When the Ultimate Universe was announced to be relaunched I was initially excited about a new Marvel universe free from the overwhelming number of series the major heroes have these days in the main universe. Seriously, I cannot keep up with Spider-Man and all the adjacent intertwining series and would up just giving up on trying to keep up. So the idea of a relaunch really resonated with me and I got exited.
Then I found out Jonathan Hickman was spearheading the relaunch with Ultimate Invasion my enthusiasm dipped a little as I am not a huge fan of his work. The Ultimate Invasion series did little to reassure me of the lines wider launch as the story seemed overly convoluted with the Maker finding an untouched universe and preventing the creation of its heroes such as Spider-Man by stopping the spider from biting Peter on that field trip. The bigger storyline focused on behind the scenes power intrigue like we got with the Illuminate series from a couple years back. Great artwork from Bryan Hitch aside, I found the story presented to be rather dull and emotionless other than seeing what changes to the world resulted from the Makers interference.
That was where my mind was at when I started reading the first three issues of Ultimate Spider-Man, I had waited a few months until I had enough issues built up as I knew Hickman likes to slow build. I am pleasantly surprised to discover how much I actually enjoyed this series, and when I say that I mean that I really, really enjoyed reading each issue. The story is excellent with a compelling narrative and enough hooks to keep you engaged the entire way through. Sure there are the expected changes with Peter not becoming Spider-Man as a teenager such as Ben Parker alive and working at the Bugle while Aunt May passed away after Iron Lad was framed as a terrorist who blew up part of New York or how the Green Goblin is reintroduced or the Shockers absolutely ace first appearances but the real joy comes in the story.
There is a lot of heart in the Ultimate Spider-Man story from Peter and MJ’s interactions to Jonah and Ben’s work relationship to Peter hanging out with his kids. I was shocked at the downshift from over the top multi universal war in the Ultimate Invasion series to this series relationship focused angle but I could not be more impressed with the work being done her. Hickman is writing the heck out of the story while Marco Checchettos artwork is fantastic in its detail of New York as well and the sly personality he puts into the characters facial expressions. If you have been on the fence about Ultimate Spider-Man I politely request that you give it a chance and you just may have your mind changed. I know that I did!
About Author
