Ultimate Spider-Man #15 – Living On The Run

Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And this week I’m going to be reviewing the latest issue of Ultimate Spider-Man from Jonathan Hickman & Marvel!]

This issue is a little bit campy, as Peter and his family are on the run following the events of the previous issue. So let’s just jump into it!

Ultimate Spider-Man #15 by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), David Messina (Guest Artist), Matthew Wilson (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer), Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson (Cover Art) is a decent issue, but it isn’t the best one of the best of the series.

The story is fairly straightforward, with the primary focus being about Peter and his family living in an RV along with some other folks who’ve run away from society in the southwest of the United States. The story is interesting from the aspect that Peter & Mary are trying to keep informed of what’s going on back home, but they can’t because Peter’s identity has been compromised and they have to be EXTREMELY secretive.

It’s a VERY interesting place to put Peter because he is so synonymous with the skyscrapers of New York City, so to see him among the Grand Canyon and mountains of the southwest is a great choice. It puts this version of Peter in a very unfamiliar situation, and one probably won’t be ready for when it comes time to fight.

We do get to meet this universes version of Sandman who get’s into a fight with Peter and his son Richard Parker in the symbiote suit. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Sandman in the future, cause his appearance in this issue is so small. Also maybe it’s just me…but he kind of looks like Norman Osborne a little bit. Obviously it isn’t Norman, but it’s just something I couldn’t get out of my head when I saw it. Read the issue for yourself and use your own judgment.

The best part of the issue is the meeting between J. Jonah Jameson, Uncle Ben & Wilson Fisk. Fisk definitely tries to intimidate the pair by a show of force. And despite no punches being thrown, I feel like a lot more was said without fists being thrown. Fisk always thinks bigger picture, and you know he doesn’t do anything just for fun. So it’ll be interesting to see what happens here.

Artwork

The artwork, as usual, is SPECTACULAR and particularly the scenes in the southwest of the US. I was fortunate to visit out there and see some sights about 20 years ago now, and while no picture ever does it true justice to seeing it in person, Messina & Wilson do a FANTASTIC job of bringing me back there.

Overall Grade: 8/10

FINAL POINT: The issue won’t have you on the edge of your seat like previous issues have. But it’s still a great read nonetheless. It ratchets up the tension surrounding Peter & his family from every front. The fuse is lit on the powder keg, and the keg keeps getting bigger. And I cannot wait to see the inevitable explosion that happens. This is an issue you’re definitely going to want to pick up this week!

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