Ultimate Spider-Man #1 talk.

[Coop]

I'm actually finding it really hilarious to imagine Tony sending a package to Matt Murdock that's just a container of toxic waste for him to dip his face into.

[Vortex85]

I'm actually finding it really hilarious to imagine Tony sending a package to Matt Murdock that's just a container of toxic waste for him to dip his face into.

I've seen this mentioned a few times and the image of it in my mind never fails to make me laugh out loud.

[Batman Begins 2005]

I'm actually finding it really hilarious to imagine Tony sending a package to Matt Murdock that's just a container of toxic waste for him to dip his face into.

I've seen this mentioned a few times and the image of it in my mind never fails to make me laugh out loud.

This made me laugh, can't lie.

[Hurricane Billy]

I'm actually finding it really hilarious to imagine Tony sending a package to Matt Murdock that's just a container of toxic waste for him to dip his face into.

I'm trying to picture in my head how Tony would find a way to contact Norrin Radd across the galaxy in order to get the Silver Surfer on the team after seeing a profile on him in the archives.

"Anthony, if I may, it says here that the Silver Surfer was originally a herald for a galactic level threat capable of eating entire planets and that Norrin's turn to good was the product of efforts caused by interacting with my long dead loved ones and their respective friends."

"It's fine, Reed, we'll just fill in their place to win him over. How hard can it be?"

[Frontier]

I'm trying to picture in my head how Tony would find a way to contact Norrin Radd across the galaxy in order to get the Silver Surfer on the team after seeing a profile on him in the archives.

"Anthony, if I may, it says here that the Silver Surfer was originally a herald for a galactic level threat capable of eating entire planets and that Norrin's turn to good was the product of efforts caused by interacting with my long dead loved ones and their respective friends."

"It's fine, Reed, we'll just fill in their place to win him over. How hard can it be?"

It would be kind of funny to see a Norrin Radd who is happy and content and they to recruit him and he's like the opposite of Peter .

[Hurricane Billy]

It would be kind of funny to see a Norrin Radd who is happy and content and they to recruit him and he's like the opposite of Peter .

"Look, on our home planet, there was a man from another dimension who traveled across time and space and conspired with an assortment of others to prevent our greatest champions from coming to be and inspiring the world to be their best selves. You were one of those heroes, Norrin. This man somehow managed to steer the cosmic threat known as Galactus away from the direction of your homeworld, preventing you from ever offering yourself as a sacrifice to be his Herald. We need you now to-"

"So wait, this guy you're claiming is a monster-"

"He IS a monster-"

"- Helped save my planet and prevented me from having to martyr myself?"

"Yes."

"And that's somehow a bad thing?"

"... Look, you're just not seeing this from the right perspective."

"Please leave."

[Digifiend]

West Yorkshire, pal.

Heh, I'm from East Yorkshire myself. Hull.

Well, I have to say, this issue really surprised me with the surprises in this reality.

- Peter actually met his parents, although they died when he was 15 years old. My guess? I suppose that, because of the Maker, they couldn't keep working as SHIELD's agents.
- Peter seems to be smart, but for some reason, he's not a "braniac" like his main counterpart. I wonder what caused him not to choose the science path.
- Uncle Ben is alive, that is actually something I expected; what I didn't expect was him working at the Daily Bugle and being friends of J Jonah Jameson.
- It appears Peter never met Gwen and Harry in this reality, which means there's a high chance for Gwen to be alive here.

Yeah, Norman was never Green Goblin, so the incident that killed Gwen never happened. She should still be alive. I can see her following in her Dad's footsteps and being a cop - at least assuming she's anything like the version of her from the Gwen Stacy mini that COVID-19 interrupted.

Did anyone else notice Matt Murdock wearing glasses? If he's blind, that raises questions about his own powers.

Yeah. He got his powers in the same incident that blinded him, so even if he never became Daredevil he should still have his powers. Maker might have influenced him into being a priest instead of a lawyer though, perhaps him choosing a career in the church instead of law meant he became a pacifist.

Spider-Man becomes Kamen Rider .

