by: Gen/Esis
Spider-Man has been thriving in plenty of mediums from games to movies, both live-action and animation, and fans couldn’t be happier…except there is one medium that the web head has struggled to gain the fan’s approval, and it happens to be where it all started. But while you can look back and point at plenty of points throughout the character’s history where it might’ve started, the bottom line is that Spider-Man comics, mainly 616 Spider-Man (Main Universe), have not been in the greatest place. From questionable decisions to the writers’ and editors’ refusal to let Peter Parker have a modicum of happiness, and in this case, making the character worse for it, fans have been begging Marvel to let Spider-Man grow past these choices that seem to only hold the character back. But while this new Ultimate Spider-Man run isn’t part of the main Marvel universe, this comic is a perfect portrayal of what Spider-Man could be if Marvel wasn’t holding the character back.
A New Beginning
After all the shenanigans with The Maker in Ultimate Invasion, it has all led up to this—a world where all the heroes everyone knows and loves were either never a thing, entirely different, or dead. Spider-Man, being a pretty important part of all of this, was one of the lucky few who was simply prevented from becoming his superpowered self, unlike many others. So now Peter is in his thirties, with no superpowers, married to Mary Jane, father of two children, and working for the Daily Bugle with his Uncle Ben. Not exactly the worst life one could ask for.
Throughout the entirety of this first issue, there isn’t any dealing with supervillains, pointless drama, butchering of Peter’s character, nothing. Instead, we are treated with a refreshing look into a new life for Peter. One where he gets to live a life that the mainline version of himself could only dream of having. We get a look at this new Peter’s life along with those around him. His relationships and family make this run stand out from the rest. Yet even though he has all of that, he still feels like he’s missing something.
Personally, I loved this entire first issue. Even though it isn’t exactly the origin story we’ve all come to know and love for the web head, it’s one that perfectly depicts this older, more lost Peter Parker who is simply trying to make sense of a world that was never meant to be the way it ended up being. It’s a wonderful reimagining that brings new life to the character and sets up plenty of possibilities that aren’t very well apparent for the mainline 616 Spider-Man. Unlike the previous issues in this new Ultimate Universe, this one doesn’t look at the overarching political aspect of the world, or massive looming threats from the future, or past, or another universe—all it does is ground itself in this street-level story and focuses on showing just a small piece of this new universe, from a lens different from any characters we’ve seen so far.
More to Come?
But while everything is well and good, there are a few things I’m certain some readers may not be a fan of. Mainly, the promise of seeing a story about Peter Parker living a married life with two children, something many readers have been wanting a taste of, isn’t something that has much of a focus on at all. Granted, it makes up for that with the world and character-building the issue has in almost every other area, but this one thing seemed to be what many people had been excited to delve into, yet there was hardly any of that here. Surely that will change moving forward, I can’t imagine Jonathan Hickman outright avoiding this topic when it’s so sought after, but as things stand, there isn’t much there.
There’s also no Spider-Man, for those who may be wondering. Something that to me is not an issue at all, but there’s no doubt many people out there will be disappointed not to see their favorite hero going out there and being that friendly neighborhood Spider-Man the title promises (or I guess it’s promising and Ultimate Spider-Man, but you get the point). Still, Peter Parker is very well established in these few pages, and that will only serve to make the Spider-Man scenes be all the more impactful.
Should You Get It?
If the question comes down to whether the story is worth it or not, the answer is an outstanding yes! This story does exactly what many readers have been wanting out of Spider-Man for years, and Jonathan Hickman pulls it off in a way that, for the most part, satisfies that itch of something new from Spidey. Only the first issue is out, with the next one just around the corner, but even this one alone I say is worth checking out.
And so the Ultimate Universe continues. Next up we have Ultimate Black Panther followed shortly after by Ultimate X-Men. I’ll be sure to check those out when they drop and get my thoughts on them as they do.
