- Written by: Jonathan Hickman
- Art by: Marco Checchetto
- Colors by: Matthew Wilson
- Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
- Cover art by: Marco Chechhetto, Matthew Wilson (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: September 25, 2024
Ultimate Spider-Man #9, by Marvel Comics on 9/25/24, presents Peter and Harry with another suit upgrade from Otto. Meanwhile, the first member of the Ultimate Sinister Six launches an attack.
Is Ultimate Spider-Man #9 Good?
Well, okay. Ultimate Spider-Man #9 is a step up from the water-treading plaguing this series of late. Writer Jonathan Hickman puts the focus back on plot development, superhero action, and maybe a nugget or two of foreshadowing for a generally solid but still leisurely-paced issue.
When last we left Peter Parker in Ultimate Spider-Man #8, he helped set up a birthday party for his kids. Meanwhile, the Kingpin assembled the Ultimate version of the Sinister Six. Yep, that’s really all that happened.
In Ultimate Spider-Man #9, we begin with Ben Parker and J. Jonah Jameson drinking their troubles away at a local bar. Why are they down? Because their new publication is only popular due to their reports of the mysterious figure known as Spider-Man, so they believe their attempt at news that matters has quickly devolved into tabloid sensationalism. When M.J. arrives, she sets them straight with a lesson about marketing.
Opening the issue with this scene has several interesting but odd tidbits. Why would a pair of senior, seasoned news professionals not understand how marketing and reader analytics work? Tracking numbers is the air publishers breathe (if they want to be successful), so why would M.J. need to show them the ropes? Further, it’s highly ironic that Marvel has a comic showing how important it is to build and bolster reader engagement in an era where Marvel’s engagement with its readership is probably the lowest in history. Lastly, M.J.’s eyes through this entire sequence are golden yellow, which could be an artifact of the digital copy we received or maybe something else.
Elsewhere, Peter and Harry return to Oscorp after making their crimefighting rounds to find Otto Octavius bearing gifts. Otto cracked the code to prevent Tony Stark from remotely taking control of their suits. For Harry, the Goblin suit is an easy fix. For Peter, not so much. Otto’s solution is the presentation of a new suit that looks surprisingly similar to the Earth-616 Iron Spider suit. Peter declines due to the clunkiness of the design. Urged by Harry to come up with a simpler design, Otto creates a more traditional fabric suit that doesn’t have the symbiote-like picotech capabilities. Off the best friends go to fight more crime.
Fun and games with Otto to upgrade the suits are all well and good, but this is the third time we’ve gone through a similar scene, and it’s starting to get repetitive. Admittedly, the scene is engaging because Peter discusses the options with his A.I., which has the humorous appearance of Peter having a serious conversation with himself. Still, more repetition, while leading to change, feels like filler.
Later, Peter and Harry discuss family plans for Christmas on an apartment building rooftop. Suddenly, Peter feels a “tingle,” which prompts him to twitch, narrowly missing a taser shot from nearby. The shot hits Harry, temporarily incapacitating his suit. Peter turns and confronts the first member of the Ultimate Sinister Six to find them and launch an attack – Black Cat (Sr.).
The issue concludes with a hard fight, a long walk off a short roof, and a tough talk about how far a hero has to go to stop the bad guys in the Ultimate Universe.
What’s great about Ultimate Spider-Man #9? I’ve been especially hard on Hickman for his too-slow pacing in this series, but this issue is better and gives readers a little action to boot. It’s not a massive improvement, but Hickman’s script here is good enough to hold interest for these characters and whatever is coming next. It’s not great, but it’s better.
What’s not great about Ultimate Spider-Man #9? The pacing is better, but still not great. The amount of plot development and the pace with which it’s unfolding is too leisurely to grab you.
Plus, Black Cat’s attack in this issue should be a big deal, but Peter barely reacts to Black Cat’s attack with anything more than what he needs to at the moment. When the fight is done, Harry and Peter stroll off as though it’s just another day at the office. Why isn’t Peter more fearful for the life of his family now that he knows he’s being hunted? Hickman isn’t writing Peter like he’s a husband and father who cares about the welfare of those around him, which is a strange miss.
How’s the Art? Marco Chechhetto is a master at mixing grounded character models, amazing faces, and equally amazing action. Marvel couldn’t have picked a better artist for this series, so it’s a shame to see Chechhetto’s talents not given a chance to shine with these pokey scripts.
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 #9 is a generally solid issue that gives Peter’s suit an upgrade (again), gives J. Jonah and Ben a marketing lesson on running a newspaper (?), and pits Harry and Peter against the first member of the Ultimate Sinister Six to join the hunt. Overall, Jonathan Hickman’s pacing picks up a bit, and the developments here range from interesting to amusing, but the pacing is much too slow to hold interest for anyone but hardcore fans, and Peter’s lack of concern for himself and his family’s safety is a head-scratcher.
6.8/10
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