"Once we hit Secret Wars #1, there is no Marvel Universe, Ultimate Universe, or any other. It's all Battleworld," Brevoort said.
"The Marvel universe will be Battleworld, and every single piece of those worlds will be building blocks for the universe," said Alonso, adding that all the universes represented in "Battleworld" will have "legs" moving forward.
The end of the Ultimate Universe has been expected by many industry watchers for awhile now, with only one comic still existing in that universe after February — the solo book for Ultimate Spider-Man, Miles Morales. Secret Wars and the outcome of Battleworld will, presumably, show which characters from the Ultimate Universe survive into the newly formed Marvel Universe.
But Alonso also teased the possibility of resurrections during the event. "If we wanted to resurrect Gwen Stacy," he said with a smile, "this would be the place to do it."
Marvel is releasing an interactive map that will reveal different "countries" where characters exist in Battleworld, allowing fans of various characters to see which titles will feature which characters.
"We're launching a wealth of new series, both ongoing and minis, during Secret Wars, Alonso said.
The events of Secret Wars represent what Brevoort described as "the culmination of Jonathan Hickman's plans from when he first came onto Avengers and New Avengers." Brevoort added that Marvel's Free Comic Book Day issue, Secret Wars #0 written by Hickman, will bring readers "up to speed" for the event before it begins in may with Secret Wars #1 and an oversized issue #2.
