- Written by: Jonathan Hickman
- Art by: David Messina
- Colors by: Matthew Wilson
- Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
- Cover art by: Marco Checchetto
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: April 24, 2024
Ultimate Spider-Man #4 spends the evening on a double date between Peter, MJ, Harry, and Harry’s wife, Gwen Stacy.
Is Ultimate Spider-Man #4 Good?
Wait, wait, wait. Hold up! Let me check my math. 1… 2… 3… 4. Yep, Jonathan Hickman is only on the fourth issue of his revitalized take on Ultimate Spider-Man’s journey to herodom, and we spend an entire issue on a dinner double date. There are no shocking revelations, no superheroes and supervillains, no action or adventure, and no plot development. This entire issue is simply four people getting to know each other over dinner.
When last we left the Ultimate Spider-Man, his first attempt at a stakeout led to a fight in progress between Green Goblin and Bullseye. Spider-Man intervened and helped catch Bullseye, making an instant ally in Green Goblin, who unmasked Peter and himself to make their identities plain. The green Goblin of the Maker’s universe is none other than Harry Osborn.
Now, Peter and MJ agree to meet Harry and his wife, Gwen Stacy, for dinner to get acquainted while Uncle Ben and J. Jonah watch the Parker kids. We learn Gwen knows about Harry’s secret identity, MJ started a PR firm, and that’s about it.
The end.
No, I’m not kidding. Yes, there’s more character development in the small talk, but if anyone asks to summarize the importance of this comic, the above paragraph is fully it.
What’s great about Ultimate Spider-Man #4? Hickman shows an above-average talent for natural-sounding, organic conversations. If you’re in the mood to get to know the surface-level personalities of these characters, this issue is as good as it gets.
What’s not so great about Ultimate Spider-Man #4? At the risk of sounding like a TikTok influencer… OMG, like, literally nothing happens! How on Earth did Hickman conclude that a go-nowhere, do-nothing cooldown issue was appropriate at issue #4? At $4.99 per issue, comic readers who want action and adventure deserve better than four talking heads engaging in polite conversation. I can’t tell if there’s a super-subtle level of context that you need to be a genius to perceive or if Hickman is simply catering to his ego on this series, but this issue is absolutely NOT how to keep Spider-Man fans engaged.
How’s the Art? David Messina does a perfectly fine job making a dinner date look somewhat engaging, which is no small task. If anything, Messina earns extra praise for making lemonade out of a lemon of a script.
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces
Ultimate Spider-Man #4 takes a bizarrely unexpected turn in the series with a subzero cooldown issue that’s nothing but four people engaging in pilot conversation during a dinner date. Messina’s art is perfectly good, and in fairness, Hickman’s dialog talents are excellent, but this comic fits the very definition of pointless.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 
You, sir, are my hero. In the old days when kids stayed off my lawn, the dinner would have been two pages max. The Ben, J.J. Stuff one page and the rest would have been a fight against Vulture 2.0, with one page setting up next month’s issue. It would have been exciting and fun to read. It would have built on the past and built for the future. Instead we got “My Dinner with Andre” only without the exciting parts. It’s as if Marvel doesn’t want this book to succeed, so they can say “see, grownup Peter is dull, we were right.”
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