Review of Ultimate Spider-Man Issue #8

Written by: Jonathan Hickman

Art by: Marco Checchetto

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: August 21, 2024

Ultimate Spider-Man #8, by Marvel Comics on 8/21/24, finds the Parker family and J. Jonah Jameson enjoying a shared birthday party for the Parker children. Meanwhile, the Kingpin gathers the Ultimate Sinister Six.

Is Ultimate Spider-Man #8 Good?

When you’re setting up a long-form story, there’s a right way and a wrong way to plan for the future. If you set up a future event, the right way is to tell a story that builds the world and momentum toward that event, like a freight train that picks up speed as it moves. The wrong way is to set a future date and tread water until you can get close enough for the “real” story to start. Ultimate Spider-Man #8 seemingly supports the idea that Jonathan Hickman is telling this story the wrong way.

When last we left Peter Parker in Ultimate Spider-Man #7, Otto Octavius puts Peter and Harry through a series of tests to upgrade their technologically advanced suits, leading to the activation of AI helpers that could wind up doing more harm than good for Harry. Meanwhile, Captain Britain and Kingpin make plans to address a growing superhero problem in the Maker’s absence. The issue ended with Tony Stark returning to check on Peter’s progress.

In Ultimate Spider-Man #8, Peter and MJ get ready to take the kids to their birthday party at the local arcade/pizzeria/fun place. Richard and May share their birthday party since they were born in the same month. Before MJ leaves with the kids and Peter goes to get the cake, Peter’s picotech suit, sitting in a sphere on a nearby table, speaks to Peter to wish the kids a happy birthday. Peter is unsettled that the suit can speak out loud, so he makes a note to “chat” with his suit later to understand the full extent of its capabilities.

Jonathan Hickman comes out of the gate with a story that’s a leisurely stroll by planting a seed that discomforts Peter with not-so-new information. We know the AI can talk, but the fact that it can talk out loud when he’s not wearing it isn’t the unsettling moment Hickman is trying to make it out to be. Perhaps he’s setting up a black suit symbiote/Venom scenario, so we shall see.

The issue flashes back to three weeks ago at the moment when Iron Lad appeared through a portal to check in on Peter. Iron Lad explains Peter is special because he was at the top of the Maker’s list of heroes that must not come to pass, a bit of news that makes Peter nervous. Conversely, Harry learns he wasn’t on the list, which may cause some hard feelings of resentment in the future.

This scene works in the moment for Peter and Harry to give them a greater sense of the Maker and his stranglehold on the universe he created. That said, this scene turns out to be a nothing burger for the readers because Peter isn’t learning anything we didn’t already know.

Now, Peter meets Uncle Ben and J. Jonah at the bakery, where they exchange endearing comments about each other. The scene leads to the expected moment when Ben and J. Jonah offer Peter a job to work for them on their new newspaper venture. Peter doesn’t say ‘yes,’ but he doesn’t say ‘no.’ The party goes off without a hitch, and we see J. Jonah sharing an uncharacteristic moment of care and support for Richard.

Here, we get some world-building and nice character moments, but the impact of these developments doesn’t amount to much. Bringing Peter over to work for Ben and J. Jonah is wholly unsurprising.

The issue concludes with Kingpin gathering the lieutenants from NYC’s four remaining Burroughs and the underground to form the Ultimate Sinister Six – Negative Man, the Black Cat (Senior), Mysterio, Kraven, and the Mole Man.

Overall, the story builds a little bit of the world without telling you much more than you already know, introduces an Ultimate version of a team, and presents a birthday party. That’s it. If the goal, as Hickman presents it, is to prepare the world for the Maker’s return, he’s doing it with as little urgency and energy as possible. Here’s hoping your wallet and patience are up for the wait.

What’s great about Ultimate Spider-Man #8? Jonathan Hickman’s issue works when he focuses on the small, personal interactions between characters. Ben and J. Jonah privately telling other people that the other is lonely is super charming, J. Jonah’s gift-giving moment with Richard is surprisingly heart-warming, and the teases generated by Peter’s talk with his suit in one scene and Iron Lad in another generate material amounts of intrigue.

What’s not great about Ultimate Spider-Man #8? Jonathan Hickman is wasting a lot of time either delivering sweet moments that are immaterial to the grand scheme or telling you things that you already know. If not for the introduction of the Ultimate Sinister Six, this issue would be almost entirely pointless.

To keep this in perspective, the only notable things to happen in this run are Peter’s turn into Spider-Man, Harry’s turn into Green Goblin, and the introduction of the Ultimate Sinister Six. If you’ve paid the full cover price for each issue, that means you’ve spent $41 USD to get to three major plot points.

I hope your wallet and your patience are up for the wait because it’s going to be a very slow and expensive year.

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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Final Thoughts

Ultimate Spider-Man #8 marks the next in an increasingly disappointing series as Peter Parker spends the day at a birthday party while the Kingpin makes plans. If the goal was to get Earth-6160’s heroes ready for the Maker’s return, he’s taking the slowest, least urgent road possible to get there. At $5 dollars per issue, Marvel can’t afford to continue to waste the readers’ time and money on a premium series that’s treading water.

5.5/10

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