During the ridiculously short lived revival of the Epic Comics, when Marvel was taking fan submissions, I asked if I could pitch anything involving the Ultraverse. Joe Quesada himself told me no. It's a shame that those characters are languishing in limbo; it probably would have been better if DC had brought them instead.
@@kaisarr7632 yes but they altered the MCU version enough to be distinct from the Malibu incarnation. Marvel has also had another character named Topaz from the 70s as well. It sorta how they heavily altered the characters in the tv series Mutant X to avoid any issues with Fox who at the time held the license for any X-Men family characters (they didnt product the TV series, that was the late Fireworks Entertainment, and Marvel had to go to court with Fox to prove their production wasn't using pre-existing X-Men characters before the series could go ahead). In other words, MCU Topaz was made divergent enough to not give Rosenberg a payday.
I actually submitted a script for the short lived Epic comics revival from Marvel during the early 2000's (sadly, after they fired Bill Jemas, whoever was there literally BURNED all the submissions from fans because they wanted to erase all loose ends from the Jemas regime that they realistically could erase). Anyway, I ended up submitting something related to Marvel comic's Terror Inc.However, I originally wanted to submit something on Ultraverse's Hardcase, but after doing some research I learned that Marvel was VERY adamant about never using the Ultraverse characters ever again in a comic. This became very obvious during 2015's third Secret Wars comic event when they did their multi-verse saga and brought back every obscure thing they had (things like Marvel's New Universe, even Marvel's short lived Shadowline Saga line of comics from Marvel's late 80's version of their Epic comics line which was their attempt at R rated superheroes)... but the one thing they didn't bring back in their big multi-verse Secret Wars event of 2015 was Ultraverse. Anyway, I remember reading an interview with Jim Starlin when he was writing the Thanos series from the early 2000's and he mentioned how he wanted to show Rune from the Ultraverse and the Infinity gems in relation to the Ultraverse in the Thanos ongoing series, but Marvel told him "NO" and they mentioned something along the lines of how they couldn't use the Ultraverse characters for some dark, ominous reason (but the specifics were never revealed).
The Ultraverse was something incredibly special (same with the original Valiant), there were so many great titles. I didn't discover it until after it's collapse, with vivid memories of the Glen A. Larson Nightman adaptation fresh in my mind. I still think that Barry Windsor Smith's Rune is one of the best comics that I've ever read or will ever read
I remember liking the cartoon as a kid. Prime and Prototype were my favorites. For a while it seemed like a fever dream "was there a show with not-Iron Man and a kid in a goo hulk?" But seems like in recent years people are talking about it more. It's very 90s but wonder if it could be brought back as a sort of nostalgia retro property rather than trying to modernize it
Ultraverse deserved better. It was such a good idea at the start. What really sucks is that now that Disney owns Marvel, any hope of the Ultraverse being resurrected is dead. Thanks for covering this.
It was dead even before that unfortunately. The word on the street is they tried to resurrect it in the early 2000s but the revenue split with creators was more than Marvel (let alone Disney, this was pre-acquisition) was willing to pay, effectively shelving the entire line forever.
@@RarebitFiends Tom Mason, former Malibu editor, dispelled this rumor. that rate is based upon DCs rate, so it's pennies, and not massive profit sharing like some would lead you to believe. would be the same rate as say Brian Bolland gets for Watchmen. apparently it's a probably in-eternum producer deal Rosenberg holds with Marvel from his sale (which also scored him a VP position). he probably would stand to receive a percentage of gross payout on anything related to the Malibu properties from keychains to toys to films/tv. Creators verified this. look for my comment in this thread for links to direct statements from Tom on this subject.
@@DaiAtlus79 Thank you for the info! This raises much bigger questions though. Bolland gets royalties on a comic he had nothing to do with?! How did he swing that?
@@RarebitFiends i meant Dave Gibbons, sorry (i get him and Brian mixed up, was co-processing this and an eager pup who wanted to play), but yeah i meant Dave (Alan Moore signed off on any claims, so the percentage goes to Dave).
@@DaiAtlus79 Yeah I know, I was just poking fun. :) I am also aware of Moore's relationship with the work and the end of his friendship with Gibbons over the movie.
Let me recommend you add Broadway Comics to the list. It was Shooter's startup after Defiant folded (thanks Marvel), it lasted only a year I think, but the books were all up to Shooter standards. If you like Shooter Valiant and Defiant, you will like Broadway.
This is speculation, but I feel like if the possibility of reviving the Ultraverse in the 2000s had led to anything, it most likely would have led to an Ultimate Universe, Supreme Power, or newuniversal style reboot. And while yes, the Ultraverse was edgy, more "realistic" and part of a well-connected universe on its own, I think the same could be said for Squadron Supreme and New Universe, and that didn't stop Marvel from trying to reboot them Ultimate-style, with varied results.
One thing worth mentioning, the Ultraverse was created with the intention of being a multimedia property. They produced two live action short films (which I believe both can be found here on UA-cam) one as promo for Hardcase, and the second, Firearm shipping on a vhs bundled with an issue of the comic (#1 I think?) And the film led directly into the comic. They also got a video game or two out of it, 3 card sets, and as others noted both a season of an ultraverse cartoon and short lived toy line to go with it. None of this is germane to the video topic though, so I understand why it was not mentioned. I am just starved for Ultraverse content. 😅
yup, the Nightman TV series was essentially the culmination of this. Apparently Men In Black is a sore spot for him as he had zero rights to the IP as after it finished it's run, the rights fell back to creator Lowell Cunningham like many other cut titles. The Malibu VHS shorts are here on UA-cam btw.
Malibu still owned publishing rights to Men In Black. They got a small percentage of film risiduals, which I'm sure Marvel was cognizant of when buying Malibu. The buzz was huge, and Marvel knew it was going to be a hit.
@@RockandrollNegro yes but that's the only rights they still held, Cunningham owned IP rights overall - DC had the same deal over at Vertigo and other imprints, where Preacher and RED still had the DC Comics label in their live-action forays even though they were both creator-owned properties (Image intentionally didn't have this stipulation when it formed, to allow creators true freedom to shop around their properties).
This kind of informative video essays where you explain the different historical aspects of the comic book industry with it's obscure or lesser known moments, parties, creators and the like, are the kind of content that makes me consider you the best channel specialising in the topic out there. Kudos, Overlord. 🤘🏻
I’m always really impressed by the quality of the videos. I can tell that a lot of time and energy was put into it. You go above and beyond with the visuals as well as the content/research.
I find it a great pity, the end of the Ultraverse. My reasons for liking it were that the artwork was superior, as well as the price point. At $2, it was easy to investigate books you may know little about. My favorite books were, Prime by Breyfogle, Mantra, and Ultraforce by Perez. I discovered an artist named John Statema who, to my knowledge, has done very little comic work since. I just recall being taken in my his style. As usual, nicely done. Have a good afternoon.
