When Bill Jemas Proposed Merging Ultimate & Regular Marvel Universes

Tom Brevoort, Marvel Executive Editor/Senior Vice President of Publishing and Marvel’s longest-standing worker reprints a memo in his newest Substack from then-publisher Bill Jemas from 2003. Shortly after, Jemas could be deposed at Marvel by Avi Arad making a land seize for energy and forcing out his greatest critic on the firm, and turning then-boss Isaac Perlmutter towards him.

In the memo, Bill Jemas was elevating the thought of merging the standard Marvel Universe, a continuity that he’d begun in 1961, with the Ultimate Universe continuity that he had begun in 2000. Brevoort famous that there was no official followup to the memo, “the balloon was simply floated and then never followed up on. I’m guessing that’s because Bill was having more immediate things to worry about in that moment. But this was all an outgrowth of Bill’s growing disenchantment with the established Marvel Universe and his feelings of invincibility in the success of the Ultimate Universe—for all that Bill presents this situation in reasonable terms in this document, whenever it came up in casual conversation, his clear affection was for the Ultimate Universe. But it doesn’t really matter, as nothing of this sort ever really happened, at least not at that moment.”

It does nonetheless present an enchanting doc from the time, and was despatched out to Axel Alonso, Joe Quesada, Ralph Macchio, Tom Brevoort and Mike Marts,  Brian Bendis, Bruce Jones, Chuck Austen, Grant Morrison and Mark Millar on the twenty sixth of April, 2003.

Re: Combining The Ultimate and Traditional Marvel Universes
I’ve all the time resisted (dismissed) solutions to mix the Ultimate and MarvelUniverse.

When some individuals say, “combine Ultimate and Traditional,” they imply, “scrap Ultimate”. But, as a creator my ideally suited Marvel world is the Ultimate one. Peter Parker is in highschool, the X-Men are youngsters on the Academy, and day-after-day — for the subsequent 4,700 days — we benefit from the wonders of introducing our nice previous characters in nice new ‘methods.

When different individuals speak in regards to the mixture, they imply, “scrap Traditional” (restart all the Marvel Universe — if we’re tied up in our personal underwear, strip down and begin once more.) But, as a writer, I’ve felt it will be a foul choice to desert these followers who’re mentally invested in, and who love, continuity.

Frankly, two Universes have been doing high quality collectively, and there has not appeared, to me, to be any purpose to alter.

But that is simply me; let’s discuss you.

Collectively, it’s best to play the lead position in deciding the fundamental characterization of your characters.

I’m not speaking about altering the audience and fundamental inventive briefing for anyone’s books. Ultimate Spider-Man would nonetheless give attention to Peter Parker’s highschool and residential life. Amazing would nonetheless be the action-adventure title. Ultimates would proceed to combine superheros with actual world political and social leaders and retain its actuality orientation. The Avengers will assemble an incredible and various number of Marvel heroes to cope with extra fantasy-oriented conditions. New X-Men lean towards world points, Uncanny towards character interplay and UXM towards X-Men film followers. All of you’ll proceed to do the good work you’ve gotten been doing.

What I’d such as you to contemplate is whether or not you wish to give your conventional Marvel books an final restart whereby every of you’ll be free to roll again any or your whole characters as far into their origin tales as you wish to take them and have all of them find yourself residing within the 12 months 2003 with the age, marital standing and circumstances that works greatest on your storytelling.

Honestly, I do not know if it is a good thought or not, and I wish to get enter from all of you. (This choice needs to be (kind of) unanimous — no person’s going to get their arms twisted or their writing arms pressured.)

In truth, I’d envision a creatively various crossover by which you employ no matter story-telling method works so that you can get your toothpaste again within the tube.

• Remember Dallas, once they needed to convey Bobbie again? Pam awoke one morning, and there he was strolling out of the bathe. His demise and a complete (low rated) season had been only a dream — an “in continuity dream”
• Or, you’ll be able to take your continuity extra critically and develop a multi-issue story the place you simplify the Universe about which you’re writing.
• Or, we are able to ask Jim Starlin to create a Universe-fixer his subsequent installment to the Infinity sequence.
• Or, two or extra of you’ll be able to work collectively on crossover tales that get the genies again within the bottle.
• Or anything you wish to do.

If we do that, we come would with a easy marketing-communication mechanism. I used to be pondering that this could possibly be so simple as countdown numbering. You can take from 1 to 12 points to inform your re-start story, and people points could be numbered in countdown style, in order that the brand new Universe would begin with concern primary.

Listen, I do not wish to promote this or un-sell it, simply to take heed to what you all should say.

Feel free to inform Bill Jemas what you suppose 20 years later…