Best: Marvel's new Ultimate Universe lets go of the past
Mainstream audiences may think about Marvel for its movies, but the comics are where it all began, and they are also the source of a big win for the studio this year. Every decade or so, comics tend to have a major reboot to keep up with current times, and that's what Marvel's new Ultimates line was expected to do. But it has become such a success primarily because it is willing to do things differently.
The premise of this new continuity is that a villain called the Maker traveled to a new reality and prevented most superheroes from rising to prominence. Tony Stark and his allies are trying to bring superheroes back. In 2024, the Ultimates line included Ultimate Spider-Man, Ultimate Black Panther, Ultimate X-Men, and The Ultimates.
While the characters are generally recognizable, they are at different stages of their lives when they gained powers, and they respond differently to crises than earlier iterations. Some characters are completely new. Peach Momoko, the writer behind Ultimate X-Men, has been clear that "My Ultimate X-Men isn't directly influenced by classic X-Men stories. I like to believe C.B. and Jonathan Hickman chose me because they wanted something completely new and different."
Embracing change is a very good choice for Marvel Comics, especially since the MCU seems generally unwilling to move on from its glory days. Some of the best moments from the new Ultimates line include: The introduction of weather-wielder Maystorm; Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson starting their own newspaper; and Killmonger teaming up with Storm to save T'Challa. This comic line-up is some of Marvel's best in years.
Worst: Sony tries to make a Kraven the Hunter film without Spider-Man
Despite their best hopes, Kraven the Hunter has been a true box office failure for Sony, earning only $11 million domestically in its opening weekend. For comparison, The Marvels (which was seen as a major MCU flop) earned $46.1 million in its domestic opening weekend. This was no big surprise, since it was the most recent attempt by Sony to showcase a Spider-Man villain without his nemesis.
Per Collider reviewer Aidan Kelley, the film is "narratively empty, technically baffling, and above all else, fundamentally misinterpreting the characters it's adapting." Perhaps the biggest evidence of this is that the character, Kraven the Hunter, is now an animal lover? The comic character fights Spider-Man because he is bored of easily slaughtering animals and wants more of a challenge. The movie presents a completely different person.
All of this is because Sony can't or won't use Spider-Man due to how well their partnership with Marvel Studios to use the character in the MCU is going. The narrative twists and turns in its attempts to make Kraven matter without the web-slinger, but it just doesn't work. The multiple antagonists the film throws at Kraven fail to have much of an impact, and the titular character feels directionless. It's no wonder the studio is apparently considering giving up on their Spider-Man universe after yet another failure.