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Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1 Review
Ultimate Spider-Man (2024) #1
Written By: Jonathan Hickman
Art by: Marco Checchetto
It was 6:42 pm today that I realized that my local comic shop closed at 7 pm on Thursdays. I was ten minutes away, could I quickly get into the car and get there before the place closed? I had been looking forward to this issue of Ultimate Spider-Man for months, circled in red on my calendar. I quickened my pace as I reached the car and threw my belongings inside. It was now 6:46 pm. I took the fastest route available, ensuring I would hit as minimal stoplights as possible. 6:55 pm. I was just around the corner. 6:57 pm. I pulled into the parking lot behind the comic shop. 6:58 pm. I put the car in park. 6:59 pm. I sprinted to the comic shop and just as I approached, I saw the employee shutting off the lights and walking to lock the door.
I was winded, and doubled over as he opened the door and asked, “Do you know what you want?”
“Yes, just the items in my box,” I wheezed.
He opened the door and let me in, and for that, I am forever grateful because wow this had to be the best single issue of Spider-Man I had read in quite some time. There is something about the way that Jonathan Hickman writes his characters. This Peter Parker had humility, he spoke like a normal person, and most importantly his family life was in a great spot. So why does he want more?
One advantage that writers have when making a new continuity or any sort of adaption is setting up twists and playing with readers’ expectations. This issue is full of them. Peter is a dad and married by the time he gets his superpowers, friends in other continuities are nobodies to him currently, and enemies in some worlds are friends in this one. I am not going to go into specifics because I do think that anyone who wants to read this should go in as blind as possible.
What this comic starts to explore here is destiny. Peter had been robbed of his destiny as Spider-Man and now he is getting something he doesn’t get often, a choice. It is his choice to right the wrong, the power is his if he should choose it. This is a fun change to the usual where Peter is given his powers accidentally, which worked great for his immature teenage self, but giving Peter a choice at this age just fits so well.
Something I wanted to shout out here as well is the art by Checchetto, I dug the art in this book. The design for the characters is familiar yet distinct to this universe. I look forward to seeing more of the villain teased at the end and many other classic villains in this new universe.
Overall I give this comic 5/5 stars, a perfect start for the new universe and Peter’s arc in it. Hickman nailed it again!
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PODCAST: Post Secret Wars Avengers Draft Featuring Tommy Bechtold
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Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #4 Review
Written by: Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada
Art by: Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham
The final issue of Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant has arrived.
I know this issue is now a few weeks old but I have been so busy with work and the holidays. Thankfully I have carved out the time to finally read this much-anticipated issue. The issue picks up where the previous one left off. The Sentinel had taken out part of the dorm building that Kamala and Bruno had been in. Bruno has a theory on how to stop the Sentinel so Kamala decides to buy him some time. This Sentinel is an Iron Man variant, has the same colors and even has the arc reactor in the chest.
Bruno pleads with the students to help him save Kamala from the Sentinel. The students, true to the depiction of the previous issues, are very anti-mutant. Bruno makes a great speech about passing judgment before giving them the chance and equates this to how none of these students would have had a chance at proving themselves at the school if the school had the same rules. This mostly works, I think it does make the students cave a bit too quickly, but only so much to do in 22 pages. Bruno works with the other students to build a device that will go over the arc reactor and act like a magnifying glass under the sun. He tells Kamala she will only have five seconds to get clear. She does this and it works.
When the Sentinel blows up, it leaves a crevice in the ground which reveals the underground lab that had been hidden underneath. Kamala has a conversation with the Omega Sentinel. Kamala has a great line, “I now understand the hardest part about being an X-Man. It isn’t being hated and feared. It isn’t being hunted for the genes you carry. It’s rejecting the temptation to fall into hatred yourself.” This line sold me on the whole arc and the retcon to make Kamala a mutant/X-Man. The X-Men could easily fall into hatred, they are constantly discriminated against, and hated by the public they serve, but yet they continue to protect the civilians that hate them. The X-Men never retaliate, they persevere.