I collected many of them, I terribly miss them! the atmosphere in their stories were original. I collected Prime, Hardcase, Sludge, Rune, and my favorite, Ultraforce (drawn by George Perez, one of the best comics ever). When Marvel came I didn't like some changes (the new Mantra and the dissapearance of Sludge) and others were excelent, like the new Ultraforce (without Hardcase it wasn't the same, but it was cool). One thing they did was the "Avengers/Ultraforce" crossover that was copied big way in the "DC vs Mavel" crossover, I think they were experimenting how the public would react to crossover chracters before the Amalgam characters appeared. In the Marvel Era the sales had a boost but nothing that would make them profitable in comparission to other Marvel tiltes. The last Ultaverse comic "Ultraverse Future Shock" is the saddest comic ever. I hope they come back, but with the original Godwheel universe AND SLUDGE!
Thank you for the breakdown. I was never a fan, but I completely understand the appeal of the coloring at that time. I am a fan of the Mighty Crusaders. Could you do a multi-part series on their history?
Those commercials got me to go to a store and buy the comics (Hardcase, Prime, and The Strangers). Those three books got me into 30 years of collecting comics. For better or worse, the Ultraverse changed the course of my entire life.
Thanks so much for this! It’s the video I’ve been waiting for the most. Lol I asked Tom Brevoort about the Ultraverse over at his newsletter and he did indeed cite an NDA as the reason he couldn’t discuss it. It’s a shame such great characters are languishing. Thanks again for everything!
You're welcome. And, yes...from what I understand the NDA exists and it may be the reason why no one can discuss the legalities of the Ultraverse. I can only speculate as to why there's an NDA in the first place.
I feel bad when people lump these comics in as some sort of cash grab or what have you. Were they all winners? No, of course not, but there was some good stuff- Prime (particularly the first year), Firearm, Sludge and even Ultraforce had it's moments. The post Marvel relaunch stuff... yeah, that was pretty bad for the most part, but still resulted in a couple of decent crossovers and the Ultraforce relaunch which was good while Warren Ellis was attached.
I agree. While it may have had a bit of a cash grab element from the publisher, the best intentions were put forth by the creators. Firearm, Sludge and Prime had creative teams that did NOT phone it in.
I would say it was a little cash grabby considering the number of titles they launched in such a short time. I would say too much too soon is why their sales quickly fell out of the top 100.
Ultraverse, milestone comics, Charleston comics(blue beetle, peacemaker, captain atom), etc. etc. Here’s an idea for you future comic book creators out there: *don’t sell your IP to ANYBODY!*
I remember finding Prime in my local grocery store as a kid. It felt magic -- important -- cool -- edgy. I was just stepping out of Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and the older kids in my neighborhood were I to The Death of Superman and McFarlane Spider-Man. I felt like Prime was made for me. Great memories
It's funny, I saw the video by Jerk Comics interviewing Dave Olbrich saying the reason Malibu was bought was to keep Image's mitts off of it. Apparently it was still growing but the DC part still makes sense. There's so much business decisions in the background, it's great vids like this expand on it.
DC probably not Image - differing models, Image worked from all Creator-owned content, whereas Malibu was wholly-owned content, and DC was going to use them to modernize their line. This is probably why DC bought out Jim Lee just a few years later (admiring his job on Heroes Reborn at Marvel, even assuming 100% production of the line after Rob Liefeld's sales of his two titles dropped off significantly).
From what I've read, Image wasn't even considering Malibu. I believe Todd McFarlane was rather dissatisfied with the company and how it handled Image Comics and the whole Ultraverse itself, thus the reason they were dropped as a publisher. I could see Image considering it because it would be expedient. But, had that occurred, I'm reasonably certain the Ultraverse would have been shut down immediately. McFarlane in particular was adamant about not funding any competition. It's the reason he didn't return to Marvel in the mid-90's, like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld.
Great video as always! I grew up watching the Ultraforce cartoon and the NightMan tv show so I had some knowledge of the Ultraverse. The comics are really hard to track down. I hope in the future you do a video on Milestone comics. Those are also extremely hard to track down as well but I believe they were truly ahead of their time.
Used to actually kinda like that show. It seemed like it was gonna go somewhere in season 2... but for a short while I'd wake up at 6am on Sunday, shower, dress and sit down and watch uktraforce then flip over and watch mst3k and then finish the day off with politically incorrect...
@@powerbadpowerbad it was decent. Not the absolute greatest or anything but I liked… don’t remember the name but the dead guy. And of course prime - I loved that comic. Main,y because at the time DC was doing nothing at all with Shazam so that comic was a good stand in.
@@TimothyCollins Yes,it was nice and I remember the Nightman tv show back then too.The 90s had quite a few of animated shows based on comicbooks: Savage Dragon,Wildcats,Spawn,Cadillacs and Dinosaurs,etc,etc,...
I have strong memories of the Ultraverse cartoon & the Rune Crossovers with Conan & Rune I really like Mantra & Topaz comics , I like other titles like Hardcase , Prototype & Sludge .
Great video! Perhaps we could see in the future a video on CrossGen, another company that also nowadays is sorta affiliated with Marvel through Disney?
People are SO Stupid If Marvel uses ANY of these characters they have to pay ROYALTIES to the surviving artists/writers (Big Money too) so I can see why they are sitting on them. It's like when Jim Lee sold his characters to DC it wasn't as cut throat and they were both civil about the process unlike with Malibu/Marvel maybe someone should look into that instead of saying sell to "DC" it would have turned out the same way..
The Ultraverse was a really interesting set of books. Some disasters, but most had at least one really good hook in the premise to keep you interested. I found Hardcase to be pretty weak, but the premise of him being the last survivor of a dead superhero team was really neat, etc. Great video.
He was supposed to be their flagship character but most of his stories in the first year consisted of bad guys coming to his house and attacking him. 🤣
I really enjoyed the Ultraverse titles when they came out. They had so many interesting new spins on character types. I have almost the entire original run of the books from back in those days up until just after the Marvel integration. Sadly the books lost their heart and soul after that so I stopped buying the titles. It's strange timing on this video as I was just thinking about these old books, and the super hero series from Darkhorse, and how I wish they were still around just a few days ago. Nostalgic remembrances of better times in the industry that I used to love so much. Thank you for this video, it was a nice reminder of the past with some info that I wasn't fully aware of until now. Hey maybe you could do a similar one talking about what happened to those Darkhorse super hero comics like X, Barbwire, Ghost and some of the others. That would be neat to read about. Or maybe you have already, guess I should go look at your other videos. 😁👍
I've not done a video about Comics Greatest World...yet. But I am still gathering as much material as I can and trying to research it. So, it's something for the future.
This really reminds me of like DC purchasing Milestone comics. But unlike Marvel, DC actually integrated that universe into their mythos. In the DC multiverse Milestone is it's own universe. But later integrated their characters into the baseline dc universe. Hell one of DC's beloved animated series Static Shock was a character from that line. I so wish Marvel did that with Malibu. Because they do have some fun characters that could work in the Marvel universe. Like Prime I feel he'd definitely fit in as an Xman. Have him be like a counter to Shazam. This teen who can morph into his own idea of what a superhero is, this superman archetype. Or Ultra force that could work with shield. Something interesting fun.
