Ultimate Spider-Man has shown that when you’re not beholden to continuity, you can do great things. Crazy twists, deaths, and major relationship changes all amount to a series that has kept readers on their toes. With just a few issues left, you’ll be guaranteed some major shocks, as is the case with Ultimate Spider-Man #21.
Ultimate Spider-Man #21 is largely about Mr. Negative, complete with a full backstory and his role in major ramifications going forward. As is the case with all Ultimate Universe titles, this issue takes place one month after the previous issue, in September. We open on a key figure under Kingpin who gets kidnapped, and soon he’s tied and being questioned by Mr. Negative. He wants answers. All of them.
Interwoven with his interrogation are flashbacks to his childhood and how he evolved into a mob boss. It’s unclear if he’s talking to the tied man, but it doesn’t really matter. If anything, he’s thinking fondly, and not so fondly, of how his childhood was anything but wholesome. At the center of it was a domineering sister who wanted to win and win only. At first, Mr. Negative was useful because he was a child, but she soon learned his powers can make people do as he says. It’s a fascinating and humanizing look at the character that, in just a short few pages, summarizes him nicely.
I’m getting a strong feeling someone is going to die in order for the world to listen.
Credit: Marvel
Intercut with Mr. Negative are two short scenes, one with Uncle Ben and Jameson, and the other with Harry Osborn. They’re brief but sweet check-ins to catch us up on what they’re doing while laying the seeds for more conflicts to come.
The only other scene is one that Mr. Negative builds towards marvelously. To say much more would be a spoiler, but know that a significant character is targeted, and everything could change in terms of the group’s dynamics. That group being Harry, Peter, MJ, and Gwen.
Art by David Messina is his best yet, with characters looking accurate and extreme close-ups maximizing the emotions of each. Highly detailed backgrounds help realistically ground everything and match Marco Checchetto’s style. The detailed cityscape to start the issue actually made me think Checchetto drew this issue, it’s just that good.
As far as gripes, it’s hard to find them due to the good character writing of Mr. Negative. There’s even a bit of action in one flashback, although if you’re looking for Spider-Man, he’s very absent.
It’s hard to believe we have so few issues left when so much time can be spent on a single villain, but it works. Ultimate Spider-Man #21 is a gripping character study of Mr. Negative, pairing tight storytelling with outstanding art to set the stage for seismic shifts in the series.
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