- 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: August 27, 2025
Ultimate Spider-Man #2, by Marvel Comics on 8/27/25, promises a big family dinner but delivers a conversation that goes nowhere.
First Impressions
I can’t tell if Jonathan Hickman is spiraling into incompetence or if he’s deliberately trolling the readers at the expense of their wallets and infinitely valuable patience. We are single digits number of months away from the Maker’s return, and Hickman is still delivering water-treading dinner dates issues that say nothing and go nowhere.
Why?!?
Recap
Peter’s son, Richard, took on the picotech suit himself, but his situationship with Black Cat led him straight into Kingpin’s trap! Fortunately, the suit’s A.I. took over as Venom and saved him. Now, with her family at stake, Mary Jane Watson-Parker wants to know everything, especially what Harry and Gwen, two of the five members of Mysterio, have been up to.
Plot Analysis
The comic begins with Harry and Gwen at a restaurant, waiting for Peter and MJ to arrive for dinner. The two talk about how they are people you can count on and how they are exactly who they appear to be. Harry says simple circumstances do not require the moral flexibility that people like them normally have.
Peter and MJ arrive, and Harry makes a sarcastic comment about Peter’s disguise. Harry also makes a joke about looking in the mirror and seeing a mysterious and handsome man. The two couples sit down to dinner and Harry and Gwen promise to tell Peter and MJ everything they want to know, with no secrets or lies.
MJ brings up their last dinner together where she was the only one who did not know what was going on. Harry apologizes, saying he had good reasons for his secrets, just like Peter had for his. MJ says that almost everyone would call a secret between friends a betrayal.
The group’s conversation continues with Peter and MJ bringing up the past. Harry reminds them that he saved Richard’s life, and for him, that was his apology. The rest of the issue focuses on this single conversation, with no action, no new revelations, and no forward movement for the plot.
Correction, the only action in the coming is a well-deserved punch to Gwen’s face in the Ladies’ room by MJ after an insulting comment.
Detailed Review
Writing
The biggest weakness of this comic is its writing. It is heavy on dialogue but completely lacking in substance. The entire issue is a long conversation that circles back on itself without providing any meaningful plot development. The characters spend pages talking about how they are going to talk about their secrets, which feels pointless and frustrating.
Art
While the art itself is clean and well-drawn, it suffers from the lack of dynamic action. Since the entire comic is a single, static dinner scene, the art feels flat. The characters are mostly just shown from the chest up, with a focus on their facial expressions. The limited settings and non-moving characters create a monotonous visual experience that fails to capture the energy a comic book should have.
Characters
The characters feel less like people and more like vehicles for exposition. They spend the entire issue recapping things the audience already knows. MJ’s frustration is clear, but it is dragged out to the point where her curiosity becomes a chore for the reader. Harry’s attempts at being witty fall flat, and Peter is mostly just there as a witness to the conversation.
Positives
The art has a clean and detailed line work that makes the characters’ faces and emotions easy to read. The warm, inviting color palette creates a nice visual tone, making the dinner setting feel comfortable and believable. The way the characters are drawn to look so realistic is the standout aspect of the comic.
Negatives
The biggest negative is the comic’s complete lack of plot progression. It feels like an entire issue of setup without any payoff. The endless dialogue just goes in circles, repeating information the reader already knows. This lack of action and forward movement makes the comic feel like a filler episode of a television show, and it is a complete waste of time to read.
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 #20 is a masterclass in how to stall a story. It promises a big conversation but delivers nothing but empty dialogue and tedious filler. If you are looking for a Spider-Man comic with action, drama, or any kind of forward momentum, this is not the one for you. This is an issue that could have been a single page and still told the same story.
3/10
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