Hickman Ultimate Universe (Earth 6160) General Discussion and Spoilers

[Huntsman Spider]

A pair of problems with Ultimate Spider-Man

* One, he's married to Mary Jane, but that comes from out of the blue and is completely unearned. We remember Peter and Mary Jane as a couple both in the main comics and the ultimate ones as a couple, but they didn't start that way. Their relation grew over time, and we readers saw it growing, which is the reason we are attached to it and not so much to any other random Paul that may show up.
* And second, Peter is an adult, but he has never learned the lesson of responsibility, which is a fundamental thing for Spider-Man as a character no matter in which way you look at him or which new spin you try. You may make him a teenager, you may make him Gwen or Miles instead of Peter, you may kill May instead of Ben, but the lesson has to be there. This Peter is an adult, but despite being married with children he jumps at the chance to use on himself a never-tested thing that grants superpowers. And one proposed by the infamous Iron Lad to boot. It turned out fine, but there are just way too many way it could have gone wrong... and the big thing about being an adult married with children, is that you must think first in your children, then in your wife, and last in yourself or strangers. This Peter is an adult, but a really irresponsible one.

Fair point on the second, especially since the lesson on responsibility was the main reason I could never truck with Superior Spider-Man, as Otto never really let that lesson sink in until he lost everything because of his arrogance and irresponsibility. The first, though, I see more as just cutting through all the proverbial red tape of editorial interference in the mainline canon and giving Spider-Fans something they'd been missing for the last 15 or so years since One More Day. That said, as it's only the first issue, I am looking forward to seeing (and hoping we will see) how Peter and Mary Jane got together and got married in this universe.

[charliehustle415]

A pair of problems with Ultimate Spider-Man

* One, he's married to Mary Jane, but that comes from out of the blue and is completely unearned. We remember Peter and Mary Jane as a couple both in the main comics and the ultimate ones as a couple, but they didn't start that way. Their relation grew over time, and we readers saw it growing, which is the reason we are attached to it and not so much to any other random Paul that may show up.
* And second, Peter is an adult, but he has never learned the lesson of responsibility, which is a fundamental thing for Spider-Man as a character no matter in which way you look at him or which new spin you try. You may make him a teenager, you may make him Gwen or Miles instead of Peter, you may kill May instead of Ben, but the lesson has to be there. This Peter is an adult, but despite being married with children he jumps at the chance to use on himself a never-tested thing that grants superpowers. And one proposed by the infamous Iron Lad to boot. It turned out fine, but there are just way too many way it could have gone wrong... and the big thing about being an adult married with children, is that you must think first in your children, then in your wife, and last in yourself or strangers. This Peter is an adult, but a really irresponsible one.

well it is a different universe, maybe none of these matter at all.

what if MJ fell in love with Pete the minute they saw each other?
maybe Pete learned responsibility from being a parent and husband?

I mean there are so many ways Spidey could and should be different from his 616 counter part.

[Digifiend]

Didn't Peter keep dodging May and Anna's attempts to set up a blind date by pretending to be busy with school or Bugle work but actually going out as Spidey? That won't be the case here, so MJ would've delivered her "You just hit the jackpot" line a bit earlier. Early enough that he probably never dated Gwen. He probably also didn't start at the Bugle until he graduated (and therefore didn't date Betty either), because of course they still had Uncle Ben's income, and in 616 he took up the freelance photography because he needed to replace that lost income after his death.

[MarvelMaster616]

I've been following every bit of new Ultimate news since it was announced. And I've made a number of videos on my YouTube channel discussing it. But I felt compelled to make this one after reading some of the news about Peach Momoko's Ultimate X-Men series launching in March. I hope it's a video that ages like milk. But I'm interested in hearing if anyone else shares my concerns.

[wyokid]

I've been following every bit of new Ultimate news since it was announced. And I've made a number of videos on my YouTube channel discussing it. But I felt compelled to make this one after reading some of the news about Peach Momoko's Ultimate X-Men series launching in March. I hope it's a video that ages like milk. But I'm interested in hearing if anyone else shares my concerns.