As a fan of both, particularly with how more recent Kamen Riders have cribbed from Spider-Man in some respects (Zero-One being a failed standup comedian who still cracks bad jokes at every turn even as a superhero, or a literally spider-powered Rider in Kamen Rider Revice), I could see that.

Ha, not just recent stuff. The first ever Kamen Rider monster of the week was called Kumo Otoko, which can mean Spider Man or Man Spider.
https://kamenrider.fandom.com/wiki/Man_Spider

[Destro777]

Best Spider-Man comic in at least the past 15 years.
New, fresh, original - simply exciting.

Hickman can seemingly do no wrong and is one of the few writers worth following left in the medium.

[TinkerSpider]

Best Spider-Man comic in at least the past 15 years.
New, fresh, original - simply exciting.

Hickman can seemingly do no wrong and is one of the few writers worth following left in the medium.

Gotta agree with this assessment.

I also appreciated being treated like a reader, not like a vacuous Hanna Barbera cartoon viewer expected to passively swallow asinine antics that don't matter from episode to episode.

[Mister Mets]

And red glasses do this?

Dark red glasses are a visual motif often associated with Matt Murdock. So he could very well still be blind.

Best Spider-Man comic in at least the past 15 years.
New, fresh, original - simply exciting.

Hickman can seemingly do no wrong and is one of the few writers worth following left in the medium.

Gotta agree with this assessment.

I also appreciated being treated like a reader, not like a vacuous Hanna Barbera cartoon viewer expected to passively swallow asinine antics that don't matter from episode to episode.

I've gotta ask the two of you, and anyone else who feels this way, what makes this such a good Spider-Man comic?

I liked it.

I'm looking forward to reading the next issue.

But what makes it better than any Miles Morales comic, Superior Spider-Man, any Zdarsky Spider-Man comic, any Nick Spencer Spider-Man comic, etc.?

Is it more about not liking most Spider-Man comics published since Back in Black/ "To Have and to Hold" or is there something that elevates this issue to the extent that it could be included in "Best of" lists?

[SplinteringHeart]

There's a lot of angst about the current run of ASM....Ultimate isn't the best thing "since sliced bread", but, it is very good, as a new/different take on Spider-Man....just one issue in....

[Kevinroc]

The Maker is a real (insert expletive of choice here).

Sure, he made sure the heroes either didn't become heroes or he recruited them to his side... But did Matt still need to be blind?

[Coop]

Dark red glasses are a visual motif often associated with Matt Murdock. So he could very well still be blind.







I've gotta ask the two of you, and anyone else who feels this way, what makes this such a good Spider-Man comic?

I liked it.

I'm looking forward to reading the next issue.

But what makes it better than any Miles Morales comic, Superior Spider-Man, any Zdarsky Spider-Man comic, any Nick Spencer Spider-Man comic, etc.?

Is it more about not liking most Spider-Man comics published since Back in Black/ "To Have and to Hold" or is there something that elevates this issue to the extent that it could be included in "Best of" lists?

Beauty in the eye of the beholder. I both think this is an exceptional comic and don't think much of the examples you listed except the current Miles book, which is fun but not something I find terribly exciting.

For me this is simply a better written and better drawn comic than the spider-man line has had in a long time. With the exception of Gleason I like the art here more than any Spider-Man book happening now by a long shot.

Writing wise as well I feel this book is simply something I find massively more enjoyable than most of what we get in Spider-Man. I think the characters and dialog feel very alive and interesting. I can't remember the last time I was interested in supporting characters in a Spider-Man comic like I am with Uncle Ben and JJJ. I think Hickman didn't extremely good job of making this universe and these characters feel lived in. Even though they do deliver exposition and establish the themes of the comic they feel like more than that. The dialog which has been criricised as too clever for me makes the characters feel much more alive and three dimensional.

