How will the success of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) impact the franchise?

[WebLurker]

I think it's way too early to tell; for one thing, we need to see if the series continues to do well or if this's just the honeymoon period. If it continues to do well, it might continue to normalize Peter Parker being a father as a "default" status quo and add a little more weight to the point that the marriage is way more popular and wanted than Marvel suits seem to think. All that, though, depends on how well the series fares and what the content creators at Marvel and their business partners choose to do with it.

Does anyone publicly know how it's selling? Seems to be just a term thrown out there with no actual data behind it

Dan Slott thinks it's doing well and I think he'd be the first to say if it wasn't (presumably to head off any arguments that the series proves that fans want the marriage back, if that makes any sense). Beyond that, the multiple printings is encouraging.

[Lifetap]

I doubt any changes will happen in 616 based on Ultimate even if it continues to sell really well. Between what others have said about how other successful versions of Spider-Man from other Media don't seem to carry over to the main book I just foresee the book painted into the corner of 'if you like Ultimate just read that, no need to change ASM' and eventually once it no longer sells ASM it will be proof that the concept failed. Whether it outsells ASM for 1 issue, 10 issues, or 100 issues I just see them defaulting to 'it just did not have the longevity we need in an ongoing title'.

[Mister Mets]

https://prhcomics.com/book/?isbn=75960620796100212

Ultimate Spider-Man 2 is also getting a second print (and this was known for a few days, IIRC it was about a week, before the issue released).

I did say the first issues are a hit.

But it's still early to say that this should influence the direction of an ongoing series, which is expected to last for hundreds of issues more.

Does anyone publicly know how it's selling? Seems to be just a term thrown out there with no actual data behind it

There's plenty of data. It regularly gets second printings, gets name artists and tops the Comichubs charts.

There's a discussion on sales if you're interested.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...ider-Man-Sales

[Leancarp900]

Spider-Man is always gonna be portrayed primarily as a teenager/young adult in the live-action movies and cartoons because Spider-Man is very popular amongst kids, even moreso than other superheroes (Take into account Spider-Man dwarfs even Batman in terms of merchandising).

Sure, there's Spider-Verse but that's mainly just because it's Miles. I don't see Sony pulling the trigger in a live-action movie.

[NC_Yankee]

Spider-Man is always gonna be portrayed primarily as a teenager/young adult in the live-action movies and cartoons because Spider-Man is very popular amongst kids, even moreso than other superheroes (Take into account Spider-Man dwarfs even Batman in terms of merchandising).

Sure, there's Spider-Verse but that's mainly just because it's Miles. I don't see Sony pulling the trigger in a live-action movie.

I could see Miles becoming the primary Spider-Man in 616 ( after ASM 1000), and Peter as Spider-Man in Ultimate. That gives Marvel what they want ) the teenage Spider-Man) andthe fans what they want ( adult
and married to MJ).

[Daibhidh]

I could see Miles becoming the primary Spider-Man in 616 ( after ASM 1000), and Peter as Spider-Man in Ultimate. That gives Marvel what they want ) the teenage Spider-Man) andthe fans what they want ( adult
and married to MJ).

The comic fans (who want the marriage) don't want a generic Peter married to a generic Mary Jane. We want the Peter who got married in Amazing Spider-man Annual 21 married to the Mary Jane who got married in Amazing Spider-man Annual 21. Because these aren't just stat blocks. They're not even just stat blocks with a personality section in the text afterwards.

[Mister Mets]

There are two ways to look at this.

1. Will this encourage Marvel to have more depictions of Peter Parker as a family man, perhaps even in the main comics?

2. Will there be new adaptations of the story of a 30-something Peter Parker becoming Spider-Man well after he was supposed to? That's a distinct dynamic with a compelling metaphor to people wjo think they're not living the lives they're supposed to, which speaks to people in the modern economy and after Covid regulations.

[Red_Blaster]

How will the success of Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) impact the franchise?

