Not too long ago, I had a conversation on Marvel’s current state of affairs with The Comenian’s Editor-in-Chief, AJ. The consensus was mutual – it blows. If you’re a Spider-Man fan, you might agree: the current run of The Amazing Spider-Man is rather lackluster.
Peter’s just a down-on-his-luck chump being put through trial after trial, be it losing Mary-Jane (again), having little to no friends, and even having the other Avengers see him as a nuisance at best. In AJ’s words, “The Spider-Man everyone fell in love with is dead, and he was murdered by Joe Quesada.”
It’s criminal! The face of a franchise deserves better, and writer Jonathan Hickman knew it. As such, it only stands to reason that it fueled the fire when he cooked up one of the first lines in Marvel’s Ultimate Universe Imprint, Ultimate Spider-Man.
Ultimate Spider-Man was definitely something I was looking forward to. The original Ultimate Comics run came out in 2000 and was meant to reimagine the superheroes in that world in a more deconstructive light, reflective of socio-political strain during the era. For example, The Ultimates (equivalent to the Avengers) were a government task force instead of a team of well-meaning folks brought together out of a desire to help the common good. It’s also partly responsible for the concept of placing Spider-Man in his high school years for most of the more contemporary series and movies.
In this newer line, we get an aged-up Peter Parker married to Mary Jane Watson with two kids, a well-paying job, and even Uncle Ben alive and kicking … but no spider powers. The reason for it stems from The Maker, an entity that removed the key components for heroes to become heroes in this new reality, and because of it, Parker’s gone through his life feeling as though something pivotal to him was missing. However, it all changes when Iron Lad, a variant of Tony Stark leading a rebellion against The Maker’s forces in his separate series, finds Peter and offers him a chance to reclaim what was stolen from him, thrusting him into a conspiracy that threatens to tear apart everything he loves.
This was what I wanted – a Peter Parker who can have a happy family life and a Spider-Man without an abundance of incompetent writers making a series of questionable writing choices. With USM, we got what we wanted without compromising an engaging narrative. It’s not like Hickman and Checchetto copied Earth-616 and Peter and MJ’s original marriage.
Some of these relationships are different than what readers expect, and there are plenty of surprises to keep this new world interesting and exciting for fans while keeping the heart of Spider-Man intact.
The art isn’t a letdown, either. Every fight scene so far feels effective at showing that this is a different Spider-Man, someone learning the ropes but able to think on his feet and get resourceful against his growing rogues’ gallery. Marco Checchetto does a brilliant job bringing each of these moments to life with the help of Matthew Wilson’s vibrant colors. One of my favorite scenes depicting this is Bullseye facing off against Spider-Man. Checchetto does a great job with the sequence’s line work, and Wilson’s colors help make every punch, thwip, and explosion fly off the page.
Suppose you’re interested in checking out this or the other series in the Ultimate Universe. In that case, the issues are in digital format, and physical copies are sold at your local comic book shop.
The Portal is located at 321 Woodlawn Ave in Bethlehem, just a few blocks from campus, so stop by and support a small business! You can also contact them at [email protected] to reserve an issue! Trade issues are available at most stores as well, and the second volume of several issues released three weeks ago.
Whether you’re a longtime fan or looking to get into comics, Ultimate Spider-Man is a must-read. With every issue, it goes to show that great storytelling and respect for the source material go hand in hand. Here’s to Marvel keeping this momentum going!
Excelsior!
