Ultimate Spider-Man ends this week, and many are expecting a major death and some finality to a series that’s in a universe that’s literally ending in a few months. Could Peter Parker die, or maybe his son Richard? What about Norman and Gwen? Will they find happiness, or were they cursed the day Norman supposedly died? All of those questions are answered, and more, in an issue filled with conclusions, but also a lot of open-endedness to keep your headcanon going.
Ultimate Spider-Man #24 opens with a tightly drawn montage by Marco Checchetto to recap where each character is at. Richard and Black Cat are dealing with nanobots, and Green Goblin is watching his wife argue with Captain Britain to take over the Kingpin mantle, and Spider-Man is going toe to toe with Kingpin. To make matters worse for Peter, Mr. Negative is mind-controlling him to give Kingpin an easy win. It’s looking fairly dire for all three, although only two of these subplots get plenty of attention.
In plot A, Peter fights Kingpin, allowing Checchetto to bring his highly detailed and dynamic art to the forefront. It’s a battle we’ve been waiting for well over a year, and it’s filled with twists, surprises, and satisfying Spider-Man agility with quick thinking.
In plot B, Richard gets to go full Venom mode with the Picotech suit, taking on a wink-and-a-nod monstrous Venom look and feel for the fans. Up against nanobots, writer Jonathan Hickman manages to throw in a reference to Toxin to keep the homages coming till the very end. Ultimately, plot B presents more danger and threat, which is important since the stakes are relatively small for our characters.
What a page!
Credit: Marvel
Which is where this issue falters a bit. If you’re expecting loss, or at the very least close calls, this issue doesn’t really have that. There are lots of victories, some easier than others, but really no tragedy to speak of. A big reason this series worked was that Hickman gave Peter everything he could ever want, and he sees that through to the end. It means a finish with fewer teeth, although with Ultimate Endgame still going on, maybe the lumps come then. Instead, Hickman goes out here with a tried-and-true happy ending.
It’s not a happy ending for everyone, with a turning point involving Mr. Negative and Kingpin that feels like an end that could have easily come years from now if the universe could continue. Instead, Hickman ends these two characters in a fitting way, given the war they had with each other. Norman is also on the sadder side for endings, though his future seems brighter than one might have expected.
The last twelve pages end up reading like an epilogue, hammering home the bond of MJ and Peter. Fans of this couple will love this extended sequence, although it does feel strangely slow and a bit of a backpedal compared to the rest of the issue. The bond of Peter and MJ was never really in question during this series, so so much focus on them feels a touch redundant given the page count.
Art isn’t all by Checchetto, far from it, with Dave Messina jumping in for a page or two here, there, and a heavier chunk in the end. Messina handles the Green Goblin scenes, including a key flashback that cuts away to a satisfying turn in the Peter vs. Kingpin fight. Somewhat surprisingly, Messina’s panels sometimes mix with Checchetto’s, showing Messina wasn’t necessarily a fill-in artist. In a key flashback with MJ and Peter, the art shifts from Checchetto to Messina, which is fairly jarring since it’s in the middle of a scene. That said, Messina does finish the issue, save for Checchetto’s final epic splash page. Overall, the artworks, although Messina’s style, especially with character acting, can be a jarring switch from Checchetto’s hyper-detailed work.
Ultimate Spider-Man #24 wraps up major threads with confidence, paying off yearlong rivalries while leaving just enough open space for readers to imagine what comes next. Hickman delivers decisive endings for Kingpin and Mr. Negative, gives Peter a hard-earned win, and reinforces the emotional core of the series through MJ. The problem is not execution but impact. With so many victories and so little true loss, the finale feels satisfying yet slightly soft. Checchetto’s dynamic art carries the action, even as Dave Messina’s contributions create occasional visual whiplash. It is a polished and crowd-pleasing conclusion, though one that opts for reassurance over devastation.
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