As some may say, Ultimate Spider-Man has been on a run of “banger after banger after banger” since it has debuted. Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto have found a strong grove with this series. That has led to the biggest development thus far with Kraven having captured both Peter Parker and Harry Osborn. With that Kraven has challenged Peter and Harry to survive being hunted by him in the Savage Lands. Will the duo survive? Let’s find out with Ultimate Spider-Man #14.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Marco Checchetto
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #14 SOLICITATION
“SPIDER-MAN VERSUS KRAVEN! After the horrors Peter and Harry endured during Kraven’s Hunt in the last issue, Spider-Man and Green Goblin turn the HUNTER into the HUNTED! But are they still prey in someone else’s game?” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
In one of his many iconic promos Rowdy Roddy Pipper stated “Just when they think they’ve got the answers, I change the questions.” That quote sums up exactly the reading experience of Ultimate Spider-Man #14. Just as you think you can see the trajectory of where the story is going Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto completely change the landscape of the direction they are taking us on.
The opening with Richard Parker and Felicia Hardy really should’ve given it away that we shouldn’t go in knowing what to expect. Even if we know their Earth-616 counterparts, this is the Ultimate Universe and things work completely different. The change to have Ultimate Felicia Hardy be just a year older than Peter’s son rather than being his peer was a good change. Hickman showed exactly why this change is a good thing by establishing the immediate chemistry the children of Spider-Man and original Black Cat have.
Their chemistry does create a lot of questions as to the direction Hickman and Checchetto are taking things. We know that at least Kraven, Mysterio, and Mole Man know about Peter and Harry’s secret. But that isn’t something Richard knows at this point. So revealing his identity to Felicia does show his youthful naivety as the new Black Cat is an unknown. Even though she connects with Richard as someone in a similar situation, we don’t know if Felicia is actually playing with him given that she was trained by her father. Tricking Richard to open up to her could be another ploy by the Sinister Six to stay ahead of Spider-Man.
Speaking of, Hickman did an excellent job having Checchetto’s artwork be the star of the show with everything that happens in the Savage Lands. Checchetto really gets across how Kraven the Hunter is enjoying hunting Peter and Harry. The way Kraven toys with the two showed supreme confidence that he believes he could kill Spider-Man and Green Goblin at any time.
This created an organic explanation to why after being tortured Peter and Harry were able to survive as long as they do. Kraven is enjoying the hunt too much to believe that the pair could defeat him. Playing into that overconfidence allowed Peter and Harry’s chemistry to shine.
Though the way it shines further spotlights the difference between the two. Hickman does a great job at showing how Peter is the one constantly thinking about getting back to their families. Meanwhile, Harry seems oddly calm even though his identity has been discovered. This led to the revelation of the reason Harry was so calm was because there were protocols in place to ensure Gwen’s safety to not be a surprise, rather it was a logical reveal. Given their resources it is obvious that Harry and Gwen would have these protocols in place.
This created an interesting tension between Peter and Harry as it was made even more apparent their respective sense of urgency. Though to Peter’s credit while he was clearly mad about this it did not blind him to them escaping the Savage Land. Hickman made sure to show that Peter’s focus was the safety of his family.
Which led to making the final battle between Kraven and Peter to hit harder. With Harry’s help, Peter was able to play into Kraven’s overconfidence to turn the tables. They were able to get things in a spot where Kraven confronted them up close. This provided Peter an opening to utilize his powers to overpower Kraven. It was a great display of how far Peter has come in maximizing his super strength and agility with his Spider-Sense to defeat even a well-trained fighter like Kraven with ease.
Because of how Peter defeated Kraven it did lesson the worry that our heroes would make it out. Which is where the game changer happens. To Kraven’s credit he clearly learns from the fight how Peter’s Spider-Sense works in sensing direct danger to himself. Kraven uses that knowledge to point his killer intent not at Peter but Harry. This provided the opportunity for Kraven to surprising kill Harry while injuring Peter.
The death of Harry comes so quickly that it really throws everything you expect in the future of Ultimate Spider-Man out the window. Harry’s importance to this series cannot be understated. Hickman did such a great job at making Peter and Harry’s friendship grow naturally. It made this moment that much more shocking. Now there is a hundred different questions about the future of this series with this one action.
And those questions are not just for Peter but for the Sinister Six as well. Because we once again see that while the Sinister Six are all working for Kingpin Wilson Fisk not all of them are on the same page. Mysterio, Mole Man, and Kraven all have their own goals in mind that don’t necessarily align with one another. Their interactions does hint at a greater gang war brewing with the Sinister Six. A gang war that Spider-Man will likely end up in the middle of and will bring greater attention to what is going on in New York City by The Maker’s Council.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate Spider-Man #14 is a game changing comic book for multiple reasons. Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto constantly have us guessing where things will go next. Creating that type of aura made the shocking developments towards the end of this issue put into question the future of Ultimate Spider-Man. Which goes to exemplify why this is one of the top-tier comic books being published right now.
Story Rating: 9 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 10 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 9.5 Night Girls out of 10
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