The Ultimate I Told You So?

For the longest time, I've always thought the Ultimate line from Marvel Comics was a mistake. It was hailed as the perfect jumping on point for new fans, a universe that was unshackled with continuity, and had some of comics top talent assigned to it. My thought always was that it would only become a matter of time before the Ultimate line would gain its own continuity and run into the same problem that the current Marvel line has, which is that monstrous weight of thousands upon thousands of comic books weaving together the tapestry of the Marvel Universe.

Now the Ultimate line didn't get nearly as bad as its counterpart, but I thought it was interesting to see how the Ultimate line blew up with many titles, only to be then cut down and started anew. Now we have titles like Ultimate Comics Ultimate Avengers and Ultimate Comics Ultimate X.

The good thing is that again, these new titles have the hot stars and artists attached to them and they have gotten some pretty positive reviews in the blogosphere. My argument though, is that this is not good for new fans, but rather older fans looking for fresh reads. My reasoning is that the Ultimate Universe has bled over into other media. The Ultimates cartoon, Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury (The Ultimate Nick Fury was based on him), and the moves that are blending Ultimate and current Marvel Universe lines.

If a new person picks up a regular Marvel Universe comic, hoping to see that same Samuel Jackson Nick Fury, they are going to be disappointed and confused. I understand the desire to avoid the nerdrage associated with continuity freaks, but I'm sure there is a better way that would keep things from getting so muddled. That's my two cents. What are your thoughts on the Ultimate line? Should writers just try to rework things or forget about continuity and blaze forward regardless of what has happened before?