Very cool. I love these tidbits about the imprints that I have only ever seen in back issue bins. Have you ever looked into Impact comics and its Characters The Fly and the Black Hood? i think they had others but those are the only two I remember from my childhood.
they're still owned by Archie, Impact was when DC had licensed the characters to produce a comics line for them after their failed Red Circle line (DC did this again not that long ago). it's now referred to as Dark Circle.
It would of been better if DC bought them, DC would at least make the Ultraverse an Earth in their multiverse and bring back some of the more successful characters like Prime.
They were an important part of the guilt of new comic book universes. Ultraverse, Image, Valiant, Dark Horse's Comics Greatest Worlds , and so many others that came and went and are now just footnotes in comic history. It reminds me of the Golden Age and the vast amounts of comic book publishers and characters now mostly forgotten. The sad thing is that since Marvel owns the character's outright, they will probably never fall into the public domain and thus never see publication in any way whatsoever. An argument can be made that Mantra was the first mainstream trans superhero. That alone should make someone want to use that character again in today's world.
I think Marvel should use the Ultraverse characters instead of them just sitting in a vault somewhere! I kinda like Prime and the other Malibu characters, it gives us a break from the status quo characters! This gives new characters a chance to shine!
So much potential so many cool characters and concepts it's sad. Loved their books as a kid. It was a fresh and a fully connected universe not bogged down by decades of continuity. Very different then image and way more original. Many could be used as movie properties. Rune or sludge as a horror movie. Ultraforce or Prime as mainline superheros. Mantra as a modern take on society and heroes the list goes on. Nightman with a big budget and story nowadays would be awesome. Here's the elephant in the room though one creators crimes are super problematic. Disney being based on family's. Giving any credit to said creator publicly is an issue. Especially considering Prime and his story. Also like was mentioned profit sharing in some form is stopping things is my guess even if it's to one .Marvel and DC are media companies first the comics they could care less for just used for plot fodder and keeping the IPs active. Disney wants full financial control any wrench in that is an issue. That and nobody takes chances anymore on movies or comics. Lesser known characters are a risk. Marvel just wanted to eat it's competition and Image wasn't for sale. Had image stayed with Malibu as a publisher we might be looking at a very different story in comics and film.
Ultraverse will be turning 30 this year. Can you imagine if Marvel make a Ultraverse fighting game, with some of the guest characters from the Main Marvel Universe, like Spider-man and Adam Warlock? It would be in a style of Injustice, or maybe Killer Instinct. That would be pretty interesting if they did.
I’m assuming Disney owns Ultraverse now, but it would be sweet if someone else could bring it to life on the big screen. Someone with edge like Gunn or Del Toro or even a few newer/ indie creators!
So basically Marvel buying the Ultraverse is quite similar to when WWE bought the WCW. Including how they managed it and what they did with it afterwards.
Well, for one thing, these days, you also have to factor DISNEY into the equation, since they own Marvel. And if they're not interested in the Ultraverse, that's the end of that conversation. But I also came across this on WikiPedia: In June 2005, when asked by Newsarama whether Marvel had any plans to revive the Ultraverse, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada replied that: “Let's just say that I wanted to bring these characters back in a very big way, but the way that the deal was initially structured, it's next to impossible to go back and publish these books. “There are rumors out there that it has to do with a certain percentage of sales that has to be doled out to the creative teams. While this is a logistical nightmare because of the way the initial deal was structured, it's not the reason why we have chosen not to go near these characters, there is a bigger one, but I really don't feel like it's my place to make that dirty laundry public.” Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort has stated in the past that the reason Marvel cannot discuss the Ultraverse properties is because of non-disclosure agreements in place with certain parties, which has been speculated to pertain to Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's contractual position as "ongoing producer deal for all Malibu Comics properties". In February 2021, when Simon Spurrier, writer of the 2021 Black Knight series, was asked about the possibility of the series taking place in the Ultraverse, he said: "None percent, I'm afraid".
Where can a find more info on that universal bible? That concept sounds very interesting! I love universal origins and deep lore stuff for fantasy universes
I liked The Strangers, Night Man, Solitaire and Ultraforce and I liked that when people wrote letters to Ultraverse comics they would get a reply. Then Marvel bought Malibu and screwed up the Ultraverse.
GOOD job on the retrospective review of Malibu Comics,I remember buying the first issue of Prime,thought the cover was pretty good.The title I bought consistently was UltraForce because George Perez drew it. RIP: Mr Perez. This was a very imformative video,I really enjoyed it,I like the history of comicbook companies. So many have gone the way of the video rental era ( it was nice for a while then oblivion ) LOL.
The Ultraverse and Malibue comics are still way beyond and better drawn than today's comics! Also Malibu did produce a Mortal Kombat animated series and the comics which I still have to this very day!
As a fan of the Ultraverse, I have scoured numerous interviews for scraps of news, which are always oblique due to NDAs. I believe that Scott's contract has a "materially participate" clause, and that Marvel's lawyers forgot a key word in that clause. I think Scott gets a cut of overall profit, a very tiny amount like a fraction of a percent, for any year that the Ultraverse IP helps contribute to Marvel's publications. I think the major problem is the lawyers forgot to specify comics profit. 1998 is also the year Blade released, and I think Marvel had to nip things in the bud as they knew more films were being developed. I have seen a sketch card contract that specifies Ultraverse alongside unflattering depictions like porn, dismemberment or criminal activity as qualifier for contract termination. I have heard the same type of penalty for any artist sneaking Prime or Mantra into a crowd shot of a comic. Breevoort also once said that it was more financially responsible for Marvel to let the trademarks lapse than publish anything with the characters. There is something terribly penalizing for Marvel in that contract, and while nobody can or will confirm, I can't imagine anything worse than their mass media money
I definitely want to check out these book. Weirdly enough I just bought the Planet of the Apes book so I was like “HUH??” When you mentioned it. Great video as usual man 💙
Trivia: While there may be a character NAMED Topaz in Thor Ragnarok, she is an original character with few, if any, ties to the Ultraverse counterpart. However, there do exist some Ultraverse Heroclix.
I have a brief story about Ultraforce (brief spoiler warning for the cartoon): my first experience seeing it was the short lived cartoon on fox kids in the early 90s. Before going to school, I saw the episode where Pixx died from radiation poisoning. It was the first time I saw a cartoon where someone died and didn't come back (even though an AI based on her was made in a later episode). It was a traumatic experience that I thought about the entire trip on the bus to school. It wasn't just her dying, it's how she died, as I thought it was very graphic. It's just something that stuck with me
The zombie guy from ultraforce was the coolest character, also topaz appeared in of the guardians of the galaxy movies but she looked so different it was hard to even tell it was her.
The take over by Marvel might have killed Malibu COics but it was happy news for the senior management who got a big paycheck out of the deal right before the comic book industry imploded!
