Things have been heating up in Ultimate Spider-Man with Jonathan Hickman building up the Sinister Six War. This war between Spider-Man villains has many complexities as each member of Kingpin’s Sinister Six has their own motives. It is tough to say who would come out the victor, that includes Spider-Man who has his own battles to fight. How will things go next? Let’s find out with Ultimate Spider-Man #21
CREATIVE TEAM
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: David Messina
Colorist: Matthew Wilson and Erick Arciniega
Letterer: Cory Petit
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #21 SOLICITATION
“THE FINAL MEETING OF THE SINISTER SIX? Blood boils over as these warring villains gather to destroy each other once and for all…or will they reunite against their common enemy, Spider-Man?” – Marvel Comics
HIGHLIGHTS OF ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #21
Mr. Negative Primed to Thrive in The Maker’s Ultimate Universe
Outside of Marvel’s Spider-Man game, Mr. Negative has not been written better than he was in Ultimate Spider-Man #12. Jonathan Hickman taps into the opportunity presented by the new Ultimate Universe to give new, intriguing takes on Marvel characters. Mr. Negative’s appearance here is a prime example of that opportunity. He is scary with everything he does to Wesley during the interrogation scene. You believe Mr. Negative is the most dangerous villain that Spider-Man and company could face. And in turn he is dangerous to Kingpin and the rest of the Sinister Six’s rule.
Gwen Stacy’s Mysterio Drama Escalates
In relation to Mr. Negative, due to Wesley’s capture we see the secrets of the Mysterio Collective no longer being a secret. Gwen Stacy already made a huge risk by revealing her Mysterio life to Harry Osborn. Gwen’s actions to go rogue comes back to bite her in a major way as dissent appears within her fellow Mysterio’s. And because of her actions she forced Mr. Negative’s hands and caused everything to blow up the way it does in Ultimate Spider-Man. It continues to drive home that Gwen is really the most intriguing character outside the Parker family in this series.
J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker the Journalist the Ultimate Universe Needs
While their appearance is only a few pages, Hickman maximizes J. Jonah Jameson and Ben Parker’s screen time. We once again see the excellent reports they are with how they piece together how to out all of Wilson Fisk and the Sinister Six’s crimes. Hickman does a great job at showing how tough this all is and the weight the story carries for Jonah and Ben. Once the information is released they paint an even bigger target on their back. Which adds to the concern level of what the consequences are for the different level of involvement each Ultimate Spider-Man cast member has in this story.
Harry Osborn Becoming Series Wild Card
Similar to Ben and Jonah, Harry Osborn doesn’t get much screen time but what he does get is effective. We continue to see the impact becoming friends with Peter Parker has had on Harry. He has built a conscious that he didn’t previously have. Before meeting Harry he was very much on the road his father took. But now the more he’s interacted with Peter the more he wants to lean into being a hero. As Otto Octavius tells him, this complicates things for Harry’s marriage to Gwen, who has her own plans. It does make Harry a wild card in all of this as he can directly impact the actions of two of the key players of this story in Peter and Gwen.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK IN ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #21
Spider-Man & Parker Family Cameo Appearance
This series is titled Ultimate Spider-Man and the expectation is that we get some meaningful Spider-Man or Peter Parker appearance. What we get instead is one small panel of Spider-Man and the Parker Family fighting off Mr. Negative’s crew. One panel! And with Aunt May and Richard Parker’s Venom appearance in this panel we know the Parker Family were in the middle of something serious. But rather than getting a chance to have this explosive scene get time to breathe it is simply treated as a cameo. This is where the real time aspect of the Ultimate Universe is damaging as we get so much off-screen development.
Too Much Sinister Six Development Off-Screen
Speaking of off-screen development, while Mr. Negative gets a lot time dedicated to his character the same can’t be said for the other Sinister Six members. We continue to see how much of the development around Kingpin and the Sinister Six is happening off screen. The one panel appearance of Black Cat’s Walter and Felicia Hardy being attack by Mr. Negative’s crew is an example of this. There is clearly a story going on here, especially considering Felicia’s connection with Richard, but we don’t get into it. Since we’re skipping a month, we’ll have limited information before addressing because there is a bigger story being told.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Ultimate Spider-Man #12 has so many things to like about it that where it ends up faltering is even more disappointing to see. Everything that has to do with Mr. Negative and Gwen Stacy’s Mysterio crew is fascinating. Unfortunately, because of time management issues we don’t get to see other characters get time to shine, such as Spider-Man’s only having a cameo appearance. Hopefully the remaining issues of Ultimate Spider-Man will do a better job managing the time left to fully tap into the potential of the Sinister Six war.
Story Rating: 5 Night Girls out of 10
Art Rating: 8 Night Girls out of 10
Overall Rating: 6.5 Night Girls out of 10
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