My last comment is a bit mixed up, paragraphs out of place, don't know why..hope it still make some reading sense..
My last comment is a bit mixed up, paragraphs out of place, don't know why..hope it still make some reading sense..
I would at least stick around for the 1st arc, which will probably be told in 4, 5 or 6 issues, to see how things progress.
Interesting that the second issue release is Feb 21 and the third issue is Mar 27. Feels like they may already be falling behind production-wise.
I remember several Ultimate titles where you had to wait several months between issues!
If that happens here, it will not be good.
Fourth issue is April 24, but I don't think it's a matter of them falling behind on production. I think the idea is that each new launch issue of the new Ultimate books come out early into the month and then shift over to a different week of the month every issue after that, considering that Ultimate Black Panther comes out February 7 and Ultimate X-Men comes out March 6.
I just can't get over how much I enjoyed this book. How it presents a radically different setting and still feels 100% Spider-Man. Everything is different but Peter reads like THE Peter Parker and MJ reads like THE Mary Jane Watson in a way they haven't on 616 continuity since what feels like forever. My only concern is that writing grown women is Hickman's weak spot, so I really hope he understands how utterly fundamental MJ is for a good Spidey book.
Also, I do wonder if I had enjoyed this book as much as I did if ASM hadn't been the Chernobyl of misery, rage bait and creative callousness it has been for about two years now. But I have read enough comics to properly identify top-notch when I see it, and this is 100% Hickman top-notch so far. A certain editor should REALLY be taking notes here.
Last edited by fjmac; 01-11-2024 at 08:09 AM.
Peter winning his first fight with a bad guy doesn't feel very Spider-Man to me. Same as a Peter with no around him dying (that's a hint for those wishing this a Peter without the grief).
I felt a very visceral reaction initially when reading it, as I'm sure we were meant to but its a new universe and definitely feels different right.
Wasn't the crux of the change in this universe was Peter going out with Liz instead of going to the lab and getting bit by the spider? That might've been a turning point of him eschewing science.
Peter not winning fights at all doesn't feel very Spider-Man to me either, so I hope that's not what we're getting here.
I had an issue with the bolded as well.
The story flowed directly out of Ultimate Invasion (particularly the origin), it didn't feel like the fresh start I expected.
spoilers:end of spoilers
Peter's suit and irradiated spider were literally handed to him by Teen Tony and given the inscription on the Goblin suit that read something like "Osborn/Stark", I won't be surprised if the story still ties into whatever larger Ultimate story Hickman wants to tell here. I don't want sound too down on Hickman but my experience with his Marvel work is the "concept" trumps everything and said concept almost always leads to a larger event and then conclusion. Also, since Peter is a genius, I would have expected him to be better employed, not necessarily a rich inventor but more like a successful non-douche tech bro.
I'm definitely going to stick with this because the set-up is truly interesting but I'm still a little on the fence.
I think this is a bit of an unfair expectation. Peter is a scientific genius in 616 but we don't know if he's a scientific genius here. People are more positive towards changes like a living Uncle Ben, Peter and Harry being total strangers, a less douchy JJJ so why is this a problem? By the way I'd love Peter to be a genius in a more Sherlock Holmes-ey way. A guy with an uncanny ability of observation and reasoning. It would go well with investigative journalism.
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I really REALLY enjoyed this issue. It sets up a really interesting beginning for a new take on Peter. I'm not sure if spoiler tags are needed (as this is a discussion thread and they are annoying to use/read on mobile) but no one pointed out Fisk's #2 is Bullseye (I believe).
I was surprised the end page got me the way it did - something largely credited to Chechetto's art, I'd wager. I liked the rest of the issue just fine, though, and it seemed like a very interesting AU to begin with.
However, and people with much larger followings than "NotJudasTraveller" have already attested to, Hickman seems to excel at setups and beginnings but things kind of go off track somewhat early on the runs, so we'll see. Even before Hickman was off the X-books, people were already feeling like the arc was "just spinning its wheels" and I often felt the same way when I tried reading his other stuff.
I'd definitely call it a strong beginning no less.
Discovering/CONFESSING! the nature of evil... one retcon at a time.
Is this a recent thing that people point out with Hickman? Cause other than his X-Men stuff which got extended due to editorial not Hickman I don't remember him going off track early in any of his other works. Secret Warriors was consistently good throughout, Fantastic Four and Future Foundation were incredible, his Avengers Epics into Secret Wars also hold up (could've used an arc or two less). Just curious to know what run of his people feel like he went off track. His Ultimate stuff?
Think we've got to manage expectations here. The Ultimates line hasn't been about fresh new takes without the continuity since before the original UU ended. We shouldn't really treat this like Ultimate Spider-Man 2.0. It not and was never marketed as such. And really this should apply to whatever we feel about Peter. Outside of knowing he's a good person we shouldn't assume he's going to be just the like the Peter we know when this world is sooooo different from not just the regular MU, but the previous UU.