What a waste of a bunch of characters. I would love to see Prime join the Avengers. Then Logan Paul would sue Disney lol. This copyright crap is for the birds.......RICH birds
Man when i got into comics (early 2010s) i would go through 50 cent bins because older stuff interested me more, and i remember being drawn to ultraverse. I read all my prime issues til they fell apart. I wish theyd do something with the ultraverse, but at this point, its mute. Than again, i never thougbt theyd reprint Miracleman, so who knows
It sounds like Marvel did to Steve Rosenberg, what Steve Rosenberg did to a bunch of small independent publishers inorder to form what would become Malibu and publish the Ultraverse.
The truth is that it seems like Marvel bought them because they were basically an Edgier version of Marvel Comics at the time!! And Marvel felt like they had to wipe out their competition otherwise they would literally be wiped out of the competition!!! So I believe that’s why Marvel made the move that they did!!! Malibu Comics was gonna win over them if they didn’t buy them out!!! 💯💥💥💥 Because it’s obvious that they got most of their inspiration from Marvel Comics basically!! Since many of their characters have those resemblences!!!
Very interesting! I wasn't into the Ultraverse at the time- I saw the issue of "Prime" advertised in those omnipresent ads that hyped up every single series ("This all-new violent mutant series will be Hot!" "--- is the biggest and the best!"), and I thought it looked ridiculous with his goofy proportions and pose, so I never checked it out. Years later I'd meet a handful of Ultraverse fans bemoaning its loss, with the "Marvel just bought it for the COLORING SYSTEM!" fact spammed out all the time. So this is really cool to hear the real backstory of what happened and how there was more to it. Marvel's attempts at buying out everything they could get their hands on bit them in the ass when they did too much and had to declare bankruptcy- their assumptions that owning trading cards was the wave of the future proved to be a REALLY bad call.
Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about Ultraverse and I was working for a major comic book store in the early 2000’s so I saw my share of them in back issue boxes.
I love the Malibu Comics animated half season show, and never knew of The God-Wheel concept. It would makes sens that in some places magic and technology came together/were used together.
Surprised to hear no mention of the NightMan tv series, or the Ultraforce animated series. Both edging closer every day to Lost Media, I'm curious just how well Malibu was doing to push these out so _fast_.
Nah, marvel had every intention of shutting down ultraverse. Everything they did was negative, you don't do stupid shit like that and expect positive outcomes. I never collected any of these comics, but I worked nights at a grocery store and later on as a manager for Kmart and I remember sitting around on my breaks and reading many of these. Man the 80s/90s was a good time to be alive. Wish the last 2 decades could just go away.
Like that prime has those proportions because it is a kid who morphs into a archtype of a superhero. Comics tend to have ridiculous proportions and its presented as normal. I am mainly familiar with the story with the tv show, even though its designs and style simmilar as many 90s superhero things in the story has things making it different. Even for a cartoon seems to have all kinds of people buying it, in first episode a guy with energy powers deliberatlky went super critical to try and kill the digimon robot. last episode of the underworld arc had tech girl stoping nuke but getting radiation posioning, and then dieng, no easy science cure for radiation. So seems to be allot of heros and villians being real killed which is pretty different. Though I like it, that it has permant changes that can't be undone and concusions to storylines makes it a better show. If it followed path of marvel it would be just any old forgetable superhero slop. Storys which have conclusions are better then things that go on forever. 9:59 crossover event, that just reaks of corny. Leave that to bad fanfics. I would only want ultraverse back is if series has a satisfying conclusion, no multiverses or endless reboots, one and done. You know all amazing stories though human history like LOTR and harry potter and the good star wars and all old and ancient ones before, notice that they have a beginning and end and don't rehash existing stories but tell new ones. Dumbledore dies even in a world filled with magic.
It’s better to hold on to something instead of selling it and risking a competition. A shame Marvel owns CrossGen. That Infinity Stone makes this interesting and (after all that MCU’s spotlight) even weird that they haven’t used this concept recently. They can produce another 50 movies in the next 15 years but in the meantime testing the waters and expanding with different ideas/characters would be a smart move.
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During the ridiculously short lived revival of the Epic Comics, when Marvel was taking fan submissions, I asked if I could pitch anything involving the Ultraverse. Joe Quesada himself told me no. It's a shame that those characters are languishing in limbo; it probably would have been better if DC had brought them instead.
yup, marvel considers Ultraverse permanently shelved.
Now that's an interesting anecdote
Topaz appeared in a mcu movie for literally no reason so there’s that
@@kaisarr7632 yes but they altered the MCU version enough to be distinct from the Malibu incarnation. Marvel has also had another character named Topaz from the 70s as well. It sorta how they heavily altered the characters in the tv series Mutant X to avoid any issues with Fox who at the time held the license for any X-Men family characters (they didnt product the TV series, that was the late Fireworks Entertainment, and Marvel had to go to court with Fox to prove their production wasn't using pre-existing X-Men characters before the series could go ahead). In other words, MCU Topaz was made divergent enough to not give Rosenberg a payday.
I actually submitted a script for the short lived Epic comics revival from Marvel during the early 2000's (sadly, after they fired Bill Jemas, whoever was there literally BURNED all the submissions from fans because they wanted to erase all loose ends from the Jemas regime that they realistically could erase). Anyway, I ended up submitting something related to Marvel comic's Terror Inc.However, I originally wanted to submit something on Ultraverse's Hardcase, but after doing some research I learned that Marvel was VERY adamant about never using the Ultraverse characters ever again in a comic. This became very obvious during 2015's third Secret Wars comic event when they did their multi-verse saga and brought back every obscure thing they had (things like Marvel's New Universe, even Marvel's short lived Shadowline Saga line of comics from Marvel's late 80's version of their Epic comics line which was their attempt at R rated superheroes)... but the one thing they didn't bring back in their big multi-verse Secret Wars event of 2015 was Ultraverse. Anyway, I remember reading an interview with Jim Starlin when he was writing the Thanos series from the early 2000's and he mentioned how he wanted to show Rune from the Ultraverse and the Infinity gems in relation to the Ultraverse in the Thanos ongoing series, but Marvel told him "NO" and they mentioned something along the lines of how they couldn't use the Ultraverse characters for some dark, ominous reason (but the specifics were never revealed).
The Ultraverse was something incredibly special (same with the original Valiant), there were so many great titles. I didn't discover it until after it's collapse, with vivid memories of the Glen A. Larson Nightman adaptation fresh in my mind. I still think that Barry Windsor Smith's Rune is one of the best comics that I've ever read or will ever read
Rune was amazing. Uggh. So long ago.
I remember liking the cartoon as a kid. Prime and Prototype were my favorites. For a while it seemed like a fever dream "was there a show with not-Iron Man and a kid in a goo hulk?" But seems like in recent years people are talking about it more. It's very 90s but wonder if it could be brought back as a sort of nostalgia retro property rather than trying to modernize it
Facts
Ultraverse deserved better. It was such a good idea at the start. What really sucks is that now that Disney owns Marvel, any hope of the Ultraverse being resurrected is dead. Thanks for covering this.
