Taking Second Chances: ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ #1 Reviewed

We all know the story of Peter Parker and the amazing Spider-Man. Ultimate Spider-Man #1 takes that familiar story and gives it some fascinating new twists, creating one of the coolest new takes on Marvel’s heroes in years.

Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson and Cory Petit begin the newest take on Peter Parker.

Twenty years ago, Peter Parker was supposed to have been bitten by a genetically altered spider, but a malicious genius prevented that event. Now Peter is nearing middle age, and despite his good life with MJ, his kids and Uncle Ben, something is missing. When the universe offers him a chance to fix what’s missing, will Peter take it?

This issue is mostly a bunch of world building. Peter and his family don’t know anything about the Maker, his illuminati and everything Ultimate Invasion set up, but Hickman gives us pretty much everything we need to know. The engaging thing about this issue is how he does it. We get these new versions of each character really well, and each one feels like a fully formed human being. After giving us about thirty pages of that character development and world building, he adds the twist — giving Peter his new origin — and we get the superheroes that will keep me coming.

It’s seriously great how it all comes together.

Even better is how much the art adds to it. I’ve always liked Checchetto’s Spider-Man but Spidey doesn’t show up until the last page. This excels at creating Peter’s world, giving so much personality to MJ, Richard and May, and showing the quiet confidence of Ben Parker. While the story is fairly decompressed, Checchetto paces it as such that it never feels slow or dragging.

Wilson’s colors give the pages life. He makes the Daily Bugle offices more vibrant than the line art alone could. He adds light to the Parkers’ apartment, making it feel like Peter and MJ have built a home. 

Ultimate Spider-Man #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.