“My Spider-Sense is telling me there’s danger. With really bad breath.”
Free Comic Book Day 2025: Amazing Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe #1
Marvel Worldwide, Inc (what happened to “Marvel Comics”?) (June, 2025)
LETTERER: Joe Caramagna
The Amazing Spider-Man: “When Death Strikes”
WRITER: Joe Kelly
PENCILER: John Romita, Kr.
INKER: Scott Hanna
COLORIST: Marte Gracia
SPIDER-MAN CREATORS: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko
Ultimate Spider-Man: “Incursion”
WRITERS: Cody Ziglar & Deniz Camp
ARTIST: Jonas Scharf
COLORIST: Bryan Valenza
For the record I bought this comic to get a look at the new Ultimate universe. That was a lie on Marvel’s part because that’s not what I got. Let’s do this in order. The regular Spidey story is not so super. An assassin who tried to kill reformed Norman Osborn is under attack himself while recovering in a hospital and Spider-Man has to protect him from Lord Deathstrike…which means missing out on cuddling his latest not-Mary Jane girlfriend you know won’t be here for very long so I don’t care. And yet Peter keeps bringing up cuddling. He’s also now friends with the guy who murdered his fiance which I know because even in alternate continuities Spider-Man writers can’t stop bringing up Gwen Frickin’ Stacy or how she died. I’m all for redemption but he’s taking this a bit too lightly. It’s not the lack of Spider-Marriage ruining this story anymore than having it would have helped this story. It’s just a decent fight scene with dialog I’d rather not read.
So yeah, the Ultimate universe story features an Ultimate Spider-Man but it’s not Peter Parker: Family Man. It’s Miles Morales, who get approached by the Maker with an offer to bring him to the new ultimate universe the evil Reed created. You know, the one I wanted to read about. Maker hands him a card in case he decides to join him, and creepily keeps calling him “brother”. Miles thinks backs on the lows and highs of his life currently and decides not to take the offer, but his baby sister gets a hold of the card, which is supposed to lead into the “Incursion” story arc and I really don’t care. It would be an okay story if I cared about Miles Morales and while I’d like to I currently do not. Plus I wanted to see into Ultimate Peter 2, not Ultimate Peter 1’s replacement.
There’s also a preview teasing who the new Venom is while going over Peter is Spider-Man and somehow Eddie is the current Carnage. Too bad we already knew Venom’s current host is Mary Jane because they don’t know what to do with her beyond teasing and trolling Spider-Marriage fans.
Overall, unless the Maker trying to reach Miles isn’t part of the Incursion arc there is no reason to feel sad if you missed this comic at Free Comic Book Day. I screwed up and accidentally grabbed one at both stores I went to so my suffering is doubled. I’ll put this one on the Clutter Reports’ comics for sale as “free with any purchase by request” or something because it’s a free comic, though I bet nobody who actually wanted it missed it. I kind of wish I had now.
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