Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1-2 + Ultimate Universe

Ultimate Spider-Man #1-2 + Ultimate Universe

Originally released in 2023

Written by Jonathan Hickman

Art by Marco Checchetto (Spider-Man), Stefano Caselli (Universe)

After months of waiting, Jonathan Hickman's version of Ultimate Spider-Man has finally been added to Marvel Unlimited.  I've heard plenty of good things about it, and it seems like a breath of fresh air when compared to the current run of Amazing Spider-Man (and the past 17 years of Spider-Man comics), so I've been looking forward to this one.  In a pleasant surprise, Marvel Unlimited added the first two issues at once.

The basic premise is that twenty years ago, the Maker (the Reed Richards of the former Ultimate Universe) prevented Peter Parker from being bitten by the radioactive spider and becoming Spider-Man.  In his attempt to free the world from the Maker's influence, Tony Stark (a teenager in this universe) has been trying to give people the futures that were stolen from them, a goal that seems noble but one that could easily go horribly wrong. (jokes have already been made about him trying to do a similar thing for Matt Murdock/Daredevil and Frank Castle/the Punisher)

Now, Peter is thirty five, married to Mary Jane, and has a son and a daughter.  He has a choice to make - does he keep living a normal life, or should he go through with this because a spider was supposed to bite him two decades ago?  His choice is juxtaposed with his Uncle Ben, who became the editor of the Daily Bugle after the death of his wife, May Parker, in a terrorist attack that Tony Stark was blamed for.

When the Daily Bugle is bought out by Wilson Fisk, Ben quits, planning to start his own newspaper with his good friend (and possibly more? It's a little unclear) J. Jonah Jameson.  He's completely changing his life around in a day or two, which has Peter wondering if he can do the same.

After a conversation with Mary Jane, where he admits to feeling as though he's been walking through life with a part of himself missing, he goes through with letting the spider bite him.  The dynamic between Peter and MJ is a highlight, and I almost immediately want more of it.  His kids, Richard and May, are also a fun addition to the Spider-Man universe, and I'm hoping they get more focus as the series goes on.

The change in Peter's age when he becomes Spider-Man also changes his attitude while he's in the costume.  Traditionally, Spider-Man tends to be someone who leaps straight into the fighting - "action is his reward" and all that. (Amazing Spider-Man #1 had him show up at the headquarters of the Fantastic Four and try to fight them all as a job application)  Here, he's more willing to reason with the villains that he faces, though that tends to backfire on him. (it gets him beaten up by the Shocker on multiple occasions)

These first two issues also involve the Green Goblin attacking the Kingpin's assets.  With Norman Osborn listed at one of the dead from the terrorist attack and Harry Osborn having a prominent moment in these first two issues, it seems like there's really only one character who the Green Goblin could be, but for all I know, it could turn out that Wade Wilson is the Green Goblin in this universe. (it feels safe to assume that it's Harry, though, even if Norman has a tendency to fake his death in the main universe)

I felt like Ultimate Spider-Man lived up to the hype that surrounded it, which is no easy feat.  The connection between Peter and his family was a nice change to his life, the presence of Uncle Ben in his life helps to set this apart from other alternate universes, and it was an engaging story that I'd like to see more of.  However, it seemed like a lot had happened to the world between the Ultimate Invasion storyline and this, so I looked into it and found that there was a one-off called Ultimate Universe that came out between Ultimate Invasion and Ultimate Spider-Man.

This book largely sets up the formation of the Ultimate universe's version of the Avengers.  While the Maker is sealed away in his city for two years, Reed Richards and Tony Stark go through his databases to discover who else he altered the timeline for.  This (and billions of dollars worth of experimental tech) takes them to Asgard, where they find Thor in a jail cell, where he was placed after the Maker helped to kill Odin and put Loki on the throne.

Using Mjolnir to warp to Latveria, they manage to escape with some of the superhero (or supervillain) catalysts that the Maker kept for himself.  However, the Maker's allies use that as an excuse to fire a satellite laser at North America in order to claim the continent for themselves. (Tony is blamed because his father's company made the satellite)

Tony, Reed, and Thor (along with a still-frozen Captain America) find another ally in the form of Sif, Thor's jailer.  She's willing to let Thor team up with Tony and Reed as long as she keeps an eye on him; it's unclear if she's going to be one of the founding Avengers in this universe, though cover art for future issues seems to show that she will. (the team will be rounded out by Ant-Man and the Wasp, though it's unclear if it's Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne or someone else - either way, I'm hoping they get better treatment here than they did in the previous Ultimate universe)

Ultimate Universe was less meaningful for me than Ultimate Spider-Man was, though it continues the theme of people in power stealing the futures away from everyone else, which is something that resonates strongly with modern times.  At the very least, it has me more optimistic about this Ultimate universe's version of the Avengers than I was for Mark Millar's Ultimates series.  All three of these issues are more of a taste of what's to come, but it was an excellent appetizer.