It was dead even before that unfortunately. The word on the street is they tried to resurrect it in the early 2000s but the revenue split with creators was more than Marvel (let alone Disney, this was pre-acquisition) was willing to pay, effectively shelving the entire line forever.
@@RarebitFiends Tom Mason, former Malibu editor, dispelled this rumor. that rate is based upon DCs rate, so it's pennies, and not massive profit sharing like some would lead you to believe. would be the same rate as say Brian Bolland gets for Watchmen. apparently it's a probably in-eternum producer deal Rosenberg holds with Marvel from his sale (which also scored him a VP position). he probably would stand to receive a percentage of gross payout on anything related to the Malibu properties from keychains to toys to films/tv. Creators verified this. look for my comment in this thread for links to direct statements from Tom on this subject.
@@DaiAtlus79 Thank you for the info! This raises much bigger questions though. Bolland gets royalties on a comic he had nothing to do with?! How did he swing that?
@@RarebitFiends i meant Dave Gibbons, sorry (i get him and Brian mixed up, was co-processing this and an eager pup who wanted to play), but yeah i meant Dave (Alan Moore signed off on any claims, so the percentage goes to Dave).
@@DaiAtlus79 Yeah I know, I was just poking fun. :) I am also aware of Moore's relationship with the work and the end of his friendship with Gibbons over the movie.
I’ve been interested in dead universes lately: malibus older genesis universe, old valiant, defiant, crossgen, comics greatest world, wildstorm, razorline, shadowline ect
Let me recommend you add Broadway Comics to the list. It was Shooter's startup after Defiant folded (thanks Marvel), it lasted only a year I think, but the books were all up to Shooter standards. If you like Shooter Valiant and Defiant, you will like Broadway.
@@RarebitFiends i think Golden Books sale to Comcast makes the Broadway comics line property of NBC/Universal now.
@@DaiAtlus79 I believe you are correct.
@@RarebitFiends ironic as Broadway Comics was a spinoff of Lorne Michael's Broadway Video which was behind SNL at NBC
Check out Tekno comix, Neil gaiman Mr hero, lady justice, Leonard nimoy primordial. Plus many more titles. Lasted over a year back in the mid 90s
I miss Malibu. 😢
This is speculation, but I feel like if the possibility of reviving the Ultraverse in the 2000s had led to anything, it most likely would have led to an Ultimate Universe, Supreme Power, or newuniversal style reboot. And while yes, the Ultraverse was edgy, more "realistic" and part of a well-connected universe on its own, I think the same could be said for Squadron Supreme and New Universe, and that didn't stop Marvel from trying to reboot them Ultimate-style, with varied results.
One thing worth mentioning, the Ultraverse was created with the intention of being a multimedia property. They produced two live action short films (which I believe both can be found here on UA-cam) one as promo for Hardcase, and the second, Firearm shipping on a vhs bundled with an issue of the comic (#1 I think?) And the film led directly into the comic. They also got a video game or two out of it, 3 card sets, and as others noted both a season of an ultraverse cartoon and short lived toy line to go with it. None of this is germane to the video topic though, so I understand why it was not mentioned. I am just starved for Ultraverse content. 😅
That firearm vhs blue me away as i kid. I never owned it, but it amazed me when i saw it on the shelf
yup, the Nightman TV series was essentially the culmination of this. Apparently Men In Black is a sore spot for him as he had zero rights to the IP as after it finished it's run, the rights fell back to creator Lowell Cunningham like many other cut titles. The Malibu VHS shorts are here on UA-cam btw.
@@DaiAtlus79 OH man I cannot believe I forgot about the Nightman show! I was glued to it when it was on 😅
Malibu still owned publishing rights to Men In Black. They got a small percentage of film risiduals, which I'm sure Marvel was cognizant of when buying Malibu. The buzz was huge, and Marvel knew it was going to be a hit.
@@RockandrollNegro yes but that's the only rights they still held, Cunningham owned IP rights overall - DC had the same deal over at Vertigo and other imprints, where Preacher and RED still had the DC Comics label in their live-action forays even though they were both creator-owned properties (Image intentionally didn't have this stipulation when it formed, to allow creators true freedom to shop around their properties).
This kind of informative video essays where you explain the different historical aspects of the comic book industry with it's obscure or lesser known moments, parties, creators and the like, are the kind of content that makes me consider you the best channel specialising in the topic out there.
Kudos, Overlord. 🤘🏻
I’m always really impressed by the quality of the videos. I can tell that a lot of time and energy was put into it. You go above and beyond with the visuals as well as the content/research.
Thank you very much. I do try to give everyone something worth their time.
Excellent video
Thank you very much! I appreciate you taking a moment to say so.
I find it a great pity, the end of the Ultraverse. My reasons for liking it were that the artwork was superior, as well as the price point. At $2, it was easy to investigate books you may know little about. My favorite books were, Prime by Breyfogle, Mantra, and Ultraforce by Perez. I discovered an artist named John Statema who, to my knowledge, has done very little comic work since. I just recall being taken in my his style. As usual, nicely done. Have a good afternoon.
I collected many of them, I terribly miss them! the atmosphere in their stories were original. I collected Prime, Hardcase, Sludge, Rune, and my favorite, Ultraforce (drawn by George Perez, one of the best comics ever). When Marvel came I didn't like some changes (the new Mantra and the dissapearance of Sludge) and others were excelent, like the new Ultraforce (without Hardcase it wasn't the same, but it was cool). One thing they did was the "Avengers/Ultraforce" crossover that was copied big way in the "DC vs Mavel" crossover, I think they were experimenting how the public would react to crossover chracters before the Amalgam characters appeared. In the Marvel Era the sales had a boost but nothing that would make them profitable in comparission to other Marvel tiltes. The last Ultaverse comic "Ultraverse Future Shock" is the saddest comic ever. I hope they come back, but with the original Godwheel universe AND SLUDGE!
Wow. I literally was just telling my best friend about Malibu and the Ultraverse and how the Avengers tied into it in the 90s. Crazy
Thank you for the breakdown. I was never a fan, but I completely understand the appeal of the coloring at that time. I am a fan of the Mighty Crusaders. Could you do a multi-part series on their history?
I remember listening to a very entertaining podcast about them once, and I'm not much of a podcast listener. They definitely deserve a video.
Those commercials got me to go to a store and buy the comics (Hardcase, Prime, and The Strangers). Those three books got me into 30 years of collecting comics.
For better or worse, the Ultraverse changed the course of my entire life.
Thanks so much for this! It’s the video I’ve been waiting for the most. Lol I asked Tom Brevoort about the Ultraverse over at his newsletter and he did indeed cite an NDA as the reason he couldn’t discuss it. It’s a shame such great characters are languishing. Thanks again for everything!
You're welcome. And, yes...from what I understand the NDA exists and it may be the reason why no one can discuss the legalities of the Ultraverse. I can only speculate as to why there's an NDA in the first place.
