
By the turn of the millennium in 2000, Marvel had emerged from a prolonged period of struggle. The 1990s had initially been promising for the publishing company, but the collapse of the comic book collector market nearly brought about its demise, with Marvel filing for bankruptcy. However, during the late ’90s, Marvel made concerted efforts to recover from their downward spiral and, under the guidance of new editor-in-chief Joe Quesada, they managed to achieve relative success by 2000. This was marked by the introduction of the Ultimate Universe – a reboot that gave birth to a fresh Marvel Universe, providing readers with an opportunity to join at its inception. The Ultimate Marvel universe enjoyed considerable popularity for several years, blending the trendy edge of ’00s pop culture with traditional Marvel aesthetics. However, by the mid-2000s, the novelty seemed to wear off, much like a lily’s gild losing its shine.