The Ultimates are a group of fictional characters, a government-sponsored team of superheroes in the Ultimate Marvel Universe, appearing primarily in their self-titled comic book limited series Ultimates and Ultimates 2, published by Marvel Comics, and written by Mark Millar and drawn by Bryan Hitch. The series started out as a monthly publication in 2001, but Millar and Hitch take longer than normal to complete issues, so new issues are released whenever they are finished. Each limited series is regarded as a "season" of the same title. The team is a reimagining of the Marvel Universe superhero team, the Avengers.
Their first series, simply titled Ultimates, ended in April 2004. The current series, Ultimates 2, began in December 2004 and has published ten of an expected thirteen issues as of March 2006. A third series, Ultimates 3, is planned after the conclusion of Ultimates 2, and will feature a new creative team in the form of Jeph Loeb and Joe Madureira.
The tone of the story is widely considered to be darker, more cynical, and more cinematic than most traditional comic books. In this respect, it resembles The Authority, a comic book series that both Hitch and Millar have each worked on, though at different times.
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