Two heroic stories are going on in Ultimate Spider-Man, one of which is with a guy in tights, and the other is due to the actions of Uncle Ben and J.J. Jameson. The latter gets the focus in Ultimate Spider-Man #10 out this week as the two continue to push towards real journalism, but at what cost? Given that their work will likely dig up some dangerous dirt on Kingpin, their exploits may be even more dangerous than Spider-Man’s!
Ultimate Spider-Man #10 opens in October, with Uncle Ben waiting for Jameson to leave his apartment. The two are on a kind of quest, only the troll they’re looking to vanquish this day is Kingpin’s lawyer. Throughout the issue, Ben and Jonah press three different characters, each of which moves along their big story that’s not just another Spider-Man fluff piece.
David Messina draws these scenes well, using tight panels and nine-panel grids to draw our attention to the smallest of conversational reactions. This way, we get to know three characters, including Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborne. Each character reacts to Ben and Jonah’s questions differently, which is revealing but also surprising.
Messina is also good at capturing the fun Ben and Jonah are having. They’re only asking questions, but they’re good at what they do and like to needle folks to get information or, in some cases, a reaction. They almost come off as young as they are having the time of their lives.
Time to see them work.
Credit: Marvel
Peter Parker and his family show up in this issue, but don’t expect any Spider-Man. Instead, writer Jonathan Hickman uses a short scene with Peter’s family to show Ben’s involvement and the little details between Peter and his kids. Once again, Mary Jane stands out as a take-charge person with all the right moves as she’s helping Ben with marketing his paper.
So what does all this mean for Spider-Man? The screws are getting tightened as far as Kingpin being a threat to multiple characters. As a longtime Spider-Man fan, it’s also fun to see Ben in his prime doing something he loves. As a character primarily dead in the 616 universe, Hickman gets to flesh him out in different ways here. There’s also a fun nod to a now classic character name thrown in for good measure.
Witness the adventures of Uncle Ben and J. Jonah Jameson in Ultimate Spider-Man #10 as they do their best to track down unsavory acts by Kingpin. The results are far closer to the ultimate threat of the Ultimate Universe. The threat and danger of The Maker is out for all the heroes, but this issue shows he may have an even bigger problem if the truth gets out to the people, thanks to Ben and Jonah.
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