• Written by: Jonathan Hickman
• Art by: Marco Checchetto
• Colors by: Matthew Wilson
• Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
• Cover art by: Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson
• Cover price: $4.99
• Release date: June 19, 2024

Ultimate Spider-Man #6 sits Peter Parker down at the family table for pancakes, hugs, and a long story about how he got a massive black eye. Team Spider-Man has finally arrived.

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Is Ultimate Spider-Man #6 Good?

In the previous issue, Ultimate Spider-Man #5, we learned the secret origin of Earth-6160’s Green Goblin, Harry Osborn. When Harry was given the totality of Oscorp after his father’s death during the terrorist attack on NYC, Harry was forced to grow up fast. Harry’s maturity deepened and accelerated when Wilson Fisk sold his controlling stake in Stane/Stark Industries, leading to the unexpected discovery of Iron Man armor left by Howard Stark. With the help of his lead scientist Otto Octavius, Harry had the Iron tech adapted into the Green Goblin suit, glider, and gadgets to find out who was really behind his father’s death.

In Ultimate Spider-Man #6, we begin with Peter Parker sitting down to breakfast with the family. MJ and the kids are shocked to see Peter’s face covered in serious bruises and scratches from a fight. It’s not clear which fight or when it happened, but May is now scared because she didn’t realize her father’s role as a superhero meant he would get hurt. May accidentally let a word slip that raises MJ’s suspicions even further.

Flash back to the previous evening. Harry and Peter stake out Wilson Fisks’s apartment, intending to surprise him when he gets home to find out who Fisk serves. Peter’s concerned about breaking the law because he hasn’t done it before, but Harry urges him on to get at the truth. When the two burst through Fisk’s window, he’s unphased by the unscheduled visitors.

After posturing and bickering, Fisk activates a small remote and a large cage drops down on the room to trap Peter and Harry with Fisk. Wilson Fisk launches into an attack that appears superhumanly strong. When Harry counters by throwing a pumpkin bomb, Fisk’s shirt is shredded off to reveal he has enhanced skin and strength.

Fisk pummels Harry, breaking his armor. Peter leaps in to lend a hand, turning Fisk’s attention and fists on Peter’s face (hence, the next morning bruises at the breakfast table). Before one or both of our heroes are killed, Harry signals his glider remotely to blow a hole in the wall with a small missile, giving the heroes a moment to escape.

Back to now, Peter finishes telling his family the whole story. May is relieved not to have to hold the secret in. Richard has a lot of questions but agrees to hold them until later when everyone has had a chance to absorb what’s happening. And MJ pulls Peter into their bedroom to talk out of earshot of their kids. Surprisingly, MJ is more scared and impressed than angry about the secret, but now she understands and accepts what’s happening. Quickly sensing the need for a codename to keep their family safe, MJ comes up with Spider-Man.

What’s great about Ultimate Spider-Man #6? This is the issue faithful Spider-Man fans have been waiting for. Why Hickman thought he could get away with five issues worth of intriguing but unnecessary fluff and wasted time is anyone’s guess, but now that the moment is here, it feels good. The story mixes equal parts action, intrigue, and heartfelt family moments (which was the big promise of this series). If Hickman can stay focused long enough to write more comics like this one, this iteration of the Ultimates may actually wind up being one worth remembering.

What’s not so great about Ultimate Spider-Man #6? Ooh, so close. Why did Hickman have to get so close to the finish line with artist Marco Checchetto and fumble it with a dopey mistake?

When the issue starts, Peter is clearly sitting down with the family for breakfast. Note the rising sun, orange juice, and pancakes. When the issue bookends with an epilogue, where Peter finishes telling his family the whole truth, the meal ends with Peter and MJ sending the kids off to bed.

Either Peter took fourteen hours to tell his story (unlikely), the Parkers have the strangest idea of a Dinner menu (unlikely), or something got lost in translation between Checchetto and Hickman as to what time of day the bookend scenes take place (probable). D’oh!

Speaking of art, yes, Checchetto nails the tone, vibe, atmosphere, and pure joy of a Spider-Man comic written the right way – meaning without the nonsense currently choking the life out of ASM by its writer, editor, and revolving door of artists. The action looks great, seeing an adult, married Peter Parker in the red & blue fully for the first time looks great, and the character acting by May is adorable.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

Follow @ComicalOpinions on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter

Final Thoughts

Ultimate Spider-Man #6 is the issue starving Spider-Man fans have been waiting for. Checchetto delivers the goods with fantastic character acting and art, and Hickman finally takes a break from interesting-yet-unnecessary world-building to give readers an adventure story that mixes action, heart, and intrigue. If it wasn’t for a (probable) glaring goof between the art and the script, this would be a nearly perfect issue.

8.8/10

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