I feel bad when people lump these comics in as some sort of cash grab or what have you. Were they all winners? No, of course not, but there was some good stuff- Prime (particularly the first year), Firearm, Sludge and even Ultraforce had it's moments. The post Marvel relaunch stuff... yeah, that was pretty bad for the most part, but still resulted in a couple of decent crossovers and the Ultraforce relaunch which was good while Warren Ellis was attached.
I agree. While it may have had a bit of a cash grab element from the publisher, the best intentions were put forth by the creators. Firearm, Sludge and Prime had creative teams that did NOT phone it in.
I would say it was a little cash grabby considering the number of titles they launched in such a short time. I would say too much too soon is why their sales quickly fell out of the top 100.
@@StrangeBrainParts This reminds me; my wife beseeches you to do a definitive Crossgen video, please
@@StrangeBrainParts Don't forget Perez on Ultraforce,he didn't phone it in either.
Ultraverse, milestone comics, Charleston comics(blue beetle, peacemaker, captain atom), etc. etc.
Here’s an idea for you future comic book creators out there: *don’t sell your IP to ANYBODY!*
I remember finding Prime in my local grocery store as a kid. It felt magic -- important -- cool -- edgy.
I was just stepping out of Sonic the Hedgehog comics, and the older kids in my neighborhood were I to The Death of Superman and McFarlane Spider-Man.
I felt like Prime was made for me. Great memories
Yeah good ole days being a kid
Grew up super religious so I would have to hide the Prime Comics I did have from my Mom lol. Must have been 1996 or 1997.
It's funny, I saw the video by Jerk Comics interviewing Dave Olbrich saying the reason Malibu was bought was to keep Image's mitts off of it. Apparently it was still growing but the DC part still makes sense. There's so much business decisions in the background, it's great vids like this expand on it.
DC probably not Image - differing models, Image worked from all Creator-owned content, whereas Malibu was wholly-owned content, and DC was going to use them to modernize their line. This is probably why DC bought out Jim Lee just a few years later (admiring his job on Heroes Reborn at Marvel, even assuming 100% production of the line after Rob Liefeld's sales of his two titles dropped off significantly).
From what I've read, Image wasn't even considering Malibu. I believe Todd McFarlane was rather dissatisfied with the company and how it handled Image Comics and the whole Ultraverse itself, thus the reason they were dropped as a publisher. I could see Image considering it because it would be expedient. But, had that occurred, I'm reasonably certain the Ultraverse would have been shut down immediately. McFarlane in particular was adamant about not funding any competition. It's the reason he didn't return to Marvel in the mid-90's, like Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld.
Great video as always! I grew up watching the Ultraforce cartoon and the NightMan tv show so I had some knowledge of the Ultraverse. The comics are really hard to track down. I hope in the future you do a video on Milestone comics. Those are also extremely hard to track down as well but I believe they were truly ahead of their time.
Milestone comics were also ground-breaking when they debutted I bought: Icon,Hardware and Static,good comics.
Ultraverse is hard to track down? Since when?
@@LawgSkrak where are you finding them? I’m in the west coast, Southern California
They also made a cartoon call UltraForce
They did, indeed. And there were toys, too.
Used to actually kinda like that show. It seemed like it was gonna go somewhere in season 2... but for a short while I'd wake up at 6am on Sunday, shower, dress and sit down and watch uktraforce then flip over and watch mst3k and then finish the day off with politically incorrect...
@@TimothyCollins I didn't know there was an animated show till several years ago when I found it on youtube.
@@powerbadpowerbad it was decent. Not the absolute greatest or anything but I liked… don’t remember the name but the dead guy. And of course prime - I loved that comic. Main,y because at the time DC was doing nothing at all with Shazam so that comic was a good stand in.
@@TimothyCollins Yes,it was nice and I remember the Nightman tv show back then too.The 90s had quite a few of animated shows based on comicbooks: Savage Dragon,Wildcats,Spawn,Cadillacs and Dinosaurs,etc,etc,...
Just a heads up, Jerk Comics also did an interview with Dave Olbrich about a year ago and he goes into some inside baseball on Malibu Comics.
Thanks! I don't know how I missed that. I will have to take a look soon.
Great video. I remember the Malibu characters back in the day and would love to see them come back in some kind of reimagined way.
I have strong memories of the Ultraverse cartoon & the Rune Crossovers with Conan & Rune
I really like Mantra & Topaz comics ,
I like other titles like Hardcase , Prototype & Sludge .
Prime is a perfect fucking character to do so much stuff with .
Great video!
Perhaps we could see in the future a video on CrossGen, another company that also nowadays is sorta affiliated with Marvel through Disney?
I've been looking into CrossGen and trying to find a way to discuss it.
started hunting down all the ultraverse titles bc of this vid !
People are SO Stupid If Marvel uses ANY of these characters they have to pay ROYALTIES to the surviving artists/writers (Big Money too) so I can see why they are sitting on them. It's like when Jim Lee sold his characters to DC it wasn't as cut throat and they were both civil about the process unlike with Malibu/Marvel maybe someone should look into that instead of saying sell to "DC" it would have turned out the same way..
The Ultraverse was a really interesting set of books. Some disasters, but most had at least one really good hook in the premise to keep you interested. I found Hardcase to be pretty weak, but the premise of him being the last survivor of a dead superhero team was really neat, etc. Great video.
He was supposed to be their flagship character but most of his stories in the first year consisted of bad guys coming to his house and attacking him. 🤣
I really enjoyed the Ultraverse titles when they came out. They had so many interesting new spins on character types. I have almost the entire original run of the books from back in those days up until just after the Marvel integration. Sadly the books lost their heart and soul after that so I stopped buying the titles. It's strange timing on this video as I was just thinking about these old books, and the super hero series from Darkhorse, and how I wish they were still around just a few days ago. Nostalgic remembrances of better times in the industry that I used to love so much. Thank you for this video, it was a nice reminder of the past with some info that I wasn't fully aware of until now.
Hey maybe you could do a similar one talking about what happened to those Darkhorse super hero comics like X, Barbwire, Ghost and some of the others. That would be neat to read about. Or maybe you have already, guess I should go look at your other videos. 😁👍
I read a few issues of Ghost but I don't remember much about her.
X was a Badass.
I've not done a video about Comics Greatest World...yet. But I am still gathering as much material as I can and trying to research it. So, it's something for the future.
I wonder if the Disney lawyers could work something out? 🤔
Disney doesnt want to the creators
This really reminds me of like DC purchasing Milestone comics. But unlike Marvel, DC actually integrated that universe into their mythos. In the DC multiverse Milestone is it's own universe. But later integrated their characters into the baseline dc universe. Hell one of DC's beloved animated series Static Shock was a character from that line. I so wish Marvel did that with Malibu. Because they do have some fun characters that could work in the Marvel universe. Like Prime I feel he'd definitely fit in as an Xman. Have him be like a counter to Shazam. This teen who can morph into his own idea of what a superhero is, this superman archetype. Or Ultra force that could work with shield. Something interesting fun.
