Ultimate Spider-Man has seen things get even more intense after Gwen Stacy and Harry Osborn made the decision to spark a war with the Kingpin’s Sinister Six. This has created even more danger around the Parker Family as they’ve been trying to figure out what to do after Kraven the Hunter kidnapped and found out about Peter and Harry’s secrets. That all led to Richard Parker, Peter and MJ’s son, to risk everything to “save” his possible girlfriend Felicia Hardy. This turned out to be a trap from the Sinister Six and forced the AI Spider-Man suit Richard was wearing to go full Venom mode. With so much risk showing up what will happen next? Let’s find out with Ultimate Spider-Man #20
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #20 SOLICITATION
“MY DINNER WITH HARRY! Harry Osborn lives! Peter and Mary Jane have another fateful dinner with Harry and Gwen…” – Marvel Comics
HIGHLIGHTS OF ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #20
GWEN STACY THE ULTIMATE COLD-BLOODED CHARACTER
Everything about Ultimate Spider-Man #20 was building towards the Mary Jane and Gwen Stacy confrontation at the end. The entire time the Parkers and Osborns were having their private dinner you could cut the tension with a knife. Gwen and MJ were the drivers of the conversation that was had. Because MJ knew everything Peter knows it made Gwen drop all façade. This allowed us to continue to see the cold, pragmatic Ultimate Gwen Stacy is. No longer having to hide her true self we continue to see how much she is helping drive the narrative in this series.
MARY JANE WATSON-PARKER ULTIMATE ONE PUNCH
With how Gwen is portrayed, Jonathan Hickman has done well to balance things out to make MJ her counter. MJ brings a much-needed normal perspective of how quickly things are escalating. She does so in a way that isn’t antagonistic. Instead she is looking to get honest answers from Gwen and Harry so she can really understand what she and her family are involved in. It all made her the character you most relate to in this series. Which made the conclusion even more satisfying as MJ knocking out Gwen was a well-deserved moment for both characters.
TEASING GREAT SACRIFICE IN ULTIMATE SINISTER SIX WAR
Everything from the private dinner to the conversation Uncle Ben has with Richard further teased something big happening soon. That big thing is throwing up all sorts of possible death flags for several characters. With what has gone on so far it does seem like we will have at least one major death happen in the war with the Ultimate Sinister Six. Just about every character is a possibility at this point. It sets up a great amount of tension for the final four issues of this series as one mistake could trigger a major death to happen.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK IN ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #20
ALL TALK, NO ACTION
No doubt that Jonathan Hickman knows how to write a compelling script. The dinner between the Parkers and Osborns had plenty of compelling lines of dialogue. But even with all the compelling dialogue it does not mask the biggest problem of this issue. That is the lack of true progression in the overall story in Ultimate Spider-Man. We aren’t that much further from where we were when this issue first started. All of the dialogue was really just a remix of things we know as the reader. There would’ve been a greater sense of progression if there were a few new things that we got to learn. There just wasn’t.
WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE THE SINISTER SIX
Because this issue was all about two conversations it meant the Sinister Six story was paused. At a time when we’re we are running out of issues before The Maker’s return this just shouldn’t happen anymore. It feels like such a missed opportunity to continue to develop each member of the Sinister Six as compelling antagonists. For the most part we’ve only really seen Wilson Fisk, Mole Man, and Kraven developed. It would’ve been a good balance to show where the Sinister Six are at compared to our protagonists in Spider-Man, Green Goblin, and Mysterio.
RICHARD PARKER’S ARC FLOUNDERING
While he started off as an interesting addition to Peter’s journey as Spider-Man, the Richard Parker side of things have gotten less interesting. Hickman does his best to get us to sympathize with Richard’s risky choice in the previous issue. But with everything that is going on with Peter, Harry, MJ, and Gwen it makes Richard’s arc the weak link in this series. This side of the issue would’ve off possibly been stronger if there was a page or two dedicated to Felicia Hardy. But since she is still being treated as a minor character it makes it hard to care about Richard’s arc that is tied to her.
HARRY OSBORN HAS FALLEN
As the spotlight on Gwen has increased it has also had a negative impact on Harry’s presentation. Gwen is so compelling that it makes Harry feel one-note. Hickman seems to even recognize this with how Gwen is dominating things. And when Gwen is not around it is Peter who is driving scenes that involve Harry. Harry comes across as very docile as he is just following now. This is a big change compared to early Ultimate Spider-Man issues where we saw him do things like brutally interrogate Bullseye. At this point it is tough to see Harry being able to reclaim some of that interest as Peter, MJ, and Gwen are all much better protagonists to follow.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate Spider-Man #20 is the weakest issue of this series thus far. This entire issue is about two long conversations that are had. Both conversations are basically recapping what has been learned in recent issues. To Jonathan Hickman and David Messina’s credit, they do a great job at creating tension and making the ending involving MJ and Gwen a rewarding moment. But that reward isn’t enough to mask what is largely a recap chapter.
Story Rating: 4 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6 Night Girls out of 10
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