Ultimate Spider-Man #3 talk.

[Coop]

I mean all Bullseye did was knock some scaffolding on him. Which clearly didn't actually hurt him that much.

And all the help Harry offered was not getting killed long enough for Peter to just punch Bullseye once.

It feels unfair to bring the frustrations of how Lowe and Wells portray a version of Spider-Man that's supposed to have much more experience and be much more settled into his role as a crime fighter to this book.

And yeah this version of Bullseye is trusted by the literal rulers of the world. The secret cabal. The kingmakers. So one would imagine he's likely high on the food chain as far as skilled assassins go

[Huntsman Spider]

Getting a Kamen Rider Faiz vibe from Harry and Peter. Great issue, just wish the fight was longer.

As a Kamen Rider fan who got into it through the first episodes of Faiz during my college years in a Cybergeneration (spinoff of Cyberpunk 2020) RPG campaign . . . I definitely feel that. I just hope it ends better for Peter and Harry than it did for a lot of the Faiz protagonists.

[Refrax5]

Great issue again. I picked up the book from my LCS and again they told me that it was on at least four dozen other people's pull list, and they sold ten of them off the rack. Before I picked up the book, I made the stupid mistake of going on Bleeding Cool. Their article on Ultimate Spider-Man #3 at first creeped me out with its headline then annoyed me with its actual content. They are so cynical in their reporting. I actually get the feeling they want bad things to happen to the Peter's kids.

Bleeding Cool is mean-spirited clickbait tabloid trash. It's the TMZ of comics. They have outright contempt for the comics they report on and more grammatical errors and typos than a third-grader's book report. The only reason they exist is because they're basically the only game. The second an even slightly more professional and competent alternative comes into existence, BC will cease to exist.

[Frontier]

Getting a Kamen Rider Faiz vibe from Harry and Peter. Great issue, just wish the fight was longer.

So Peter is Takumi, does that make Harry Kiba or Kusaka?

I guess Harry believes the End Justi-faiz the means.

Bullseye is pretty powerful, though.

Agreed but I'd put Ock like two tiers above him.

I mean all Bullseye did was knock some scaffolding on him. Which clearly didn't actually hurt him that much.

And all the help Harry offered was not getting killed long enough for Peter to just punch Bullseye once.

It feels unfair to bring the frustrations of how Lowe and Wells portray a version of Spider-Man that's supposed to have much more experience and be much more settled into his role as a crime fighter to this book.

And yeah this version of Bullseye is trusted by the literal rulers of the world. The secret cabal. The kingmakers. So one would imagine he's likely high on the food chain as far as skilled assassins go

To be honest I fee like Spidey's inability to win fights solo extends even beyond Lowe and Wells.

[Refrax5]

So Peter is Takumi, does that make Harry Kiba or Kusaka?

I guess Harry believes the End Justi-faiz the means.

Agreed but I'd put Ock like two tiers above him.

To be honest I fee like Spidey's inability to win fights solo extends even beyond Lowe and Wells.

It's strange, too, because I've been reading a lot of back issues in recent years since rediscovering my love of Spidey and its remarkable how many times bad guys don't want to take Spidey on because he's so formidable and competent. There's a lot of guys saying stuff like, "That's Spider-Man! I ain't tanglin with him!" or commenting on what a pro he is. And ironically, these are stories from the eras that Wells, Lowe, etc seem to always be trying to emulate.

When I was growing up and reading the character, I never really thought of Peter as a loser. He was picked on in high school and had a nerdy side, but he'd grown up and had friends and a love life. He had money problems and relatable human struggles and he could be kind of a goof, but I always saw his struggles as being relatable to the regular person, not "wow, this guy is pathetic." It's weird how exaggerated and lacking in nuance Marvel is with him now (although I think that's true of a lot of their characters these days).

I don't mind this version of Peter coming off as incompetent right now, because he is. He's completely inexperienced with his powers and with fighting. And I think being older, it would actually be tougher to get used to that. When you're young, your brain is so quick and adaptable and receptive to new things and your body is the same. Living a fairly comfortable life where you're relatively at ease and suddenly having to run around rooftops and get into brawls would be really hard to get used to, I'd think, compared to being a kid with boundless energy and a brain that's still readily learning new information.

But I hope him getting beat up and losing fights is part of that learning curve and not a regular thing.