Now there's a username I forgot all about, good to see you.

[Refrax5]

A pair of problems with Ultimate Spider-Man

* One, he's married to Mary Jane, but that comes from out of the blue and is completely unearned. We remember Peter and Mary Jane as a couple both in the main comics and the ultimate ones as a couple, but they didn't start that way. Their relation grew over time, and we readers saw it growing, which is the reason we are attached to it and not so much to any other random Paul that may show up.
* And second, Peter is an adult, but he has never learned the lesson of responsibility, which is a fundamental thing for Spider-Man as a character no matter in which way you look at him or which new spin you try. You may make him a teenager, you may make him Gwen or Miles instead of Peter, you may kill May instead of Ben, but the lesson has to be there. This Peter is an adult, but despite being married with children he jumps at the chance to use on himself a never-tested thing that grants superpowers. And one proposed by the infamous Iron Lad to boot. It turned out fine, but there are just way too many way it could have gone wrong... and the big thing about being an adult married with children, is that you must think first in your children, then in your wife, and last in yourself or strangers. This Peter is an adult, but a really irresponsible one.

Well, it's not really a problem at this point because those are more questions to be answered rather than plot failings.

I also don't really believe that Peter would only have learned responsibility by Ben being murdered. Peter was generally a nice kid that got a little carried away with his new powers (as I imagine any 15 year old kid would). Ben's death was a very harsh lesson and a sobering moment for Peter that forced him to grow up quicker than normal, but he was an immature kid. Most of us were probably immature and self-centered at that age and we matured and became more responsible with age and experience. There's no real reason to think Peter wouldn't have grown up to be a good guy without a traumatic event, since he was basically a nice kid who just made a stupid mistake in the original story. Ben's death forced him to grow up faster than he would have otherwise, but he probably would have grown up eventually, just at a slower pace and in a more normal way.

And, again, we still are learning about this version of Peter. He might be lacking some of what made our Peter a hero. He might have different motives. Finding out how his life was different in this world is part of what makes it interesting in my opinion. We're only one issue in.

[Kurolegacy]

I've been following every bit of new Ultimate news since it was announced. And I've made a number of videos on my YouTube channel discussing it. But I felt compelled to make this one after reading some of the news about Peach Momoko's Ultimate X-Men series launching in March. I hope it's a video that ages like milk. But I'm interested in hearing if anyone else shares my concerns.

Sadly for me, I gotta admit that I’m genuinely uninterested in this Ultimate X-Men series. While I get that this is a different universe and there are those who praise it for being different, for me it’s just too different. There are aspects that I enjoy with the X-Men especially with the superhero element of “Protecting a world that hates and fears them.” Thus far, nothing about this series gives me anything of the familiarity of the X-Men to really sink my teeth into besides the fact that this stars mutant characters. But for me, that isn’t enough for me to want to buy a series. I’m glad that there’s those that are looking forward to it but this book just isn’t for me.

[Huntsman Spider]

Well, it's not really a problem at this point because those are more questions to be answered rather than plot failings.

I also don't really believe that Peter would only have learned responsibility by Ben being murdered. Peter was generally a nice kid that got a little carried away with his new powers (as I imagine any 15 year old kid would). Ben's death was a very harsh lesson and a sobering moment for Peter that forced him to grow up quicker than normal, but he was an immature kid. Most of us were probably immature and self-centered at that age and we matured and became more responsible with age and experience. There's no real reason to think Peter wouldn't have grown up to be a good guy without a traumatic event, since he was basically a nice kid who just made a stupid mistake in the original story. Ben's death forced him to grow up faster than he would have otherwise, but he probably would have grown up eventually, just at a slower pace and in a more normal way.

And, again, we still are learning about this version of Peter. He might be lacking some of what made our Peter a hero. He might have different motives. Finding out how his life was different in this world is part of what makes it interesting in my opinion. We're only one issue in.

