- Written by: Jonathan Hickman
- Art by: Marco Checchetto, David Mesina
- Colors by: Matthew Wilson
- Letters by: VC’s Cory Petit
- Cover art by: Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson (cover A)
- Cover price: $4.99
- Release date: December 10, 2025
Ultimate Spider-Man #23, by Marvel on 12/10/25, arrives with a spectacular heist-turned-ambush that proves beautiful action sequences cannot mask the wreckage of poor long-term planning and editorial dysfunction.
First Impressions
The opening establishes immediate stakes, tension coils through every frame, and the art direction carries genuine cinematic weight. Moments in, you sense something is moving with real momentum and precision. It’s the closest this series has felt to intentional storytelling in quite some time, which makes what follows feel even more frustrating in hindsight.
Recap
In the previous issue, Otto Octavius swinging through the streets of Manhattan in his own version of the picotech suit returned to the assembly of allies, hiding out in the Savage Land under Manhattan, as he reflected bitterly on his own brilliance. His interactions with the Parkers added uneasy comedy, especially a dinner scene derailed by petty banter about soy sauce, before pivoting sharply to the issue’s core conflict. Peter and Harry continued their uneasy alliance battling remnants of the Sinister Six. Their fight against Bullseye(s) and other enhanced thugs provided the issue’s most kinetic pages, blending humor and grit. Yet when Harry stayed behind to “see what pops up,” the tone pivoted to heavy-handed melancholy, showing him still emotionally stranded after Gwen’s death. Otto’s scenes dominated the second half, unveiling a self-built system that could erase the Parker family’s existence from the Maker’s surveillance grid but required a near-impossible infiltration into Kingpin’s empire. The moral question was answered quickly: young Richard was given the task and permission to seek out Felicia’s help without his parents’ knowledge. The finale shifted focus again to Harry and Mr. Negative, with Harry mysteriously tracked by an undead “collective” of Mysterios, his motivations blurring further and the closing “Are you with us?” montage suggesting betrayal or manipulation rather than clarity.
Plot Analysis
The issue kicks off with Otto revealing to the Parkers that he’s constructed a device capable of erasing their existence from the Maker’s surveillance grid, but it requires installation deep within Kingpin’s empire. When they learn Richard has already left with Felicia Hardy to do exactly that, Peter scrambles into action. Otto mobilize Ben and J. Jonah to coordinate what appears to be a coordinated media blitz to broadcast Kingpin’s true intentions to the world, with Ben communicating to orchestrate the timing of a global broadcast that will give them control over every screen in the world for three consecutive thirty-second bursts. Inside Fisk Tower, Richard and Felicia execute a textbook heist, planning their infiltration while bickering about whether anyone can actually hack the security. They navigate through elevators, security protocols, and eventually rappel down the exterior of the building, playing off each other’s skills as they close in on the twenty-third floor node.
Back at the tower, Kingpin sits undisturbed until a mysterious visitor arrives – Mr. Negative. He begins to probe Kingpin’s hold on power, revealing that James Wesley was more than he appeared, that he operated as Mysterio in secret, and that he knows everything about Kingpin’s operation and Peter Parker’s identity. The confrontation escalates when Kingpin’s Bullseyes mysteriously stand down, moving aside to let intruders through – Green Goblin and the “new” Mysterio. Peter arrives and immediately attacks Kingpin, forcing Mr. Negative and Kingpin into a temporary truce to deal with the incursions on both fronts. Meanhwhile, Richard and Felicia battle Kingpin’s defenses that are proving to be made of the same material as Richard’s suit, adaptive and extremely difficult to breach. Peter fights for his life in the penthouse, pushed to the limit by Kingpin while his son and Felicia tries to access the node through a safety mechanism.
The real gut-punch comes at the end when a new player emerges and contacts Harry. This figure, Henri Dugarry, introduces himself as Captain Britain of the Maker’s Council, an aristocrat from the secret shadow government ruling the world. He confronts Harry with impossible choices, asking whether his loyalty lies with a fragment of his wife inside the “new” Mysterio or with his friend who calls for help, Peter, pushing Harry to question his own agency. As this plays out, the second signal is sent, and a philosophical monologue about the Kingpin’s true nature rolls across screens worldwide. The issue ends with Peter battered, Harry compromised, and a suggestion that something far worse is coming.
Writing
The pacing snaps into focus immediately. Hickman abandons the wandering, philosophical tone that plagued earlier issues in favor of propulsive forward momentum. The dialogue crackles with wit and purpose, particularly the back-and-forth between Richard and Felicia as they plan their infiltration. Banter feels earned and character-appropriate. However, the structure still bears the scars of poor long-term planning. The sudden appearance of Captain Britain and the Maker’s Council feels shoehorned in, a narrative shift that confirms the series has been scrambling to manufacture urgency after squandering twenty-four months of real-time storytelling. The three thirty-second broadcast windows create genuine tension, yet the execution masks the underlying problem: this finale is being rushed because Hickman failed to pace the series properly from day one. The writing is sharp and punchy right now, but that sharpness is compensating for years of meandering.
