Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto

[Frontier]

Name on the upper left hand of the cover teasing.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #7
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art and Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
On Sale 7/3

Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto continue to spin the Spidey story of the decade in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #7. The start of an all-new arc, the issue picks up after Green Goblin and Spider-Man’s intense battle with the Kingpin, where they learned they aren’t as ready to reshape the world as they hoped. Harry and Peter get to work, while Ben and Jonah work on “the truth”… And problems for their resistance arise when Tony Stark checks in on Peter!

Attachment 138828

So I guess they either lose to Kingpin or they "win" but Kingpin's bosses show up to remind them he's only the starter boss.

[ryu77]

How I missed being hyped for a Spider-man comic.

[Huntsman Spider]

Name on the upper left hand of the cover teasing.

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #7
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art and Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
On Sale 7/3

Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto continue to spin the Spidey story of the decade in ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #7. The start of an all-new arc, the issue picks up after Green Goblin and Spider-Man’s intense battle with the Kingpin, where they learned they aren’t as ready to reshape the world as they hoped. Harry and Peter get to work, while Ben and Jonah work on “the truth”… And problems for their resistance arise when Tony Stark checks in on Peter!

Attachment 138828

So I guess they either lose to Kingpin or they "win" but Kingpin's bosses show up to remind them he's only the starter boss.

The latter would make more sense to me, but I could definitely see Tony trying to recruit Peter (and/or Harry) for the Ultimates.

How I missed being hyped for a Spider-man comic.

Indeed.

[Ursalink]

The latter would make more sense to me, but I could definitely see Tony trying to recruit Peter (and/or Harry) for the Ultimates.



Indeed.

Considering that if they lose, their families could pay the price, I also think they will defeat Kingpin, only to discover he's just the Boss of Level 1, and they are not prepare for Level 2.

[Garlador]

So I guess they either lose to Kingpin or they "win" but Kingpin's bosses show up to remind them he's only the starter boss.

Worked for the Insomniac game.

[Coop]

I'm interested in seeing Tony show up. The article Marvel that listed these solicitations mentioned Harry and Peter (potentially with Otto helping based on the cover) are trying to hack the suits.

I wonder how Tony will feel about that and how / if he's going to get Peter involved in the Ultimates Resistance.

[CaptainUniverse]

Worked for the Insomniac game.

Kingpin is just the Stage One Boss. We still got a ways to go before we reach the final stage, The Maker's City Zone.

[Frontier]

Worked for the Insomniac game.

And they're even working with Otto Octavious .

I'm interested in seeing Tony show up. The article Marvel that listed these solicitations mentioned Harry and Peter (potentially with Otto helping based on the cover) are trying to hack the suits.

I wonder how Tony will feel about that and how / if he's going to get Peter involved in the Ultimates Resistance.

More Teen Tony than you thought you ever wanted!

[Coop]

And they're even working with Otto Octavious .

More Teen Tony than you thought you ever wanted!

I enjoy Ultimate Tony so far and the age thing or the character don't bother me. I'm looking forward to his reappearance and seeing how he interacts with Peter and potentially Harry.

Plus as he's the primary story driver in advancing the overall Ultimate Universe narrative, another thing I am enjoying, I am pretty intrigued to see his next appearance

[phonogram12]

I think this book exists because Hickman pitched a story idea that was a complete inversion of the original Ultimate series, and one that drastically subverts traditional expectations for Spider-man retellings. What Hickman did is essentially took the "ending" and made it the beginning, and that's absolutely a fresh idea.

The draw is that it's both continuity-lite and nostalgic/familiar in its use of the marriage, but also completely unpredictable. Hickman has included all of these traditionally tragic characters within Peter's immediate vicinity (Ben, Gwen, Harry, and even Peter's daughter) and yet no tragedy has struck as one would expect for Spidey's origin. There's an expectation for how things should play out based on classic story beats, but with Hickman turning the entire mythology on its head, there's really no clear indication of where the story is headed. There's a lot of immediate tension and I think that's helped suck people in.

I generally have an issue with the use of nostalgia in superhero comics in general, so that may be my issue here (but then again, that's my issue with most superhero comics. I just think most use nostalgia as a crutch, tbh).

