The Marvel Cinematic Universe may adapt the 'Ultimatum' storyline and it might just be their biggest mistake
With 'Avengers: Endgame' and 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' drawing the first great saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to a close, all eyes are now on the future. Fan-favorite storylines like 'Secret Wars' have been suggested as possibilities for Marvel's next big cinematic event but new rumors that are doing the rounds online suggest the MCU may go in a drastically different direction.
According to a recent report, the MCU is planning on adapting the 2009 storyline 'Ultimatum' for its next big crossover event. Featuring the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, 'Ultimatum' saw Magneto declare vengeance on the human race for the death of his son Quicksilver and his daughter the Scarlet Witch, bringing death and devastation to the world and causing the deaths of many important characters.
MCU Cosmic reports that Marvel Studios is developing an adaptation of the series with some tweaks introduced to make it more suitable for the MCU. However, short of a complete rewrite, we're not really sure how the MCU might improve on the 'Ultimatum' storyline.
The event was derided by critics and fans and is considered the absolute worst thing to come out of the Ultimate Universe. That's saying a lot because while the Ultimate Universe did start off strong, it quickly devolved into a study in what not to do with Marvel characters.
'Ultimatum' itself was criticized both for its reliance on shock value and its overly graphic depictions of violence that often reached disgusting proportions. Magneto's attack may have been a disaster in-story but the real disaster was the writing that went into this series and we'd very much appreciate it if Marvel didn't remind us this existed in the first place.
As we mentioned earlier, there are far better storylines that the movies could explore from the coming of Galactus to the invasion of Kang. Even if they wanted to reuse the tired trope of "Magneto attacks New York", they could at least try to do it using a bit more taste.
There's always the possibility that the MCU might pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat and somehow turn this pile of flaming trash around, making it into a worthwhile story. But alternatively, this decision could ruin a reputation that's been built up over a decade of cinematic brilliance, and at the end of the day we have to ask, is it worth the risk?