The story wraps up and sets up a new chapter which was confirmed to continue with Iman Vellani and Pirzada continuing their story in March of 2024. Kamala learns from Emma Frost that the Mutant gene may activate and it will either reveal a new ability in conjunction with her Inhuman powers or it may overwrite them. Kamala says she will not erase a part of herself and she leaves it at that. Frost then hands Kamala a bangle from Spider-Man.
This part intrigued me and I can’t wait to see where they take this. Do they retcon her powers to match her MCU counterpart now? Or will they develop a mutation that she will have effectively a second set of powers? There are so many ways they could take this. In my opinion, I would leave her Inhuman abilities alone and create a second set of powers as her mutation. It could make Kamala even more interesting as a character. I would not want to see her inhuman abilities replaced with her mutant abilities.
To wrap it up, I eagerly anticipate the next chapter of Kamala’s journey and rate this issue and the series as a whole 4/5 stars.
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Podcast: Kang Dynasty Shakeup and Pedro Pascal in Talks For Reed Richards
Jordan and Ron discuss the latest news of Destin Daniel Cretton leaving Kang Dynasty, the Madame Web trailer, What If Season Two trailer and then the main topic, Has Marvel found its first member of its First Family? Rumors are Pedro Pascal is in talks to star as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four.
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The Marvels Spoiler Review
Jordan, Chris and Ron discuss The Marvels Jordan is joined by Ron (@JediGenasi) and Chris (@MultiversalOmni) to discuss the latest MCU film, The Marvels!
They dive into the meaning of the mid credit scenes, the last scene of the film setting up Young Avengers and much more!
Email: Marvelplusrecaps@gmail.com
Twitter: @toinfinitysaga
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Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #3 Review
Cover by Sara Pichelli & Matthew Wilson Written by: Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada
Art by: Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham
We start where we left off, with Kamala in her dreams with the Cosmic Sorcerer, Doctor Surfer taking her deep into her subconscious as she looks for answers.
Bruno is heavily monitoring Kamala as she sleeps and even uses his computer skills to disrupt an attack called Project Trojan Horse from Dr. Nitika Gaiha and the Omega Sentinel.
This issue focuses more on Kamala and her journey through her mind as she deals with what she thinks other perceive her as. She has a run in with Captain America who is spouting off some very deranged takes on the Mutants. The issue ends with Kamala uniting with her fan-fic creations including a Wolverine who has Hot Dogs as claws which I found hysterical. I’m sure Logan would not approve.
Kamala wakes with Bruno by her side but they are interrupted when they notice a large Sentinel outside the window to the dorm. They are finally able to detect her mutation and the words To Be Concluded let us know that sadly this mini-series is reaching its conclusion.
I have enjoyed this book so far, I do think this is the weakest of the three issues so far but I am very excited to see how this series wraps up. I do wish we had seen more Kamala with other mutants but I can’t complain. This series has focused more on Kamala discovering who she is and coming to terms with her mutant side. Hopefully going forward we continue to get more and more Kamala with the X-Men. I rate this issue 3.5/5 stars.
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Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #2 Review
Cover Art by: Sara Pichelli and Matthew Wilson Written by: Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada
Art by: Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham
Kamala Khan’s campus is anti-mutants and anti-Ms. Marvel, how will she cope?
The second issue picks up right where we left off, Kamala is having trouble sleeping as she continues to have a recurring nightmare about how she fits in. We get a great scene with her and Bruno, as they have both fallen asleep in her bed. Kamala’s roommate mentions if they need some privacy just let her know, which causes both Kamala and Bruno to protest maybe too much.
