Writer: Alex Paknadel
Artist: CAFU
Colorist: David Curiel
Letterer: Ariana Maher
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Marvel has delivered an absolute treat for long-time readers with What If? Secret Wars #1. Alex Paknadel and CAFU team up for a brilliant, nostalgia-fueled dive into the gritty reality of the original Ultimate Universe that is both harrowing and satisfying at the same time. It is a giant labor of love that balances mind-bending cosmic stakes with heavy, emotional character beats. I cannot overstate how much this book acts as a gorgeous, bittersweet love letter to an entire era of Marvel history, hitting every single mark with perfection.
SPOILERS AHEAD
We’re Not in Kansas Anymore, Spidey
The narrative hooks you immediately with a clever framing device, delivering the story through the perspective of a physically deformed, older Peter Parker from Earth-616. He is spilling his guts to the Ultimate Universe’s own Ben Urich, promising the reporter the definitive story of how he personally broke the world. The flashback reveals that at the cataclysmic end of Secret Wars, a crucial choice involving giving a pineapple roast pork bun for the Molecule Man completely altered the timeline. 616 Peter wakes up on the military-hardened Earth-1610 with no clue how he got there. Having just barely survived the apocalypse, a hardened Nick Fury flatly refuses to send Peter back out of an absolute fear of triggering a universe-destroying incursion. Fury goes so far as to claim he has completely incinerated any machine capable of cross-dimensional travel. As Peter desperately pleads his case to Fury and Miles, Ultimate Sue Storm breaks down in tears. It is a beautifully surreal, heavy moment that reminds lapsed fans of Sue's tragic history with her own world's deceased Peter, forcing her to look the identical doppelganger of her dead best friend right in the eye.
The Disillusioned Scarlet Spider
Realizing he is trapped for the foreseeable future, Peter is subjected to a brutal S.H.I.E.L.D. PowerPoint briefing detailing the relentless catastrophes of the Ultimate Universe, including Ultimatum, the world-shattering war with Galactus, and the bloody conflict against Reed Richards. Peter quickly realizes that his colorful home timeline looks like an absolute wonderland compared to the bleak, hyper-militarized reality of Earth-1610. Determined to make the best of a bad situation and protect his new home, Peter joins S.H.I.E.L.D. under the moniker of the Scarlet Spider.
Huge props to Alex Paknadel for sneaking in this fantastic nod to Ben Reilly lore, as Earth-616 Scarlet Spider is essentially an alternate Peter Parker. The costume choice feels incredibly smart, showing massive respect to Miles Morales by ensuring the young hero keeps his hard-earned mantle of Spider-Man without being sidelined. Unfortunately, Peter's heroic ideals break down almost immediately during a mission where the Ultimate Hulk brutally murders their designated target. The casual, gritty violence of this universe completely overwhelms Peter, and just when he thinks his life cannot get any more stressful, his health takes a sudden, terrifying dive.
Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends
Peter seeks medical attention for his sudden illness, only to receive a devastating diagnosis: he has terminal cancer brought on by his own radioactive spider bite. The twist serves as a brilliant, heartbreaking reminder of the core differences between the two universes, since the Ultimate version of Peter was bitten by a genetically modified spider specifically to fit a more grounded, realistic world. Facing a countdown of mere months to live, Peter's doctor urges him to confront Fury, expressing deep skepticism that S.H.I.E.L.D. actually destroyed every single multivesal portal.
Before Peter can even formulate a plan, his closest friends in this universe, Iceman, Kitty Pryde, Miles, and Johnny Storm, stage a daring jailbreak to bust him out of the facility. The group launches a coordinated raid to find the hidden reality gate, running headfirst into the Future Foundation. A conflicted Sue Storm stands guard, warning them that the portal is not what it seems. Peter's amazing friends manage to hold the line, buy him enough time to hear a mysterious voice calling from the gateway, and watch him leap through the threshold despite the warnings.
Peter Meets His Maker
Instead of finding a path back to Earth-616, Peter steps directly into a nightmare, finding himself face-to-face with the Maker, who keeps the Molecule Man completely in shackles. Molecule Man confesses that he kept Peter alive after Peter fed him, and boom, we have our reason Peter is stuck here. In this dark alternate timeline, the Ultimate Reed Richards successfully betrayed his 616 counterpart, assassinated Doctor Doom, and stole the omnipotent powers of the Beyonders for himself. Residing in a higher pocket of the megaverse, the Maker explains that he is actively engineering and manipulating realities like a mad god.
The seemingly restored Earth-1610 isn't actually the original universe at all, but rather a synthetic sandbox reality the Maker keeps under his thumb as a disposable testing ground to iterate different versions of reality until he can manufacture a perfectly compliant world. He coldly informs a shattered Peter that the struggle for absolute power always leads to crisis, warning him not to get attached to this version of Earth-1610 because it will inevitably implode, or simply be wiped clean the moment the Maker loses patience. Paknadel’s script operates beautifully on two levels here, delivering an incredibly chilling villain monologue while offering a sharp editorial commentary on the absolute unsustainability of a society obsessed with hoarding power by any means necessary.
The Ultimate Resistance
Devastated by the realization that his escape attempt has placed this fragile sandbox universe directly on the Maker's cosmic radar, Peter wraps up his story to Ben Urich. He explains that while he was gone, Kitty Pryde phased through Machine Man, causing him to explode, causing over 800 casualties. Exhausted by the death and destruction at his wake and with only so much time to live, Peter is sharing this terrifying truth in the hope that Urich will spread the word, helping to fuel the fires of a hidden underground resistance movement.
The issue then delivers one of the absolute best narrative twists in recent memory, revealing that 616 Peter has used his final months to construct his own underground version of The Ultimates, visually mirroring the spectacular team structure popularized by Deniz Camp. There is a beautiful, reassuring comfort in the thematic message of this ending. It proves that whenever the Maker attempts to play God, a group of (super) ordinary people will ultimately rise up to tear down his paradise. Having our classic 616 Spider-Man act as the foundational architect of this new rebellion is a total chef's kiss moment.
Visual Momentum
CAFU delivers an absolutely impeccable artistic performance, bringing a jaw-dropping sense of style and scale to a very familiar-looking universe. The high-speed action sequences look spectacular, but the artist deserves a massive round of applause for the way he handles the slower, more somber character beats. Managing the sheer amount of dense cosmic lore packed into this script is a herculean task, yet CAFU makes every single page look gorgeous, utilizing clean layouts and expressive facial acting to perfectly communicate Peter's profound isolation. David Curiel’s coloring works in flawless harmony with the line art, using deep, moody tones that capture the distinctive atmosphere of the mid-2010s Ultimate imprint.
Conclusion: Fix the World
What If? Secret Wars #1 is a phenomenal one-shot that handles a massive amount of narrative weight in the best way possible. It manages to provide a genuine sense of closure to several dangling threads from the original universe while leaving readers desperately craving more stories in this pocket of the multiverse. You can feel the absolute passion of the creative team on every single page, resulting in a perfect installment for a beautifully imperfect world.
Verdict: 9/10. An absolute must-read masterpiece that perfectly honors the legacy of the Ultimate Universe.