What a fascinating new Marvel comic can tell us about future MCU movies

"The Ultimates" #4 shows how even a familiar hero can become Dr. Doom in a different reality.

Even in the Marvel multiverse, we're used to certain things remaining constant. Stephen Strange is Doctor Strange, even in a universe where he's willing to do evil (as in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Logan is Wolverine, even in a universe where he's a foul-mouthed coward (as in Deadpool vs. Wolverine). We've seen personalities and alignments change from one alternate reality to the next, but essential identities have stayed constant among Marvel characters — until now.

Marvel Studios' announcement at San Diego Comic-Con that Robert Downey Jr. will be returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but as Doctor Doom rather than Iron Man, raised eyebrows and grabbed attention because it seems to break the previously established rules of the multiverse. But a new Marvel comic demonstrates how this cinematic change-up could work.

The Ultimates #4, written by Deniz Camp with art by Phil Noto, is the latest installment in Marvel's new Ultimate Universe comics. The original Ultimate Marvel line was launched in 2000 and reimagined Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers (rechristened the Ultimates), and more Marvel icons as if they'd been created from scratch in the 21st century, without four decades' worth of continuity weighing them down. These new characterizations had a foundational impact on the MCU; it's hard to imagine 2012's The Avengers existing as it does without The Ultimates as a blueprint, not least because the latter was the first comic to use Samuel L. Jackson as a model for Nick Fury.

Related: The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't an origin story: 'We're making it our own thing' (exclusive)

Now, years after that original experiment reached its conclusion, a new Ultimate Universe has begun. But instead of imagining Marvel heroes having their origins just start later, this universe has scrambled everything around. In last year's Ultimate Invasion series by Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch, an evil genius called the Maker stole technology from the Marvel heroes of Earth-616 and escaped into an alternate timeline, where he used time travel and other means to prevent every Marvel hero's origin story from happening at all. So Peter Parker was never bitten by a radioactive spider as a teenager, Charles Xavier never set up a school for gifted young mutants, and the Fantastic Four never flew a space shuttle into a storm of cosmic radiation.

The Ultimates #4 dives deeper into the Fantastic Four's nonexistence in this world. Because their rocket launch was delayed, they never got their superpowers. Johnny Storm, Susan Storm, and Ben Grimm all subsequently died in various upsetting ways (one of them, for instance, got cancer from their space trip instead of their usual power). Reed Richards was still a genius, but without his family to support him, he became disgraced and eventually imprisoned. That left him at the mercy of the Maker, who rules this universe. As a sadistic form of revenge on the Mr. Fantastic of Earth-616, the Maker tortures and brainwashes the Reed of this new Ultimate Universe into thinking of himself as Doom — he's even made to wear the metal mask and cape.

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If Reed Richards can be Doctor Doom, then so can Tony Stark. As mentioned above, Ultimate Marvel comics have influenced the MCU before, as have many of Hickman's stories. So you can bet Kevin Feige and his team are reading these comics and taking notes. It doesn't have to be a one-to-one adaptation. Maybe the origin of Downey's Doom won't involve torture or an evil malefactor specifically out to ruin his life. But even so, Camp and Noto have provided proof of concept for how a Marvel character we know and love can assume a totally different identity when events go differently. Even a small change can have a big impact.

The Ultimates #4 is a depressing read, in the best way. Like Susanna Clarke's 2020 novel Piranesi, the issue channels the horror of being trapped in a reality where things have gone terribly wrong and you're not who you're supposed to be (which is why Piranesi remains such a resonant allegory for the experience of the Covid-19 pandemic). But it also, paradoxically, proves what makes the Fantastic Four so special. Camp and Noto show how dark and depressing a world without the Richards family can get — a description that fits our own world, as well as the one that currently exists in the MCU. Couldn't both use a little more family fun? Even though The Ultimates #4 is about their absence, it's a great way to get excited for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Let's get back to the right reality.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.