The villains so far have not been too thrilling. In the first issue they spend most of the time in a lab trying to track Ms. Marvel but since her powers come from her inhumans side and not the mutant side so far it leaves them unable to trace her. They switch their method to trying to find encrypted transmissions hoping that once she contacts the X-Men they will locate her. I’m hoping as we get more involved with this plot that the villains become a little more well defined. So far they are the weakest link in the story.
Kamala tells Bruno that she has seen a variation of the Silver Surfer in her dreams but that he’s wearing Dr. Strange’s cloak. We see her pull out a fanfiction art piece she has made called the Cosmic Sorcerer which matches the description. As she and Bruno make their way across campus, they go through a crowd of anti-mutant protestors. I am loving what they are doing with Kamala here. She was once a revered hero and now due to her just being part of the X-Men she is starting to not be favored well. This is leading to her having another struggle as a character.
After she takes out some drones we have a moment where Tony Stark drops by in a new Iron Man suit and he takes her the old Hellfire Club where his wife, Emma Frost is waiting to speak to Kamala.
The issue ends with a promising hook for the next issue where Bruno has set up a machine to help her in her dreams and once she enters the Cosmic Sorcerer is taking her into a journey to the center of her own fanfic.
Overall I have been genuinely enjoying the story they have Kamala on. Did I think more X-Men would appear so far? Honestly yes, I mostly blame that to the wonderful covers this series has so far. But I am still enjoying the actual meat of the story and what they are doing with her character. The art in this book continues to be a highlight for me. I can’t stop talking about how well this Ms. Marvel X-Men suit looks. I give this issue another 4/5 as it is largely set up for what is to come which promises to be a thrilling adventure.
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Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant #1 Review
Cover of Ms. Marvel: The New Mutant by Sara Pichelli and Matthew Wilson Written by: Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada
Art by: Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham
Ms. Marvel is alive and now she is part of the X-Men!
To really dive into the retcon that takes place in this story we must first dive into the history of Ms. Marvel. When Fox had the rights to the X-Men films, Marvel publishing had changed directions for their comics. Fantastic Four and X-Men titles started to get canceled while Ike Perlmutter, the CEO of Marvel, pushed for Inhumans to take center stage. Marvel still held the film rights to the Inhumans and wanted to try to make them as popular as the X-Men. Needless to say this did not work. But one character who was an Inhuman created during this time, originally intended to be a mutant and did gain immense popularity was Kamala Khan.
In 2017, Disney reached an agreement with Fox to purchase the studio and their library of film and television shows and by 2022 Kamala Khan played by Iman Vellani was starring in her own Disney+ show, which started the course correction of Kamala being a mutant.
Now here we are in 2023 with Iman Vellani not only playing the character in the upcoming The Marvels film, but also currently writing the character in this latest comic book series.
We start this issue with Kamala having recurring nightmares. The dream starts off very meta with Kamala having the option of what group she will become a part of. We see the Champions, the Avengers, The Inhumans Royal Family and then finally the X-Men. We learn a lot on the first few pages, after Kamala’s death she was resurrected by the X-Men, something that has been part of the recent X-Men story since Jonathan Hickman kicked off the Krakoa arc with House of X and Powers of X. The X-Men can die but will be reborn in a new body with their memories intact on the mutant island of Krakoa.
We learn that Kamala’s friend Bruno, and her family do not currently know she is a mutant, but we also learn that her mutation is dormant. She is still part of the Inhumans as is her power set. I love that they did not go with a full retcon that she and her powers are due to being a mutant. Though this does make me wonder going forward if we will see what her mutation is. Can she have a latent mutant ability that is closer to her MCU power set?
Kamala is starting a new internship at Empire State University in the summer with the company Orchis, who is very anti-mutant. She is going undercover for the X-Men to see what the company may have planned. A key scene takes place on campus when she has to suit up with her new X-Men suit for the first time, revealing to the world that she is a mutant. The students at ESU do not take it well. One even exclaims that it sucks that Ms. Marvel is a mutant.
