Ultimate Ultimate? Editor Mark Paniccia on ‘Cataclysm: The Ultimates Last Stand’ [SDCC 2013]

The big announcement at Friday's Ultimate Universe panel at San Diego Comic-Con was a new series by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley with the modest title, Cataclysm: The Ultimates Last Stand.

The arrival of Galactus in the Ultimate Universe will initially be explored in Hunger, by Joshua Hale Fialkov and Leonard Kirk, but what Galactus's arrival means for the Ultimate version of Earth will play out in Cataclysm -- and with a name like that, it doesn't sound promising. Comics Alliance spoke to series editor Mark Paniccia to get more background on the series.

ComicsAlliance: The Ultimate Universe has been through some cataclysmic events before. What makes this "the last stand?"

Mark Paniccia: We haven’t had anything this globally threatening before. By the time Hunger is over, two of the biggest cosmic races will have faced extinction. If Galactus can wipe out entire star systems, what hope does Earth have?

CA: We already know that Galactus has slipped between universes; is anyone else from the Marvel U going to drop in on the Ultimate U? 

MP: We should think of it as a door that’s had its lock broken.

CA: Who are we going to see leading the charge against Galactus?

MP: This is big in terms of marquee characters. All the heavyweights are involved, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Fury, the Fantastic Four, X-Men. And Miles Morales, Spider-Man, is going to have a big role. He’ll have no choice but to grow up quick and become a man. This is his superhero trial by fire.

CA: Are we going to see a resolution to all the current storylines?

MP: We’re coming to natural ends with all our most recent big arcs (World War X, Spider-Man No More and Ultimates Disassembled) so a lot of stuff will be resolved by then.

CA: Can you reassure fans that we're not about to see the last of Miles Morales?

MP: I don’t want to promise anything other than one of the most epic and heartfelt stories Bendis has ever written since “The Death of Spider-Man”

Hunger #1 goes on sale this month. Cataclysm: The Ultimates Last Stand begins in November.