Warning: Contains graphic imagery and spoilers for Ultimates #6

The latest issue of Ultimates graphically doubled down on Thanos –while in the end, the on-screen Ant Man didn't fly up the Mad Titan's butt and expand, killing the villain from the inside, Ultimate Wasp just pulled off a version of this maneuver during the violent climax of the series' first arc.

The Ultimates #6 – written by Deniz Camp, with art by Juan Frigeri – pits the fledgling superhero team against the villainous Hulk and his "Immortal Weapons," a group of empowered thugs, including one bluntly nicknamed "Fat Cobra."

As Wasp attempts to damage Cobra's exterior, he plucks her out of the air and pops her in his mouth – momentarily faking readers out that this was the end for her, before she graphically burst from the villain's stomach, in a moment that mixes triumph and body horror, while calling back to a legendary fan theory.

Ultimate Wasp's Brutal Kill Confirms That MCU Fans' "Thanos Butt Theory" Is Technically Possible

The Ultimates #6 – Written By Deniz Camp; Art By Juan Frigeri; Color By Federico Blee; Lettering By Travis Lanham; Available Now From Marvel Comics

For those who were blissfully unaware of the "Thanos Butt Theory" – also colloquially known as "Thanus" – up until this moment, a brief explanation: during the lead-up to Avengers: Endgame, the suggestion that Ant Man could defeat Thanos by entering one of his body cavities and enlarging became a would work against Thanos, necessarily, it does add weight to the theory's viability, under the right circumstances.

In Ultimates #6, Wasp does this to her enemy out of desperation, rather than as part of a calculated plan. The moment is the peak of what is the most intense, no-holds-barred issue of the series yet – one that irrevocably raised the stakes of the conflict for all sides. It is likely the scene is a direct reference to the "Thanus" theory, though fans of fate of the original Ultimate Wasp.

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The original "Thanos Butt Theory' was, in a way, less an actual suggestion from fans that this would happen on-screen in a major motion picture, and more of a rhetorical question, essentially asking "why wouldn't Ant Man try this?" That said, the evocative nature of the idea itself has made it stick with Marvel fans over the years – and Ultimates #6 both provides pay-off for years of speculation, and also definitively explains why this could never have happened in the MCU.

Deniz Camp's Ultimates has done an incredible job of testing its characters limits, physically and emotionally, and with the Wasp's graphic moment in Ultimates #6, Camp also tests readers.

By design, Marvel's Ultimate Universe is all about testing boundaries; so far, Deniz Camp's Ultimates has done an incredible job of testing its characters limits, physically and emotionally, and with the Wasp's graphic moment in Ultimates #6, Camp also tests readers, as if asking his own rhetorical question in return: "Is this really what you wanted to see?" It is as intense a moment as readers will find in any Marvel comic – but it is one the series earns, and doesn't take lightly.

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The Ultimates #7 – Written By Deniz Camp; Art By Juan Frigeri; Available December 4, 2024 From Marvel Comics

Several Marvel stories have offered contradictory answers to the efficacy of the "Thanos Butt Theory," with Ultimates #6 offering just the latest, most grisly piece of evidence in the "yes, it's possible" column of the debate. Even more urgent, the moment serves as a bait-and-switch for the true shock of the issue; advanced solicitations for the story stated that one of the Ultimates would die, and for a few pages, readers are led to believe Wasp will be the fallen hero.

Instead, she lives to fight another day – as Ultimate Iron Man, the team's leader, is shockingly killed off. In other words, it is a fully Pyrrhic victory for Wasp; she survives, but is likely to have to deal with trauma from the experience, and what's more, the team will now be bereft of their benefactor and driving force. More than just a sick moment, which references the Marvel Cinematic Universe's infamous "Thanos Butt Theory," Wasp's full-on body horror moment is a deliberate story choice, which elevates the issue in a drastic way.

The Ultimates #6 is available now from Marvel Comics.