The comic that got me into reading comic books was Ultimate Spider-Man #1 by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley. I’ll never forget my Mom bringing home a stack of issues that were in the waiting room of the Doctor’s office she worked at. Getting to start at the beginning of Peter Parker’s journey was so special because he was a kid like me. I grew up with Spider-Man and I have worshipped at his Spider-altar ever since which includes seeing him on Broadway. Spider-Man is a character I always return to.
But now I’m grown up and love getting to read a Spider-Man who is an adult too which isn’t something you get in main line comics. Enter the new Ultimate Spider-Man #1 by Jonathan Hickman, Marco Checchetto, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit where Peter is a married man with children. When I saw the announcement, I nearly fell out of my chair.
With a spectacular creative team and a premise I was chomping at the bit for, I was really excited but also a bit nervous. Would I need to catch up on everything with the Ultimate Universe to understand this #1? Would this issue be a fresh jumping on point that I could hand to friends who don’t read comics? Would the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man be new reader friendly?
I am very happy to say YES, Ultimate Spider-Man #1 is new reader-friendly! In this issue, every character is properly introduced to this universe with their unique twists. It’s a very different take on the Spider-Man origin but if you know the basic premise then you can thwip with the best of them starting here. I have read none of the new Ultimate comics yet but I was able to keep up with no problems in this issue.
Hickman introduces the mysteries of the series with a very interesting version of Peter who you will fall in love with from page 1. Getting to see Peter Parker with a loving family and life makes me very happy. It’s an incredible debut for this new series that you will want to read over and over again.
When I think of reading Spider-Man, I think about sitting in my grandmother’s house reading those Ultimate Spider-Man issues over and over with such pure joy. When I read this issue, I felt that feeling all over again because the reader was being welcomed to a world with open arms as a new reader. Make sure you pick this one up!