Art
Checchetto and Messina deliver masterclass visual work. Every panel is readable, dynamic, and emotionally resonant. The infiltration sequence flows beautifully across the page, with clear spatial geography and exciting angles. The contrast between the heist’s sleek precision and the tower’s brutal security protocols is rendered in gorgeous detail. Matthew Wilson’s color work emphasizes mood shift perfectly, moving from cool blues of stealth to hot reds of conflict to the cold grays of betrayal. When Peter fights Kingpin, the visual intensity conveys desperation and power without excessive motion lines or visual noise. The final pages with Captain Britain use light and shadow to establish him as a threat simply through compositional choices. This is the art team firing on all cylinders, providing the visual excellence the story has needed to justify its existence.
That said, the distinctive difference in styles between Checchetto and Messina is jarring, made more jarring by the issue’s rapid pace. It seems clear that Hickman got caught short by the announcement of the series’ end, so a second artist was employed to cover the last-minute rewrites, giving the issue a disjointed visual flow.
Character Development
Richard emerges as the strongest character thread here. His casual banter with Felicia masks genuine competence (and potential romance), and his mistake serves as a wake-up call that this scheme has real consequences. Peter’s arc this issue is defined by parental panic and desperation, showing a man forced to confront the consequences of his family’s choices. His physical battle with Kingpin carries emotional weight because we understand what he’s fighting for. Harry’s final scenes are intentionally murky, but the conflict is relatable: he’s being manipulated into questioning where his loyalty should lie, a genuinely human drama wrapped in superhero trappings. Kingpin plays his role well, though his sudden vulnerability suggests even his confidence is built on a shakier foundation than anyone suspected. The problem is that all of this character work arrives too late in the series. These moments would have landed with more impact if the characters had been given room to breathe and develop consistently across the previous twenty-two issues instead of being compressed into an emergency finale rush.
Originality & Concept Execution
The heist concept itself is solid and well-executed. Using broadcast technology as a weapon to expose shadow government control is clever and feels tailored to this universe’s mechanics. However, there is nothing genuinely fresh here. The infiltration beats are textbook heist movie fare, the family-in-crisis dynamic is familiar, and the hidden government conspiracy angle has been done countless times in comics. The execution is competent and entertaining, but the originality well is dry. The series promised something grounded and character-driven with superhero elements; instead, it’s become a standard Marvel conspiracy thriller that lost its way somewhere between issues five and twenty-two.
Positives
Checchetto and Messina’s art is the clear standout, delivering visual clarity and energy that makes every scene crackle. Richard’s characterization and his dynamic with Felicia is genuinely engaging, offering real stakes and chemistry that feels earned. The heist sequence itself is structurally sound and exciting, with clever problem-solving and genuine tension as they navigate Kingpin’s defenses. The broadcast mechanism creates a ticking-clock urgency that propels the narrative forward without feeling arbitrary. Peter’s desperation when he realizes his son is in danger carries authentic emotional weight because it’s grounded in parental fear rather than superhero posturing.
Negatives
The sudden introduction of Captain Britain and the Maker’s Council, while thematically appropriate, exposes how badly this series has lost focus. These elements should have been seeded in from the beginning instead of dropped in the final chapters, signaling last-minute editorial scrambling to justify a meandering narrative. Most damningly, the entire issue functions as an apology for twenty+ months of wasted storytelling, proof that Hickman believed he had more time than he actually did and squandered opportunity after opportunity to develop genuine momentum. Harry’s cliffhanger feels manipulative rather than earned, a setup that asks readers to care deeply about his agency when the series has spent two years treating him as a reactive figure. The fact that this issue finally delivers quality action and pacing only highlights how bungled the preceding issues were, making this entry feel less like progress and more like damage control.
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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The Scorecard
Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): [3/4]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [3/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [1/2]
Final Verdict
Ultimate Spider-Man #23 is a competent, visually stunning issue that finally delivers the propulsive storytelling this series should have maintained from the start. Checchetto’s art is phenomenal, the heist beats hit hard, and the character moments land with genuine weight. But it’s all a band-aid on a deeper wound. This issue proves the series had potential, which makes its two-year fumble even more frustrating. Hickman’s decision to trust in future time and coast through early issues, only to suddenly panic and rush toward a conclusion, is poor planning that’s hurt every reader who stuck around.
7/10
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