Ultimate Spider-Man (2024)

Last updated
Ultimate Spider-Man
Ultimate Spider-Man 2024.jpg
Cover of Ultimate Spider-Man #2, with Spider-Man (Peter Parker) and Green Goblin (Harry Osborn).
Publication information
Publisher Marvel Comics
ScheduleMonthly
FormatOngoing
Genre
Publication dateJanuary 2024
No. of issues12
Main character(s) Peter Parker / Spider-Man
Creative team
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Penciller(s)
Letterer(s) Cory Petit
Colorist(s) Matthew Wilson
Editor(s)Wil Moss

Ultimate Spider-Man is an ongoing comic book series about Spider-Man, part of the Ultimate Universe imprint, written by Jonathan Hickman and illustrated by Marco Checchetto. It began publication in January 2024. The series follows an older Peter Parker who becomes Spider-Man for the first time later in life, already a father of two children and married to Mary Jane Watson, as opposed to his early/late teens like in the mainline. The series is part of the new Ultimate Universe timeline, which puts several Marvel characters in a radically altered sociopolitical status quo, including elements of alternate history. [1]

Contents

Publication history

Ultimate Spider-Man is the first ongoing series from the Ultimate Universe imprint, following the Ultimate Invasion miniseries that introduced it. Despite the similar name, it has no relation with the Ultimate Spider-Man comic that ran from 2000 to 2011. The former comic was a reinvention of the Spider-Man character as a teenager still attending school, in contrast with the older character from the main continuity. The new comic uses a similar angle, but makes Spider-Man older instead of younger, and also married and with two kids. Hickman said that he was inspired by the version of the character seen in the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse . [2] Another significant departure is that Uncle Ben, a character that usually dies during Spider-Man's origin story, is alive in the new continuity. [3] Although Harry Osborn keeps the Green Goblin identity in the new continuity, he is reimagined as a superhero, closer to the classic portrayal of Iron Man. [4]

Plot

"Married with Children" (#1–6)

Following the "Ultimate Invasion" plotline, Peter Parker is a married man living in New York City with his wife Mary Jane "MJ" Watson and his two children Richard and May. His Aunt May has recently died as one of the casualties of a false flag attack orchestrated by the Maker's Council on Stark Tower, with the media framing Tony Stark as a terrorist and the culprit. Stark reveals to Peter that he was supposed to be bitten by a radioactive spider and become a superhero in his youth. He has retrieved the spider and offers Peter a chance to become a hero. Meanwhile, J. Jonah Jameson and Peter's uncle Ben Parker have resigned from the Daily Bugle over their creative differences to set up their own investigation into a series of apparent assassination attempts on the Daily Bugle's owner Wilson Fisk. Later, Peter reveals his identity as Spider-Man to armored vigilante, the "Green Goblin", who unmasks to show himself as Harry Osborn. Osborn is married to Gwen Stacy who works in PR. As Peter reveals his identity to MJ, she suggests calling himself "Spider-Man". [5]

"The Paper" (#7–12)

Now friends, Harry Osborn introduces Peter Parker to Dr. Otto Octavius who tells Harry and Peter that their suits are based on Stark/Stane designs and run on the same network, along with Iron Lad - Tony Stark. Meanwhile, the Kingpin and his assistant James Wesley meet with Kingpin's lieutenants Black Cat, Kraven the Hunter, Mister Negative, Mole Man, and Mysterio and discussing the issue with vigilantes Spider-Man and Green Goblin interrupting their plans. J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker launch "The Paper" including their investigation into the different crimes being stopped by Spider-Man and Green Goblin while using former co-worker Robbie Robertson as their inside person. Elsewhere, Otto offers Spider-Man and Green Goblin a way to free themselves from Stark/Stane, only for the pair to be ambushed by Black Cat. During the fight, Black Cat is blasted off the building by Green Goblin and is loaded into an ambulance. Jameson and Ben meet with Wesley in an attempt to arrange a negotiation with his boss. Then they speak to Gwen Stacy about how Stark/Stane was sold off cheap. Later that night while having dinner with Peter's family, Ben speaks to Mary Jane about their meeting with Gwen. Two days later, Harry visits "The Paper" and advises Ben and Jameson not to write the Osborn story. He does cave in on the identity of those who actually killed Harry's parents and Ben's wife while giving them a USB drive about it. Under Harry's advice, they write out the story under the alias of "Ben Reilly" as they begin to run it. After brainwashing some people at the bank into attacking Spider-Man, Mister Negative tells Wilson Fisk and his fellow lieutenants about it as Black Cat recuperates in a wheelchair. After Mysterio is told by Walter that he has not given up his seat yet, Walter reveals that he brought his daughter Felicia Hardy to act in his place. While visiting Memorial Park, Peter learns that Uncle Ben knows about his Spider-Man activity when Harry Osborn visited "The Paper". He allows Peter to continue his and Harry's fight against Fisk. On December, Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson attend the Parker family's Christmas party with Madeline Watson, Anna Watson, and Gayle Watson present. Mary Jane keeps avoiding calls from Gwen Stacy while dealing with Gayle being bitter that she and Parker is still married while Gayle is going through a divorce. When Mary Jane starts answering the phone, Gwen tells her that she hasn't heard from Harry lately. When Mary Jane taps Peter, she finds that Peter is actually his sentient suit who then quotes "Merry Christmas". It is then shown that Peter and Harry are captives of Kraven the Hunter. [6]

