Following the release of yesterday's Ultimate Spider-Man #22, there are only two issues to go before the series from writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Marco Chechetto reaches its conclusion.
With the clock ticking, Ultimate Spider-Man #22 opens with another three-month time jump, and a lot has changed since Gwen Stacy's apparent demise. The series now has a third wall-crawler: the Superior Spider-Man!
It seems Otto Octavius used the spider within his possession to give himself spider powers, and he's using his newfound abilities to be a "Superior" Spider-Man...while also becoming a much-loved member of the Parker household.
In the main Marvel Universe, Doctor Octopus successfully transferred his mind into Spider-Man's body and left Peter to die in his ailing frame. He then became the "Superior Spider-Man," a borderline villainous Spidey who eventually relinquished control back to the real deal when the Green Goblin returned.
As much as fans want to continue exploring this new Ultimate Universe, it's set to end next year with the Ultimate Endgame event. That means the versions of these characters who have become so beloved will soon be gone.
There's a chance that Marvel Comics will find a way for at least some of these characters to live on, but the hope is that Earth-616's Peter will finally be allowed to grow up and settle down with MJ in the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #1000. If "One More Day" isn't undone there, then it might be time to give up hope.
There are a few other big developments in the issue (including a major Harry Osborn cliffhanger), but Ultimate Spider-Man continues to give fans the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson-Parker relationship they want to see on the page.
Venom writer Donny Cates was supposed to write Ultimate Spider-Man, but passed the baton to Hickman due to a car accident. Earlier this year, he explained why he wanted a married Peter to take centre stage.
"My entire pitch for [Ultimate Spider-Man] was that people want him to be married, to have kids. Do it for them! What are we doing here? There’s an entire contingent of people screaming for him and Mary. It's like we have a Chili's, you have people screaming for ice cream. 'No, f**k you, we don't have ice cream.' Sell ice cream! What the f**k's wrong with you?"
"The thing is that people who read those original Ultimate Spider-Man books are now my age, right? And Spider-Man’s not really a cypher for us anymore. Because we've all got jobs and kids and stuff like that. And the idea of great responsibility is way different from Peter's life."
"Spider-Man has always been there for me. And I pitched it because I wanted to have a Spider-Man for me. So I said, 'The ultimate Spider-Man for us would look like us; a little gray in the beard, has to go to the store and get stuff for the kids.' I was like, 'That's what people would respond to now because we grew up and didn't have a Peter for us anymore."
THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF [REDACTED]!
ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN #22
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art and Cover by MARCO CHECCHETTO
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