Marvel Comics is reviving its Ultimate line of comic books with Ultimate Invasion leading to a new Ultimate Spider-Man ongoing comic book. In turn, Ultimate Spider-Man will be joined by Ultimate Black Panther in February 2024 and Ultimate X-Men in March 2024.
To promote the launch of Ultimate Black Panther (written by Bryan Edward Hill and drawn by Stefano Casselli), Marvel previously released an intriguing trailer for the series which revealed that Storm and Killmonger will play important roles in the series. And thanks to a new interview, we have new details about their designs.
Previously, Storm and Black Panther were married and romantically involved in the main 616 Marvel Universe but it seems that in the comic publisher's revived Ultimate line of books, Storm will be paired with Killmonger. And it seems the latter has been reimagined as a freedom-fighting hero that's waging war against Moon Knight and his forces.
It seems Storm and Killmonger's fight against Moon Knight and Khonshu will lead to T'Challa and the forces of Wakanda stepping out of the shadows and joining their battle.
Although Stefano Casselli is drawing the series, Peach Momoko actually did the character designs for Storm and Killmonger.
Speaking to Marvel, Momoko stated, "I’ve always loved looking at outfits of tribes from all over the world. And combining the modern and tribal, the beauty and strong, is something I always love thinking about. And getting to design for Storm and Killmonger, I wanted to respect the characters and also put in my soul and unique vision into them."
In a previous interview, writer Bryan Hill stated, "I was invigorated by this opportunity because in addition to my immense respect for Jonathan Hickman’s detailed storytelling, the idea of shepherding this bold new take on Black Panther in this event gives me a platform to do the kind of broad, epic, storytelling I’ve always wanted to do in comics."
He went on to tease, "This is something people won’t expect, in the best of ways, and full credit to Marvel and editors Wil Moss and Michelle Marchese for bringing this creative possibility to me."
Marvel is being very cagey about their overall plans for the Ultimate line but they're describing its relaunch as something "born out of Jonathan Hickman and Bryan Hitch's Ultimate Invasion series. The saga began with the Maker, one of the last survivors of the old Ultimate Universe, travelling back in time on a parallel Earth to create a world without heroes. He succeeded and ruled this world in secret through various global factions.
Now, he's vanished and a quiet war has broken out across the planet to shape what will happen to his kingdom. Some want to control the world. Some want to free it. After discovering the dark truth, a young Tony Stark embarks on a bold mission to make things right. Meanwhile, Wakanda stirs, pressured by internal and external forces to take its rightful place on the global stage.
Filled with modern takes on classic Marvel ideas and characters, the new Ultimate Universe is ripe for rich storytelling and a perfect evolution of the Ultimate brand."