Ultimate Spider-Man #16 revealed that a major death may not be so major, with the events of that issue acting like the start of a two-part story. In Ultimate Spider-Man #17, readers get to see how two iconic characters further advance their plans to fight The Maker and Kingpin. It’s an issue that sets things up, but also reveals the Mysterio cult has a far deeper bench than we realized.
Ultimate Spider-Man #16 opens with Uncle Ben confronting a man who broke into his apartment. Ever the villain deep down, I suppose, Harry Osborn is alive and wants to know how he might contact Peter Parker. Spider-Man is on a road trip with his family to avoid confrontation with Kingpin and his goons, but this issue is all about Harry preparing for war.
That war includes Gwen Stacy, who is a full-on Mysterio in this issue. I say “a” Mysterio, as it’s revealed there are more, one of which is an iconic Spider-Man character. Very quickly, it seems the Mysterio group is flying under the radar of the Maker and may be the magic bullet to gain some kind of edge.
There are three well-written and paced scenes in this issue. One involves Gwen being confronted by Kingpin, another involves Harry and Doc Ock catching up, and the third is an assault by Mysterio and Green Goblin. Writer Jonathan Hickman is great at weaving in character elements and hints at where things may go from here. Why Doc Ock needs a partial excelerator, for instance, will have you wondering. Doc Ock is also very creepy, thanks to how David Messina draws his goggles.
Something very bad is coming.
Credit: Marvel
The action scene is well drawn, with much of the excitement coming from Gwen using her Mysterio powers. This scene, along with hints throughout this issue, reminds us that Gwen and Harry are both leaning towards a more villainous personality type. By the end of this issue, though, it’s clear Gwen may be far more evil than even Harry thinks. On the reverse side, Harry, knowing full well Doc Ock is a creep, yet lets him operate, tells you all you need to know about how far Harry is willing to go.
Fans of Spider-Man will need to bring their patience to this issue, with nary a sighting of the red and blue costume. As a table setting issue, not a lot has been progressed besides information and setup, making the issue feel less impactful.
Ultimate Spider-Man #17 is a well-crafted but slow-burning installment that favors sinister character turns and long-term plot mechanics over immediate payoff. While it delivers on atmosphere and intrigue, fans hoping for a Spidey-centric showdown will need to wait a little longer for the web-slinging action to return to center stage.
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