The new Ms. Marvel suit. Art by Carlos Gomez and Adam Gorham I won’t go more in-depth with the story due to spoilers but I will say I am rather enjoying the first issue and can’t wait to read the other two that have currently been released. Iman Vellani and Sabir Pirzada wrote a compelling story and I think that Vellani brought some of her charm from portraying the character to the book as well. There were moments I was reading that I thought, this feels like the Ms. Marvel we now know from the MCU. I find this recent trend with comics very interesting. Over in DC Comics, Paul Dano wrote a comic book starring his Riddler from the Matt Reeves’ The Batman. I’m excited that the actors are connected enough with the source material and the character that they are willing to jump in and write a comic.
I have really enjoyed the art so far in this series. The new Kamala Khan X-Men suit is a thing of beauty. The way that Gomez and Gorham draw the dream sequences make them stand out and you know instantly you are seeing a dream and not the real world.
I rate this first issue a 4/5 stars and am ready to explore more of this series.
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Spider-Man: Blue #2 Review
Book Two: Let’s Fall in Love
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Art by: Tim Sale
The last issue had a villain focus on the Green Goblin while this one took a look into the Rhino, who gets broken out of prison by a mysterious stranger that will continue to watch Spider-Man throughout.
We left off with Gwen and Peter riding his new bike while Aunt May told MJ that Peter wasn’t home. Now in this issue we end with the infamous MJ and Peter meeting where she tells him, “Face it Tiger, you just hit the jackpot.” It was a moment I saw coming and a line that has become synonymous with MJ but it still worked for me in this scene.
The rest of the issue mainly focuses on the conflict with Rhino and Peter visiting Doctor Connors to determine how to overcome the rhino hide that The Rhino wears on his suit. Connors and Peter come up with a special webbing that dissolves it leaving the Rhino naked.
Overall, another great issue. I always love the way Loeb and Sale work in the Rogues Gallery of the characters that they are handling. I assume issue three will focus on another villain and dive deeper into the MJ Peter dynamic along with more Gwen. I give this issue a 4.5/5.
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Spider-Man: Blue #1
Book One: My Funny Valentine
Written by: Jeph Loeb
Art by: Tim Sale
Why did it take me so long to read this? My favorite comic is the Long Halloween and my favorite hero is Spider-Man so of course this is a dream come true to learn that the same creative team had written a Spider-Man book. I decided to stop and write these reviews after each issue to truly appreciate and soak in this wonderful book.
This first issue is just pure Spider-Man. It starts with Peter swinging in New York, talking into a recorder to Gwen Stacey who had at this point already passed away. He visits the bridge she was thrown from and leaves a rose.
We then flashback as Peter tells the story of how Gwen and he had first fallen in love. It starts with Spider-Man going up against Green Goblin, and there are your usual Spider-Man quips as he fights Goblin and finally beats him. Norman snaps out of Goblin mode, losing his memory. He ends up at the hospital. Peter and Harry are yet to be best friends and Harry appreciates it when Peter visits. He also sees Gwen here as he leaves and they share a glance.
Peter then mentions he wants a motorcycle to Aunt May and she gives him money that Uncle Ben and she had saved for Peter to get a car. While he is buying the bike he sees Harry, Flash and Gwen walk by so he buys the bike and approaches them and asks if anyone wants a ride. Gwen takes him up on the offer. The issue ends here with Gwen holding Peter tight on the back of his motorcycle.
Overall, I really dug the first issue. It just has that feeling, that I’m reading a classic. It has that same vibe as Long Halloween or their other classic, Superman For All Seasons. It has the internal monologue of the hero. The tortured love story. I felt Loeb nailed the Spider-Man tone and I thought Sale knocked the art out of the park. At times his art can be distracting but it’s either I’ve grown accustomed to it since The Long Halloween or his style is reigned in here a bit. Either way this is a beautiful first issue and can’t wait to read the rest. 5/5 stars.
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To the Infinity Saga and Beyond 