of them. Everyone not on the life rafts died by the end of Secret Wars #1. The only "real"/pre-Battleworld characters we see in this miniseries are Miles Morales and Doom. (Old Man Logan is the Doom-created simulacrum from the Wastelands domain.)

The temporal structure of *Ultimate End* is wonky. The first few pages of #1 are set in the "present day"; then we enter a flashback, and don't catch up to that moment again until the end of #4. There's a sub-flashback in #1 to sometime earlier, and a sub-flashback in #3 to the middle of #2. Near the end of #4, there are several scenes presented simultaneously that actually take place at different times; the end of #5 takes place on the new prime Earth after Secret Wars has been resolved.

APPEARANCES ("present")
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Vision, Angel (old and young Warren Worthington), Blue Marvel, Magik, Silk, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spectrum, Valkyrie, Emma Frost, Cyclops (old and young), Captain America (Sam Wilson), Iron Man (Tony Stark), War Machine, Nightcrawler, White Tiger, Hulk/"Doc Green," Sabretooth, Black Widow, Hawkeye (both Clint and Kate), Tigra, Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, Squirrel Girl, Medusa, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Sabretooth, Quicksilver, Moon Knight
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Punisher, Falcon, Stature, Iceman, Rogue, Hulk, Nick Fury, The Wolverine (Jimmy Hudson), Iceman, Hawkeye, Black Widow (Jessica Drew), Cloak, Dagger, Captain America, Captain Britain, Iron Man, Bombshell

SYNOPSIS:

"Present day"
As characters from the overlaid "616" and "1610" domains clash, the "1610" Punisher prepares to shoot a bunch of them. (A double-page getting-ready-to-rumble scene here is seen again in #4, with one significant difference; see note there.)

FB: "three weeks ago":
"616" Peter Parker encounters the "1610" Serpent Squad, and then the All-New Ultimates join the fight. At the Triskelion, "1610" Nick Fury has called a meeting of various super-types from both domains, at which "616" Peter shows up. Fury wants to "fix the problem" (for which Ultimate Tony Stark seems to be partly responsible) of "reality folded on top of itself" before Doom intercedes. The "616" and "1610" Manhattan domains are now sharing space, and it's a problem. (Sub-flashback goes here.) As the "616" people leave, the "1610" people see that a contingent of Thors are arriving, which means that Doom knows what's up. NOTE: Because Beta Ray Bill Thor is still alive, this sequence must take place before Thors #1.

APPEARANCES ("three weeks ago")
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Iron Man/Tony Stark, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Hulk/"Doc Green," Black Widow, X-Men (Cyclops, Storm, Emma Frost), Scarlet Witch
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Serpent Squad (Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Death Adder, Princess Python), All-New Ultimates (Cloak, Dagger, Bombshell, Black Widow/Jessica Drew), Nick Fury, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Ben Grimm
Doomgard Domain: Thors: Storm, Beta Ray Bill, Throg, Destroyer, Groot, and two unidentified Thors.

FB -FB (some time earlier): Messing around with a rip in the fabric of space-time, "1610"'s Tony Stark and Amadeus Cho open up a wider rift and "616"'s Tony Stark comes through it. [This is very similar to the opening scene of All-New X-Men #31, but doesn't go down exactly the same way.]

APPEARANCES (in that sub-flashback):
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Iron Man/Tony Stark, Amadeus Cho, two unnamed technicians
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Iron Man/Tony Stark


ULTIMATE END #2 (August, 2015)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley and Drew Hennessy

SYNOPSIS:
This issue continues the "three weeks ago" flashback from #1.

The Thors tell the "616" crew that Doom knows what's going on, and warn them not to try to fix it. When "616" Hawkeye/Clint Barton challenges them, the Thors kill him, and depart.

Later, "1610" Tony visits "616" Tony, and tells him that either Doom is going to "wipe our part of the world away and start anew (as we both know he has done before)," or all the cross-domain counterparts will end up fighting.

At the late "1610" Peter Parker's home, "616" Peter visits Aunt May and Gwen Stacy. (How a Manhattan domain has Forest Hills, Queens, in it is a whole other question.)

At the Raft, the "1610" warden notes that there's a problem, as a prisoner taunts Frank Castle--and then a gray hulk with a "Doc Green"-style Mohawk crashes in and wreaks havoc. At the Triskelion, "1610" Fury and "616" Maria Hill discuss the Hulk situation, just as a green Hulk with his old hairstyle arrives at the Raft. While a squad of "1610" Hulkbusters enters the fight, "1610" Castle runs away; he sees both Iron Men arriving on the scene from one direction, and a group of both domains' heroes arriving from the other direction.