[Spider-Tiger]

Enjoyed this issue very much. The secret identity twist with Harry was very unexpected, and I'm excited to see where that leads. Loved the swinging scene with May. (You can definitely see how Hickman was inspired by the Spider-verse movies.) Again, really hoping that MJ is clued in sooner rather than later. There's still an ominous sense that someone in Peter's orbit is going to get hurt, but maybe Hickman will subvert those expectations. Looking forward to the double date in the next issue.

[Huntsman Spider]

So Peter is Takumi, does that make Harry Kiba or Kusaka?

I guess Harry believes the End Justi-faiz the means.

Agreed but I'd put Ock like two tiers above him.

To be honest I fee like Spidey's inability to win fights solo extends even beyond Lowe and Wells.

I'd go with Kiba. Kiba at least started as Takumi's friend, whereas Kusaka . . . the best that could be said about him was that he didn't want the Orphenochs to win, but he was more than willing to undermine and eliminate anyone he saw as getting between him and Mari, so he wasn't exactly a reliable ally or friend.

It's strange, too, because I've been reading a lot of back issues in recent years since rediscovering my love of Spidey and its remarkable how many times bad guys don't want to take Spidey on because he's so formidable and competent. There's a lot of guys saying stuff like, "That's Spider-Man! I ain't tanglin with him!" or commenting on what a pro he is. And ironically, these are stories from the eras that Wells, Lowe, etc seem to always be trying to emulate.

When I was growing up and reading the character, I never really thought of Peter as a loser. He was picked on in high school and had a nerdy side, but he'd grown up and had friends and a love life. He had money problems and relatable human struggles and he could be kind of a goof, but I always saw his struggles as being relatable to the regular person, not "wow, this guy is pathetic." It's weird how exaggerated and lacking in nuance Marvel is with him now (although I think that's true of a lot of their characters these days).

I don't mind this version of Peter coming off as incompetent right now, because he is. He's completely inexperienced with his powers and with fighting. And I think being older, it would actually be tougher to get used to that. When you're young, your brain is so quick and adaptable and receptive to new things and your body is the same. Living a fairly comfortable life where you're relatively at ease and suddenly having to run around rooftops and get into brawls would be really hard to get used to, I'd think, compared to being a kid with boundless energy and a brain that's still readily learning new information.

But I hope him getting beat up and losing fights is part of that learning curve and not a regular thing.

The learning curve was definitely a thing in the original Ultimate Spider-Man, too, though somewhat excusable by him being just 15 years old and not even an adult yet, legally speaking. For now, I think it'll all come together in the final issue of this arc, which is supposed to be the confrontation with Wilson Fisk. That's where the rubber will meet the road, I believe.

Enjoyed this issue very much. The secret identity twist with Harry was very unexpected, and I'm excited to see where that leads. Loved the swinging scene with May. (You can definitely see how Hickman was inspired by the Spider-verse movies.) Again, really hoping that MJ is clued in sooner rather than later. There's still an ominous sense that someone in Peter's orbit is going to get hurt, but maybe Hickman will subvert those expectations. Looking forward to the double date in the next issue.

Yeah, I'm especially looking forward to how that version of Gwen will interact with Mary Jane, and how their husbands will interact in light of them knowing each other's secret vigilante identities. My question, though, is that if Gwen knows Harry's secretly the vigilante Green Goblin . . . will that provide some impetus for Peter to come clean with MJ about being Spider-Man?

[The Negative Zone]

As a Kamen Rider fan who got into it through the first episodes of Faiz during my college years in a Cybergeneration (spinoff of Cyberpunk 2020) RPG campaign . . . I definitely feel that. I just hope it ends better for Peter and Harry than it did for a lot of the Faiz protagonists.

I don't think so... btw they just did a Faiz 20th anniversary movie if you wanna check it out!

So Peter is Takumi, does that make Harry Kiba or Kusaka?

I guess Harry believes the End Justi-faiz the means.

I think Peter might fit Takumi better, after all Kiba was guilty of several murders despite his goodness. Takumi was a bit selfish at first and grew into his role as a hero.

[Huntsman Spider]

I don't think so... btw they just did a Faiz 20th anniversary movie if you wanna check it out!



I think Peter might fit Takumi better, after all Kiba was guilty of several murders despite his goodness. Takumi was a bit selfish at first and grew into his role as a hero.

I've heard. Definitely going to check that out, and yeah, I think Frontier was trying to indicate that he saw Peter as similar or analogous to Takumi, with Harry being effectively Kiba. Your take makes sense, in that light.