Those are pretty good points there. There is a lot we still have to learn about this iteration of Peter Parker and how he reacts to his powers and the chance to be a real superhero without the same tragic impetus that led him down that path in most versions of his story. Of course, with him being a father and a husband, he has a lot more to lose in comparison with most of those other versions, which could provide very compelling drama and pathos as well.

[Vordan]

https://aiptcomics.com/2024/01/22/x-...imate-x-men-2/

AIPT: X-Fans Ethan C.M. and Kingdom X asked, are you taking inspiration from or have you been influenced by any classic X-Men stories as you developed Ultimate X-Men?

Peach: My Ultimate X-Men isn’t directly influenced by classic X-Men stories. I like to believe C.B. and Jonathan Hickman chose me because they wanted something completely new and different, so I think sometimes no influences is a good thing!

They’re seemingly going for a complete reinvention of the X-Men here, which makes sense when you remember that the 616 X-Men are likely reverting to factory settings once Breevort takes over.

[Ubauba01]

A pair of problems with Ultimate Spider-Man

* One, he's married to Mary Jane, but that comes from out of the blue and is completely unearned. We remember Peter and Mary Jane as a couple both in the main comics and the ultimate ones as a couple, but they didn't start that way. Their relation grew over time, and we readers saw it growing, which is the reason we are attached to it and not so much to any other random Paul that may show up.
* And second, Peter is an adult, but he has never learned the lesson of responsibility, which is a fundamental thing for Spider-Man as a character no matter in which way you look at him or which new spin you try. You may make him a teenager, you may make him Gwen or Miles instead of Peter, you may kill May instead of Ben, but the lesson has to be there. This Peter is an adult, but despite being married with children he jumps at the chance to use on himself a never-tested thing that grants superpowers. And one proposed by the infamous Iron Lad to boot. It turned out fine, but there are just way too many way it could have gone wrong... and the big thing about being an adult married with children, is that you must think first in your children, then in your wife, and last in yourself or strangers. This Peter is an adult, but a really irresponsible one.

I agree with you. However, regarding your second point, perhaps the idea is that he will learn the mainstream version's sense of responsibility gradually instead of due to inadvertedly causing Uncle Ben's death. It could be an interesting premise, but we will see if that is where the series will actually go.

He is a middle aged family man, so at his starting point, he would be more responsible than the teenage Peter from Amazing Fantasy #15.

[Vordan]

[Hurricane Billy]

I'll be honest, I am very interested in seeing how this run turns out. This looks like such a unique reimagining of what the X-Men can be and I'm here for it.

[Refrax5]

Sadly for me, I gotta admit that I’m genuinely uninterested in this Ultimate X-Men series. While I get that this is a different universe and there are those who praise it for being different, for me it’s just too different. There are aspects that I enjoy with the X-Men especially with the superhero element of “Protecting a world that hates and fears them.” Thus far, nothing about this series gives me anything of the familiarity of the X-Men to really sink my teeth into besides the fact that this stars mutant characters. But for me, that isn’t enough for me to want to buy a series. I’m glad that there’s those that are looking forward to it but this book just isn’t for me.

I feel the same. It also feels very tonally different from the other Ultimate Universe books so it seems like it might feel a bit disjointed. I'm all for doing something new and unique, but this book, at least on the surface, feels like an odd fit for the line. I'm going to give each of the books a try because I'm interested in the overall concept of this universe, but this one feels the least like something I'd stick with.

[Frontier]

I'm not totally against a really different take on the X-Men as a concept and I read enough anime/manga that a more Japanese-influenced take would appeal to me...yet at the same time it feels so distinct and lacking in anything remotely resembling the X-Men that it feels really out of place.

Especially compared to other Ultimate books.

[Trapgodthanos]

The uniqueness is what has me excited about this book. This is a brand new universe if you can't be creative and take big swings here where do you? To me the previous ultimate universe was at its most uninteresting when it just retold 616 stories slightly differently, it seems hickman and co (especially momoko if her aipt interview is any indication) don't plan on doing that. I may end up hating the new ultimate x-men but I'll still give them props for attempting to go for the big swing and try something wholly different (the thing people say they want marvel to do).