Collected editions

#TitleMaterial collectedFormatPagesReleasedISBN
1Married With ChildrenUltimate Spider-Man (2024) #1-6TPB16810 Sep 2024 978-1302957292
2The PaperUltimate Spider-Man (2024) #7-12TPB13618 Mar 2025 978-1302958282

Reception

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 sold out three times in just two months. [7] If sales for the comics with the standard cover and alternate covers are taken separately, it got 8 places in the top 10 most sold comics. [8] User comments in social media praised the arts and plots, and compared it favourably to the main Spider-Man comics. [7] Those sales are higher than those of Ultimate Invasion and the Ultimate Universe one-shot published before it. [7] As of October 2024, Ultimate Spider-Man outsold the Spider-Man comics from the main continuity for 9 of the first 10 months of release (failing only to do so in July 2024). [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>The Amazing Spider-Man</i> Comic book series

The Amazing Spider-Man is an ongoing American superhero comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it was the character's first title, launching seven months after his introduction in the final issue of Amazing Fantasy. The series began publication with a March 1963 cover date and has been published nearly continuously to date over six volumes with only one significant interruption. Issues of the title currently feature an issue number within its sixth volume, as well as a "legacy" number reflecting the issue's overall number across all Amazing Spider-Man volumes. The title reached 900 issues in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aunt May</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Maybelle "May" Parker-Jameson, commonly known as Aunt May, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Making her first full appearance in Amazing Fantasy #15, the character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, playing an influential role in the Spider-Man comic books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Stacy</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy was a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man. A college student and the daughter of George and Helen Stacy, she was the first romantic interest for Peter following his high school graduation before she was murdered by the Green Goblin. Her death has haunted Peter ever since, and stories published long afterwards indicate she still holds a special place in his heart. Gwen was posthumously subjected to numerous cloning experiments by her former professor Miles Warren, Peter's clone Ben Reilly, and an A.I. of Harry Osborn, the latter resulting in the creation of the Kindreds, and Ben briefly resurrecting Gwen in "Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy" (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, while clones of living people had unique souls of their own. In the alternate realities of Ultimate Marvel and Spider-Gwen, a still-living Gwen respectively becomes their universe's versions of Carnage and Spider-Woman.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Jane Watson</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Mary Jane "MJ" Watson is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, making her first appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #25, and subsequently designed by John Romita Sr. in #42. Since then, she has gone on to become Spider-Man's main love interest and later his wife. Mary Jane is his most famous and prominent love interest due to their long history, and one of the most iconic in all of comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Osborn</span> Comics character

Harold Theopolis "Harry" Lyman is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with the superhero Spider-Man. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #31.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayday Parker</span> Fictional superheroine in Marvel Comics MC2 universe

Spider-Girl is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has been referred to as both Spider-Girl and Spider-Woman. The character appears in the MC2 universe. The character was created by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz as the teenage daughter of Peter Parker (Spider-Man) and Mary Jane Watson, and first appeared in What If #105. She later acquired her own ongoing comic book, Spider-Girl, written by DeFalco and drawn by Frenz and Pat Olliffe, which was the longest-running superhero book with a lead female character ever published by Marvel. The title was relaunched as The Amazing Spider-Girl, and later The Spectacular Spider-Girl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liz Allan</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Elizabeth "Liz" Allan, also known as Elizabeth Allan-Osborn and commonly misspelled as "Liz Allen", is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. In the character's earliest appearances, she was a popular girl at the high school Peter Parker attends. She has been a regular supporting character in the various Spider-Man, Daredevil, and Venom series in an on-and-off basis, and has ties to the Green Goblin and Molten Man. She is married to Harry Osborn, the mother of their son Normie Osborn, and the CEO of Alchemax. Liz Allan later becomes Misery after bonding to portions of the Anti-Venom and Carnage symbiotes.

