Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Marco Checchetto
Colors: Matthew Wilson
Letters: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover: Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson
Variant Covers: Mark Bagley & Edgar Delgado; Mateus Manhanini; Dike Ruan & Matthew Wilson; Elizabeth Torque & Tamra Bonvillain
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: 4.99
Release Date: February 21, 2024
Who Is Peter Parker Now?
Peter Parker wanted more out of life. Well, he got it. Thanks to a package from Tony Stark, he has superpowers. But he hasn’t figured out how to land when he goes out web swinging. And he’s still trying to figure out what all of this means for his life. The stage is set for outstanding character development in Ultimate Spider-Man #2
The Parker family’s day starts much like it always does when Ultimate Spider-Man #2 begins. At night, though, Peter swings through the city in the black costume he received from Tony Stark. Weeks have elapsed since that transformative night, and Peter has been adjusting to and trying out his powers ever since. Over those same weeks, J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker have continued to make plans for their own news source. Right now they’re concerned about the two costumed mystery people–one in a black suit swinging through the air and one in green armor riding a glider. The latter continues to attack Wilson Fisk and has watched Peter web swinging at night. On one of those nights, Peter gets home and is discovered in costume by a member of his family.
Ultimate Invasion was all about setting the stage for the new Ultimate Universe. Ultimate Spider-Man #1 introduced Peter and his world. Now Ultimate Spider-Man #2 introduces everyone to the brand new Spider-Man. Most of the issue centers on Peter in costume trying to get used to his new abilities and decide what to do with them. Hickman’s choice to keep the Peter and Spider-Man introductions separate lets each one shine distinctly. Splitting the story also avoids the sensation that Hickman will be unnecessarily drawing out Peter’s origin. Everything in Ultimate Spider-Man #2 feels essential.
In focusing most of the issue on Peter’s first days as Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man #2 also defuses a concern some readers might have had coming out of Ultimate Universe #1. Tony Stark’s plan in that issue was to essentially call up the heroes that The Maker kept from emerging. So would Ultimate Spider-Man be the same as traditional Spider-Man but with a beard? Hickman asks that question explicitly:
If the life you had stolen from you twenty years ago was suddenly given back to you, are you obliged to try and relive some version of it?
Peter doesn’t really answer his own question which is fitting. He was written with a significant degree of uncertainty in the previous issue. One month with spider powers isn’t likely to undo that completely. Hickman is advancing Peter toward whatever kind of Spider-Man he will be incrementally rather than making a spider bite be a miracle cure for all that ails him.
Readers who are looking for some kind of long-term developing story of the kind Hickman is known for at Marvel won’t find much here. A scene with Wilson Fisk and a scene between J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker might be laying a very thin foundation. But a big picture is not what Ultimate Spider-Man #2 is about. Even when it comes to Peter, Hickman is basing the main story loosely around developing Peter’s character rather than any superhero adventure.
To the extent that the issue has a traditional plot, it can mostly be summed up as Peter swinging, Peter thinking a lot, Peter crashing, Peter swinging some more, Peter being gullible, and Peter landing in a dumpster. Ultimate Spider-Man #2, like the issue before it, is about Peter learning who he is.
Subtleties
Checchetto’s Spider-Man, even outside of combat, doesn’t just look agile but strong as well. Different shading levels, as well as Wilson’s coloring, accentuate Peter’s build within the Spider-Man costume. The result is a sense of bulk and power.
The issue features a few panels of combat, something that Checchetto handles ably. But for now the highlight of his work is the subtle detail he brings to the characters–clothing, body language, and facial expression. Most of this is accomplished via very light, very short lines. Sometimes the result appears to be wider shading in an area. Other times it is just barely enough to add strength to a character’s chin. Checchetto doesn’t use hard lines to accentuate anything, be it a jacket crease or a cheekbone.
Wilson’s use of totally opaque white steam in the Turkish bath scene is somewhat excessive, but it adds a clandestine subtext to Jonah and Ben’s discussion about their new paper. It’s a perfectly ordinary meeting, but Wilson’s choice makes the scene a little more fun.
Petit’s choices for the issue’s few sound effects works particularly well for the Shocker. They emanate from him and follow the course of his blasts. It’s not as effective the one time a sound effect is applied to Spider-Man’s impact.
Final Thoughts
The characters are the story in the first two issues of Ultimate Spider-Man. Hickman doesn’t craft a complicated adventure. Indeed, there is almost no conflict. The truth of it is that none is needed. Ultimate Spider-Man #2 is a very earnest, very human comic, and in that way it is exceptional.
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