Ultimate Spider-Man #15 Review

Written by: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: David Messina
Colors by: Matthew Wilson
Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
Cover art by: Marco Checchetto (cover A)
Cover price: $4.99
Release date: March 26, 2025

Ultimate Spider-Man #15, by Marvel on 3/26/25, finds the Parker family taking an extended vacation off the grid in the American Southwest to avoid the Sinister Six when Peter and Richard investigate an abandoned military base.

Is Ultimate Spider-Man #15 Good?

Recap

When we last left Earth-6160s Peter Parker in Ultimate Spider-Man #14, he and Harry Osborn ran for their lives through the prehistoric jungle of the “Savage Lands” under New York City. Kraven hunted them through water traps, dinosaur herds, and more. Ultimately (*heh*), Peter and Harry found refuge with the help of Mole Man and Mysterio, but Kraven caught up in a deadly final confrontation that left Harry Osborn dead. The issue ended with Peter finding MJ with the news that it’s time to run, and young Richard Parker making a new friend in Felicia Hardy while he pilots the black picotech suit.

Plot Synopsis

In Ultimate Spider-Man #15, the Parker family enjoys an extended vacation in a trailer park somewhere in the deserts of the American Southwest. They enjoy the beautiful desert vistas, fresh morning air, and coffee with their eclectic group of fellow trailer park neighbors, including UFO theorists, Doomsday Preppers, Government Assets in Hiding, and much more.

One day, Peter spends some quality time with young Richard and the A.I. suit to go over the rules of combat, defense, and life-saving priorities. Later, Peter and Richard head to an abandoned military base where rumors of strange sounds and disappearances persist. When they reach the base, they’re attacked by a giant sand monster who tries to use Peter as a cudgel against a tall device that looks like Tesla’s Wardenclyffe Tower. Periodically, an automated voice announces an electrical pulse that dissipates the monster before it can fully form.

Richard uses the A.I. suit to disable the Wardenclyffe Tower, and the monster fully forms into the shape of a man. The man explains he was trapped in that loop for three years when he snuck onto the base to find out what illegal operations were happening, was captured by A.I.M. scientists, and was turned into the Sandman during an experiment. When the scientists abandoned the base, they left him trapped.

Later, Kingpin and his associates visit The Paper to intimidate J. Jonah and Ben. How? By showing the seasoned newspapermen a stack of photos of recently murdered men from across the globe – all named Ben Reilly.

First Impressions

Ultimate Spider-Man #15 is, by and large, an improvement over the first twelve issues in that at least things are happening, and you get Spider-Man in a suit doing Spider-Man things. You get the impression Jonathan Hickman is forced into inventing an action sequence, given how quickly the scene passes and how poorly it’s set up, but at least there’s something to hold your attention besides dinner dates and Christmas parties.

How’s the Art?

David Messina continues to fill in for Marco Checchetto on art duties, and the results look fantastic. Messina maintains the sharp, distinctive appearance of the main characters, fills the pages with gorgeous desert vistas, and turns in a fairly good Sandman fight.

What’s great about Ultimate Spider-Man #15?

Jonathan Hickman’s ability to create believable, engaging character interactions can’t be beat. It’s the little moments between Peter and MJ or Peter and Richard that make all the difference in an issue that, frankly, doesn’t accomplish a whole lot. Each scene carries an emotional weight that gives the scene importance, which helps cover for the lack of plot.

What’s not great about Ultimate Spider-Man #15?

If it wasn’t obvious, the noteworthy development in this issue is the introduction of Ultimate Sandman, but it doesn’t feel noteworthy because it’s given so little care. Sandman’s explanation of his origin story is so paper thin, there’s more plot hole than plot, Sandman’s predicament and rationale behind the trap make little sense, and Hickman put so little effort into developing his character, he couldn’t even bother to name him. You don’t even get so much as a “Hi! My name is…”

It’s as if Marvel Editors came along and said to Hickman, “Yeah, the readers are getting bored with months of no action, so from now on, just put a supervillain fight in there somewhere,” and that’s what he did.

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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Final Thoughts

Ultimate Spider-Man #15 is a perfectly serviceable issue with gorgeous art, the introduction of another Ultimate version of a classic Spidey villain, and very little progress on anything else. Jonathan Hiackman’s script excels in the individual character moments, but the plot progress leaves a lot to be desired, and the supervillain introduction/fight feels like it was thrown in at the last minute. As a plus, David Messina’s art is a strong fill-in for the main artist, Marco Checchetto.

6.8/10

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