<i>Ultimate Spider-Man</i> Comic book series

Ultimate Spider-Man is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel imprint. Ultimate Spider-Man exists alongside other revamped Marvel characters in Ultimate Marvel titles including Ultimate X-Men, Ultimate Fantastic Four and The Ultimates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Stacy</span> Fictional Marvel Comics character

George Stacy is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, primarily in association with Spider-Man. He is Gwen Stacy's father and the police captain from the New York City Police Department. Stacy is a strong supporter of Spider-Man, often defending the superhero when others accuse Spider-Man of criminal acts, and thus serves as a foil personality to another Spider-Man related character, J. Jonah Jameson. Stacy's death in The Amazing Spider-Man #90 has been described as a turning point in the Spider-Man saga, signaling to readers that permanent changes could happen in the story, and that the supporting cast was not safe. Stacy was resurrected in a cloned body by Ben Reilly in Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy (2016–2017), with the embodiment of Death herself confirming in Ben Reilly: The Scarlet Spider (2017–2018) that all clones Ben created of deceased people had their souls intact on being brought back, before Stacy was killed again by the Carrion Virus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Night Gwen Stacy Died</span> 1973 story arc of The Amazing Spider-Man

"The Night Gwen Stacy Died", alternatively known as "The Green Goblin's Last Stand", is a story arc of the Marvel Comics comic book series The Amazing Spider-Man #121–122. The two-issue story was written by Gerry Conway, with pencil art by Gil Kane and inking by John Romita Sr. and Tony Mortellaro.

Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is a modernized, alternate universe counterpart of Spider-Man who is in his youth, a superhero first created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko in 1962. The Ultimate version of the character originated in Ultimate Marvel, a line of comic books created in 2000 that is set in a parallel universe with a narrative continuity separate and independent from the main continuity of Marvel Comics stories that began in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oscorp</span> Fictional multinational corporation appearing in publications by Marvel Comics

Oscorp, also known as Oscorp Industries, is a fictional multibillion-dollar multinational corporation appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, predominantly in stories about Spider-Man. The company was founded by Norman Osborn and has appeared in numerous media adaptations. It first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #37 and was created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Wedding!</span> Comic book story

"The Wedding!" is a story from The Amazing Spider-Man Annual #21 in which Mary Jane Watson and Peter Parker get married. It was published in 1987 and written by David Michelinie, featuring cover art by John Romita Sr.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative versions of Spider-Man</span> Marvel Comics superheroes

"Spider-Man" is the name of multiple comic book superheroes from the Marvel Comics Multiverse. The original and most well known is Peter Parker created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko originating from the Earth-616 universe. Within the mainstream Marvel Universe there have been characters that have taken the mantle such as Ben Reilly, Mac Gargan, Otto Octavius, and Kurt Wagner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Osborn</span> Marvel Comics fictional character

Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 as the first and best-known incarnation of the Green Goblin. He has since endured as one of the superhero Spider-Man's most prominent villains and is regarded as one of his three archenemies, alongside Doctor Octopus and Venom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spider-Man Noir</span> Marvel Comics superhero

Spider-Man Noir, often referred to as Spider-Noir, Spider-Man, or simply Noir, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Part of the Marvel Noir universe (Earth-90214), this alternate version of Spider-Man is a noir-themed take on the character and emerges in a version of New York during the Great Depression.

The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. Since the introduction of Peter Parker as a character in 1962, with the superhero alter-ego, Spider-Man, a number of these locations have been prominently featured in connection with storylines specific to this character. These have then been carried over to depictions of Spider-Man in film, video games, and other media. There follows a list of those features.

References

  1. ↑ Brooke, David (2024-01-04). "EXCLUSIVE Marvel Preview: Ultimate Spider-Man #1 • AIPT". aiptcomics.com. Retrieved 2024-01-06.
  2. ↑ JESSE SCHEDEEN (October 16, 2023). "Marvel Comics Reveals the New Ultimate Universe - New York Comic-Con 2023". IGN. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  3. ↑ Jeese Schedeen (January 15, 2024). "How Ultimate Spider-Man Reinvents Peter Parker for 2024". IGN. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  4. ↑ Matt Morrison (July 25, 2024). "Ultimate Spider-Man #7 Preview Reveals Super-Suit Secrets". Superherohype. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  5. ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 4. #1-6. Marvel Comics.
  6. ↑ Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 4 #7-12. Marvel Comics.
  7. 1 2 3 Graeme McMillan (March 1, 2024). "Marvel's first big hit of 2024 Ultimate Spider-Man sold out for the third time this week (but there's more coming)". Popverse. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Nick Richardson (January 16, 2024). "TOP 10 COMICS & RUNNERS UP: January 15th, 2024" . Retrieved March 3, 2024.
  9. ↑ Christopher Baggett (April 9, 2024). "Ultimate Spider-Man outsold all other Spidey titles again and fans are loving it". Dexerto. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ ICv2 (August 12, 2024). "Ultimate Spider-Man beaten by ASM in July". ICv2. Retrieved November 22, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.