What a shame Marvel should have really taken advantage of this characters especially PRIME wish could have been their version of Shazam!
I never knew that ex-Mutants was continued by Malibu. I had the original series and was a fan.
Very cool. I love these tidbits about the imprints that I have only ever seen in back issue bins. Have you ever looked into Impact comics and its Characters The Fly and the Black Hood? i think they had others but those are the only two I remember from my childhood.
they're still owned by Archie, Impact was when DC had licensed the characters to produce a comics line for them after their failed Red Circle line (DC did this again not that long ago). it's now referred to as Dark Circle.
@@DaiAtlus79 thanks for the info!
I liked the Nightman show in 90's. I think I even bought some of comics, and then poof! Canceled!
It would of been better if DC bought them, DC would at least make the Ultraverse an Earth in their multiverse and bring back some of the more successful characters like Prime.
Marvel probably had to pay royalties to the original publishers or creators and that's why they won't publish new comics or old collections.
Me encanta ver material sobre Ultraverse, no recibe el amor que se merece❤
They were an important part of the guilt of new comic book universes. Ultraverse, Image, Valiant, Dark Horse's Comics Greatest Worlds , and so many others that came and went and are now just footnotes in comic history. It reminds me of the Golden Age and the vast amounts of comic book publishers and characters now mostly forgotten. The sad thing is that since Marvel owns the character's outright, they will probably never fall into the public domain and thus never see publication in any way whatsoever.
An argument can be made that Mantra was the first mainstream trans superhero. That alone should make someone want to use that character again in today's world.
I think Marvel should use the Ultraverse characters instead of them just sitting in a vault somewhere! I kinda like Prime and the other Malibu characters, it gives us a break from the status quo characters! This gives new characters a chance to shine!
So much potential so many cool characters and concepts it's sad. Loved their books as a kid. It was a fresh and a fully connected universe not bogged down by decades of continuity. Very different then image and way more original. Many could be used as movie properties. Rune or sludge as a horror movie. Ultraforce or Prime as mainline superheros. Mantra as a modern take on society and heroes the list goes on. Nightman with a big budget and story nowadays would be awesome. Here's the elephant in the room though one creators crimes are super problematic. Disney being based on family's. Giving any credit to said creator publicly is an issue. Especially considering Prime and his story. Also like was mentioned profit sharing in some form is stopping things is my guess even if it's to one .Marvel and DC are media companies first the comics they could care less for just used for plot fodder and keeping the IPs active. Disney wants full financial control any wrench in that is an issue. That and nobody takes chances anymore on movies or comics. Lesser known characters are a risk. Marvel just wanted to eat it's competition and Image wasn't for sale. Had image stayed with Malibu as a publisher we might be looking at a very different story in comics and film.
Ultraverse will be turning 30 this year. Can you imagine if Marvel make a Ultraverse fighting game, with some of the guest characters from the Main Marvel Universe, like Spider-man and Adam Warlock? It would be in a style of Injustice, or maybe Killer Instinct. That would be pretty interesting if they did.
I’m assuming Disney owns Ultraverse now, but it would be sweet if someone else could bring it to life on the big screen. Someone with edge like Gunn or Del Toro or even a few newer/ indie creators!
I don't give a f*ck. Sludge is still one of my all time favorite comic book characters ever.
I remember liking Ultraverse when it came out, until Firearm launched and I *FELL IN LOVE*.
The lose of that title still hurts me to this day!
So basically Marvel buying the Ultraverse is quite similar to when WWE bought the WCW. Including how they managed it and what they did with it afterwards.
I see a lot if similarities with marvel as wwe, and dc as WCW, lol.
Marvel was ruthless to ruin a gem like ultraverse all because of coporate greed.
Well, for one thing, these days, you also have to factor DISNEY into the equation, since they own Marvel. And if they're not interested in the Ultraverse, that's the end of that conversation. But I also came across this on WikiPedia:
In June 2005, when asked by Newsarama whether Marvel had any plans to revive the Ultraverse, Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada replied that:
“Let's just say that I wanted to bring these characters back in a very big way, but the way that the deal was initially structured, it's next to impossible to go back and publish these books.
“There are rumors out there that it has to do with a certain percentage of sales that has to be doled out to the creative teams. While this is a logistical nightmare because of the way the initial deal was structured, it's not the reason why we have chosen not to go near these characters, there is a bigger one, but I really don't feel like it's my place to make that dirty laundry public.”
Senior Vice President of Publishing Tom Brevoort has stated in the past that the reason Marvel cannot discuss the Ultraverse properties is because of non-disclosure agreements in place with certain parties, which has been speculated to pertain to Scott Mitchell Rosenberg's contractual position as "ongoing producer deal for all Malibu Comics properties".
In February 2021, when Simon Spurrier, writer of the 2021 Black Knight series, was asked about the possibility of the series taking place in the Ultraverse, he said: "None percent, I'm afraid".
It was good while it lasted.
iger wants to sell off properties someone needs to put an investment group together to see if iger will sell it off
Where can a find more info on that universal bible? That concept sounds very interesting! I love universal origins and deep lore stuff for fantasy universes
I liked The Strangers, Night Man, Solitaire and Ultraforce and I liked that when people wrote letters to Ultraverse comics they would get a reply. Then Marvel bought Malibu and screwed up the Ultraverse.
GOOD job on the retrospective review of Malibu Comics,I remember buying the first issue of Prime,thought the cover was pretty good.The title I bought consistently was UltraForce because George Perez drew it. RIP: Mr Perez. This was a very imformative video,I really enjoyed it,I like the history of comicbook companies. So many have gone the way of the video rental era ( it was nice for a while then oblivion ) LOL.
too bad marvel has the rights the characters will never be seen again
Rune!
The Ultraverse and Malibue comics are still way beyond and better drawn than today's comics! Also Malibu did produce a Mortal Kombat animated series and the comics which I still have to this very day!
And the moral is the same as always: marvel sucks
Damn shame they can't/won't use those characters.
As a fan of the Ultraverse, I have scoured numerous interviews for scraps of news, which are always oblique due to NDAs.
I believe that Scott's contract has a "materially participate" clause, and that Marvel's lawyers forgot a key word in that clause.
I think Scott gets a cut of overall profit, a very tiny amount like a fraction of a percent, for any year that the Ultraverse IP helps contribute to Marvel's publications. I think the major problem is the lawyers forgot to specify comics profit. 1998 is also the year Blade released, and I think Marvel had to nip things in the bud as they knew more films were being developed.
I have seen a sketch card contract that specifies Ultraverse alongside unflattering depictions like porn, dismemberment or criminal activity as qualifier for contract termination. I have heard the same type of penalty for any artist sneaking Prime or Mantra into a crowd shot of a comic. Breevoort also once said that it was more financially responsible for Marvel to let the trademarks lapse than publish anything with the characters.
