Ultimate Spider-Man appeared to have ended its 2024 with their own Christmas story that spotlighted Mary Jane Watson-Parker. That Christmas story turned out to be a distraction for the Spider-Man story going on from the shadows. That story is that Kraven the Hunter has captured both Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. This was something that was revealed at the very end of the issue. With Peter and Harry in such a predicament where will things go next? Let’s find out with Ultimate Spider-Man #13.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #13 SOLICITATION
“KRAVEN’S MOST DANGEROUS GAME! The Sinister Six are all hunting Spider-Man and the Green Goblin for their ringleader, Kingpin — and this time, Kraven has the upper hand in this love letter to “Kraven’s Last Hunt”!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
As soon as you open Ultimate Spider-Man #13 you know things aren’t going to be going well for our titled hero. And boy are things bad for Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. When it comes to worst case scenario this issue showcases all that. Every fear we see every version of Peter Parker carries comes to life with the situation he is in after being captured by Kraven the Hunter.
The opening of Ultimate Spider-Man really sets the tone. Seeing the Black Suit Spider-Man swinging around in such a public way immediately tells us something is off. It doesn’t take long to confirm this as is Richard Parker using his father’s AI-powered suit to make it look like Spider-Man is still active. In terms of keeping up appearances this is a smart move by MJ and the kids to make sure the public doesn’t tie Peter and Spider-Man together.
Though as we see at the end of this issue, Richard posing as Spider-Man brings its own problems as his father has a lot of enemies. That includes Felicia Hardy, who may or may not be targeting Spider-Man for what happened to her father. Where Felicia’s allegiances are creates immediate concern for how Richard will handle this situation.
Along with that, it was good to see that Peter at least thought ahead and made sure his AI-powered suit didn’t go rogue on him. Creating two baseline rules of protecting the Parker family and not touching MJ deals with two major story angles we have seen with other AI related stories. Though given how the Ai-powered Spider-Man suit operates it will be interesting if we go more towards a Symbiote-like storyline.
While the Spider-Man side is complicate it is not the biggest problem this series is dealing with. That is because, as Ultimate Spider-Man #13 reveals, Peter and Harry have been Kraven the Hunter’s prisoners for two months. It is two months filled with being torture and drugged to find out everything about them.
Even though we didn’t see what Peter and Harry went through the way Kraven describes it is enough to understand the horrors both went through. It shows Hickman’s writing mastery and Checchetto’s ability to nail character expressions to make Kraven and Mole Man’s conversation hit so hard.
The most shocking thing that is revealed is that Kraven now knows all about Peter and Harry’s secrets, including details about their respective families. What makes this even more dangerous is that both Mole Man and Mysterio also get these major details. That is at least half of Kingpin’s Sinister Six who now know key details about Spider-Man and Green Goblin. With this now there is a danger that The Maker’s Council will also learn about Spider-Man and Green Goblin’s secrets. If that indeed happens it will truly be game over even if Peter and Harry can defeat Kraven.
This all creates a great sense of urgency with Peter and Harry to defeat Kraven and escape the Savage Lands, which is now located underneath Staten Island. The Savage Land was already a dangerous place. But given what Peter and Harry have been put through there are even greater concerns about both characters.
Which is a concern that is elevated when it is emphasized that Peter is the only one with powers. The problem with this is shown as Peter is the only one that can fight the dinosaurs and other wildlife in the Savage Lands. How Harry can prove himself to not be a complete weak link as they try to survive long enough to figure out how to defeat Kraven will be interesting to see.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate Spider-Man #13 is a phenomenal must-read comic book. From the moment you open this comic book there is a tension created by the visual of the Black Suit Spider-Man. It is a tension that turns into great concern when learning about the dangerous predicament Peter Parker and Harry Osborn are in. It’s a predicament that can have great ramifications for the entire Ultimate Universe.
Story Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
For more opinions on anime, comic book, movies, and sports you can follow Kevin on Bluesky, Instagram, Threads, and Twitter/X.