It’s safe to say the new Ultimate Universe is a smashing success, and we’re only up to Ultimate Spider-Man #2, out this week. With the first issue selling out multiple times over and Ultimate Black Panther following suit, we can rest assured this story will go on for some time. But is the second issue by Jonathan Hickman and Marco Chechetto just as good as the first issue? In a word, yep!
Ultimate Spider-Man #2 opens in February, one month after the last issue. Hickman seems to have jumped ahead a few weeks to get over Spider-Man’s likely awkward start at shooting webs and fighting crime. He’s nowhere near perfected it, as we’ll see when he fights Shocker for the first time. It’s established early on his family still doesn’t know he’s Spider-Man, but Mary Jane has noticed he’s gotten fitter. It’s pretty evident he’s not going to keep this a secret for that long, especially if he wants to patrol at night.
The more realistic look and feel of this Spider-Man universe is apparent in a few ways. It starts with captions that detail how Peter has to eat 10,000 calories a day, which is pretty understandable given he’s lifting buses and swinging around with barely any sleep. It’s established early on that he’s still feeling things out, which becomes more apparent when he fights Shocker and pretty promptly loses. The realistic tone continues with Chechetto’s design of Shocker, which has a believable look to the tech and costume.
No, that’s not a Symbiote costume.
Credit: Marvel
The quick wit and jokester feel of Spider-Man is alive and well. Hickman isn’t having him belt out jokes per se, but his interactions with Shocker do have an annoying feel for the villain to keep him off balance, though that’s not on purpose, but more because Spider-Man’s got a bit of pep in his step being so powerful.
If there was a theme to this issue, it’s that Spider-Man’s getting his feel for being a superhero and seemingly has all the time to do it. There are check-ins with Jameson and Uncle Ben, as well as Kingpin, but this is more about establishing Spider-Man’s new life as a hero. Compared to the first issue, which leaned more into the Daily Bugle as a central focus, it’s a nice change of pace that keeps the reader on their toes.
Along the way, there are some clever ideas too. Hickman sets up why Spider-Man will go from a black costume to red and blue, for instance, and it’s truly heartwarming. Big props for coming up with such a smart idea to make this version of Spider-Man more of a family man.
My only gripe with the issue, and it’s super minor, is a bit of dialogue from Jameson asking why Peter didn’t give him and Ben pictures of Spider-Man. I understand why it’s in the book, but why would Jameson ask, knowing his new business with Ben isn’t even off the ground? A bit silly. Also, I love the focus on Peter getting his bearings as Spider-Man, but that does mean the ongoing Daily Bugle story slows way down.
That isn’t to say the black costume is bad because Chechetto continues to do exceptional work. The agility of Spider-Man is on point, and he looks cool and sleek in the black costume. There are some great effects when he’s wearing the costume, too, like when rain drips down his suit. It’s such an iconic visual to see Spider-Man in the rain, and it looks great here. The scene with Jameson and Ben is also well told visually. Chechetto shows how strong he is at telling sequential stories via the layout design, keeping you invested in what they say. Oh, and triple props to him for making the Parker kids natural and realistic looking. Kids aren’t easy to pull off, and they look great here.
Spider-Man fans, rejoice! Ultimate Spider-Man is a great comic series for Spidey fans and superhero fans alike. It blends realistic visuals and tone with the greatest superhero of all time. What more could you want? The answer is more issues of this series!
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