1 - Marvel will get too excited about the sales numbers, and they will greenlight a million spin-offs and tie-ins. However, this will make things confusing and cause most casual readers to drop the book.

2 - The series will last a few years before getting canceled.

3 - The Ultimate Peter Parker will then be permanently moved into the main 616 universe, in a desperate attempt to raise sales.

4 - After that, he will have a handful of appearances before getting killed for shock value in the 30th Spider-Verse event, coming soon in 2035.

Really hope I'm wrong.

[bat39]

Spider-Man is always gonna be portrayed primarily as a teenager/young adult in the live-action movies and cartoons because Spider-Man is very popular amongst kids, even moreso than other superheroes (Take into account Spider-Man dwarfs even Batman in terms of merchandising).

Sure, there's Spider-Verse but that's mainly just because it's Miles. I don't see Sony pulling the trigger in a live-action movie.

Its funny...Batman is still arguably the most popular superhero and he's almost consistently depicted as a man in his thirties (if not his forties). I guess Spider-Man might be a bit more popular than Batman among kids, but is it really that much of a gap? And is Spider-Man's youth about the only thing that gives him an edge?

I got into Spider-Man with the first Raimi movie as a kid, and while it does have some high school stuff and he is technically a college student for most of it, Peter felt very adult to me in that, and it was part of the appeal. Even the sequels don't really emphasize his youth or student status, but instead focus on Peter's struggles, personal and professional, as an adult.

But maybe its different with Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences? I dunno.

[Username taken]

Another thing about USM is that a lot of its success is down to Hickman being the writer.

He's probably the biggest writer in comics at the moment.

It will be interesting to see if the series will sustain its success if/when he leaves. We saw with X-men that things kind of lost of their way when he left and sales of the Krakoa era started declining.

[Frontier]

I could see Miles becoming the primary Spider-Man in 616 ( after ASM 1000), and Peter as Spider-Man in Ultimate. That gives Marvel what they want ) the teenage Spider-Man) andthe fans what they want ( adult
and married to MJ).

I don't see Miles getting ASM or them just giving Peter an elseworlds book.

Its funny...Batman is still arguably the most popular superhero and he's almost consistently depicted as a man in his thirties (if not his forties). I guess Spider-Man might be a bit more popular than Batman among kids, but is it really that much of a gap? And is Spider-Man's youth about the only thing that gives him an edge?

I got into Spider-Man with the first Raimi movie as a kid, and while it does have some high school stuff and he is technically a college student for most of it, Peter felt very adult to me in that, and it was part of the appeal. Even the sequels don't really emphasize his youth or student status, but instead focus on Peter's struggles, personal and professional, as an adult.

But maybe its different with Gen Z and Gen Alpha audiences? I dunno.

Spider-Man is all about growing up.

Obviously he works well in adulthood but he has to start somewhere.

[Hulkout42]

I just wish ASM was better written.

I think that is a felling everyone who is tired of seeing Peter be beaten down like dog shares...lord knows i am.

[Prime]

So how much did issue 1 sell?

[Daibhidh]

Another thing about USM is that a lot of its success is down to Hickman being the writer.

Going by the numbers someone posted for last week, I believe GODS is also a Hickman series and was also in the top ten selling comics last week. But it wasn't even selling close to Ultimate Spider-man. (Nothing was.) My unscientific impression is that while at least some comic fans will buy comics for the writer or artist, a good proportion of fans follow characters.

[Tuck]

Its funny...Batman is still arguably the most popular superhero and he's almost consistently depicted as a man in his thirties (if not his forties). I guess Spider-Man might be a bit more popular than Batman among kids, but is it really that much of a gap? And is Spider-Man's youth about the only thing that gives him an edge?

Maybe someone else can find the charts (I'm too lazy to spend more than 90 seconds looking), but the Spider-Man IP (books, movies, tv shows, toys, etc.) makes more money each year than any other superhero IP.

And it's not even close. The charts were dramatic.