Ultimate Marvel Reading Order

[President Kang]

I've been kinda reading UU older books in order for awhile & one thing I noticed was in Ultimates 3 Pyro said something along the lines of "Hey, don't beat me up / kill me, I used to be on the X-Men" and he was rolling with them during Kirkman's run so I'm assuming Ultimates 3 takes place post-his comics.

also I read a spoiler about the new volume of Ultimates in here but it's my own goddamn fault, no worries!

[President Kang]

Oh, and I've noticed a continuity contradiction in the USM #120 recap page of all places: It says explicitly on the front that "this story takes place after Ultimate X-Men #93" but UXM 93 is the end of the Apocalypse arc and Jean Grey leaves & I'm fairly certain Nightcrawler was still leading the Morlocks but USM 120 Jean is still there and Nightcrawler is X-Men'd out. Argh. I confused. (Haven't read UXM #94 yet)

[Plawsky]

Oh, and I've noticed a continuity contradiction in the USM #120 recap page of all places: It says explicitly on the front that "this story takes place after Ultimate X-Men #93" but UXM 93 is the end of the Apocalypse arc and Jean Grey leaves & I'm fairly certain Nightcrawler was still leading the Morlocks but USM 120 Jean is still there and Nightcrawler is X-Men'd out. Argh. I confused. (Haven't read UXM #94 yet)

"After" doesn't necessarily mean "directly after." I may have to reevaluate to see if USM #120 goes after Absolute Power, though.

[President Kang]

Gonna read Absolute Power soon ish. My memory is fuzzy, doesn't Jean come back in the middle of Ultimatum?

[Plawsky]

Gonna read Absolute Power soon ish. My memory is fuzzy, doesn't Jean come back in the middle of Ultimatum?

Ask me again after you read UXM #94.

[President Kang]

Ask me again after you read UXM #94.

Heh. Got it.

[Ginkasa]

So, the list currently has USM's Clone Saga coming right after the Cable event in UXM. The Clone Saga, however, shows the X-Men as they were prior to the Cable thing. I don't see any contradiction with the Clone Saga being moved prior to Cable, so I think it'd fit better there. This is just a suggestion. This list is, overall, really awesome :)

[President Kang]

Ask me again after you read UXM #94.

Yeah, it totally does take place after 93, still haven't finished "Absolute Power" but I'm gonna bank that Amazing Friends takes place right between 93 & 94. Still a little wonky that the X-Men were playing softball with Nightcrawler after all that business with Dazzler went down and he's king of the Morlocks and all so I guess him suiting up for a Magneto outing isn't all that improbable.

[devilmaydance]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Ultimates #1-6 work better between Ultimate X-Men #14 and #15?

[cdgodin]

Do we have any idea where Spider-Men fits into the timeline yet?

[Chaos_Alfa]

Do we have any idea where Spider-Men fits into the timeline yet?

We only know it is somewhere after Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #12.

[SSJLuffy]

So.. whats the absolute BEST starting spot and where do I continue on from that? This stuff makes my brain hurt.

[RockyBanks]

So.. whats the absolute BEST starting spot and where do I continue on from that? This stuff makes my brain hurt.

"Best" as in most comprehensive? Ultimate Spider-Man #1. That's the absolute beginning of the Ultimate imprint.

Ultimate X-Men begins shortly thereafter, followed by The Ultimates and eventually Ultimate Fantastic Four. The reading order posted at the top of this thread is pretty accurate.

Granted, this means you've got 12 years of comics to read in order to catch up to the present, but it's really not that hard. Most of us Ultimate Forum regulars have done it. (It's especially easy if you have a Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited subscription.)

*****

If you mean "best" as in "easiest" or "most convenient", I would recommend any of the new #1s. Spider-Man, The Ultimates, and X-Men all relaunched with new #1s at the same time (about one year ago), and they're all good entry points.

You don't have to read the new series in any particular order, since they haven't really intersected yet. Divided We Fall will probably be the first time these series really touch one another, and we're not sure how that plays out yet.

(Note: If you start the new Spider-Man series from the beginning, make sure you pick up the Spider-Men miniseries after you read UCSM #12. It doesn't have "Ultimate" in the title, but it takes place in the UU after UCSM #12, and it's a must-read.)

*****

If you don't want to do any digging for back issues, you could just pick up the latest issue on the stands. The recap pages should do a good job of filling you in. Additionally, all three series are starting a new storyline this month, so now's a good time to jump on.

[spark627]

In regards to the new Ultimate Comics: Ultimates series, do you need to read all the previous series to read this? I have read the first two volumes of Ultimates but I don't really want to spend time and money on the numerous crossovers (although I was considering reading the Ultimate Avengers). What do you guys recommend?

[Chaos_Alfa]

I recommend just start reading Ultimate Comics: Ultimates. With having read Ultimates 1 & 2 you know everything you need to know.

PS If you still want to read Ultimate Avengers I recommend not having Ultimates 1 &2 quality expectations.