APPEARANCES:
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Iron Man/Tony Stark, Cyclops (young and old), Iceman (young and old), Emma Frost, Hulk/"Doc Green," Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Storm, Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Angel/time-displaced Warren Worthington, Archangel, War Machine, Rogue, Captain America/Sam Wilson, Storm, Blue Marvel, Cannonball
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Iron Man/Tony Stark, May Parker, Gwen Stacy, Punisher/Frank Castle, the Raft's warden, Ben Grimm, unnamed prisoners and guards, unnamed Hulkbusters
Doomgard Domain: Thors: Storm, Beta Ray Bill, Frog Thor, Destroyer, Groot, two unidentified Thors

ULTIMATE END #3 (September, 2015)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna

SYNOPSIS:
This issue picks up a week after the "three weeks ago" flashback in #2, and some time after the end of #2; its opening scene is labeled "two weeks ago."

At the Triskelion, a group of both domains' heroes, led by "1610" Fury, confront "616" Banner about his rampage as the green Hulk. Fury is apoplectic. (Banner's flashback goes here.) Everyone squabbles with Fury.

"1610" Punisher arrives at a safehouse, where he encounters "616" Punisher, who's convinced he's a Skrull. "1610" Punisher kills him.

In Brooklyn, "1610" Bombshell fights the "616" Wrecking Crew, and then "1610" Punisher kills the Wrecking Crew and takes aim at Bombshell.

Back at the Triskelion, the still-captive "616" Banner is advising a couple of "1610" technicians when the power goes out and he disappears. "616" Tony Stark has evacuated him in a remotely controlled Iron Man suit.

APPEARANCES:
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Bruce Banner, Captain America/Sam Wilson, Vision, War Machine, Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Magik, Nightcrawler, Storm, Rogue, Punisher/Frank Castle, Wrecking Crew: Bulldozer, Piledriver/Henry Camp, Thunderball, Wrecker)
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Nick Fury, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Captain America, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm, Punisher/Frank Castle, Bombshell, nameless lab techs

FB -FB: In Hulk/"Doc Green"'s lab, shortly before the Raft scene in #2. He's trying to figure out how to separate the two domains, when "1610" Banner arrives. They argue; they Hulk out. The "616" Banner turns gray, and the green "1610" Banner punches him.

APPEARANCES:
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Bruce Banner/"Doc Green"/Hulk
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Bruce Banner/Hulk

ULTIMATE END #4 (October, 2015)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna

This issue continues from the "two weeks ago" section of #3.

SYNOPSIS:
A SHIELD Helicarrier drops a team of both domains' heroes on Avengers Tower to try to find either Tony. They find an army of Iron Man armors waiting for them. The Tonys are actually inside the tower with "616" Banner, remotely controlling the armors.

In Brooklyn, Bombshell is fighting "1610" Frank Castle; she's wounded just as "1610" Cloak and Dagger arrive. Cloak "swallows" Castle, who comes out of his cloak blasting and escapes. An Iron Man suit remote-controlled by "1610" Tony tells Cloak, Dagger and Bombshell to follow him.

The remaining scenes are presented simultaneously (but the Doomstadt scene and the Starks' argument appear to happen before the others):

In Doomstadt, Valeria reports to Doom that the Manhattan domain with "dimensional anomalies" has gone against his word, and that she believes it's dangerous to the kingdom and "unlivable and challenging to those inside of it." Doom reports that he doesn't want the Thors to put a start to it.

Back in Manhattan, the two Tonys argue about whether to present their findings to Doom. The implication is that each one is organizing an army of their own domain's heroes to fight it out.

The "616" army and the "1610" army go to face each other (in a scene reprised from #1 that brings us back up to the "present day" section of #1--although this time "616" Clint Barton isn't visible, since he's, you know, dead), just as "1610" Castle, perched in a window nearby, is apparently preparing to kill all of them. Meanwhile, Old Man Logan from the Earth-807128 domain (the Wastelands) is arriving on the scene. Castle fires, just as the actual 1610 Spider-Man/Miles Morales arrives.

