Ultimate Spider-Man by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto

[Huntsman Spider]

That preview is really making me think they're setting Gwen up to be a Big Bad. I'm getting so many villain vibes off her.

Maybe. If she does become a villain, what sets her off? Is she trying to avenge a dead Harry and displacing her grief onto Peter, whom she might blame for not doing enough to watch his back or, even worse, for getting Harry killed in the first place? And if that's the setup, does that mean Gwen becomes a villainous Green Goblin to contrast with Harry's heroic Green Goblin?

[Spider-Tiger]

Wow, that haircut...

I'm more taken aback that he's so young and thin.

Reminds me of Ditko Peter

Probably the intent with the design. Otto is typically portrayed as an anti-Peter Parker. Would be interesting if he actually is younger here too.

[Coop]

Maybe. If she does become a villain, what sets her off? Is she trying to avenge a dead Harry and displacing her grief onto Peter, whom she might blame for not doing enough to watch his back or, even worse, for getting Harry killed in the first place? And if that's the setup, does that mean Gwen becomes a villainous Green Goblin to contrast with Harry's heroic Green Goblin?

It could also be that Gwen is asking for an aggressive NDA for Otto to sign because she's aware of the danger he poses with access to Stark/Stane tech and is trying to reign that in.

I don't fully agree she's been written as a villain, she's been written as a rich owner of a powerful company. A slight difference but a difference none the less

I forsee a road to hell paved with good intentions situation for Harry and Gwen. Reading what Hickman has written, I think it's obvious the people who save the world won't be billionaires.

[Frontier]

Probably the intent with the design. Otto is typically portrayed as an anti-Peter Parker. Would be interesting if he actually is younger here too.

Ages in Spider-Man can be so funny at times.

It could also be that Gwen is asking for an aggressive NDA for Otto to sign because she's aware of the danger he poses with access to Stark/Stane tech and is trying to reign that in.

I don't fully agree she's been written as a villain, she's been written as a rich owner of a powerful company. A slight difference but a difference none the less

I forsee a road to hell paved with good intentions situation for Harry and Gwen. Reading what Hickman has written, I think it's obvious the people who save the world won't be billionaires.

I think they could very easily twist Gwen that there's more beyond her pleasant smile and idealism. I think we're only scratching the surface of what this Gwen is about, moreso than even Harry.

But I also think recruiting Otto is going to end up screwing everybody over.

[Huntsman Spider]

It could also be that Gwen is asking for an aggressive NDA for Otto to sign because she's aware of the danger he poses with access to Stark/Stane tech and is trying to reign that in.

I don't fully agree she's been written as a villain, she's been written as a rich owner of a powerful company. A slight difference but a difference none the less

I forsee a road to hell paved with good intentions situation for Harry and Gwen. Reading what Hickman has written, I think it's obvious the people who save the world won't be billionaires.

Fair enough on Gwen, though your last sentence is definitely on-point, especially in a real-world context.

[Vordan]

That preview is really making me think they're setting Gwen up to be a Big Bad. I'm getting so many villain vibes off her.

Her and Harry are the dark counterparts to MJ and Peter. You’ve got the main heroes (Peter/Harry) and their CEO wives (MJ/Gwen). The Osborns are 100% going to fall, only question is how. You know what Hickman’s portrayal of Peter and Harry reminds me of? His take on Reed and Doom. Both Reed and Doom wanted to save everything in Hickman’s Avengers run, and they had previously worked together in his F4 run, but no partnership between the two could last because of Doom’s jealousy of, and inferiority complex towards, Reed. There’s this particular line that Doom hurls at Reed that I see being a factor in what causes the Parkers and the Osborns to split - “you make perfect the enemy of good”. Harry and Gwen are going to cross moral boundaries I think, and eventually there will be a line where Peter refuses to follow.

Harry already has been trying to kill Kingpin, I could totally see lethal force being a source for division between the two.

[Vordan]

In real life, certainly. And what you're proposing is certainly a narrative direction that could make sense in some comics. Even some Spider-Man comics at that.

But I think you're neglecting to consider that Hickman has a bit of a formula here that has been previously seen in his Fantastic Four and X-Men runs, where the main protagonist is a 30/40 something year old father who is happily married, has children and has a father figure of his own. All of which we see here already in Ultimate Spider-Man with Peter, Mary Jane, the Parker kids and Uncle Ben fitting into the designated roles.

I absolutely believe that Hickman will throw family drama and some form of loss at the Parker family's way as the story progresses. That's bound to happen and I look forward to seeing those developments. But I don't think the Parker kids will be dying anytime soon here.

If anything, I would argue that if tragedy were to strike the main cast in such a way that it involves a child, my money would be on:

spoilers:

Gwen becoming pregnant at some point in the run and then later have a tragic miscarriage as a consequence of Peter and Harry's superhero-ing endeavors. Hickman made a point to highlight that Harry doesn't feel comfortable with bringing new life in the world he currently lives in- and that really stands out to me, considering that if you look back at Harry in the 616 continuity in say the J.M. DeMatteis Spectacular Spider-Man era, Harry loved being a father. Moreover that sort of development would make sense enough in instigating a divide and tension between Peter and Harry.

end of spoilers

Now that isn't my main theory of what all could happen, but if we're feeling so confident that a child is going to die at some point, that'd be where my money would land on. Your mileage will obviously vary though!

My take is that Harry’s warning will come true, but not via killing off members of Peter’s family. Aunt May is dead as are Peter’s parents, so he’s already got the tragic backstory. What I think is going to happen is that Peter’s attempts to keep his family in the dark will backfire, because the Illuminati is going to try and recruit MJ to take Fisk’s place. After Kingpin falls, they’re going to need to reestablish control of the press so they can spin the narrative. And who just told us that she is CEO of a PR firm and spent time working for Damage Control (which I bet works for the Illuminati)? MJ! Oh and she’s also funding the only news outlet that’s nosing around in the Illuminati’s business. I’ve said this before but I totally think MJ will get her own villainous counterpart to Peter’s offer from Tony. Maybe they’ll even try and recruit MJ and Gwen at the same time.

[Daibhidh]

It could also be that Gwen is asking for an aggressive NDA for Otto to sign because she's aware of the danger he poses with access to Stark/Stane tech and is trying to reign that in.

I don't fully agree she's been written as a villain, she's been written as a rich owner of a powerful company. A slight difference but a difference none the less

I forsee a road to hell paved with good intentions situation for Harry and Gwen. Reading what Hickman has written, I think it's obvious the people who save the world won't be billionaires.

Yes to all of this. I think the villain vibes from Gwen are to some extent the fact that powerful women in corporate culture are often portrayed in popular culture as villains, combined with the fact that corporate culture in the real world is ethically problematic regardless of the intentions of the people concerned.