Marvel’s Ultimate Universe is racing toward its culmination, and today AIPT has an exclusive triple-threat reveal: a brand-new preview of Ultimate Endgame #1, nine never-before-seen sketch covers packed into the upcoming True Believer Blind Bags, and fresh reflections from Jonathan Hickman himself on shaping the Ultimate line and bringing Ultimate Spider-Man to life. As the Maker looms large over the universe he helped remake, Hickman offers candid thoughts on the creative journey so far—while the preview and sketch covers give fans their first look at how it all begins to unravel in Ultimate Endgame #1.
Jonathan Hickman reflected on the creative journey behind Ultimate Spider-Man, sharing how closely the final product aligns with the earliest ambitions of the line.
“There’s certainly a thing to ‘the story changes in the telling’ that always happens on any of these projects,” Hickman said. “But I will say that the throughline for Ultimate Spider-Man, you know, the point of the whole thing, the overarching idea, hasn’t changed a bit. I’m very happy with how the whole thing has come together, and if it lands the way I think it will, I believe that this will be a book that people will be reading for years. So, fingers crossed.”
Asked whether a particular moment or achievement stands out to him from the run, Hickman pointed directly to the creative collaboration behind the scenes. “Oh, the real kick here has been watching David [Messina] really grow as an artist throughout the whole experience and getting to watch a true pro like Marco [Checchetto] just knock it out of the park on every single page that’s come in over the last two years. Such an incredible job by these two gentlemen, and as always, I’m so grateful to have had the experience of working with them.”
That sense of long-term vision and collaboration makes today’s reveal even more exciting. Courtesy of Marvel Comics, AIPT can share a preview of Ultimate Endgame #1, along with nine sketch covers not yet revealed until today. Scroll down for those. The end of the Ultimate Universe starts here, written by Deniz Camp with art by Terry & Rachel Dodson and Jonas Scharf.
So what’s Ultimate Endgame #1 about?
ENDGAME HAS ARRIVED! The moment that has been building since the beginning of the new Ultimate Universe! Spinning out of Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s ULTIMATES comes the culmination of ULTIMATE INVASION… Two (thousand) years have passed in the Ultimate Universe, but inside the City, the Maker has had thousands of years to prepare for his return! With the barrier around the City finally gone, heroes all across the Ultimate Universe must mobilize to defeat the Maker before it’s game over. For everyone. Meanwhile, the rest of the world wages World War III…
Cover Artist Mark Brooks
Release Date: December 31, 2025
Each BLIND BAG will contain one issue of ULTIMATE ENDGAME #1 with sketch, and we’ve got nine covers to check out today! The covers are by the Marvel Studios Visual Development team.
There are even more sketch covers by:
Main Cover by Mark Brooks
Foil Variant Cover by Derrick Chew
Variant Cover by CAFU
Variant Cover by Sanford Greene
Variant Cover by Alexander Lozano
Variant Cover by Peach Momoko
Variant Cover by Dan Panosian
Variant Cover by Ryan Stegman
Variant Cover by Skottie Young
Black and White Virgin Variant Cover by Skottie Young
Variant Cover by Chip Zdarsky
Blue Line Blank Variant Cover
*Blind Bag Exclusive Virgin Variant Cover by Mark Brooks
*Blind Bag Exclusive Virgin Variant Cover by Peach Momoko
*Blind Bag Exclusive Homage Variant Cover by Stonehouse
*Blind Bag Exclusive Surprise Variant Covers – including Artist Sketch Variants by various surprise artists!
*Exclusive to True Believer Blind Bags
But wait, there’s more: Kevin Feige also contributed and personally sketched covers that are included in the blind bag… so fans should keep their eyes peeled!
Are you excited for Ultimate Endgame? Luckily, you only have two weeks until it releases on December 31st!
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