Now, fans of the marriage and an older Peter Parker have certainly latched onto supporting this book because of the context around Amazing, and things that have been said about the marriage in the past. But I certainly don't think the plot itself is "giving the fans what they want." A plot that exists to "placate" the reader is considered bad because it is thought to lead to boring and predictable storytelling. But there's a lot of subversion in what Hickman is doing that I don't think anyone could have anticipated.

I don't disagree with the subversion, but what are some examples that you see?

[Spider-Tiger]

I generally have an issue with the use of nostalgia in superhero comics in general, so that may be my issue here (but then again, that's my issue with most superhero comics. I just think most use nostalgia as a crutch, tbh).

That's a fair criticism. Though I'd argue that the present 616 is far more guilty of using nostalgia as a "crutch" than what Hickman is doing.

I don't disagree with the subversion, but what are some examples that you see?

Hickman has already pivoted away from several traditional expectations for Spider-man's origins:

- Peter getting his powers as a middle aged man as opposed to being a teenager.
- Peter not being a social outcast/bullied prior to the spider-bite. (He may have been that in his teen years but outgrew it regardless of the spider.)
- May being taken off the table in favor of developing Uncle Ben.
- J Jonah Jameson being portrayed as having a familial relationship with the Parkers.
- Harry and Peter not having an established friendship and instead meeting eachother for the first time in costume.
- Norman Osborn being taken off the table immediately.
- Gwen Stacy (or a Gwen/MJ composite girl next door) not being portrayed as Peter's first love.

And despite these changes, all of the major players largely feel in-keeping with their 616 origins. This doesn't feel like change for the sake of change (which is what I did not like about Bendis' Ultimate) or another one of many attempts at "modernizing" 616 continuity (Chapter One, Ultimate, Life Story, Spidey, etc. and the various adaptations in other media) , but Hickman shuffling the deck by putting familiar characters in drastically new circumstances. Which IMO is an exciting place for an au to begin.

[Kaitou D. Kid]

I don't disagree with the subversion, but what are some examples that you see?

Hickman's entire new Ultimate universe is a deliberate subversion of 616 (not just USM but even the other books):

-Peter becoming Spider-Man as an adult after he already understands responsibility, and now having to learn what power is like.
-Jameson being a decent dude.
-Uncle Ben and Gwen being alive, and Aunt May being dead.
-Peter not losing his parents until high school (so not having orphan trauma since childhood).
-Harry's Goblin being heroic.
-Tony Stark being a teenager and extremely heroic (so not having all the character flaws of his 616 version).
-Hulk being a calm monk but challenging it all in a villainous way (as opposed to 616 Hulk who is aggressive but is ultimately a hero/antihero).
-Cap never being found.
-Reed losing his family and becoming this world's Doctor Doom, but is still a hero (unlike 616 Doom who is a villain).
-Thor growing up under Loki's rule.
-Matt becoming a law-abiding priest instead of a vigilante public servant.
-The X-Men being a team of women (hence the irony of X-Men).

I'm sure I'm missing a few.

[Kevinroc]

-Matt becoming a law-abiding priest instead of a vigilante public servant.

Out of everything The Maker has done, this just feels the pettiest. He made sure Matt was still blind when he had the power to change that and ensure that there would be no Daredevil.

[Mercwmouth12]

Out of everything The Maker has done, this just feels the pettiest. He made sure Matt was still blind when he had the power to change that and ensure that there would be no Daredevil.

We don't actually know that. Daredevil could be around. We saw Hawkeye in the avengers preview

[Frontier]

I enjoy Ultimate Tony so far and the age thing or the character don't bother me. I'm looking forward to his reappearance and seeing how he interacts with Peter and potentially Harry.

Plus as he's the primary story driver in advancing the overall Ultimate Universe narrative, another thing I am enjoying, I am pretty intrigued to see his next appearance

For me he just kind of...exists?

-The X-Men being a team of women (hence the irony of X-Men).

Cute Girls Doing Cute Mutant-Things.

Out of everything The Maker has done, this just feels the pettiest. He made sure Matt was still blind when he had the power to change that and ensure that there would be no Daredevil.

His priority is preventing heroes from being born, not solving their problems .