There is something terribly penalizing for Marvel in that contract, and while nobody can or will confirm, I can't imagine anything worse than their mass media money
I definitely want to check out these book. Weirdly enough I just bought the Planet of the Apes book so I was like “HUH??” When you mentioned it. Great video as usual man 💙
Make a video on Wildstorm and do deep dives into their comic titles
I wonder how things would've went for Malibu if the DC deal went through? That's basically the same deal Milestone had with them
I remember this time.
Trivia: While there may be a character NAMED Topaz in Thor Ragnarok, she is an original character with few, if any, ties to the Ultraverse counterpart. However, there do exist some Ultraverse Heroclix.
23 years later, and I finally have answers to this very question. Thank you.
You're welcome. :)
I have a brief story about Ultraforce (brief spoiler warning for the cartoon):
my first experience seeing it was the short lived cartoon on fox kids in the early 90s. Before going to school, I saw the episode where Pixx died from radiation poisoning. It was the first time I saw a cartoon where someone died and didn't come back (even though an AI based on her was made in a later episode). It was a traumatic experience that I thought about the entire trip on the bus to school. It wasn't just her dying, it's how she died, as I thought it was very graphic. It's just something that stuck with me
The zombie guy from ultraforce was the coolest character, also topaz appeared in of the guardians of the galaxy movies but she looked so different it was hard to even tell it was her.
I would love to see your videos on The Authority, WildStorm, maybe Valiant too.
The cartoon wasn't all bad
The take over by Marvel might have killed Malibu COics but it was happy news for the senior management who got a big paycheck out of the deal right before the comic book industry imploded!
I just subbed on the strength of the content and presentation. Good stuff!
Thank you very much. I hope future videos help to continue that subscription.
What a waste of a bunch of characters. I would love to see Prime join the Avengers. Then Logan Paul would sue Disney lol. This copyright crap is for the birds.......RICH birds
It started out sooooo good but then...
Man when i got into comics (early 2010s) i would go through 50 cent bins because older stuff interested me more, and i remember being drawn to ultraverse. I read all my prime issues til they fell apart. I wish theyd do something with the ultraverse, but at this point, its mute. Than again, i never thougbt theyd reprint Miracleman, so who knows
The most generic superhero names i've ever seen. I mean Nightman? come on
Nightman = Fighter of the Dayman!
It sounds like Marvel did to Steve Rosenberg, what Steve Rosenberg did to a bunch of small independent publishers inorder to form what would become Malibu and publish the Ultraverse.
This is a shame. The ultraverse comics were pretty awesome. I still love characters like Lord Pumpkin, Sludge, Rune, and Ghoul. R.I.P Ultraverse
The truth is that it seems like Marvel bought them because they were basically an Edgier version of Marvel Comics at the time!! And Marvel felt like they had to wipe out their competition otherwise they would literally be wiped out of the competition!!! So I believe that’s why Marvel made the move that they did!!! Malibu Comics was gonna win over them if they didn’t buy them out!!! 💯💥💥💥 Because it’s obvious that they got most of their inspiration from Marvel Comics basically!! Since many of their characters have those resemblences!!!
All I know is that disney aint touching them.
Very interesting! I wasn't into the Ultraverse at the time- I saw the issue of "Prime" advertised in those omnipresent ads that hyped up every single series ("This all-new violent mutant series will be Hot!" "--- is the biggest and the best!"), and I thought it looked ridiculous with his goofy proportions and pose, so I never checked it out. Years later I'd meet a handful of Ultraverse fans bemoaning its loss, with the "Marvel just bought it for the COLORING SYSTEM!" fact spammed out all the time. So this is really cool to hear the real backstory of what happened and how there was more to it. Marvel's attempts at buying out everything they could get their hands on bit them in the ass when they did too much and had to declare bankruptcy- their assumptions that owning trading cards was the wave of the future proved to be a REALLY bad call.
Ultraverse character, Topaz, appeared in Thor: Ragnarok. She was the woman that acted as a lieutenant to Jeff Goldblum's character.
i LOVED the uLTRAVERSE! up until is bought by marvel
Gene Ha drew two beautiful issues of Night-Man . It’s a shame that they have been gone so many years .
I’m surprised that marvel didn’t make a omnibus version of the crossovers with the marvel characters
Oh my gosh! I completely forgot about Ultraverse and I was working for a major comic book store in the early 2000’s so I saw my share of them in back issue boxes.
Prime was pretty good,. was kind of a more interesting version of Captain Marvel (Shazam). I have most issues.
I don't think The Ultraverse could have existed in any other decade. Like Adam X: The X-Treme, it was 90's Concentrate.
I love the Malibu Comics animated half season show, and never knew of The God-Wheel concept. It would makes sens that in some places magic and technology came together/were used together.
Surprised to hear no mention of the NightMan tv series, or the Ultraforce animated series. Both edging closer every day to Lost Media, I'm curious just how well Malibu was doing to push these out so _fast_.
Nah, marvel had every intention of shutting down ultraverse. Everything they did was negative, you don't do stupid shit like that and expect positive outcomes.
I never collected any of these comics, but I worked nights at a grocery store and later on as a manager for Kmart and I remember sitting around on my breaks and reading many of these. Man the 80s/90s was a good time to be alive. Wish the last 2 decades could just go away.
Like that prime has those proportions because it is a kid who morphs into a archtype of a superhero. Comics tend to have ridiculous proportions and its presented as normal.
I am mainly familiar with the story with the tv show, even though its designs and style simmilar as many 90s superhero things in the story has things making it different. Even for a cartoon seems to have all kinds of people buying it, in first episode a guy with energy powers deliberatlky went super critical to try and kill the digimon robot. last episode of the underworld arc had tech girl stoping nuke but getting radiation posioning, and then dieng, no easy science cure for radiation.
So seems to be allot of heros and villians being real killed which is pretty different.
Though I like it, that it has permant changes that can't be undone and concusions to storylines makes it a better show. If it followed path of marvel it would be just any old forgetable superhero slop. Storys which have conclusions are better then things that go on forever.
9:59 crossover event, that just reaks of corny. Leave that to bad fanfics.
I would only want ultraverse back is if series has a satisfying conclusion, no multiverses or endless reboots, one and done. You know all amazing stories though human history like LOTR and harry potter and the good star wars and all old and ancient ones before, notice that they have a beginning and end and don't rehash existing stories but tell new ones. Dumbledore dies even in a world filled with magic.
At least marvel attempted something with this unlike crossgen that they only bought for their printer company.....
It’s better to hold on to something instead of selling it and risking a competition. A shame Marvel owns CrossGen.
That Infinity Stone makes this interesting and (after all that MCU’s spotlight) even weird that they haven’t used this concept recently. They can produce another 50 movies in the next 15 years but in the meantime testing the waters and expanding with different ideas/characters would be a smart move.
Hopefully what ever happens to the ultraverse, gerard jones doesn't receive a dime in royalties.
Lore of What Happened To The Ultraverse? (1993-1997) Momentum 100
Any chance you could do a video on the history of Milestone Comics?
That is a very good possibility.