Thought Spider Man 2099 was the next Spider man? I collected those comic books in middle school 18 years ago.
Ultimate Spiderman isn't the "next" spiderman, he's a different version of the
existing Spiderman.
Marvel started the Ulimate Universe to try and attract new fans who are maybe intimidated by the long, sometimes confusing history their characters already have. They started all the series over again at #1 and re-told their origins in a more hip fashion. An example would be, the Ultimate Peter Parker works on the Daily Bugle's website rather than being a Bugle photographer like the original Peter Parker. It makes him more hip and modern so todays young people will relate to him more than the version who's been around since the 1960's.
The Ultimate Universe is also the reason Samuel Jackson plays Nick Fury in all the Marvel movies. The Ultimate version of Nick Fury is a black man who just happens to look a lot like Jackson.
The regular versions of all the characters still exist in the mainstream Marvel Universe. The Ultimate Universe is entirely seperate. So killing the Ultimate Spiderman has nothing to do with the regular spiderman.
As a long time Marvel fan, I've not been into the Ultimate Universe because it's a lot different than the mainstream Marvel Universe. A lot of the rules are different and I've never found it appealing. Classic Marvel for me!
