ICYMI! Ultimate Spider-Man #20: A Table with Glasses

Burying the lead, Ultimate Spider-Man #20 squanders nearly everything it promised in its setup, leaning instead on the series’ most persistent flaws in both writing and structure. What should feel like the payoff to nearly two years of buildup instead lands as yet another unfulfilled promise, with the issue cutting itself short just as it begins to make its point. The script continues to skim only the surface, weighed down by well-written yet ultimately superfluous dialogue that offers style without substance. As a result, the emotional stakes feel undercooked and the larger narrative struggles to move forward, leaving this chapter more like a pause than a progression as the series edges toward its finale.

The lack of precision in its plotting is made even more frustrating by the fact that this issue consciously mirrors one of the run’s best installments, issue #4. Where that earlier chapter made great strides in establishing Norman Osborn and his relationship with Peter as the run’s central pillar, this new entry achieves none of the same resonance—even as it wears the mask of trying to do so with MJ and Gwen. Hickman’s continued exploration of the fractured mirror dynamic between Peter, Harry, and Gwen compared to their 616 counterparts remains intriguing, but here it never reaches a meaningful resolution. Instead, the issue circles endlessly around repetitive monologues and conversational detours, leaving every character in the exact same place they started by the end of this dinner, without any moment of poignancy to justify the time spent.

David Messina, however, continues to kill it on art. His consistency in illustrating the human form anchors this conversation-heavy issue, elevated by a well-paced and visually interesting panel rhythm. The colors remain vibrant without overwhelming the page, and as usual the visual storytelling soars far beyond the script’s ambitions. Messina’s craft ensures that, even when the writing falters, Ultimate Spider-Man remains an engaging book to look at—though unfortunately, this time the visuals are doing nearly all the heavy lifting.