Ultimate Spider-Man has made a lot big changes for how things normally are with the retelling of Peter Parker’s superhero origin. One of the major changes we saw go down in Ultimate Spider-Man #3 as Harry Osborn, who is operating as the Ultimate Green Goblin, discovered Peter Parker’s secret. This completely changes the iconic friendship Peter and Harry share, especially as it appears they didn’t grow up or meet in college. With them becoming friends and possible superhero allies how will things go with this change in dynamic? Let’s find out with Ultimate Spider-Man #4.
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #4 SOLICITATION
“WHO IS THE GREEN GOBLIN? Peter Parker’s secret life starts fraying the edges of his personal life! J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker’s pursuit of truth — or, at least, the news — stirs unrest with the world at large… And now that Spider-Man may not have to operate alone, the real work of rebuilding this corrupt world can begin!” – Marvel Comics
REVIEW
Ultimate Spider-Man #2 slows things down to tell a very character focus story. This entire issue is just two scenes, one more extended than the other. It really is to the talent of Jonathan Hickman and guest artist David Messina that an entire superhero comic book that has characters talking can be so immersive.
Hickman and Messina knew exactly what they were doing while making sure that the dinner scene that dominated this issue that the cast chemistry shined. Opening Peter and MJ waiting for Harry Osborn and Gwen Stacy set the tone. It was a small number of panels, but Hickman immediately sent the message that the cast chemistry would be what carries Ultimate Spider-Man #2.
The cast chemistry is immediately apparent with how things go down in the double date Peter, MJ, Harry, and Gwen have. The dialogue was on point to the degree that your preconceptions of knowing the dynamic Peter, MJ, Harry, and Gwen share in other universes isn’t clouding how you take their interaction with. Hickman gets you immersed in seeing how the fresh slate the Ultimate Universe offers to do something different.
A key thing that makes this get-to-know-you dinner so well was how Harry and Gwen guided the conversation. You can sense the full corporate executive vibe both characters have. They have an intense way of talking that works in contrast to the more middle-class people that Peter and MJ are. These are specific lines of dialogue from Gwen shows how hard it is for her to turn of the 24/7 work mode she is as an executive.
It leads to a great scene between MJ and Gwen where the latter tries to speak to the former on their level. The approach was as uncomfortable as you would think it would be. Though it ultimately sets up an interesting sub-plot of Gwen possibly investing in J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker’s news organization, The Paper, that MJ was helping them with.
This investment from Gwen is made more interesting by the fact that having a corporate overlord is what caused Jonah and Ben to quit the Daily Bugle. While Gwen is likely not as bad of a corporate partner as Wilson Fisk, the fact still is she is a corporate executive. We already saw how corporate of a mentality Gwen is during the dinner. Maybe MJ and the old man can have a grounding effect on Gwen or be explosive partnership. Either way this establishes a strong sub-plot to work alongside all of the Spider-Man stuff.
Speaking of Spider-Man, Harry calling out Peter, while MJ and Gwen were having their scene, that he hasn’t revealed his Spider-Man identity to his wife was an unexpected development. Harry straight up telling Peter how terrible of a decision that is, even revealing he shared his secret as Green Goblin with Gwen. This sets up another layer to the dynamic between the four and reminds the reader we shouldn’t expect the normal Spider-Man elements to happen here. Hickman is making sure to keep even long-time Spider-Man fans on their toes as he is taking full advantage of fresh start the Ultimate Universe offers.
Balancing out the double date scene with Jonah and Uncle Ben babysitting the Parker kids was handled well. Hickman timed things out so the babysitting scenes made sure to reset the mood. There weren’t a lot of pages dedicated to this side of Ultimate Spider-Man #4. It was just enough to provide a variety in the interactions we had.
Messina did a great job at making sure to maintain the style that Marco Checchetto established for Ultimate Spider-Man. Since this issue was just a bunch of talking head scenes Messina did not have the chance to showcase his ability to draw superhero action. What Messina did show was his ability to make sure character reactions enhanced the dialogue that was being spoken. He especially captured how hard it is for Gwen to turn off her corporate mode she is in 24-7 when in a casual setting.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Jonathan Hickman and David Messina show their strength as comic book creators that they can make a superhero comic book that’s all about character conversations compelling. That is what they accomplish with Ultimate Spider-Man #2. In the process they plant seeds that will sprout into intriguing plotlines for different combinations of the cast members of this series.
Story Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 7 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 7.5 Night Girls out of 10
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