[marvelprince]

Enjoyed this issue very much. The secret identity twist with Harry was very unexpected, and I'm excited to see where that leads. Loved the swinging scene with May. (You can definitely see how Hickman was inspired by the Spider-verse movies.) Again, really hoping that MJ is clued in sooner rather than later. There's still an ominous sense that someone in Peter's orbit is going to get hurt, but maybe Hickman will subvert those expectations. Looking forward to the double date in the next issue.

My feeling that someone close to Peter is destined for the grave grows with each issue. This last issue was really well done too. Harry removing the mask was hilarious. And refreshing to see a Peter out of depth, but he knows it as well so it’s fun to watch him attempt to learn in real time. I can’t wait for next issue to see what Harry has been up to. What all does he know about how the world works ?

[Hurricane Billy]

My feeling that someone close to Peter is destined for the grave grows with each issue. This last issue was really well done too. Harry removing the mask was hilarious. And refreshing to see a Peter out of depth, but he knows it as well so it’s fun to watch him attempt to learn in real time. I can’t wait for next issue to see what Harry has been up to. What all does he know about how the world works ?

I'm feeling pretty confident that it's going to be Jonah. Killing MJ, the kids or Ben make no sense since the book's status quo with all of them are actively big deviations from either the norm or the current status quo over in 616. Likewise, I think killing Gwen to break Harry feels a bit too obvious a move too.

Jonah though? Well, most folks are probably going to be surprised by that. Moreover Jonah dying opens up interesting possibilities and new conflicts for Hickman to explore and tackle between Peter and Ben as the story progresses.

[Spider-Tiger]

I'm feeling pretty confident that it's going to be Jonah. Killing MJ, the kids or Ben make no sense since the book's status quo with all of them are actively big deviations from either the norm or the current status quo over in 616. Likewise, I think killing Gwen to break Harry feels a bit too obvious a move too.

Jonah though? Well, most folks are probably going to be surprised by that. Moreover Jonah dying opens up interesting possibilities and new conflicts for Hickman to explore and tackle between Peter and Ben as the story progresses.

I was also wondering if it could be an Osborn child that gets hurt. Would be an inversion of Gwen and Harry's fathers dying and would immediately set up tensions between the couples.

The Ben and Jonah dynamic also seems way too good to drop, but we'll see.

[Frontier]

Enjoyed this issue very much. The secret identity twist with Harry was very unexpected, and I'm excited to see where that leads. Loved the swinging scene with May. (You can definitely see how Hickman was inspired by the Spider-verse movies.) Again, really hoping that MJ is clued in sooner rather than later. There's still an ominous sense that someone in Peter's orbit is going to get hurt, but maybe Hickman will subvert those expectations. Looking forward to the double date in the next issue.

I definitely still feel like the full weight of what Peter is doing hasn't hit him yet.

Not to say he's not taking it seriously or thinks it's a game, but Superheroics are still "fun" to him at this point.

I'd go with Kiba. Kiba at least started as Takumi's friend, whereas Kusaka . . . the best that could be said about him was that he didn't want the Orphenochs to win, but he was more than willing to undermine and eliminate anyone he saw as getting between him and Mari, so he wasn't exactly a reliable ally or friend.

But assuming Harry turns out to be partner you can't trust and has a bit of a psycho side to him...

[Hurricane Billy]

I was also wondering if it could be an Osborn child that gets hurt. Would be an inversion of Gwen and Harry's fathers dying and would immediately set up tensions between the couples.

The Ben and Jonah dynamic also seems way too good to drop, but we'll see.

I think that's a possibility, but in general I think Jonah is still the most likely candidate to bite it. Obviously if that happens, we'd be losing one of the best relationships in the book right now between him and Ben, but if it's in service of the broader narrative Hickman is building here with the book, I'd wager that the tragedy will land with folks.

[SturdyMike89]

Bleeding Cool is mean-spirited clickbait tabloid trash. It's the TMZ of comics. They have outright contempt for the comics they report on and more grammatical errors and typos than a third-grader's book report. The only reason they exist is because they're basically the only game. The second an even slightly more professional and competent alternative comes into existence, BC will cease to exist.

You are 100% right there. There is no comic book news site out there that gets the scoops like BC and most of the time it seems like they stumble into their stories. But they are really the only game in town. Newsarama seems to just have the same press release stories other sites have and is a shell of its former self. CosmicBook News is just... bad. TMZ is a fair comparison. The only good thing I can say about them is that they were the site that told me that this wonderful comic of Peter being a grown ass man with kids and was a professional was coming out which was a life raft among the less than Amazing morass.