In 2002, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch created one of Marvel's most groundbreaking stories: The Ultimates. As one of the first of its kind, The Ultimates grounded each of its superheroic characters in a level of realism and seriousness resembling that of the Dark Knight rather than what Marvel Studios has chosen to go with in their universe. This realism was only enhanced by Millar's pop culture references and Hitch's wide-screen, cinematic style.

The word on the street is that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige approached Millar about writing the book as a proof-of-concept project for future live action films. While some elements of The Ultimates made it to the big screen, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is by no means a direct adaptation of the book. But what if it were?

What if, in 2002, instead of getting The Ultimates volume 1, we got The Ultimates live action movie? Would you watch it? And would you watch it if it had the cast that Mark Millar proposed in The Ultimates vol. 1 Issue 4?

I would! Below you'll find Millar's 2002 picks for The Ultimates. I've chosen pictures of each actor that were taken in 2002 to make this feel more authentic.

This picture would have been so bad@$$! Ah, well, se la vie!

No. Ultimates was a team of unlikable jackasses who had names that we were expected to care about, who caused more problems than they solved.

I think it would be interesting. I doubt that it would be a great as The Avengers movie though.

@laserlambert: Sure Bruce Banner created a 9/11 disaster needlessly, but they did come together as a team to save the world from a massive alien invasion...

'Unlikable jacka*ses'? Did you even read the book? That is one of the most unfounded claims about the Ultimates team - the only two characters who would qualify are Hank Pym and Hulk.

The Ultimates had a more practical take on the Avengers, but the characters were by no means a*sholes, just realistic people with baggage. Ultimate Cap is harsher and tougher than regular Cap, with less of the idealism and more dirty punches, but in his heart he was a good man who loved his country. Ultimate Tony is like regular 616 Tony but without the snark or the control freak tendencies. How are Thor or Hawkeye jackasses by any stretch of the imagination?

he did it not by accident, but because he was a horrible monster, Pym did worse than just slap his wife, with no crazy Yellow Jacket crap to blame, Captain America expressed his hatred of France, Thor was an enviro-terrorist/hippie for some reason, Iron Man was still Iron Man but still drunk, and all of them seemed to care more about approval ratings and crap.

if I cared more about it i would assume it was satire of that kind of stuff, but enough people take it seriously that I don't care to waste my energy.

@laserlambert: i did not say banner did it by accident. he was a desperate idiot who did not think of the ramifications of his actions.

Cap, Thor, and Iron Man were all very noble people.

Wasp and Fury were human. They made fun of Banner, but they risked their lives to save the world and were kind to their other team mates.

Hank was a jerk, but he was an obstacle for the Wasp to overcome. The book was about the formation of the team. It would be unrealistic to have no hiccups on the journey.

Cap did not hate France. He cracked a joke about France in the middle of a fight.

The only time public approval was brought up was when the team had nothing to do, so they were wasting government tax dollars. Addressing this added to the realism and put more pressure on Banner. Approval ratings had nothing to do with them saving the day. It had to do with them making sure their program stayed around.

Did you even read the book? Or are you deliberately trying to misconstrue it?

@laserlambert: Wan't Ultimate Hulk a cannibal/rapist?

i would rather be shot in the foot than acknowledge your post

What I find baffling on this website is that pepole seem to claim that characters can only be interesting if they are 100% white knight good guys. I don't understand that at all, I can easily read a book about realistically flawed pepole or even straight up evil ass holes and still find it interesting.

Yes, Banner was a repulsive human being with an inferiority complex, and Hank was an abusive prick, but they both were booted out of the team within the first seven issues, so they hardly even count as members of the team (unless you include Loeb's bullsh*t, which I don't).

And so Cap having a prejudice against France automatically makes him a bad guy? It was an angry crack said in the heat of the moment, and a result of his past as a soldier in WWII, where all Americans considered the French to be cowards as a result of its surrender. And Thor was by no means a terrorist at all. Did you miss the part where he tried to bring public attention to the US government's aim to weaponize superhumans or when he defended the demonstrators who were attacked in Italy? He was an activist, and at what point was he an enviro-terrorist? And Ultimate Tony is hands-down, the nicest incarnation of the character. He had his flaws, but he didn't have the doucheness of his 616 counterpart at all. Yes he had a fondness for alcohol and pretty women, but at the end of the day, he was a billionaire who risked his life for others.

It wasn't satire, and you have a serious misunderstanding of the comic and its characters. If minor flaws like that automatically make a character unlikeable to you, I wonder what heroes you do like. The misconception of the Ultimates as being a*shole versions of their 616 counterparts is entirely unfounded.

Thank you.

I shall pass, I have little interest in any comic movie related by Millar.