Ultimate Spider-Man #16 – A Mystery Revealed

Hello there! Padawan J here, the resident Star Wars expert from the ODPH! And this week I’m going to be reviewing the 16th issue of Ultimate Spider-Man from Marvel Comics!

Things for this version of Peter Parker are at a very tense point, to say the least. Sure, he has his powers but he’s also on the run because his identity is known to one of his enemies. But there is a mystery that remains from issues past. Just what happened to Harry Osborn? Let’s jump into it!

Ultimate Spider-Man #16 by Jonathan Hickman (Writer), Marco Checchetto (Artist), Matthew Wilson (Color Artist), VC’s Cory Petit (Letterer), Marco Checchetto & Matthew Wilson (Cover Art) is yet another incredible issue from Hickman and crew. And it’s an issue that is sure to have EVERYONE talking aout it by the finish.

The Story

The story takes a bit of step back in time. It opens with Gwen Stacy standing in front of Harry Osborn’s grave. From there it shifts back in time and explores her relationship a bit with Harry, while also showing a conversation she had with her father.

The story is incredible and builds with anticipation right up to the very end. Admittedly I did wonder at the start of the issue, “Just where is this going?”. But that wasn’t in any frustration or anger, I genuinely didn’t know where it was going.

I won’t go into spoilers here, because this is truly an issue that you HAVE to read for yourself. But I will say just two things about the story. First, one of the plot twists isn’t a total surprise to me. I think most fans figured something like that was the case. Second, the introduction of THAT character is a huge surprise. I figured they’d get introduced at some point but I wasn’t expecting it in that way!

The Artwork

The work done by Checchetto & Wilson is nothing short of stunning. Everything in the panels is just so vibrant and crisp. Also the range of colors is simply stunning and really help everything pop off the page. Particularly the scenes at the graveyard stand out to me. It feels like some moments that will standout when we look back on this series.

FINAL POINT

This issue is another standout issue from Hickman and the entire creative team. I can’t remember a time I’ve read so many back to back issues that leave me stunned and wanting more. If you’re a comic fan and not reading this series, you need to rectify that ASAP. Hickman takes the Spider-Man mythos and flips it on it’s head in a really surprising way. It is a real page turner. I can’t recommend this issue enough!

Overall Grade: 10/10

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