Then there's Peter and MJ. I for one will always maintain that Peter as a perpetual 20 something loser who can't get it together isn't very interesting. Even though I'm sure there's drama to come I'm much more interested in this version of Peter Parker than I am the one we typically get these days. This feels fresh and nostalgic at the same time. And back to the writing and the art I feel they bring these characters alive and get the ease in nature of their relationship across to the reader very well with the dialogue and how they're drawn. We don't see much of MJ, But the in my opinion exceptional dialogue and art really make her come across strongly and I feel like I can get a sense for who her character is and what a relationship with Peter is like even with the small taste we get now. And while it's not a full picture it was enough that I'm excited to learn more and see how they function especially when we introduce Spider-Man into the mix

I think the setup for this comic is much more interesting than what's going on elsewhere. I like the theme of this multi-generational rebellion against the establishment and making a decision to change what you feel isn't right with your life. I'm excited to see how this version of Spider-Man inspires the people of this universe.

And once again because the art and the writing is in my opinion so very good the emotional moments land much harder and much stronger than elsewhere. The moments talking about grief and loss between Peter and Uncle Ben really land here. The comradrie of JJJ and Ben and their mentorship of Peter comes across well.

Especially the speech Peter gets from Tony and how it's woven together with the encouragement of MJ and Ben. That felt powerful and emotional in a way that I don't personally get from those other comics. When Peter accepted being Spider-Man I was grinning like an idiot.

And yeah. Peter and MJ are married. That's important to me. Full stop. End of story. I don't think erasing the marriage was good for character, the comic, or the industry and frankly I think it's one of the most embarrassing things in comics besides how creators are treated and paid. It's not the only thing I want (I wasn't a big fan of Renew your Vows either) but it is important to me and for me it does add another layer to this comic that with it's other strengths elevates it far beyond the first issues of other runs listed here.

We won't know how it is til years from now, and better writers than Hickman have fumbled things. But with one issue compared to issues that set up or begin books like Superior Spider-Man or the current run which introduced us to Paul Mary Jane and their kids like this one introduced us to Peter, Mary Jane their kids and Uncle Ben and JJJ and even Harry Osborn?

It's no contest for this reader. And if this was simply a trap post to explain "why it's not that good actually" or how the other comics are just as good. Look, like I said. Beauty in the eye of the beholder. I'm not here to debate it

[Huntsman Spider]

Heh, I'm from East Yorkshire myself. Hull.

Yeah, Norman was never Green Goblin, so the incident that killed Gwen never happened. She should still be alive. I can see her following in her Dad's footsteps and being a cop - at least assuming she's anything like the version of her from the Gwen Stacy mini that COVID-19 interrupted.

Yeah. He got his powers in the same incident that blinded him, so even if he never became Daredevil he should still have his powers. Maker might have influenced him into being a priest instead of a lawyer though, perhaps him choosing a career in the church instead of law meant he became a pacifist.



Ha, not just recent stuff. The first ever Kamen Rider monster of the week was called Kumo Otoko, which can mean Spider Man or Man Spider.
https://kamenrider.fandom.com/wiki/Man_Spider

Yeah, I remember. Even got adapted in the movie retelling the original Kamen Rider, Shin Kamen Rider, last year as "Kumo Augment-01."

[Spider-Tiger]

I think compared to a lot of what we've seen over the last 15 years, this seems to be a great combination of top tier artwork, innovation in plot, thematic and tonal maturity, and likable characterization that feels authentic and true to form despite existing in another continuity. I agree with coop's statement that it somehow manages to feel both nostalgic and fresh.

Spencer's work leaned heavily into nostalgia and while his characterization was solid, I think he ultimately faltered in terms of plot. It seemed like he was doing too much to go back and "fix" 616 continuity instead of driving the story forward into new territory. (And I personally lost interest.) I know a lot of people love Zdarsky's Life Story, but it was a bit of a dissapointment for me and amounted to a rather meaningless nostalgic hodge podge of Spidey's greatest hits without clear themes or character arcs. And though Slott did create some innovative and intriguing plots, his sense of tone came across as rather juvenile and his character work seemed haphazard and internally inconsistent. His focus seemed to be on high concept and his approach was far too plot-driven at the expense of character (at least for my taste.) I haven't read the Miles Morales stuff so I can't comment on that.

It's like here the characters feel right AND the concept is new and intriguing enough to hook you in.

That being said, I'm reluctant to call this the BEST of the last 15 years just yet. But I think it's certainly on the right track.