APPEARANCES:
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Maria Hill, Vision, Angel (old and young Warren Worthington), Blue Marvel, Magik, Silk, Spider-Man (Peter Parker), Spectrum, Valkyrie, Emma Frost, Cyclops (old and young), Captain America (Sam Wilson), Iron Man (Tony Stark), War Machine, Nightcrawler, White Tiger, Hulk/"Doc Green," Sabretooth, Black Widow, Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Tigra, Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, Squirrel Girl, Medusa, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Sabretooth, Quicksilver, Moon Knight
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Nick Fury, Captain America/Steve Rogers, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Punisher/Frank Castle, Falcon, Stature, Iceman, Rogue, Hulk, Nick Fury, The Wolverine (Jimmy Hudson), Iceman, Black Widow (Jessica Drew), Cloak, Dagger, Captain Britain, Iron Man, Bombshell, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm
Earth-807128 Domain (Wastelands): Old Man Logan
Earth-616: Dr. Doom
Earth-1610: Spider-Man/Miles Morales
Doomstadt Domain: Valeria

ULTIMATE END #5 (February, 2016)
By Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Bagley and Scott Hanna

SYNOPSIS:
The real 1610 Spider-Man/Miles Morales webs down the combatants and tells them to stop fighting. ("616" Spider-Man/Peter Parker recognizes him.) Emma Frost opens up Miles' mind to the combatants and shows them that they're not in the world as it should be but in a domain of two dimensions that were "thrown on top of each other on purpose," accompanied by a vision of the original Fantastic Four, the ca. 1980 Avengers and the ca.-1975 X-Men of 616, as well as the various teams of 1610. They all realize that Doom is their enemy, and decide to make a plan and fight him. Gray Banner/Hulk gets angry, and "1610" Castle tries to shoot him, but Old Man Logan, arriving on the scene, confirms Miles' story. The Thors arrive, but "616" Magik and then "1610" Castle attack them; the Thors kill Castle. Magik teleports the heroes away to a safehouse, where they discuss the situation. "616" Peter calls "1610" Aunt May; 1610 Miles calls the "1610" version of his dad in Brooklyn; "616" Tony calls "616" Pepper. Everybody attacks Doomstadt, and Battleworld ceases to exist.

Later, in the newly reformed Marvel "prime" universe, 1610 Miles--who we can now just start calling Miles--is woken up by his mom. Ganke, Judge and Lana yell up at him from the street, and he goes out web-swinging.

Appearances:
Earth-616: Dr. Doom
Earth-1610: Spider-Man/Miles Morales
Manhattan/"EARTH-616" DOMAIN: Spider-Man/Peter Parker, Luke Cage, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Storm, Captain America/Sam Wilson, Emma Frost, Magik, Squirrel Girl, Medusa, Captain Britain, young Jean Grey, young and old Cyclops, Rachel Grey, Scarlet Witch, Silk, Spectrum, Blue Marvel, White Tiger, She-Hulk, Storm, Husk, young Angel, Nightcrawler, young Iceman, War Machine, Black Widow, Sunspot, Cannonball, Shang-Chi, Smasher, Hulk/Doc Green/Bruce Banner, Irving Forbush, Quicksilver, Sabretooth, Rogue, Iron Fist, Valkyrie, Moon Knight, Tigra, Captain Britain, Spider-Woman/Jessica Drew, Hawkeye/Kate Bishop
Manhattan/"EARTH-1610" DOMAIN: Punisher/Frank Castle, Hawkeye/Clint Barton, The Wolverine/Jimmy Hudson, Rogue, Bombshell, Nick Fury, Black Widow/Jessica Drew, Dagger, Cloak, Falcon, Kitty Pryde, Johnny Storm, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, Iron Man/Tony Stark, Stature, Ganke Lee, Jefferson Davis
Earth-807128 Domain (Wastelands): Old Man Logan
Doomgard Domain: various unidentified Thors
Prime Earth: Rio Morales, Ganke Lee, Judge, Bombshell
User avatar
Col_Fury
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7754
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 3:37 am
Location: on a Helicarrier, above Illinois
Contact:

Re: Ultimate End #1-5

Post by Col_Fury »

Good job, Clive!

Other books also are set in the Manhattan Domain, but in different "neighborhoods." Mrs. Deadpool & the Howling Commandos is in the underground Monster Metropolis section, Inhumans: Attilan Rising is in the New Attilan section, and Star-Lord & Kitty Pryde starts in the New Attilan section and kind of explores around from there.

According to our map, Mrs. Deadpool takes place before SECWARS 2, Inhumans takes place between SECWARS 2-3, ULTEND 1-4 (start) takes place between SECWARS 5-6, SLORD&KPRY takes place during ULTEND 4 and between SECWARS 5-6, then SECWARS 6, then ULTEND 4 (end)-5.

Medusa of Manhattan appears here and in the Inhumans mini. I'm currently under the impression these are the same version/reality/whatever of Medusa. Is there anything to say they aren't/can't be? If so, that would mean the Black Bolt that appears in Inhumans and SLORD&KPRY is the same as well.

More to come, I'm sure!
-Daron Jensen
Post Reply